Patent ID: 8391206

Claim:
A method for implementation in a first functional entity in a wireless communication system that includes a plurality of base stations for providing wireless connectivity, comprising: receiving, at the first functional entity, channel state information associated with a plurality of wireless communication channels between the plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile units; selecting a plurality of candidate sets of base stations from the plurality of base stations and, for each of the candidate sets, selecting corresponding subsets of the plurality of mobile units for association with the corresponding candidate set, wherein the selection of the candidate sets and the associated subsets of mobile units is performed using the channel state information; selecting one of the candidate sets of base stations and associated subset of mobile units, wherein the selected candidate set has the largest sum-rate for transmission to its associated subset of mobile units; and communicating information indicative of the selected candidate set and associated subsets of mobile units to the base stations in the selected candidate set.