Method and arrangement for allocation of resources in a radio communication system
View Patent ↗A method and arrangement for fair control of resources amongst users with different instantaneous throughputs in a radio communication system such as a UMTS system. Respective indications of users among whom resources are to be allocated are placed in a ‘round robin’ queue ( 200 ) and each user whose indication is at the head of the queue is allocated a number of resource units as a function of: β, a predetermined parameter determining the extent to which a fixed number of resource units should be allocated to the user and the extent to which a fixed volume of data should be transferred from/to the user; φ, the volume of data that the user is allowed to transfer if β=1; λ, the number of resource units that can be allocated if β=0; and θ, the number of information bits per resource unit that can be transferred to/from the user. This provides the following advantages: the resources can be allocated in the manner chosen by the operator. the function requires very few input parameters, and so is simple to operate.
1. A method for allocation of resources amongst users in a radio communication system, the method comprising:
storing respective indications of users among whom resources are to be allocated; and
repetitively allocating predefined resource units in turn to each user whose indication is stored, the number, γ, of resource units allocated to a user being a function of:
φ, the volume of data that the user is allowed to transfer if a fixed volume of data is transferred;
λ, the number of resource units that can be allocated to a user if a fixed number of resource units is allocated to the user;
θ, the number of information bits per resource unit that can be transferred to/from the user; and
β, a predetermined parameter determining the extent to which a fixed number of resource units should be allocated to the user and the extent to which a fixed volume of data should be transferred from/to the user.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the number, γ, of resource units allocated to a user is substantially equal to
(
1
-
β
)
*
λ
+
β
(
ϕ
θ
)
.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of storing respective indications of users among whom resources are to be allocated comprises storing the indications in a FIFO queue.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of storing respective indications of users among whom resources are to be allocated comprises storing the indications in RAM memory with a pointer register.
5. The method of claim 1 performed in a radio network controller of the system.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the radio communication system is a UMTS system.
7. A computer program element comprising computer program means for performing substantially the method of claim 1 .
8. An arrangement for allocation of resources amongst users in a radio communication system, the arrangement comprising:
means for storing respective indications of users among whom resources are to be allocated; and
means for repetitively allocating predefined resource units in turn to each user whose indication is stored, the number, γ, of resource units allocated to a user being a function of:
φ, the volume of data that the user is allowed to transfer if a fixed volume of data is transferred;
λ, the number of resource units that can be allocated to a user if a fixed number of resource units is allocated to the user;
θ, the number of information bits per resource unit that can be transferred to/from the user; and
β, a predetermined parameter determining the extent to which a fixed number of resource units should be allocated to the user and the extent to which a fixed volume of data should be transferred from/to the user.
9. The arrangement of claim 8 , wherein the number, γ, of resource units allocated to a user is substantially equal to
(
1
-
β
)
*
λ
+
β
(
ϕ
θ
)
.
10. The arrangement of claim 8 wherein the means for storing respective indications of users among whom resources are to be allocated comprises a FIFO queue.
11. The arrangement of claim 8 wherein the means for storing respective indications of users among whom resources are to be allocated comprises RAM memory with a pointer register.
12. The arrangement of claim 8 wherein the radio communication system is a UMTS system.
13. A radio network controller for a radio communication system, the radio network controller containing the arrangement of claim 8 .
14. An integrated circuit comprising the arrangement of claim 8 .