A Quantile-Based Sequential Feedback Scheme via Overhearing in Multicarrier Access Networks

We propose a scheme to reduce the overhead associated with channel state information (CSI) feedback required for opportunistic scheduling in multicarrier access networks. We study the case where CSI is partially overheard by mobiles and one can suppress transmitting CSI reports for time varying channel of inferior quality. As a means to assess channel quality and exploit multiuser diversity we adopt maximum quantile (MQ) scheduling. We show that the problem of minimizing the average feedback overhead can be formulated as a Bayesian network problem. A greedy heuristic using probabilistic inference is proposed to deal with the NP-hardness of the problem. Leveraging properties of MQ scheduling we first show that networks having tree-like overhearing graphs admit simple inference. We then present a class of more general network structures for which exact inference is computationally tractable. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the improvements offered by the proposed heuristic, e.g., a savings of 63–83% depending on the network size.