Patent ID: 7260077

Claim:
A method for scheduling data for transmission to mobile terminals in a multi-carrier, wireless communication environment comprising: a) determining a cumulated throughput up to or through a given slot of a given frame for each of the mobile terminals; b) placing mobile terminals having a lower cumulated throughput in a first group, c) placing mobile terminals having a higher cumulated throughput in a second group; d) for the first group, iteratively scheduling data for a slot for transmission to the mobile terminals with a lowest cumulated throughput on a best available carrier until the data for each mobile terminal in the first group is scheduled, wherein once the data is scheduled for the slot on the carrier the carrier becomes unavailable; e) for the second group, scheduling data for the slot for transmission to at least one mobile terminal on an available carrier to maximize throughput; f) comparing throughput for the frame for each mobile terminal to a threshold throughput; and g) preventing scheduling of mobile terminals whose throughput for the frame exceeds the threshold throughput.