Geographical scheduling and association procedure for WiMAX systems

1. A method to manage communications in a wireless network comprising at least one base station encompassing a first geographic region and at least one relay station encompassing a second geographic region, comprising:

assigning a subscriber station in the wireless network into one of a plurality of zones, wherein the zones are characterized by an interference characteristic, wherein assigning a subscriber station in the wireless network into one of a plurality of zones comprises dividing the region into:

zones which utilize time/frequency multiplexing, wherein different links between subscriber stations and at least one base station or relay station operate using separate time-frequency resources; and

zones which utilize time-frequency resource reuse, wherein two or more links between subscriber stations and base station or relay stations operate simultaneously utilizing the same time-frequency resource; and

encoding communication packets between the subscriber station and at least one of the base station or the relay station into a frame structure segment that is transmitted according to one of a time/frequency multiplexed protocol or a resource sharing protocol as a function of the one of the plurality of zones.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein assigning a subscriber station in the wireless network into one of a plurality of zones based on its geographical position, signal strength and interference environment.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein assigning a subscriber station in the wireless network into one of a plurality of zones comprises determining whether a received signal quality indicator exceed threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein assigning a subscriber station in the wireless network into one of a plurality of zones comprises determining whether an interference parameter from the subscriber station exceeds a threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein managing a frame structure of wireless communication between a subscriber station and at least one of a base station or a relay station according to a protocol specific to the plurality of zones comprises assigning communication with a subscriber station categorized as exhibiting high signal strength and low interference into a simultaneous transmission zone of the frame structure.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein managing a frame structure of wireless communication between a subscriber station and at least one of a base station or a relay station according to a protocol specific to the plurality of zones comprises assigning communication with a subscriber station categorized as exhibiting low signal strength and high interference into a zone of the frame structure that is multiplexed by at least one of a time dimension or a frequency dimension.

7. A system to manage communications in a wireless network encompassing a geographic region, comprising:

a receiver to receive a communication signal from a subscriber station;

a signal analysis module to assigning a subscriber station in the geographic region into one of a plurality of zones including:

zones which utilize time/frequency multiplexing, wherein different links between subscriber stations and at least one base station or relay station operate using separate time-frequency resource; and

zones which utilize time/frequency resource reuse, wherein two or more links between subscriber stations and base station or relay stations operate simultaneously utilizing the same time-frequency resource; and

a signal framing module comprising logic to encode communication packets between the subscriber station and at least one of a base station or a relay station into a frame structure segment that is transmitted according to one of a time/frequency multiplexed protocol or a resource sharing protocol as a function of the one of the plurality of zones.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the signal analysis module further comprises logic to determine whether a received signal quality indicator exceed threshold.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the signal analysis module further comprises logic to determine whether an interference parameter from the subscriber station exceeds a threshold.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the signal framing module comprises logic to manage a frame structure of wireless communication between a subscriber station and at least one of a base station or a relay station according to a protocol specific to the plurality of zones comprises assigning communication with a subscriber station categorized as exhibiting high signal strength and low interference into a simultaneous transmission frame structure.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the signal framing module comprises logic to manage a frame structure of wireless communication between a subscriber station and at least one of a base station or a relay station according to a protocol specific to the plurality of zones comprises assigning communication with a subscriber station categorized as exhibiting low signal strength and high interference into a frame structure multiplexed by at least one of a time dimension or a frequency dimension.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the signal framing module comprises logic to manage a frame structure in the way to maximize the overall system spectral efficiency.