Efficient and fair resource allocation in downlink OFDMA systems

A resource allocation problem considering both efficiency and fairness in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems is studied. According to the optimality conditions, a downlink resource allocation algorithm consisting of subcarrier assignment and power allocation is proposed. By adjusting the tradeoff coefficient, the proposed algorithm can achieve different levels of compromise between efficiency and fairness. The well-known classic resource allocation policies such as sum-rate maximization algorithm, proportional fairness algorithm and max-min algorithm are all special cases of the proposed algorithm. Simulation results show that the compromise between efficiency and fairness can be continuously adjusted according to system requirements.