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Joint resource allocation over licensed and unlicensed spectrum in U-LTE networks

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Abstract

By sharing unlicensed spectrum with Wi-Fi networks, unlicensed LTE (U-LTE) is one of the promising approaches to further improve LTE network throughput. However, the problem of coexistence with Wi-Fi networks is one of the main challenges of U-LTE technology. In this work, we study joint resource allocation for LTE over the legacy licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum to maximize the benefit of U-LTE in a multi-cell scenario. Specifically, we formulate a mixed-integer power-channel-time allocation problem aiming at maximizing the network throughput, with the constraints of protecting the coexisting Wi-Fi networks and satisfying hardware limitation on bandwidth occupancy of user equipments (UEs), while guaranteeing per UE’s throughput. To solve the resource allocation problem, we exploit the delay column generation approach to decompose the original optimization problem and then propose a novel algorithm based on Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions. Furthermore, we analyze the gap between the proposed algorithm and the optimal solution. Simulation results show the advantage of the proposed algorithm in terms of the network throughput and convergence speed.

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Acknowledgements

The work of Hangguan Shan was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation Program of China under Grants 61771427 and U1709214, and in part by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation in the form of ZJU-SUTD IDEA Grant. The work of Yu Cheng was supported in part by NSF Grants CNS-1816908 and ECCS-1610874. The work of Lin X. Cai was partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant ECCS-1554576.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Xiaojian Zhen, Hangguan Shan & Guanding Yu

  2. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Information Processing and Communication Networks, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Xiaojian Zhen, Hangguan Shan & Guanding Yu

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Yu Cheng & Lin X. Cai

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  1. Xiaojian Zhen
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Correspondence to Hangguan Shan.

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Zhen, X., Shan, H., Yu, G. et al. Joint resource allocation over licensed and unlicensed spectrum in U-LTE networks. Wireless Netw 27, 1089–1102 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11276-020-02502-0

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