Cooperative Radio Resource Scheduling in Wireless Communication Networks and Methods for Using It

Abstract

A radio network is operated by: a step of converting received fronthaul communication from a plurality of radio units (RUs) into backhaul communication transmitted to a communication network according to a communication standard — the plurality of radio units are configured to participate in wireless communication with a plurality of user equipment (UEs) through a radio channel of the radio network —; a step of converting received backhaul communication from a communication network into fronthaul communication transmitted to a plurality of RUs according to a communication standard; a step of providing a shared scheduler associated with a radio channel partitioned into a plurality of physical radio blocks (PRBs) — the plurality of PRBs are accessible by a plurality of UEs through the RUs — and a step of generating a UE-PRB-RU assignment through the shared scheduler that associates PRBs among the plurality of PRBs with selected UEs among the plurality of UEs and selected RUs among the plurality of RUs without UE-RU pre-assignment — through the UE-PRB-RU assignment, the fronthaul communication controls wireless communication between a plurality of UEs and a plurality of RUs —.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the control of wireless communication networks. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0002] Now, the attached drawings will be referenced, and these attached drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in these attached drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram / block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting example of a communication network according to various embodiments described in this specification. FIG. 2 is an illustration / block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting example of a radio network according to various embodiments described in this specification. FIG. 3 is an illustration / block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting example of a radio network according to various embodiments described in this specification. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram / block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting example of a centralized baseband unit according to various embodiments described herein. FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary, non-limiting example of a method according to various embodiments described in this specification. FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary, non-limiting example of a method according to the various embodiments described in this specification. FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary, non-limiting example of a method according to various embodiments described in this specification. FIG. 8a illustrates a schematic block diagram showing the components of an exemplary radio network according to various embodiments described in this specification. FIG. 8b illustrates exemplary signal flows according to various embodiments described herein. FIG. 8c illustrates a schematic block diagram showing the components of an exemplary radio network according to various embodiments described herein. FIG. 8d illustrates various schematic block diagrams showing exemplary configurations of radio networks according to various embodiments described in this specification. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0003] Now, one or more examples are described with reference to the drawings, in which the same reference numbers are used throughout to refer to the same elements. In the following description, many details are presented for illustrative purposes to provide a sufficient understanding of the various examples. However, it is evident that the various examples can be implemented without these details (and without applying to any specific networked environment or standard).

[0004] Now, referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram / block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting example of a communication network (125), such as a core communication network or other wide-area network, according to various embodiments described herein is shown. In particular, the communication network (125) includes a plurality of network elements (34), such as the illustrated network elements (34-1, 34-2, and 34-3).

[0005] In various examples, network elements (34) are interconnected via transmission links, which may be wired, optical, and / or wireless links, for example, that support encapsulated and encrypted transmission. Network elements (34) may be implemented, for example, by the use of radio access network (RAN) controllers, RAN intelligent controllers (RICs), non-real-time, near-real-time, or real-time, programmable switches, edge servers, soft switches, network gateways, media distribution hubs, and / or other routers, edge devices, switches, or network nodes and combinations thereof, which themselves may be implemented through special-purpose hardware and / or general-purpose hardware computing programmed to perform their respective functions.

[0006] The communication network (125) operates to support communication including communication via the radio network (45). When operating, the communication network (125) transmits data received from content sources (175) or other data content transmission clients, and / or data that transmits other communication between wireless communication devices. Such data may include, for example, audio, video, graphics, text or other media, application control information, billing information, network management information, and / or other data. The core communication network (125) also operates to manage access by wireless communication devices, provide billing and network management, and support other network functions.

[0007] Wireless communication devices include tablets (20 and 30), laptops (22 and 32), mobile phones (24 and 34), vehicles (26 and 36) and / or other fixed or mobile communication devices. Wireless communication may include signals formatted according to LTE (long term evolution) 4G, 5G, other Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) protocols and / or other wireless signaling. These wireless communication devices may be referred to as client devices or user equipment (UE), regardless of the specific standard used to communicate with these specific devices.

[0008] Wireless communication devices communicate with base stations or access points (16) to receive services from a communication network (125). Typically, base stations are used for cellular telephone systems and similar types of systems, while access points are typically used for wireless networks within a home or building. In the case of a direct connection (i.e., point-to-point communication), wireless communication devices communicate directly with a BS or AP (16) through an allocated channel, time slot, and / or other physical resource block (PRB) of a radio channel serviced by a plurality of radio units (RUs) operating with baseband processing to convert communication from the communication network (125) into wireless communication of the radio network (45) and vice versa. Regardless of the specific type of communication system, each wireless communication device also includes, or is coupled to, a corresponding radio configured for wireless communication over the radio network (45).

[0009] In the illustrated example, the network element (34-1) includes an edge server, a radio access network intelligent controller, and / or other network elements or elements having a plurality of network interfaces (I / F) (42). The plurality of network interfaces (I / F) (42) may include wide-area network interfaces for operating through one or more backhaul links with other network elements (34) operating to support data transmission. Additionally, the network interfaces (I / F) (42) may support communication with other network elements (34) operating other parts of the radio network (45). The plurality of network interfaces (42) may also support a plurality of other links (46 and 48) for upstream and downstream communication with a plurality of wireless communication devices through the radio network (45) via a base station (BS) or access points (AP) (16). For example, network interfaces (42) may include a core network interface configured to communicate network communication with one or more network elements (34) of a core communication network, and a radio network interface configured to communicate communication with communication BSs or APs (16) of a radio network (45). These interfaces (42) may operate through F1, E2, EPC (evolved packet core), NGC (next generation core), 5G core, or through another network protocol or standard. A network element (34-1) may also include a cooperative radio resource manager or another radio resource manager that operates to support resource management of the radio network (45), including load control and power control of a radio network controller / radio access network intelligent controller, and / or admission control, packet scheduling, handover control, and / or other user plane and control plane functions.Additionally, the network element (34-1) and the BS or AP (16) may be implemented with an open radio access network (O-RAN) or other standards based on the interoperability and standardization of RAN elements, including integrated interconnection standards for white-box hardware and open-source software elements from different vendors, to provide an architecture that integrates a modular base station software stack on off-the-shelf hardware that enables baseband and radio unit components from different vendors to operate together seamlessly. For example, the network element (34-1) may include a packet processing function (PPF) that includes asynchronous user plane functions in a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) loop, as well as a radio control function (RCF) that handles load sharing between system domains and different radio technologies, and a multipath handling function for dual-link anchor points and / or data scheduling, as well as the use of policies to control schedulers in the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer—e.g., encryption—and RPFs. At the user and bearer levels, the RCF may operate to negotiate QoS and other policies with other domains, be responsible for enforcing the associated service level agreement (SLA) in the RAN and / or control overall RAN performance for service requirements, generate and manage analytics data, and be responsible for RAN self-organizing network (SON) functions.

