Dynamic downlink aggregation carrier scheduling scheme for wireless networks

Carrier aggregation has been accepted as a means of bandwidth extension in the third generation long-term evolution advanced (LTE-advanced) network, in an effort to support high data rate transmission with backwards compatibility. Since there are two or more component carriers (CCs) to be aggregated, it is crucial to design efficient carrier scheduling schemes. In this study, the authors propose a novel dynamic aggregation carrier (DAC) scheme for downlink transmission, which enables CCs to aggregate with each other in a dynamic manner. The dynamic nature of the new scheme allows the total capacity of all CCs to be fully utilised to serve flows, whereas the number of aggregated supplementary CCs is decreased so as to lower the computational complexity at user equipment (UE). Furthermore, the performances of the new scheme and two other carrier scheduling schemes are evaluated thoroughly through both analytical and simulation results. It is demonstrated that the DAC scheme offers good performances in terms of delay and throughput while reducing energy consumption and the signalling overhead at UEs.