Fairness-Aware Resource Allocation for the SISO Downlink over Frequency-Selective Channels

The problem of resource allocation for the downlink of wireless systems operating over a frequency-selective channel is investigated. It is assumed that both the Base Station (BS) and each user are equipped with a single antenna (Single Input Single Output - SISO case) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is used as a multiple access scheme. A suboptimal, but efficient scheme is devised in order to maximize the sum of the users´ data rates subject to constraints on total available power and proportional fairness among users´ data rates. It is shown, via simulation, that the proposed resource allocation scheme not only achieves higher sum of the users´ data rates than other existing schemes but also sum data rate is distributed fairly and flexibly among users. Thus, the scheme can be applied to latest-generation wireless systems that provide Quality-of-Service guarantees.