[0010] Although the BS or APs (16) are schematically depicted as having a single antenna, each BS or AP (16) includes multiple RUs (each having one or more antennas) supported by baseband processing through a combination of distributed units (DUs) and centralized units (CUs). In various examples, the CUs, DUs, and RUs communicate control plane and user plane signaling from the UEs to the core network. The CUs / DUs / RUs operate with a radio access network protocol stack that may include a physical (PHY) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and one or more upper layers, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer.

[0011] The network element (34-1) and the BS or AP (16) may cooperate and operate in an architecture that supports baseband processing through DU / CU combinations, for example, multiple RUs having multiple DUs connected to a single CU and / or multiple RUs connected to a single DU. In particular, a shared scheduler is implemented through or together with one or more DU / CUs in the network element (34-1) or the BS or AP (16) to allocate PRBs of radio channels among multiple RUs and the UEs they service. In various examples, the DUs and CUs may be collocated—but not necessarily. A shared scheduler can be located in a place that can respond to channel changes "quickly enough" to allocate resources in TTI units based on a wide view across all "aggregated MACs" of the RUs, and to have "fast access" to measurements from MACs that form the basis of baseband processing (e.g., for 7 RUs under a single DU, there will be 7 MAC instances). Base station elements, in particular DUs and CUs, can be collocated with multiple RUs and BS or AP (16). Alternatively, a CU alone or CUs and DUs can be implemented in a network element (34-1). In this case, the element (34-1) may include, for example, a single DU aggregating multiple RUs and / or a single CU aggregating multiple DUs, and a combination of 1:N DUs and / or one or more CUs.

[0012] Additional details regarding the operation of BS or AP (16), including various optional functions and features, will be discussed in conjunction with the following drawings.

[0013] FIG. 2 is an illustration / block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting example of a radio network according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, a prior art base station configuration for a radio access network (RAN) consisting of several base stations (BS), such as APs or BSs (16), is illustrated. Each BS consists of a dedicated radio unit (RU) and an associated baseband unit (BBU). The role of the RU is to convert analog radio signals into digital signals (e.g., complex numbers) or bits and vice versa. The role of the BBU is to process digital signals for the transmission of corresponding data through a communication network, convert data from the communication network into digital signals transmitted to the RUs, and implement BS functions as described in other standards (including 3GPP or IEEE or any other standards including 4G, 5G, WiFi, etc.).

[0014] BSs communicate with multiple users (equipped with UEs) via the radio channels of the RAN. Radio channels can be arranged in various ways. For example, the arrangement results in the formation of detachable links corresponding to means of transmission, primarily through the use of available radio resources. Typical examples of radio resources (referred to as Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs)) are used to form means of communication via time, frequency, space, and / or power. These four factors can also be used to separate individual transmissions from and to individual users. These resources can directly affect system performance parameters such as capacity, throughput, reliability, energy consumption, and packed latency. In rare cases of communication systems, radio resources are abundantly available. Typically, radio resources are scarce, and consequently, their efficient management is required.

[0015] The function of a BS responsible for the real-time allocation of radio resources can be referred to as a scheduler. In typical realizations of 4G, 5G, and WiFi, the scheduler is part of the Media Access Control (MAC) function residing in a BBU associated one-to-one with a given RU. For example, in OFDMA-based systems (e.g., 4G LTE, 5G NR, and WiFi 6), the scheduler allocates time and frequency resources, specifically examples of PRBs, to users permitted to be served by a given RU / BBU. Accordingly, for a given RU, the scheduler residing in the associated BBU determines, in TTI (Time to Transmit) units, which UE obtains which PRBs. For multiple BSs and consequently RUs, each has an independent scheduler.

[0016] The above-mentioned situation has the following characteristics:

[0017] UEs are pre-assigned to RUs based on some other criteria.

[0018] The scheduler problem is binary (0,1) and 2-dimensional (UE-PRB association).

[0019] In a scenario of total frequency reuse (where all BSs within a region use the same carrier frequency and the same channel bandwidth), the independent operation of schedulers allocating resources individually to each BS is a cause of harmful interference. This is particularly evident in the dynamic behavior of real-world systems where users come and go (e.g., connect or disconnect), and where their traffic requirements can change. Whatever resource allocation is done at each cell (BS), the allocation will always cause changes in interference conditions for all neighboring cells, pushing them to potentially perform resource reallocation. Accordingly, the most problematic regions for low SNIR (Signal-to-Noise Plus Interference Ratio) in LTE are at the cell edges. Systems exhibiting such behavior—since neighboring BSs compete for resources—are referred to herein as competitive.

[0020] FIG. 3 is an illustration / block diagram illustrating exemplary, non-limiting examples of radio networks according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, different RAN deployments utilizing the aggregation of computing resources are illustrated. In particular, the one-to-one relationship between the RUs and BBUs of FIG. 2 is modified by the use of distributed units (DUs) or centralized units (CUs). For the sake of simplification, this specification focuses on DUs, but the same concept may apply to CUs. A single DU may serve more than one RU through distributed, centralized, or shared BBUs that serve multiple individual base station or access point RUs. This means that the BS function (software) residing in the DU will realize the transmission of multiple connected RUs toward user UEs serving over the radio channels of the radio network.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic / block diagram illustrating exemplary, non-limiting examples of a centralized baseband unit according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, a centralized baseband unit (CBU) (400) and k individual RUs (410-1 ... 410-k) configured to participate in wireless communication with a plurality of user equipment (UE) via a radio channel (418) of a radio network (45) are shown. While the RUs (410-1 ... 410-k) are implemented as part of a BS or AP (16), all or part of the CBU (400) and, in particular, the shared scheduler (404) may be implemented in part of the BS or AP (16) or in a DU, CU which is one of the network elements (34-1).

[0022] Instead of implementing a scheduler on an RU unit basis and controlling radio resources limited to a single cell—in this configuration, the scheduler operates on a DU or CU unit basis to serve multiple RUs (clusters of RUs). In effect, such a scheduler instance (referred to for convenience as the "shared" scheduler (404)) is partitioned into independent PRBs and associated with the same radio channel (418) of the radio network (45) accessible to UEs through multiple RUs. In various examples, the RUs individually support multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) communication between UEs through the use of multiple antennas to utilize multipath propagation, beamforming, and / or spatial diversity. Such MIMO communication may include multi-user MIMO, cooperative MIMO, macrodiversity MIMO, MIMO routing, large-scale MIMO, or other MIMO communication technologies. In this way, the transmission and reception of PRBs between individual RUs and various UEs may include various modulation methods as well as precoding, spatial multiplexing, diversity coding and / or other MIMO techniques.

