Distributed multiple antenna scheduling for wireless packet data communication system using OFDM

1. A method of communicating, comprising:

dividing a carrier bandwidth into a plurality of subcarriers;

selecting a plurality of mobile stations for at least receiving a simultaneous transmission from a corresponding plurality of antennas on at least a selected one of the plurality of subcarriers from within the given carrier bandwidth such that more than one mobile station is selected for at least receiving the simultaneous transmission on the selected at least one subcarrier;

arranging the plurality of the subcarriers into a plurality of subsets, with each subset having at least two of the subcarriers; and

determining which mobile stations to select for each of the subcarriers within at least one of the subsets based upon at least one selected criteria associated with at least one of the subcarriers from within the subset.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising using a first one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting a first communication to the selected mobile stations and using a second one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting a second communication to the selected mobile stations.

3. The method of claim 2 , comprising using distributed multiple antenna scheduling for controlling the transmissions from the plurality of antennas such that a first one of the mobile stations effectively receives the first communication and a second one of the mobile stations effectively receives the second communication.

4. The method of claim 1 , comprising

determining a power level associated with transmitting to each of at least two mobile stations on at least the selected subcarrier; and

selecting the mobile stations that have a maximum combined transmission data rate for receiving the transmission.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising selecting a plurality of mobile stations for each of the plurality of subcarriers.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein there are M antennas for transmitting the simultaneous transmission and comprising arranging the subsets by taking every Mth subcarrier from within the bandwidth for each of the subsets.

7. The method of claim 6 , comprising using a plurality of pilots for selecting the mobile stations, wherein the pilots are orthogonal to each other.

8. The method of claim 1 , comprising arranging a plurality of adjacent subcarriers into each subset.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the carrier bandwidth is arranged into the plurality of subcarriers according to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing.

10. The method of claim 1 , comprising selecting more than one of the plurality of subcarriers for the simultaneous transmission.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the mobile stations uses the entire bandwidth.

12. The method of claim 11 , comprising selecting the mobile stations for maximizing a sum rate for receiving the transmission during a selected time interval across the entire bandwidth.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising

using two transmit antennas for simultaneously transmitting on a single subcarrier to each of two mobile stations.

14. The method of claim 1 , comprising

using two transmit antennas for simultaneously transmitting on a single group of subcarriers to each of two mobile stations.

15. A method of communicating, comprising:

selecting a plurality of mobile stations for at least receiving a simultaneous transmission from a corresponding plurality of antennas on at least a selected one of a plurality of subcarriers from within a given carrier bandwidth such that more than one mobile station is selected for at least receiving the simultaneous transmission on the selected at least one subcarrier,

determining a power level associated with transmitting to each of at least two mobile stations on at least the selected subcarrier; and

selecting the mobile stations that have a maximum combined transmission data rate for receiving the transmission.

16. The method of claim 15 , comprising using a first one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting a first communication to the selected mobile stations and using a second one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting a second communication to the selected mobile stations.

17. The method of claim 16 , comprising using distributed multiple antenna scheduling for controlling the transmissions from the plurality of antennas such that a first one of the mobile stations effectively receives the first communication and a second one of the mobile stations effectively receives the second communication.

18. The method of claim 15 , comprising selecting more than one of the plurality of subcarriers for the simultaneous transmission.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein each of the mobile stations uses the entire bandwidth.

20. The method of claim 15 , comprising

using two transmit antennas for simultaneously transmitting on a single subcarrier to each of the two mobile stations.

21. The method of claim 15 , comprising

using two transmit antennas for simultaneously transmitting on a single group of subcarriers to each of the two mobile stations.

22. A method of communicating, comprising:

selecting a plurality of mobile stations for at least receiving a simultaneous transmission from a corresponding plurality of antennas on at least a selected one of a plurality of subcarriers from within a given carrier bandwidth such that more than one mobile station is selected for at least receiving the simultaneous transmission on the selected at least one subcarrier;

arranging the plurality of subcarriers into a plurality of subsets, with each subset having at least two of the subcarriers; and

determining which mobile stations to select for each of the subcarriers within at least one of the subsets based upon at least one selected criteria associated with at least one of the subcarriers from within the subset.