Adaptive channel allocation in OFDM/SDMA wireless LANs with limited transceiver resources

Abstract

Smart antennas increase capacity of wireless systems by allowing channel reuse by several users in the same cell through space division multiple access (SDMA). Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) creates additional challenges in beam-forming when the beams that can be formed are limited due to transceiver unit limitations. We investigate the impact of smart antennas on channel allocation and propose meaningful heuristics to form beams and assign subcarriers and transceivers to users. Numerical results quantify performance benefits and provide useful design guidelines.