On the Evolution of Multi-Cell Scheduling in 3GPP LTE / LTE-A

This paper provides a holistic overview of multi-cell scheduling strategies in emerging wireless systems. Towards this objective, the evolution of interference management techniques is thoroughly investigated from simple inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) techniques towards more advanced coordinated multipoint transmissions (CoMP), while comparing and contrasting their common features and differences. Finally CoMP is explored in detail as an advanced and challenging mechanism to fully cooperate between adjacent cells in order to have an efficient resource allocation and inter-cell interference mitigation in multi-cell environments.