Abstract: A transmit power load balancing technique in accordance with the present invention is used to increase the overall communication capacity of a radio communications system without incurring substantial, additional control signaling. An overloaded connection in a first cell serviced by a radio network is detected, and a second nearby cell which is not overloaded is identified. For a radio user node that has a connection with the radio network, radio transmission from the first overloaded cell is prevented or at least avoided in the downlink direction from the radio network to the radio user node. Instead, a radio transmission associated with that connection is established or otherwise permitted from the second cell in the downlink direction to the radio user node. In a preferred, non-limiting, example embodiment, the prevented or avoided downlink radio transmission is a traffic transmission.

Abstract: First and second pools of resource units are configured using a structure having plural levels including first and second level resource units. A relationship is established between ones of the two pools of resource units. A request is made for a resource that requires a resource unit from both of the first and second resource unit pools. A single allocation procedure is employed to allocate resource units from both pools. If one of the resource units is available in one pool, the relationship ensures that a required corresponding resource unit in another pool is also available.

Abstract: A pool of resource units is configured using a structure having plural levels including first level and second level resource blocks. Each first level resource block corresponds to an individual resource unit, where an individual resource unit is the smallest resource that can be allocated from the resource pool. The first level resource blocks are provided in groups. Each second level resource block corresponds to one of the groups of the first level resource blocks. The second level resource blocks are also provided in groups forming a next higher level of the resource pool. If a request is made for a first level resource block, an available first level resource block is allocated. If a first level resource block is not available, then an available first level resource block is created by converting a second level resource block into a corresponding group of first level resource blocks. One of the converted first level resource blocks is then allocated to the request.