Modeling the flow-level performance of hierarchical modulation in OFDMA-based networks

Hierarchical Modulation (HM) is a means to enhance the spectral efficiency of a system by superposing, in terms of modulation, an additional stream for a given user with good radio conditions on a basic stream of a user with worse radio conditions. This, in turn, increases the throughput of the former user and hence the overall performance of the whole system. We consider, in this work, such a performance at the flow level, for a realistic dynamic setting where users come to the system and leave it after a finite duration corresponding, for instance, to the completion of a file transfer. We specifically model and quantify, both analytically and via simulations, the gain thus achieved and propose two extensions to the basic HM algorithm: a first one in which a user with bad radio conditions is also superposed on one with better radio conditions and a second one in which a user of one type is further superposed on a user of the same type as well. Index Terms Hierarchical modulation, OFDMA, flow-level performance, Round Robin.