Coordinated user scheduling in the multi-cell MIMO downlink

We propose a novel, coordinated user scheduling (CUS) algorithm for inter-cell interference (ICI) mitigation in the downlink of a multi-cell multi-user MIMO system. In the proposed algorithm, ICI mitigation is performed through the exchange of necessary channel state information (CSI) among the base stations, and the revision of the scheduling decisions and beamformer designs at each base station. Furthermore, ICI mitigation is performed only for the cell-edge users so that the amount of inter-base station signaling overhead is minimized. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed coordination scheduling algorithm significantly improves the cell-edge users´ throughput compared to conventional systems with only a negligible amount of CSI sharing among the base stations and a relatively small throughput loss for the cell-interior users.