Multiple access cellular communication with dynamic slot allocation and reduced co-channel interference

摘要

An apparatus and method reduces co-channel interference in multiple-access cellular communication systems in which frame time or frequency slots are allocated between uplink and downlink. An omnidirectional antenna or a set of directional antennas are used in each cell base station to communicate with users. The frame slots (710,715,720) in which the antennas communicate uplink and downlink information are arranged in accordance with a predetermined frame organization to reduce mixed co-channel interference (CCI). Mixed CCI occurs when a downlink transmission from one base station antenna in a given cell interferes with uplink reception in another base station antenna in a frequency reuse (FR) cell. A potentially-interfering antenna in a given cell is therefore directed to transmit downlink information in a different portion of the frame than that in which a potentially-interfered-with antenna in the frequency reuse cell receives uplink information. The frame slots may be allocated such that only a portion (720) of the available slots are dynamically allocated in accordance with user demand, while the remaining portions are assigned to either uplink (710) or downlink (715) communication.