Decentralized Dynamic Sub-Carrier Assignment for OFDMA-Based Adhoc and Cellular Networks

In this paper, a novel decentralised dynamic sub-carrier assignment (DSA) algorithm for orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA)-based adhoc and cellular networks operating in time division duplexing (TDD) mode is proposed to solve the hidden and exposed node problem in media access control (MAC). This method reduces the cochannel interference (CCI), and thus increases the overall throughput of the network. Reduced CCI and increased throughput can be achieved, if time and frequency selectivity of the multi-path fading channel and the channel reciprocity offered by the TDD are fully exploited. The time and frequency selectivity of the channel are usually the main problem in mobile communication. However, in the context of channel assignment for OFDMA-based networks in TDD mode, the time and frequency selectivity of the channel are the key to reduce the interference. In the proposed channel assignment mechanism, several clusters of sub-carriers are assigned for data transmission between a transmitter and a receiver only if the corresponding channels of those sub-carriers linking this transmitter to potential victim receivers are deeply faded. In addition, the proposed algorithm works in a fully decentralised fashion and, therefore, it is able to effectively support ad hoc and multihop communication as well as network self-organisation. Numerical results show that the throughput obtained by the proposed approach for a given quality of service is higher than those of the conventional methods in any precondition of adhoc geographic scenario. key words: decentralized dynamic sub-carrier assignment, MAC protocol, OFDMA/TDD, adhoc and cellular networks