Downlink scheduling across a cellular carrier aggregation

1. A method for scheduling data transmissions from a base station to user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

determining, by a cellular network, a plurality of channel quality indicator (CQI) values that correspond to a plurality of UE, wherein:

for each UE of the plurality of UE, a CQI value of the plurality of CQI values is determined for each carrier component of a plurality of carrier components that make up a carrier aggregation; and

determining, by the cellular network, an average data transfer rate for each UE of the plurality of UE;

creating, by a scheduler system of the cellular network, a scheduling matrix comprising a plurality of elements storing a plurality of instantaneous data transfer rates based on the determined plurality of CQI values, wherein:

each row of the scheduling matrix corresponds to a physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of PRBs;

each column of the scheduling matrix corresponds to a UE of the plurality of UE; and

each PRB of the plurality of PRBs corresponds to one of the plurality of carrier components;

normalizing, by the scheduler system of the cellular network, each element of the plurality of elements of the scheduling matrix by modifying the plurality of instantaneous data transfer rates based on a plurality of average data transfer rates, wherein:

each average data transfer rate of the plurality of average data transfer rates corresponds to a UE of the plurality of UE mapped to the element of the plurality of elements; and

making, by the scheduler system of the cellular network, scheduling decisions for the plurality of UE based on the normalized scheduling matrix.

2. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the base station of the cellular network, data to the plurality of UE based on the scheduling decisions.

3. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 1 , wherein the cellular network uses 5G New Radio (NR) Radio Access Technology (RAT) for communication with the UE.

4. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 1 , wherein:

for each row of the scheduling matrix, removing entries that correspond to a carrier component of the plurality of carrier components for which the corresponding UE of the row is out of range of communications from the base station on the carrier component.

5. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 1 , wherein:

for each row of the scheduling matrix, removing entries that correspond to a PRB of the plurality of PRBs that is outside of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) for which the corresponding UE of the row is assigned.

6. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 1 , wherein for each UE of the plurality of UE, the CQI value of the plurality of CQI values that corresponds to each carrier component of the plurality of carrier components and the UE are used to calculate the average data transfer rate.

7. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying, by the scheduler system, an element of the plurality of elements of the scheduling matrix that has a maximum value among the plurality of elements.

8. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 7 , further comprising:

assigning the PRB of the plurality of PRBs that corresponds to the element to the UE of the plurality of UE that corresponds to the element.

9. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining that an additional PRB is not needed for data transmission to the UE for which the PRB is assigned; and

removing all other entries for the UE within the scheduling matrix in response to determining that the additional PRB is not needed for data transmission to the UE.

10. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining that an additional PRB is needed for data transmission to the UE for which the PRB is assigned; and

updating the data transfer rate for all other elements mapped to the UE within the scheduling matrix in response to determining that the additional PRB is needed for data transmission to the UE.

11. The method for scheduling data transmissions from the base station to the UE of claim 10 , wherein updating the data transfer rate comprises all other elements mapped to the UE being decreased in magnitude.

12. A cellular network that schedules downlink data transmissions, the cellular network comprising:

a base station that comprises a scheduler system, wherein the base station is configured to:

determine a plurality of channel quality indicator (CQI) values that correspond to a plurality of UE, wherein:

for each UE of the plurality of UE, a CQI value of the plurality of CQI values is determined for each carrier component of a plurality of carrier components that make up a carrier aggregation; and

determine, an average data transfer rate for each UE of the plurality of UE;

create a scheduling matrix comprising a plurality of elements storing a plurality of instantaneous data transfer rates, wherein:

a first dimension of the scheduling matrix corresponds to a physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of PRBs;

a second dimension of the scheduling matrix corresponds to a UE of the plurality of UE; and

each PRB of the plurality of PRBs corresponds to one of the plurality of carrier components;

normalize each element of the plurality of elements of the scheduling matrix by modifying the plurality of instantaneous data transfer rates based on a plurality of average data transfer rates, wherein:

each average rate of the plurality of average data transfer rates corresponds to a UE of the plurality of UE mapped to the element of the plurality of elements; and

make scheduling decisions for the plurality of UE based on the normalized scheduling matrix.

13. The cellular network that schedules downlink data transmissions of claim 12 , wherein the cellular network further comprises the plurality of UE.

14. The cellular network that schedules downlink data transmissions of claim 12 , wherein the base station is a gNodeB and the cellular network is a 5G New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) cellular network.

15. The cellular network that schedules downlink data transmissions of claim 14 , wherein the cellular network comprises a plurality of base stations that each is configured to perform the functions of the base station.

16. The cellular network that schedules downlink data transmissions of claim 12 , wherein the base station is further configured to transmit data to the plurality of UE based on the scheduling decisions.

17. The cellular network that schedules downlink data transmissions of claim 12 , wherein the base station is further configured to:

identify an element of the plurality of elements of the scheduling matrix that has a maximum value among the plurality of elements; and

assign the PRB of the plurality of PRBs that corresponds to the element to the UE of the plurality of UE that corresponds to the element.

18. The cellular network that schedules downlink data transmissions of claim 17 , wherein the base station is further configured to:

determine that an additional PRB is not needed for data transmission to the UE for which the PRB is assigned; and

remove all other entries for the UE within the scheduling matrix in response to determining that the additional PRB is not needed for data transmission to the UE.