[0023] In the illustrated example, the CBU (400) includes a network interface (402), a shared scheduler (404), a radio interface (406), a broadband processor (420), and memory (430). The network interface (402) is configured to communicate backhaul communication with one or more network elements of the communication network (125) via, for example, EPC, NGC, 5G core, or other signaling. The radio interface (406) is configured to communicate fronthaul communication with RUs (410-1 ... 410-k) via, for example, fronthaul (FH), lower level split (LLS), or other signaling. The memory (430) stores operation instructions that cause the baseband processor to perform operations when executed by the baseband processor (420), and the operations include the following:

[0024] An operation to convert received fronthaul communication from RUs (410-1 ... 410-k) into backhaul communication transmitted to a communication network (125) according to a communication standard;

[0025] An operation to convert received backhaul communication from a communication network (125) into fronthaul communication transmitted to RUs (410-1 ... 410-k) according to a communication standard.

[0026] Operation of providing a shared scheduler (404) associated with a radio channel partitioned into multiple PRBs (414-1, 414-2, ... 414-n) accessible by UEs (416-1 ... 416-u) through radio units (RUs) (410-1 ... 410-k).

[0027] The operation of generating a UE-PRB-RU assignment (408) that associates PRBs with selected UEs among multiple UEs and selected RUs among multiple RUs without prior UE-RU-RU assignment through a shared scheduler (404), wherein, through the UE-PRB-RU assignment (408), fronthall communication enables wireless communication control between UEs and RUs (e.g., controlled).

[0028] The scheduler function becomes a binary 3-dimensional problem because it must associate UE-PRB-RU through a set of u distinct UEs, n distinct PRBs, and k distinct RUs. This improves the scheduling technique, for example, by not requiring UEs to be assigned to RUs.

[0029] In various examples, the operations of the shared scheduler (404) further include the following:

[0030] Operation of acquiring constraint data corresponding to competitive channel interference;

[0031] The action of receiving a request for entry into a radio channel from an additional UE; and

[0032] An action that approves a request only when the position does not violate constraint data responding to competitive interference.

[0033] In this way, UEs are entered into the system as long as serving them does not violate transmission to other UEs. Therefore, this method can be classified as "cooperative." This approach also improves the technology of BSs and APs, as interference that was harmful in competitive systems becomes harmless in this cooperative system.

[0034] In addition to the above, note that for many environments, the wireless channel will be frequency-selective. This is typically a problem because the quality of the PRBs varies significantly. This phenomenon can be utilized through multi-user diversity, and in the process of associating UE-PRB-RU, the quality of the x-th PRB among n PRBs (e.g., expressed in various ways such as received power, SNIR, etc., denoted together as CSI) can be taken as perceived by the y-th UE among u UEs and the z-th RU among k RUs. In various examples, the operations of the shared scheduler (404) further include the operation of obtaining channel state information (CSI) corresponding to each of the multiple PRBs in combinations of UEs among multiple UEs and RUs among multiple RUs -- wherein the shared scheduler (408) generates a UE-PRB-RU assignment based on the CSI corresponding to each of the multiple PRBs in combinations of UEs among multiple UEs and RUs among multiple RUs. As a result, the input to the scheduler is a CSI through combinations of different x, y, z (e.g., CSI_x,y,z), and the output can be represented as a three-dimensional array of {0, 1} representing whether the association between UE-PRB-RU exists {1} or not {0}.

[0035] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary, non-limiting example of a method according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, a method for use with one or more functions and features previously described herein is presented. Step (500) includes converting received fronthaul communication from a plurality of radio units (RUs) into backhaul communication transmitted to a communication network according to a communication standard, wherein the plurality of radio units are configured to participate in wireless communication with a plurality of user devices (UEs) through a radio channel of the radio network. Step (502) includes converting received backhaul communication from a communication network into fronthaul communication transmitted to a plurality of RUs according to a communication standard. Step (504) includes providing a shared scheduler associated with a radio channel partitioned into a plurality of physical radio blocks (PRBs), wherein the plurality of PRBs are accessible by a plurality of user devices (UEs) through the RUs. Step (506) includes the step of generating a UE-PRB-RU assignment through a shared scheduler, without prior UE-RU assignment, that associates the PRBs among the plurality of PRBs with selected UEs among the plurality of UEs and selected RUs among the plurality of RUs, wherein the fronthall communication controls wireless communication between the plurality of UEs and the plurality of RUs through the UE-PRB-RU assignment.

[0036] In various examples, the shared scheduler is implemented according to a cell-less open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. The cell-less O-RAN architecture may operate through a cell-less establishment procedure to associate UEs among multiple UEs with the radio network. The shared scheduler may include a Media Access Control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple physical (PHY) layers of a single distributed unit (DU) of the radio network. The shared scheduler may further include a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) that performs the UE-to-RU portion of UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation, and the MAC scheduler performs the UE-to-PRB portion of UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation. The shared scheduler may include a Media Access Control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple physical (PHY) layers and multiple MAC layers of a single distributed unit (DU) of the radio network, or a Media Access Control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple Media Access Control (MAC) layers of multiple distributed units (DUs) of the radio network. The shared scheduler can operate through a first procedure configured to perform the UE-to-RU portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation and a second procedure configured to perform the UE-to-PRB portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation.

[0037] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary, non-limiting example of a method according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, a method for use with one or more functions and features previously described herein is presented. Step (600) includes obtaining constraint data corresponding to competitive channel interference. Step (602) includes receiving a request for entry into a radio channel from an additional UE. Step (606) includes approving the request only when the entry does not violate the constraint data corresponding to competitive interference.

[0038] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary, non-limiting example of a method according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, a method for use with one or more functions and features previously described herein is presented. Step (700) includes the step of obtaining channel state information (CSI) corresponding to each of a plurality of PRBs in combinations of UEs among a plurality of UEs and RUs among a plurality of RUs, wherein a shared scheduler generates a UE-to-PRB-to-RU assignment based on the CSI corresponding to each of the plurality of PRBs in combinations of UEs among a plurality of UEs and RUs among a plurality of RUs.

[0039] Features and characteristics that are additional options for implementing schedulers such as shared schedulers in cell-less RAN, open RAN, or other radio access networks are presented along with the following drawings.

[0040] FIG. 8a illustrates a schematic block diagram showing the components of an exemplary radio network according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, a new network architecture for operation in an open RAN / O-RAN environment, referred to as a "cell-less" radio access network, is presented. This cell-less RAN is compatible with RAN partitioning options promoted by 3GPP, which include RUs, DUs, and CUs, bringing greater flexibility to the RAN, and can also be adapted to open architectures such as open RAN architectures. In this configuration, a "logical" (virtual) cell is formed from a plurality of RUs along with portions of one or more DUs and CUs. For example, each DU may support multiple RUs to deliver scheduling to the RUs included in a shared scheduler for the entire RAN, or each DU may have a scheduler agent for every DU mapped to only one RU as a terminal.

