Method and apparatus for interference management in a wireless communication system

Abstract

Systems and methodologies are described herein that facilitate interference control and resource management in a wireless communication system. As described herein, a base station, terminal, and/or other entity in a wireless communication system that observes interference from one or more other network entities can construct and communicate resource utilization messages (RUMs) in order to request the interfering network entities to conduct power backoff on designated resources. Parameters constructed as a function of quality of service (QoS) and/or priority metrics (such as head-of-line delays, queue lengths, burst sizes, delay targets, average rates, or the like) can be included within the RUM, such that an entity receiving the RUM can compute QoS changes associated with various power backoff levels in order to select a power backoff level that maximizes overall system QoS performance.

1 . A method for facilitating interference management on a downlink of a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
 determining, by a base station in a first cell, a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in the first cell;   determining, by the base station, a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission and the second cell being different from the first cell;   comparing the benefit to the degradation; and   determining, by the base station, transmission attributes based at least on the comparison of the benefit to the degradation, the transmission attributes including at least one of transmit power, resource selection, precoding matrix and beamforming vector.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmission attributes are determined in response to the degradation to the second user equipment being greater than the benefit to the first user equipment. 
     
     
         3 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 a first set of codes for causing a computer to determine a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in a first cell; 
 a second set of codes for causing the computer to determine a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission, the second cell being different from the first cell; 
 a third set of codes for causing the computer to compare the benefit to the degradation; and 
 a fourth set of codes for causing the computer to determine transmission attributes based at least on the comparison of the benefit to the degradation, the transmission attributes including at least one of transmit power, resource selection, precoding matrix and beamforming vector. 
   
     
     
         4 . The computer program product of  claim 3 , wherein the transmission attributes are determined in response to the degradation to the second user equipment being greater than the benefit to the first user equipment. 
     
     
         5 . An apparatus, comprising:
 means for determining a benefit to a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in the first cell;   means for determining a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission and the second cell being different from the first cell;   means for comparing the benefit to the degradation; and   means for determining transmission attributes based at least on the comparison of the benefit to the degradation, the transmission attributes including at least one of transmit power, resource selection, precoding matrix and beamforming vector.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the transmission attributes are determined in response to the degradation to the second user equipment being greater than the benefit to the first user equipment. 
     
     
         7 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a resource coordination module configured to:
 determine a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in the first cell; 
 determine a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission and the second cell being different from the first cell; 
 compare the benefit to the degradation; and 
 determine transmission attributes, wherein the transmission attributes based at least on the comparison of the benefit to the degradation, the transmission attributes including at least one of transmit power, resource selection, precoding matrix and beamforming vector. 
   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the transmission attributes are determined in response to the degradation to the second user equipment being greater than the benefit to the first user equipment. 
     
     
         9 . A method for facilitating interference management on a downlink of a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
 computing, by a base station within a cell, a total benefit to a user equipment within the cell and to one or more out-of-cell user equipment for one or more different transmission attributes; and   selecting, by the base station, at least one of the one or more different transmission attributes that optimizes the total benefit to the user equipment within the cell and to the one or more out-of-cell user equipment.   
     
     
         10 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 a first set of codes for causing a computer to compute a total benefit to a user equipment within a cell and to one or more out-of-cell user equipment for one or more different transmission attributes; and 
 a second set of codes for causing the computer to select at least one of the one or more different transmission attributes that optimizes the total benefit to the user equipment within a cell and to the one or more out-of-cell user equipment, wherein the computing and the selecting is performed by a base station within the cell. 
   
     
     
         11 . An apparatus, comprising:
 means for computing a total benefit to a user equipment within a cell and to one or more out-of-cell user equipment for one or more different transmission attributes; and   means for selecting at least one of the one or more different transmission attributes that optimizes the total benefit to the user equipment within a cell and to the one or more out-of-cell user equipment.   
     
     
         12 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a resource coordination module configured to:
 compute a total benefit to a user equipment within a cell and to one or more out-of-cell user equipment for one or more different transmission attributes; and 
 select at least one of the one or more different transmission attributes that optimizes the total benefit to the user equipment within a cell and to the one or more out-of-cell user equipment. 
   
