Method and apparatus of assigning and sharing channels in a cellular communication system

摘要

A method of assigning and sharing channels in a cellular communications system having a plurality of cells forming a plurality of cell clusters of size N. Each cell has at least one base station capable of sending and receiving signals and each cell has a plurality of adjacent cells. A plurality of distinct channels are allotted for use by the system and divided into N groups which are assigned among the N cells of each cell cluster so that each cell cluster has a substantially similar assignment of distinct channel groups. Each group of distinct channels is divided into a plurality of channel subgroups wherein each subgroup of channels of a cell substantially corresponds to an adjacent cell. The subgroups of channels are respectively designated for borrowing by cells adjacent to a corresponding cell. When all of the channels assigned to a cell are utilized, a channel can be borrowed at limited transmitted power, from a corresponding subgroup of channels of an adjacent cellular gateway. The borrowed channel is used with limited transmitted power so that co-channel interference caused by the channel borrowing is essentially the same as that without channel borrowing.