[0041] In the illustrated example, the BS or AP (16) and / or network element (34-1) enables communication between the core of the communication network (125) and multiple UEs. A non-RT (non-real-time) RIC (802) (or other controller) operates from a management and orchestration platform. A near-real-time RIC (804) (or other controller) acts as a supervisor for a shared scheduler to control scheduling through scheduling agents in open RAN CUs and DUs (e.g., through a radio resource management (RRM) scheduler xApp or other shared scheduler). This cell-less RAN configuration eliminates traditional cell boundaries by creating a wireless environment where RUs have cell-less logical cells (806) that are transparent from the UE's perspective. When a UE connects to the RAN, the connection is made through cell-less logical cells (806) formed from various RUs connected to the DUs. A virtual cell-less identifier (ID) can be used to identify a cell-less logical cell (806) in this regard. Since a virtual cell-less network can be very large and dense from an RU perspective, users should have less dependency on the virtual cell-less network.

[0042] To avoid dependence on a specific RU, each UE can always connect to the network with its own identification information, specified by a UE cell-less ID specific to each UE, independent of the serving RU. This UE cell-less ID can be maintained for the duration that the UE is associated with the virtual cell-less network. This configuration allows the serving RU for a specific UE to change from any specific RU to any other RU.

[0043] In various examples, the shared scheduler recognizes the RBs (e.g., PRBs) used by the RUs serving all UEs—regardless of the number of DUs. If the RUs are under different DUs, the scheduler agent in each DU supports pushing scheduling for each of its RUs, which is supervised by the nearby RT RIC (804).

[0044] FIG. 8b illustrates exemplary signal flows according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, processes for cell-less establishment (E / S) (820) and cell-less cooperative scheduling (C / S) (822) are presented for use in conjunction with one or more functions and features previously described herein. The procedure for cell-less establishment (E / S) (820) may occur prior to the example of FIG. 5, and cell-less cooperative scheduling (C / S) (822) may also be included in step (506) of FIG. 5.

[0045] Step 1 includes a hello message connecting the RIC controller (e.g., the near RT RIC (804)) to a handover management entity—e.g., a 5G core / application layer, any other core entity, or a separately designed handover manager at the application layer—or is covered by the controller to connect the controller to the handover manager entity. In Step 2, available policies and network setups are updated in the controller (e.g., in the entity responsible for policies). Step 3 involves establishing cell-less for all or part of the available RUs that contribute to the scheduling process. Data processing takes place in the entity responsible for handover decision-making capable of handling the cell-less establishment. Steps 4 and 5 send a common cell-less establishment message to the DU / CU, and cell-less identification information (e.g., a virtual cell-less identifier (ID) used to identify a cell-less logical cell (806)) will be broadcast to all underlying RUs. The goal is to assign each UE to the entire network without cell boundaries, which avoids handover signaling overhead due to the controller's top-level awareness of network information. This can be implemented so that the UE is assigned its entire connection across the entire cell-less network rather than to a specific RU, and is reassociated only with other RUs based on the scheduler's decision. From the UE's perspective, since the UE is assigned to the entire network of cell-less logical cells (806), traditional handover signaling does not need to occur. Connecting the UE to the entire cell-less network makes reassociation faster because the UE does not need to have any part of the signaling related to handover.

[0046] In step 6, the ID of the cell-less logical cell (806) is broadcast to the UE via synchronization signals, after which the UE can maintain its assignment to the entire cell-less network. The broadcast of the UE cell-less ID may be initiated to maintain the independence of the serving RU in parallel with maintaining access to the network via the UE cell-less ID. In step 7, initial access is completed, and the UE generates a UE cell-less ID and transmits it to the RU. In step 8, the RU will transmit the UE metrics and requirements to the corresponding DU / CUs to complete entry control. A cell-less establishment completion message and identification information are transmitted to the entity responsible for handover management in step 9. Additionally, the same information as well as a scheduling request will be forwarded to the controller in step 10. The controller will update the status in the policy management entity in step 11. The process may continue with a cell-less cooperative scheduling procedure (922) in steps 12, 13 and 14 for allocating resources to the UE.

[0047] FIG. 8c illustrates a schematic block diagram showing components of an exemplary radio network according to various embodiments described herein. In this example, the operation of a shared scheduler, such as a shared scheduler (404), is distributed between a MAC scheduler (832) shared among three separate DUs, each having a nearby RT RIC (830) that operates via a cell-free xApp to perform RU selection and a corresponding RU that operates to perform PRB allocation.

[0048] During operation, a group of RUs is synchronized and referred to as an RU cluster. UEs are configured to transmit orthogonal (e.g., in the time domain, frequency domain, or code domain) sounding reference signals (SRS). The RUs measure the UL signal power received for each PRB on the SRS simultaneously or at the same time. The CSI measurements are sent to the DU and forwarded to the MAC scheduler (832) and the near RT RIC (830). The DU sends the buffer size for each UE to the near RT RIC (830) via the E2 interface. Based on the received CSI and buffer size, the cell-free xApp at the near RT RIC (830) selects a serving RU for each UE and sends the decision to the DU's RAN function scheduler. The RU is selected to optimize system throughput and / or other performance criteria. The DU requests the MAC scheduler (832) to allocate PRBs from the RU selected by the near RT RIC (830). The MAC scheduler (832) allocates PRBs from the RU (and other RUs in the cluster) to serve the UE and other UEs currently being served. The PRB allocation aims to optimize system throughput and / or other performance criteria by allocating the "best" PRBs for each UE.

[0049] Consider the following example in which the UE vs. PRB vs. RU allocation of a shared scheduler, such as a shared scheduler (404), operates through a cell-free scheduler algorithm consisting of two sub-algorithms:

[0050] 1. A large-scale algorithm that associates the RU with the UE. This part of the algorithm can be performed in the nearby RT RIC (830) (or MAC scheduler (832) in the absence of the RIC).

[0051] 2. A small algorithm for allocating PRBs to UEs. This part of the algorithm can be performed in the MAC scheduler (832).

[0052] The following inputs are received by the MAC scheduler (832):

[0053] ul_rx_power UE,PRB,RU - 3D matrix of UL received power measured by RUs per PRB.

[0054] For each RLC buffer:

[0055] For the RLC buffer type (DRB or SRB) and DBR, the resource type (GBR or non-GBR).

[0056] Amount of bits in the RLC buffer.

[0057] The following information can be sent from SD-RAN to the Cell-Free xApp via the E2 interface:

[0058] Amount of bits in the RLC buffer. IE type: INTEGER(MAC or RLC) for each RLC buffer of the UE.

[0059] UL Received Power (MAC) per PRB for each UE. IE Type: Integer per AP per PRB. AP identified as an OCTET STRING.

