Physical structure and design of sounding channel in OFDMA systems

A method for providing a sounding channel in an IEEE 802.16m system, the method comprising:

• allocating the sounding channel in one or more resource blocks by a mobile station, wherein each of the one or more resource blocks spans over a two-dimensional radio resource region having an array of subcarriers along frequency domain and an array of OFDM symbols along time domain;
• and
• transmitting sounding signals via the sounding channel such that the sounding signals occupy a single OFDM sounding symbol within the resource block, wherein the single OFDM sounding symbol is located either in the first OFDM symbol or in the last OFDM symbol within the resource block along the time domain.

A mobile station in an OFDMA system, the mobile station comprising:

• a transmitter that transmits sounding signals via a sounding channel having a sounding pattern;
• and
• a sounding channel allocation module for allocating the sounding channel in one or more resource blocks, wherein each of the one or more resource blocks spans over a two-dimensional radio resource region having an array of subcarriers along frequency domain and an array of OFDM symbols along time domain, wherein the sounding channel is allocated such that the sounding signals do not collide with pilot signals transmitted in the same resource blocks by other mobile stations, and wherein the sounding pattern does not affect data transmission behavior of other mobile stations in the same resource blocks.