     
     
         13 . A method for facilitating interference management, the method comprising:
 receiving, by user equipment, scheduling information to contend for a resource;   transmitting, by the user equipment, one or more coordination messages to one or more base stations in response to the received scheduling information;   receiving, by the user equipment, transmission attributes from at least one of the one or more base stations; and   transmitting, by the user equipment, an estimated signal to interference and noise ratio or channel quality indicator based on the received transmission attributes.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein one or more of the coordination messages are interference management requests that include information indicative of a request for a resource. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein each of the one or more coordination messages includes one or more of a traffic priority information, a channel strength information from the base station to the user equipment, a channel strength information from a serving base station to the user equipment, or a signal interference information. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the traffic priority information is based on one or more of the following: a quality of service characteristic, a quality of service class identifier label, an average rate at which the user equipment has been served in the past, a number of delays for packets in a buffer awaiting transmission, head-of-line delay, buffer length in bytes or buffer length in number of packets. 
     
     
         17 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 a first set of codes for causing a computer to receive scheduling information to contend for a resource; 
 a second set of codes for causing the computer to transmit one or more coordination messages to one or more base stations in response to the received scheduling information; 
 a third set of codes for causing the computer to receive transmission attributes from at least one of the one or more base stations; and 
 a fourth set of codes for causing the computer to transmit an estimated signal to interference and noise ratio or channel quality indicator based on the transmission attributes. 
   
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein one or more of the coordination messages to one or more base stations are interference management requests that include information indicative of a request for a resource. 
     
     
         19 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein each of one or more coordination messages includes one or more of a traffic priority information, a channel strength information from the base station to the user equipment, a channel strength information from a serving base station to the user equipment, or a signal interference information. 
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the traffic priority information is based on one or more of the following: a quality of service characteristic, a quality of service class identifier label, an average rate at which the user equipment has been served in the past, a number of delays for packets in a buffer awaiting transmission, head-of-line delay, buffer length in bytes or buffer length in number of packets. 
     
     
         21 . An apparatus comprising:
 means for receiving scheduling information to contend for a resource;   means for transmitting one or more coordination messages to one or more base stations in response to the received scheduling information;   means for receiving transmission attributes from at least one of the one or more base stations; and   means for transmitting an estimated signal to interference and noise ratio or channel quality indicator based on the received transmission attributes.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein one or more of the coordination messages are interference management requests that include information indicative of a request for a resource. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein each of one or more coordination messages includes at least one of a traffic priority information, a channel strength information from the base station to the user equipment, a channel strength information from a serving base station to the user equipment, or a signal interference information. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the traffic priority information is based on one or more of the following: a quality of service characteristic, a quality of service class identifier label, an average rate at which the user equipment has been served in the past, a number of delays for packets in a buffer awaiting transmission, head-of-line delay, buffer length in bytes or buffer length in number of packets. 
     
     
         25 . An apparatus comprising:
 a transceiver configured to:
 receive scheduling information to contend for a resource; 
 transmit one or more coordination messages to one or more base stations in response to the received scheduling information; 
 receive transmission attributes from at least one of the one or more base stations; and 
 transmit an estimated signal to interference and noise ratio or channel quality indicator on a basis of based on the transmission attributes. 
   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein one or more of the coordination messages to one or more base stations are interference management requests that include information indicative of a request for a resource. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein each of one or more coordination messages includes one or more of a traffic priority information, a channel strength information from the base station to the user equipment, a channel strength information from a serving base station to the user equipment, or a signal interference information. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the traffic priority information is based on one or more of the following: a quality of service characteristic, a quality of service class identifier label, an average rate at which the user equipment has been served in the past, a number of delays for packets in a buffer awaiting transmission, head-of-line delay, buffer length in bytes or buffer length in number of packets. 
     
     
         29 . A method for facilitating interference management on an uplink of a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
 determining, by a first base station, a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in the first cell;   determining, by the base station, a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission and resulting from interference at a second base station in the second cell that is caused by the first user equipment, the second cell being different from the first cell;   comparing the benefit to the degradation; and   scheduling the transmission by the first user equipment if the benefit to the first user equipment is greater than the degradation to the second user equipment.   
     
     
         30 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 a first set of codes for causing a computer to determine a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in the first cell; 
 a second set of codes for causing the computer to determine a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission and resulting from interference at a second base station in the second cell that is caused by the first user equipment, the second cell being different from the first cell; 
 a third set of codes for causing the computer to compare the benefit to the degradation; and 
 a fourth set of codes for causing the computer to schedule the transmission by the first user equipment if the benefit to the first user equipment is greater than the degradation to the second user equipment. 
   
     
     
         31 . An apparatus, comprising:
 means for determining a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in the first cell;   means for determining a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission and resulting from interference at a second base station in the second cell that is caused by the first user equipment, the second cell being different from the first cell;   means for comparing the benefit to the degradation; and   means for scheduling the transmission by the first user equipment if the benefit to the first user equipment is greater than the degradation to the second user equipment.   
     