[0060] UE Specific Data:

[0061] RLC buffer type. IE type: ENUMERATED {DRB, SRB}.

[0062] For "DBR", resource type. IE type: ENUMERATED {GBR, non-GBR}(or RRC).

[0063] If the resource type is GBR, gbr INTEGER

[0064] UE power in W or dBm. IE type: INTEGER.

[0065] RU specific data:

[0066] n PRB - Number of PRBs in an RU depending on the numerology and bandwidth received from the SD-RAN per RU. IE type: INTEGER.

[0067] TX_power RU - Received by SD-RAN per RU in W or dBm units. IE type: INTEGER.

[0068] The following information is sent from the cell-free xApp at the nearby RT RIC (832) to the SD-RAN via the E2 interface through the RICControlRequest:

[0069] Serving RU for each UE. IE Type: INTEGER.

[0070] Scheduler-Control SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxOfUE)) OF UE-Scheduler-Control

[0071] State variables

[0072] For each UE, consider the following state variables:

[0073] TX_poower RU - Received by SD-RAN per RU.

[0074] n PRB - Number of PRBs in the RU depending on the numerology and bandwidth received from the SD-RAN free RU.

[0075] UE power received from SD-RAN per UE.

[0076] NPRB - Thermal noise per system.

[0077] Based on the UL received power measured by RUs per PRB, a 2D matrix of DL received power is estimated with respect to PRB granularity:

[0078] dl_rx_power PRB,RU =

[0079] 10^[(TX_power RU -10log 10 (n PRB ) - (UE power - ul_rx_power PRB,RU ) ) / 10] [mW]

[0080] Average received power:

[0081] AVG_dl_rx_power RU = mean(dl_rx_power PRB,RU ),

[0082] The average across all PRBs will be used in large-scale algorithms.

[0083] The amount of data in each RLC buffer is received periodically (or some alternative if data is not received).

[0084] For the RLC buffer type (DRB or SRB) and DBR, the resource type (GBR or non-GBR) is provided once for each UE.

[0085] Average window start and the amount of data sent during the current average window per GBR bearer (supporting GBR).

[0086] Guaranteed window start and the amount of data sent during the current guaranteed window per UE (supporting minimum throughput).

[0087] Servings per UE RU.

[0088] Carrier for RU per PRB:

[0089] For each RU serving UE, C PRB = dl_rx_power PRB,RU

[0090] Interference with APs in the PRB Party:

[0091] For all RUs excluding serving RUs, I PRB = sum(dl_rx_power PRB,RU ).

[0092] Total Load SINR, which is the hypothetical SINR measured by the UE when all RUs transmit at maximum on all resource blocks:

[0093] SINR PRB = C PRB / ( I PRB + N PRB )

[0094] Average Total Load SINR:

[0095] For all PRBs (or RBGs) AVG_SINR = mean(SINR PRB )

[0096] Consider the following control parameters:

[0097] Average Window: Average window duration for GBR QoS flows. Default value: 2000 ms (3GPP 23.501 5.7.4).

[0098] Guarantee Window: Time window for guaranteeing minimum UE throughput. Default value 300 ms.

[0099] Minimum Throughput: Minimum UE throughput. This is important for UEs in poor radio conditions. Default value: 100 kbps.

[0100] Smoothing Factor: A smoothing parameter for averaging measurements. Default value 0.5.

[0101] Small-scale algorithms can operate through the following GBR prioritization. In particular, for each GBR QoS flow, the scheduler must maintain the following:

[0102] Starting point of the "average window",

[0103] Number of bits sent in the average window.

[0104] The average window starts upon the arrival of the first RLC packet of the GBR QoS flow and lasts for 2000 ms. After the average window ends, another average window starts. Data in a specific RLC buffer is prioritized during an average window with a size equal to 2000 ms * GBR (kbps), that is, 2000 ms * 1000 kbps = 2,000,000 bits are prioritized in each average window of this QoS flow.

[0105] Small-scale algorithms can operate to maintain the following minimum throughput guarantees. In particular, for each UE, the scheduler must maintain the following:

[0106] Starting point of the "guarantee window",

[0107] Number of bits sent from the guarantee window.

[0108] The guarantee window starts upon the arrival of the first RLC packet for the UE and lasts for 300 ms. After the guarantee window ends, another guarantee window starts. After the window expires, the remaining minimum data for the UE is prioritized. "Remaining minimum data" is calculated as the difference between the minimum throughput and the data already sent within the guarantee window; for example, if the minimum throughput = 100 kbps and 10,000 bits of data have already been sent, "Remaining minimum data" = 300 ms * 100 kbps - 10,000 bits = 30,000 - 10,000 = 20,000 bits.

[0109] An exemplary flow for a small-scale algorithm is as follows:

[0110] I. Loop across all RUs:

[0111] 1. Mark all UEs associated with this RU and having data in DL RLC buffers as "hungry".

[0112] 2. Sort UEs by average total load SINR, starting from the lowest SINR.

[0113] 3. Loop across all UEs with GBR (allocation of prioritized resources):

[0114] a. Take the UE with the lowest (or highest) average full load SINR.

[0115] b. For this UE, calculate the number of Resource Block Groups (RBGs) required to transmit min (number of bits guaranteed in the average window, data in the RLC buffer) (depending on Link Adaptation).

[0116] c. Assign the RGBs with the best overall load SINR and mark them as unavailable.

[0117] d. If the UE's buffer is empty, unmark it as insufficient.

[0118] e. Then, take the UE with the lowest average total load SINR.

[0119] f. Go to Step 3b.

[0120] 4. Loop across all UEs prioritized due to minimum throughput guarantee:

[0121] a. Select the UE with the lowest average total load SINR.

[0122] b. For this UE, calculate the number of resource block groups (RBG) (or PRB) required (depending on link adaptation) to transmit the max (or min) (remaining minimum data, data within the RLC buffer).

[0123] c. Assign the RGBs with the best overall load SINR and mark them as unavailable.

[0124] d. If the UE's buffer is empty, unmark it as insufficient.

[0125] e. Then, take the UE with the lowest average total load SINR.

[0126] f. Go to Step 3b.

[0127] 5. From the available RGBs, select the RGB with the highest total load SINR among the shortage UEs.

[0128] 6. Assign this RBG to the UE and mark this RBG as unavailable.

[0129] 7. If the UE's buffer is empty, unmark it as insufficient.

[0130] 8. Go to Step 5.

[0131] II. Loop across UEs (order does not matter) - This part is referred to as PRB reallocation.

[0132] 1. For this UE, calculate the actual SINR for the following:

[0133] PRBs assigned to each UE

[0134] Available PRBs.

[0135] 2. Calculate the average SINR of the PRBs already assigned to the UE.

