Methods and devices for cooperative scheduling in a wireless communications network

1. A method of multi-streaming data, comprising:

obtaining, at a scheduling device, first information based on transmission conditions between a first base station and a first set of users associated with the first base station;

obtaining, at the scheduling device, second information based on transmission conditions between a second base station and a second set of users associated with the second base station;

calculating, at the scheduling device, metrics for the first set of users based on the first and second information, the first set users including a subset of users that are associated with the first and second base station, the first and second information including parameters that i) indicate an impact of the transmission conditions between the first base station and the first set of users on scheduling at the second base station, and ii) indicate an impact of the transmission conditions between the second base station and the second set of users on scheduling at the first base station;

selecting a user from among the first set of users based on the calculated metrics; and

transmitting a first message such that the data is sent from the first base station to the selected user.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting a second message such that the first information is sent to the second base station.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first information is sent to the second base station via at least one of a backhaul and an air interface.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting the user includes selecting the user having a largest one of the calculated metrics.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculating the metrics includes calculating the metrics for the subset of users based on the first and second information, average throughputs received by the subset of users from the first base station, and average throughputs received by the subset of users from the second base station.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculating the metrics includes calculating the metrics for the subset of users based on the first and second information, estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the first base station, and estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the second base station.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein,

the first information is at least one of a throughput delivered to the first set of users by the first base station, a load at the first base station, a signal to noise ratio ensemble for the first set of users with respect to the first base station, an energy cost per bit for the first set of users with respect to the first base station, and an operator policy with respect to the first base station, and

the second information is at least one of a throughput delivered to the second set of users by the second base station, a load at the second base station, a signal to noise ratio ensemble for the second set of users with respect to the second base station, an energy cost per bit for the second set of users with respect to the second base station, and an operator policy with respect to the second base station.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining third information based on transmission conditions between a third base station and a third set of users associated with the third base station, wherein,

at least one user in the subset is also associated with the third base station, and

the calculating the metrics for the first set of users includes calculating the metrics based on the first, second, and third information.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the metrics for the subset of users are further based on average throughputs received by the subset of users from the first base station, average throughputs received by the subset of users from the second base station, and average throughputs received by the subset of users from the third base station.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the metrics for the subset of users are further based on estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the first base station, estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the second base station, and estimated instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the third base station.

11. A device for multi-streaming data, comprising:

a scheduler including,

a receiver configured to,

obtain first information based on transmission conditions between a first base station and a first set of users associated with the first base station, and

obtain second information based on transmission conditions between a second base station and a second set of users associated with the second base station,

a processor configured to,

calculate metrics for the first set of users based on the first and second information, the first set users including a subset of users that are associated with the first and second base station, the first and second information including parameters that i) indicate an impact of the transmission conditions between the first base station and the first set of users on scheduling at the second base station, and ii) indicate an impact of the transmission conditions between the second base station and the second set of users on scheduling at the first base station, and

select a user from among the first set of users based on the calculated metrics; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a first message such that the data is sent from the first base station to the selected user.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the transmitter is configured to:

transmit a second message such that the first information is sent to the second base station.

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein the first information is sent to the second base station via at least one of a backhaul and an air interface.

14. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to select the user having a largest calculated metric.

15. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured calculate the metrics for the subset of users based on the first and second information, average throughputs received by the subset of users from the first base station, and average throughputs received by the subset of users from the second base station.

16. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to calculate the metrics for the subset of users based on the first and second information, estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the first base station, and estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the second base station.

17. The device of claim 11 , wherein,

the first information is at least one of a throughput delivered to the first set of users by the first base station, a load at the first base station, a signal to noise ratio ensemble for the first set of users with respect to the first base station, an energy cost per bit for the first set of users with respect to the first base station, and an operator policy with respect to the first base station, and

the second information is at least one of a throughput delivered to the second set of users by the second base station, a load at the second base station, a signal to noise ratio ensemble for the second set of users with respect to the second base station, an energy cost per bit for the second set of users with respect to the second base station, and an operator policy with respect to the second base station.

18. The device of claim 11 , wherein the receiver is configured to obtain third information based on transmission conditions between a third base station and a third set of users associated with the third base station, at least one user in the subset being also associated with the third base station, and the processor is configured to calculate the metrics for the first set of users includes based on the first, second, and third information.

19. The device of claim 18 , wherein the metrics for the subset of users are further based on average throughputs received by the subset of users from the first base station, average throughputs received by the subset of users from the second base station, and average throughputs received by the subset of users from the third base station.

20. The device of claim 8 , wherein the metrics for the subset of users are further based on estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the first base station, estimated instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the second base station, and estimates of instantaneous throughputs to be received by the subset of users from the third base station.