Game-Theoretic Mode Scheduling for Dynamic TDD in 5G Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a game-theoretic, decentralized approach for mode scheduling in dynamic TDD systems, effectively managing interference and outperforming static configurations in dense small-cell scenarios.

Contribution

It proposes a novel low-complexity, decentralized solution for joint power allocation and mode scheduling using game theory, addressing NP-hard interference challenges in 5G systems.

Findings

Outperforms static TDD in dense small-cell scenarios

Decentralized power allocation effectively manages interference

Game-theoretic scheduling achieves near-optimal equilibrium

Abstract

Dynamic time-division duplexing (TDD) enables independent uplink/downlink mode scheduling at each cell, based on the local traffic. However, this creates cross-interference among cells. Thus, the joint power allocation and scheduling problem becomes mixed-integer non-convex and turns out to be NP-hard. We propose a low-complexity and decentralized solution, where power allocation and scheduling are decoupled. First, power is allocated in a decentralized fashion, and then modes are scheduled by a non-cooperative game to achieve the mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium. We consider two possible approaches to compute the payoffs in the game, according to the cross-interference power model and the entailed communication overhead among cells. Simulation results are presented for an outdoor dense small-cell scenario, showing that our approaches outperform static TDD significantly.