[0136] 3. Determine if the same number of PRBs can be given a higher average SINR by the "small reassignment threshold". If so, reassign the PRBs.

[0137] 4. Proceed to the next UE (i.e., Step 1).

[0138] 5. Terminate the loop after no reallocation is found for all consecutive UEs.

[0139] "Small reallocation threshold" is a configuration parameter with a default value of 1dB.

[0140] An exemplary flow of a large-scale algorithm is as follows:

[0141] 1. Each UE, the strongest AVG_dl_rx_power RU Associate with an RU having: b - best, n - not best. AVG_dl_rx_power RU is averaged using an exponential filter with a smoothing factor:

[0142] F n = (1 - Smoothing Factor) * F n-1 + Smoothing factor*M n-1

[0143] Here, F is the output of the filter, M is the measurement, and n is the number of measurements (time).

[0144] 2. Sort the UEs in ascending order by average total load SINR AVG_SINR (starting here with the UEs under the worst radio conditions).

[0145] 3. Loop across UEs:

[0146] a. AVG_dl_rx_power RU Based on that, find the next best RU.

[0147] b. Calculate system throughput after the UE is reassigned to the RU where it was found. In this process, Part I of a small algorithm is executed, meaning there is no time-consuming Part II involving PRB reassignments (PRB reassignments may be added if the algorithm runs sufficiently fast).

[0148] c. If the system throughput is greater than the current system throughput, perform UE reallocation.

[0149] d. Stop the loop when there are no large-scale reallocations for all consecutive UEs or when the number of iterations is greater than 3 x the number of UEs.

[0150] FIG. 8d illustrates various schematic block diagrams showing exemplary configurations of radio networks according to the various embodiments described herein. FIG. 8c presents a MAC scheduler shared by multiple DUs as additionally illustrated in Fig. 840, but other configurations are likewise possible. In Fig. 842, the MAC scheduler is shared by a single DU having multiple RAN protocol stacks. In Fig. 844, the MAC scheduler is shared by a single DU having a single MAC layer and multiple PHY protocol stacks. In Fig. 846, the MAC scheduler operates in a DU in a MIMO configuration with an RU having multiple antennas.

[0151] As used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately” provide industry-accepted tolerances for relativity between such terms and / or items. For some industries, industry-accepted tolerances are less than 1%, and for others, industry-accepted tolerances are 10% or more. Other examples of industry-accepted tolerances range from less than 1% to 50%. Industry-accepted tolerances correspond to, but are not limited to, component values, integrated circuit process variation, temperature variation, rise and fall times, thermal noise, dimensions, signaling errors, dropped packets, temperature, pressure, material composition, and / or performance metrics. Within the industry, the tolerance deviation of an industry-accepted tolerance may be greater or less than a percentage level (e.g., dimensional tolerances of less than + / - 1%). Some relativitys between items may range from differences less than a percentage level to a few percent. Other relativitys between items may range from differences of a few percent to vast differences.

[0152] Where applicable herein, the terms “configured to,” “operably coupled to,” “coupled to,” and / or “combining” include direct coupling between items and / or indirect coupling between items through an intermediate item (e.g., items include, but are not limited to, components, elements, circuits, and / or modules), wherein an example of indirect coupling is that the intermediate item is capable of adjusting current levels, voltage levels, and / or power levels rather than modifying information of the signal. Where applicable herein, implied coupling (i.e., where one element is impliedly coupled to another element) includes direct and indirect coupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to.”

[0153] As may also be used herein, the terms “configured to,” “operable to,” “coupled to,” or “operably coupled to” indicate that when an item is activated, it includes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s), etc., to perform one or more of the corresponding functions, and may further include implied coupling to one or more other items. As may also be used herein, the term “associated with” includes direct and / or indirect coupling of separate items and / or one item being embedded within another item.

[0154] As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably” indicates that a comparison between two or more items, signals, etc. provides a desired relationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that Signal 1 has a larger magnitude than Signal 2, a favorable comparison may be made when the magnitude of Signal 1 is greater than the magnitude of Signal 2 or when the magnitude of Signal 2 is smaller than the magnitude of Signal 1. As may be used herein, the term “compares unfavorably” indicates that a comparison between two or more items, signals, etc. does not provide a desired relationship.

[0155] As may be used in this specification, one or more claims may include the phrase “at least one of a, b, and c” or “at least one of a, b, or c” in a specific form of this general form, having more or fewer elements than “a”, “b”, and “c”. In either literal sense, these phrases shall be interpreted identically. In particular, “at least one of a, b, and c” is equivalent to “at least one of a, b, or c” and will mean a, b, and / or c. For example, this means “a” only, “b” only, “c” only, “a” and “b”, “a” and “c”, “b” and “c”, and / or “a”, “b”, and “c”.

[0156] As may also be used herein, the terms “processing module,” “processing circuit,” “processor,” “processing circuit section,” and / or “processing unit” may refer to a single processing device or a plurality of processing devices. Such a processing device may be any device that manipulates signals (analog and / or digital) based on hard coding of circuit sections and / or operating instructions, including a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a central processing unit, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic device, a state machine, a logic circuit section, an analog circuit section, a digital circuit section, and / or circuit section. A processing module, module, processing circuit, processing circuit section, and / or processing unit may be a memory and / or integrated memory element—which may be a single memory device, a plurality of memory devices, and / or an embedded circuit section of another processing module, module, processing circuit, processing circuit section, and / or processing unit—or may further include such elements. Such memory devices may be read-only memory, random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and / or any device for storing digital information. A processing module, module, processing circuit, processing circuit section, and / or processing unit may further include one or more interface devices for communicating data, signals, and / or other information between components of the processing module and also for communicating with other devices. If a processing module, module, processing circuit, processing circuit section, and / or processing unit includes more than one processing device, the processing devices may be centrally located (e.g., directly coupled together via wired and / or wireless bus structures) or distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing via indirect coupling through local area networks and / or wide area networks).Additionally, if a processing module, module, processing circuit, processing circuit section, and / or processing unit implements one or more of its functions through a state machine, an analog circuit section, a digital circuit section, and / or a logic circuit section, a memory and / or memory element storing corresponding operation instructions may be embedded inside or outside a circuit section including a state machine, an analog circuit section, a digital circuit section, and / or a logic circuit section. Additionally, it should be noted that the memory element may store hard-coded instructions and / or operation instructions corresponding to at least some of the steps and / or functions illustrated in one or more of the drawings, and that the processing module, module, processing circuit, processing circuit section, and / or processing unit execute these. Such a memory device or memory element may be included in a manufactured article.

