Maximum throughput scheduling

In wireless communication, when a channel is shared among many stations, the algorithm for scheduling transmissions to or from the different stations on that channel which maximises its throughput. In this case scheduling means addressing a given transmission to a given subscriber on the downlink or granting a given subscriber the permission to transmit on the uplink. Because in radiocommunications the bit rate depends heavily on the C/I (carrier-to-interference ratio) it follows that maximum throughput will be achieved if every transmission is addressed to the receiver with best C/I at the moment of the transmission. Thus all transmissions may be addressed to only one receiver if it happens continuously to enjoy the highest C/I and if enough data is available to be transmitted to that receiver. All other subscribers will have to wait until their C/I happens to become the best or until all subscribers with higher C/I have no more data to receive.

This scheduling algorithm is unfair to the majority of the subscribers because a single subscriber located close to the transmitter and enjoying high C/I may gain exclusive use of the shared channel for the entire time of its operation, while subscribers further away from the transmitter may almost never stand a chance to use the shared channel because their C/I will always be lower.

This algorithm would maximise the throughput in a given network, but it would not be likely to maximum the profit for the network operator because the levels of customer satisfaction would remain low due to many customers experiencing long or permanent outages (in a reasonably loaded network the majority of the customers would never get the highest C/I and would never be able to receive their data).

Unlike the Round Robin algorithm this one relyes in the downlink on cooperating subscriber terminals which truthfully report their measured downlink C/I.