     
         32 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a resource coordination module configured to:
 determine a benefit to a first user equipment to which a transmission can be scheduled, the first user equipment being in the first cell; 
 determine a degradation to a second user equipment in a second cell, the degradation being associated with the transmission and resulting from interference at a second base station in the second cell that is caused by the first user equipment, the second cell being different from the first cell; 
 compare the benefit to the degradation; and 
 schedule the transmission by the first user equipment if the benefit to the first user equipment is greater than the degradation to the second user equipment. 
   
     
     
         33 . A method for facilitating interference management on an uplink of a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a base station in a first cell, a buffer status request; and   transmitting, by the base station, an interference management request, wherein the interference management request is based on the buffer status request.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the transmitting the interference management request comprises transmitting an interference management request over-the-air to an out-of-cell user equipment. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the interference management request is a resource utilization message. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising scheduling, by the base station, transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on the information indicative of intended transmit power. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising scheduling, by the base station, transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on a determined priority of traffic intended for the user equipment. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising scheduling, by the base station, transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on interference information associated with the user equipment. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the interference information comprises channel gain on resources assigned to the user equipment or channel gains from the user equipment in the first cell to a base station in a second cell. 
     
     
         40 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 a first set of codes for causing a computer to receive a buffer status request; and 
 a second set of codes for causing the computer to transmit an interference management request, wherein the interference management request is based on the buffer status request, and wherein the receiving and the transmitting is performed by a base station in a first cell. 
   
     
     
         41 . The computer program product of  claim 40 , wherein transmitting the interference management request comprises transmitting an interference management request over-the-air to an out-of-cell user equipment. 
     
     
         42 . The computer program product of  claim 40 , wherein the interference management request is a resource utilization message. 
     
     
         43 . The computer program product of  claim 40 , further comprising a third set of codes for causing the computer to schedule transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on the information indicative of intended transmit power. 
     
     
         44 . The computer program product of  claim 40 , further comprising a third set of codes for causing the computer to schedule transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on a determined priority of traffic intended for the user equipment in the first cell. 
     
     
         45 . The computer program product of  claim 40 , further comprising scheduling transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on interference information associated with the user equipment in the first cell. 
     
     
         46 . The computer program product of  claim 45 , wherein the interference information comprises channel gain on resources assigned to the user equipment in the first cell or channel gains from the user equipment in the first cell to a base station in a second cell. 
     
     
         47 . An apparatus, comprising:
 means for receiving a buffer status request; and   means for transmitting an interference management request, wherein the interference management request is based on the buffer status request, and wherein the receiving and the transmitting is performed by a base station in a first cell.   
     
     
         48 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , wherein the transmitting the interference management request comprises transmitting an interference management request over-the-air to an out-of-cell user equipment. 
     
     
         49 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , wherein the interference management request is a resource utilization message. 
     
     
         50 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , further comprising means for scheduling transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on the information indicative of intended transmit power. 
     
     
         51 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , further comprising means for scheduling transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on a determined priority of traffic intended for the user equipment in the first cell. 
     
     
         52 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , further comprising means for scheduling transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on interference information associated with the user equipment in the first cell. 
     
     
         53 . The apparatus of  claim 52 , wherein the interference information comprises channel gain on resources assigned to the user equipment in the first cell or channel gains from the user equipment in the first cell to a base station in a second cell. 
     
     
         54 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a resource coordination module configured to:
 receive a buffer status request; and 
 transmit an interference management request, wherein the interference management request is based on the buffer status request, and wherein the receiving and the transmitting is performed by a base station in a first cell. 
   
     
     
         55 . The apparatus of  claim 54 , wherein the transmitting the interference management request comprises transmitting an interference management request over-the-air to an out-of-cell user equipment. 
     
     
         56 . The apparatus of  claim 54 , wherein the interference management request is a resource utilization message. 
     
     
         57 . The apparatus of  claim 54 , further comprising scheduling transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on the information indicative of intended transmit power. 
     
     
         58 . The apparatus of  claim 54 , further comprising scheduling transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on a determined priority of traffic intended for the user equipment in the first cell. 
     
     
         59 . The apparatus of  claim 54 , further comprising scheduling transmission of data from user equipment in the first cell, wherein the scheduling is based on interference information associated with the user equipment in the first cell. 
     
     
         60 . The apparatus of  claim 59 , wherein the interference information comprises channel gain on resources assigned to the user equipment in the first cell or channel gains from the user equipment in the first cell to a base station in a second cell.