SINR-Based User Clustering for Downlink NOMA Systems with Limited Channel Information

In next-generation wireless communication systems, spectrum efficiency can be realized through the integration of hybrid beamforming (HBF) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). To maximize the synergy between these two technologies, it is essential to accurately cluster users within beams. Most existing studies on clustering overlook practical constraints and assume perfect channel state information (CSI). However, obtaining full CSI is impractical in realistic environments due to high feedback overhead and potential CSI errors. To address these challenges, this paper adopts an opportunistic beamforming (OBF) framework based on a partial CSI environment. The OBF facilitates channel estimation and HBF precoder design using only signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) feedback. Subsequently, clustering and power allocation (PA) are performed utilizing the feedback SINR from OBF without requiring additional feedback information. While conventional NOMA focuses on maximizing either throughput or fairness, this paper proposes a scheme that selects users with high SINR to maximize system throughput while minimizing the throughput disparity among users to enhance fairness. Furthermore, a power allocation method that satisfies the minimum successive interference cancellation (SIC) power requirement is employed to ensure stable decoding. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed clustering scheme enhances the sum-rate compared to conventional SINR-based clustering methods while maintaining fairness. Consequently, this study suggests a promising approach to improving NOMA performance in practical partial CSI environments.