Allocation of frequency spectrum in spectrum-on-demand systems

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method and a Radio Resource Management arrangement in a wireless communication system for allocating communication of one or several services to at least one of several available frequency spectrum resources. The method comprises the steps of categorizing said available frequency spectrum resources with respect to volatility, and categorizing said one or several services with respect to compressibility, and assigning said one or several services to the available spectrum resources such that compressible services are assigned to volatile spectrum resources.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method in a wireless communication system for allocating communication of one or several services to at least one of several available frequency spectrum resources, wherein each service provides data communication for a user device, wherein the method comprises:
 categorizing each of said available frequency spectrum resources with respect to volatility, wherein the volatility of each available frequency spectrum resource corresponds to the variability of spectrum availability for data communication on that frequency spectrum resource; 
 categorizing each of said one or several services with respect to compressibility, wherein the compressibility of a service corresponds to a maximum bit rate divided by a guaranteed bit rate; and 
 assigning said one or several services to the available spectrum resources such that compressible services are assigned to volatile spectrum resources. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , comprising the additional step of:
 assigning the services to the available spectrum resources in a decreasing order such that services of higher compressibility are assigned to spectrum resources with higher volatility and services of lower compressibility are assigned to spectrum resources with lower volatility. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , comprising the additional step of: assigning possible uncompressible services to non-volatile spectrum resources. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , comprising the additional step of: assigning said several services to the available spectrum resources based on the properties of a single service from among the several services. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , comprising the additional step of: assigning said several services to the available spectrum resources based on the single joint compressibility of the services. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , comprising the additional steps of:
 categorizing said one or several services such that sub flows of the services are categorized with respect to compressibility; and 
 assigning said one or several services to the available spectrum resources such that compressible sub flows of the services are assigned to volatile spectrum resources. 
 
     
     
       7. A Radio Resource Management (RRM) node configured to be operative in a wireless communication system and to operatively allocate communication of one or several services to at least one of several available frequency spectrum resources, wherein each service provides data communication for a user device, wherein the RRM node is further configured to, operatively:
 categorize each of said available frequency spectrum resources with respect to volatility, wherein the volatility of each available frequency spectrum resource corresponds to the corresponds to a maximum bit rate divided by a guaranteed bit rate; 
 categorize said one or several services with respect to compressibility, wherein the compressibility of a service corresponds to a maximum bit rate divided by a guaranteed bit rate; and 
 assign said one or several services to the available spectrum resources such that compressible services are assigned to volatile spectrum resources. 
 
     
     
       8. The RRM node of  claim 7 , wherein the RRM node is further configured to operatively assign the services to the available spectrum resources in a decreasing order such that services of higher compressibility are assigned to spectrum resources with higher volatility and services of lower compressibility are assigned to spectrum resources with lower volatility. 
     
     
       9. The RRM node of  claim 7 , wherein the RRM node is further configured to operatively assign possible uncompressible services to non-volatile spectrum resources. 
     
     
       10. The RRM node of  claim 7 , wherein the RRM node is further configured to operatively assign said several services to the available spectrum resources based on the properties of a single service from among the services, such that the services are assigned to volatile spectrum resources if the single service is compressible. 
     
     
       11. The RRM node of  claim 7 , wherein the RRM node is further configured to operatively assign said several services to the available spectrum resources based on the single joint compressibility of the services. 
     
     
       12. The RRM node of  claim 7 , wherein the RRM node is further configured to operatively:
 categorize said one or several services such that sub flows of the services are categorized with respect to compressibility; and 
 assign said one or several services to the available spectrum resources such that compressible sub flows of the services are assigned to volatile spectrum resources.