[0157] One or more examples have been described above using method steps that exemplify the performance of specific functions and their relationships. The boundaries and sequences of these functional building blocks and method steps are arbitrarily defined in this specification for convenience of explanation. Alternative boundaries and sequences may be defined as long as the specific functions and relationships are properly performed. Thus, such alternative boundaries or sequences are within the scope and spirit of the claims. Additionally, the boundaries of these functional building blocks are arbitrarily defined for convenience of explanation. Alternative boundaries may be defined as long as significant specific functions are properly performed. Similarly, flowchart blocks (Fig. 5, Fig. 6, or Fig. 7) may also be arbitrarily defined in this specification to exemplify significant specific functions.

[0158] Depending on the extent of use, flowchart block boundaries and sequences may be defined differently and may still perform specific functions that are significant. Accordingly, such alternative definitions for all functional building blocks, flowchart blocks, and sequences are within the scope and spirit of these claims. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that these functional building blocks, and other exemplary blocks, modules, and components in this specification, may be implemented as illustrated or by separate components, specific-purpose integrated circuits, processors running appropriate software, etc., or any combination thereof.

[0159] Additionally, the flowchart may include "Start" and / or "Continue" markings. The "Start" and "Continue" markings reflect that the presented steps may optionally be integrated into one or more other routines or used in conjunction with one or more other routines. Additionally, the flowchart may include "End" and / or "Continue" markings. The "End" and / or "Continue" markings reflect that the presented steps are terminated as described and illustrated, or may optionally be integrated into one or more other routines or used in conjunction with one or more other routines. In this context, "Start" indicates the beginning of the first presented step, which may be preceded by other activities not specifically illustrated. Furthermore, the "Continue" marking reflects that the presented steps may and / or be performed multiple times, or may be succeeded by other activities not specifically illustrated. Additionally, while the flowchart indicates a specific order of steps, other orders are equally possible provided that the principles of causality are maintained.

[0160] One or more examples are used in this specification to illustrate one or more aspects, one or more features, one or more concepts, and / or one or more examples. Physical examples of devices, manufactured articles, machines, and / or processes may include one or more of the aspects, features, concepts, examples, etc. described by reference to one or more of the examples discussed in this specification. Additionally, in each drawing, examples may incorporate functions, steps, modules, etc. named identically or similarly, which may use the same or different reference numbers, and accordingly, the functions, steps, modules, etc. may be the same or similar functions, steps, modules, etc., or different functions, steps, modules, etc.

[0161] Unless specifically stated otherwise, signals to, from, and / or between elements of the drawings presented herein may be analog or digital, continuous or discrete in time, and single-ended or differential. For example, if a signal path is depicted as a single-ended path, it also indicates a differential signal path. Similarly, if a signal path is depicted as a differential path, it also indicates a single-ended signal path. Although one or more specific architectures are described herein, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art, other architectures using one or more data buses, direct connections between elements, and / or indirect connections between other elements that are not explicitly presented may likewise be implemented.

[0162] The term "module" is used in the description of one or more of the examples. A module implements one or more functions through a device, such as a processor or other processing device or other hardware, which includes memory storing operation instructions or can operate in association with it. A module may operate independently and / or with software and / or firmware. As also used herein, a module may include one or more sub-modules, each of which may be one or more modules.

[0163] As may also be used herein, computer-readable memory comprises one or more memory elements. A memory element may be an individual memory device, a plurality of memory devices, or a set of memory locations within a memory device. Such a memory device may be read-only memory, random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, quantum register, other quantum memory, and / or any device that stores data in a non-transient manner. Additionally, a memory device may be in the form of solid-state memory, hard drive memory or other disk storage, cloud memory, thumb drive, server memory, computing device memory, and / or other non-transient media for storing data. Storage of data includes temporary storage (i.e., data is lost when power is removed from the memory element) and / or permanent storage (i.e., data is retained when power is removed from the memory element). As used herein, a temporary medium comprises: (a) a wired or wireless medium for the transmission of data as a signal from one computing device to another computing device for temporary storage or permanent storage; (b) a wired or wireless medium for transmitting data as a signal within a computing device from one element of the computing device to another element of the computing device for temporary or permanent storage; (c) a wired or wireless medium for transmitting data as a signal from one computing device to another computing device for processing data by another computing device; and (d) a wired or wireless medium for transmitting data as a signal within a computing device from one element of the computing device to another element of the computing device for processing data by another element of the computing device, one or more of which will mean.As used herein, non-transient computer-readable memory is substantially equivalent to computer-readable memory. Non-transient computer-readable memory may also be referred to as a non-transient computer-readable storage medium.

[0164] One or more functions associated with the methods and / or processes described herein may be implemented through a processing module operating via machine's non-human "artificial" intelligence (AI). Examples of such AI include machines operating via anomaly detection techniques, decision trees, association rules, expert systems and other knowledge-based systems, computer vision models, artificial neural networks, convolutional neural networks, support vector machines (SVMs), Bayesian networks, genetic algorithms, feature learning, sparse prior learning, preference learning, deep learning, and unsupervised, semi-supervised, supervised, and / or reinforcement learning, and / or other machine learning techniques trained using training data via other AI. Due not only to the complexity of these techniques but also to the fact that artificial intelligence, by definition, requires "artificial" intelligence—that is, machine / non-human intelligence—the human mind is not equipped to perform such AI techniques.

[0165] One or more functions associated with the methods and / or processes described herein may be implemented as a large-scale system operable to receive, transmit, and / or process data on a large scale. As used herein, "large scale" refers to a large amount of data, such as one or more kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, or more of data, that is received, transmitted, and / or processed. The reception, transmission, and / or processing of such data cannot actually be performed on a large scale by the human mind within a reasonable time period, such as seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, real-time, or other high-speed, required by machines that generate, receive, transmit, store, and / or use data.

[0166] One or more functions associated with the methods and / or processes described herein may require that data be manipulated in different ways within overlapping time ranges. The human mind is not equipped to perform such different data manipulations independently, simultaneously, in parallel, and / or on a coordinate basis within appropriate time periods, such as seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, real-time, or other high-speed requirements, by machines that generate, receive, transmit, store, and / or use data.

[0167] One or more functions associated with the methods and / or processes described herein may be implemented in a system operable to electronically receive digital data over a wired or wireless communication network and / or electronically transmit digital data over a wired or wireless communication network. Such receiving and transmitting cannot actually be performed by the human mind, because the human mind is not equipped to electronically transmit or receive digital data, not to mention transmitting and receiving digital data over a wired or wireless communication network.

[0168] One or more functions associated with the methods and / or processes described herein may be implemented in a system operable to electronically store digital data in a memory device. Such storage cannot actually be performed by the human mind, because the human mind is not equipped to electronically store digital data.

[0169] One or more functions associated with the methods and / or processes described herein may operate to cause an action by a processing module in direct response to a triggering event—without any intervening human interaction between the triggering event and the action. Any such actions may be identified as being performed "automatically," "automatically based on," and / or "automatically in response" to such triggering events. Furthermore, any such actions identified in any such manner specifically exclude the operation of human activity regarding these actions—even if the triggering event itself may be causally linked to various types of human activity.

