Patent ID: 8750933

Claim:
A method for selecting a best spatial beam for transmission from an access node to a receiver on a communication system that has at least two spatial beams providing coverage in a first coverage area in a cell segment, the method comprising: transmitting a pilot channel indicator signal periodically from the access node over a plurality of spatial beam transmissions using the at least two spatial beams, wherein the at least two spatial beams use one of a plurality of spatial beam positions which change over time; acquiring at the access node a feedback signal from the receiver, said feedback signal including: two channel quality indicators determined from the pilot channel indicator signal transmitted from the access node; and two beam index values having an indication of two spatial beam positions among the plurality of spatial beam positions where the receiver is located when the receiver is located in a position where spatial beams are overlapping; and scheduling transmissions from the access node to the receiver based on an analysis of at least one of the two channel quality indicators and at least one of the two beam index values received in the feedback signal, said analysis determining a spatial beam that is best suited for the transmissions to the receiver without creating interference with other transmissions on other spatial beams.