Patent ID: 8774848

Claim:
A method, comprising: identifying a first base station defining a first cell and at least two neighbor base stations of the first base station defining adjacent cells to the first cell; determining whether to use cell edge enhancement; classifying, by the first base station, wireless communication devices present in the first cell based on their proximity to the first base station; coordinating, by the first base station in concert with the neighbor base stations, to define partial loading sub-frames and normal loading sub-frames for a downlink control channel; scheduling for the downlink control channel, by the first base station during a partial loading sub-frame, at least a first group of wireless communication devices present in the first cell, the first group of wireless communication devices comprising wireless communication devices determined by the first base station to be near an edge of the first cell; and scheduling for the downlink control channel, by the first base station during a normal loading sub-frame, at least one other group of wireless communication devices present in the first cell other than wireless communication devices in the first group of wireless communication devices, the at least one other group of wireless communication devices determined by the first base station to be in greater proximity to the first case station than wireless communication devices in the first class.