[0170] Although specific combinations of various functions and features of one or more examples have been explicitly described herein, other combinations of these features and functions are likewise possible. The present disclosure is not limited to the specific examples disclosed herein and explicitly incorporates these other combinations.

Claims

Claim 1 A centralized baseband unit comprising: a network interface configured to communicate backhaul communications with one or more network elements of a communication network; a radio interface configured to communicate fronthaul communications with a plurality of radio units; a baseband processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores operation instructions that cause the baseband processor to perform operations when executed by the baseband processor, said operations being: an operation of converting received fronthaul communications from the plurality of radio units into backhaul communications transmitted to the communication network according to a communication standard; According to the above communication standard, the operation of converting backhaul communication received from the communication network into fronthaul communication transmitted to the plurality of radio units — the plurality of radio units are configured to participate in wireless communication with the plurality of user equipment (UEs) through the radio channel of the radio network — the operation of providing a shared scheduler associated with a radio channel partitioned into the plurality of physical radio blocks (PRBs) — the plurality of PRBs are accessible by the plurality of UEs through the plurality of radio units (RUs) — the operation of obtaining channel state information (CSI) corresponding to each of the plurality of PRBs in combinations of the UEs among the plurality of UEs and the RUs among the plurality of RUs;and, through the shared scheduler, an operation to generate a UE-PRB-RU assignment that associates PRBs among the plurality of PRBs with selected UEs among the plurality of UEs and selected RUs among the plurality of RUs without UE-RU pre-assignment—through the UE-PRB-RU assignment, the fronthall communication controls wireless communication between the plurality of UEs and the plurality of RUs, and the shared scheduler generates the UE-PRB-RU assignment based on the CSI corresponding to each of the plurality of PRBs in combinations of UEs among the plurality of UEs and RUs among the plurality of RUs—the shared scheduler operates through a first procedure configured to perform the UE-RU portion of the UE-PRB-RU assignment and a second procedure configured to perform the UE-PRB portion of the UE-PRB-RU assignment, wherein the first procedure calculates system throughput using the UE-PRB assignment result according to the second procedure in the case where the UE is reassigned to a candidate RU, and the calculated system A centralized baseband unit that reallocates the UE to the candidate RU only when the throughput is greater than the current system throughput. Claim 2 A centralized baseband unit according to claim 1, wherein the operations further include: an operation of obtaining constraint data corresponding to competitive channel interference; an operation of receiving a request for admission to said radio channel from an additional UE; and an operation of approving said request only when said admission does not violate said constraint data corresponding to competitive interference. Claim 3 delete Claim 4 A centralized baseband unit according to claim 1, wherein the shared scheduler is implemented according to a cell-less open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. Claim 5 In paragraph 4, the cellless O-RAN architecture is a centralized baseband unit that operates through a cellless establishment procedure to associate the UEs among the plurality of UEs with the radio network. Claim 6 A centralized baseband unit according to claim 4, wherein the shared scheduler includes a media access control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple physical (PHY) layers of a single distributed unit (DU) of the radio network. Claim 7 A centralized baseband unit, wherein the shared scheduler further comprises a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) that performs the UE-to-RU portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation, and the MAC scheduler performs the UE-to-PRB portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation. Claim 8 A centralized baseband unit according to claim 4, wherein the shared scheduler comprises a media access control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple physical (PHY) layers and multiple MAC layers of a single distributed unit (DU) of the radio network. Claim 9 A centralized baseband unit according to claim 4, wherein the shared scheduler comprises a media access control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple media access control (MAC) layers of multiple distributed units (DUs) of the radio network. Claim 10 delete Claim 11 As a method, according to a communication standard, the steps of converting received fronthaul communication from a plurality of radio units (RUs) into backhaul communication transmitted to a communication network — said plurality of radio units are configured to participate in wireless communication with a plurality of user equipment (UEs) through a radio channel of the radio network — said step, according to the communication standard, converting received backhaul communication from the communication network into fronthaul communication transmitted to the plurality of RUs; providing a shared scheduler associated with a radio channel partitioned into a plurality of physical radio blocks (PRBs) — said plurality of PRBs are accessible by the plurality of UEs through the RUs — said step, through the shared scheduler, generating a UE-PRB-RU assignment that associates PRBs among the plurality of PRBs with selected UEs among the plurality of UEs and selected RUs among the plurality of RUs without UE-RU pre-assignment — said UE-PRB-RU assignment that controls wireless communication between the plurality of UEs and the plurality of RUs through the fronthaul communication — acquiring constraint data corresponding to contention channel interference A method comprising: a step of receiving a request for entry into the radio channel from an additional UE; and a step of approving the request only when the entry does not violate the constraint data corresponding to competitive interference, wherein the shared scheduler operates through a first procedure configured to perform the UE-to-RU portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU assignment and a second procedure configured to perform the UE-to-PRB portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU assignment, wherein the first procedure calculates the system throughput using the UE-to-PRB assignment result according to the second procedure when the UE is reassigned to the candidate RU, and reassigns the UE to the candidate RU only when the calculated system throughput is greater than the current system throughput. Claim 12 delete Claim 13 A method according to claim 11, further comprising, between the step of providing the shared scheduler and the step of generating a UE-PRB-RU allocation, the step of obtaining channel state information (CSI) corresponding to each of the plurality of PRBs in combinations of UEs among the plurality of UEs and RUs among the plurality of RUs, wherein in the step of generating a UE-PRB-RU allocation, the shared scheduler generates the UE-PRB-RU allocation based on the CSI corresponding to each of the plurality of PRBs in combinations of UEs among the plurality of UEs and RUs among the plurality of RUs. Claim 14 A method according to claim 11, wherein the shared scheduler in the step of providing the shared scheduler is implemented according to a cell-less open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. Claim 15 In paragraph 14, the cell-less O-RAN architecture operates through a cell-less establishment procedure to associate the UEs among the plurality of UEs with the radio network. Claim 16 A method according to claim 14, wherein the shared scheduler comprises a media access control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple physical (PHY) layers of a single distributed unit (DU) of the radio network. Claim 17 A method according to claim 16, wherein the shared scheduler further comprises a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) that performs the UE-to-RU portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation, and the MAC scheduler performs the UE-to-PRB portion of the UE-to-PRB-to-RU allocation. Claim 18 A method according to claim 14, wherein the shared scheduler comprises a media access control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple physical (PHY) layers and multiple MAC layers of a single distributed unit (DU) of the radio network. Claim 19 A method according to claim 14, wherein the shared scheduler comprises a media access control (MAC) scheduler shared among multiple media access control (MAC) layers of multiple distributed units (DUs) of the radio network. Claim 20 delete

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