Method of joint resource allocation and clustering of base stations

1. A method for implementation in a first functional entity in a wireless communication system that includes a plurality of base stations for providing wireless connectivity, comprising:

receiving, at the first functional entity, channel state information associated with a plurality of wireless communication channels between the plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile units;

selecting a plurality of candidate sets of base stations from the plurality of base stations and, for each of the candidate sets, selecting corresponding subsets of the plurality of mobile units for association with the corresponding candidate set, wherein the selection of the candidate sets and the associated subsets of mobile units is performed using the channel state information;

selecting one of the candidate sets of base stations and associated subset of mobile units, wherein the selected candidate set has the largest sum-rate for transmission to its associated subset of mobile units; and

communicating information indicative of the selected candidate set and associated subsets of mobile units to the base stations in the selected candidate set.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the channel state information comprises receiving information indicative of at least one of a phase of a signal transmitted over the wireless communication channels, amplitude of a signal transmitted over the wireless communication channels, long-term variations in the plurality of wireless communication channels, fast fading of the plurality of wireless communication channels, covariance of the plurality of wireless communication channels, and a location of said at least one mobile unit.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving information indicating at least one of channel state information, shared data, or scheduling requirements of the plurality of mobile units.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein selecting the candidate sets and the associated subsets of mobile units comprises selecting the candidate sets and the associated subsets of mobile units using the channel state information and the scheduling requirements.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the candidate sets, selecting the subsets of mobile units, and allocating resources to the candidate sets comprises determining at least one of a beamforming coefficient, a power allocation, indexes of the base stations in the candidate sets, or indices associated with mobile units in the selected subsets.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the candidate sets comprises selecting subsets of the plurality of base stations that include less than all of the plurality of base stations.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein selecting the subsets of the plurality of base stations comprises selecting the subsets from among a predetermined plurality of subsets of the plurality of base stations.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein selecting the subsets of the plurality of base stations comprises iteratively adding base stations from the plurality of base stations to the subsets.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein selecting the subsets of the plurality of base stations comprises iteratively adding base stations and mobile units based on at least one of a throughput until the number of base stations in a selected subset reaches a selected maximum dimension or a maximum backhaul throughput.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein communicating the information indicative of the selected candidate set of base stations and the associated subset of the mobile units comprises transmitting the information to the base stations so that signals transmitted or received over the plurality of wireless communication channels between the base stations in the selected candidate set and the associated subsets of mobile units can be combined coherently.

11. A resource allocator in a wireless communication system that includes a plurality of base stations for providing wireless connectivity, the resource allocator configured to:

receive channel state information associated with a plurality of wireless communication channels between the first plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile units;

select a plurality of candidate sets of base stations from the first plurality of base stations and select, for each of the candidate sets, corresponding subsets of the plurality of mobile units for association with the candidate set, selection of the candidate sets and the subsets being performed using the channel state information;

select one of the candidate sets, wherein the selected candidate set has the largest sum-rate of the candidate sets for transmission to its associated subset of mobile units; and

communicate information indicative of the selected candidate set of base stations and the associated subsets to the base stations in the selected candidate set.

12. The resource allocator of claim 11 , wherein the resource allocator is configured to perform the joint selection using at least one of a phase of a signal transmitted over the wireless communication channels, amplitude of a signal transmitted over the wireless communication channels, long-term variations in the plurality of wireless communication channels, fast fading of the plurality of wireless communication channels, covariance of the plurality of wireless communication channels, and locations of the plurality of mobile units.

13. The resource allocator of claim 11 , wherein the resource allocator is configured to determine, using the channel state information, at least one of a beamforming coefficient, a power allocation, indexes of the base stations in the coordination clusters, or indices of the plurality of mobile units.