Communication unit and a method in a wireless communication network

A communication unit for use in a wireless communication network in which a transmitting unit is arranged for wireless communication with at least one receiving unit, said communication network further comprising at least a first relay node of a first multi-hop communication path arranged to receive a signal from the transmitting unit and forward it to the receiving unit and a second relay node of a second multi-hop communication path arranged to receive a signal from the transmitting unit and forward it to the receiving unit, said communication unit comprising a hardware processor and a transceiver, said communication unit configured to:

• receive, by the transceiver, information from another communication unit in the wireless communication network, said other communication unit identifying at least a first communication path and a second communication path, respectively between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit;
• calculate, by the hardware processor, at least a first capacity of the first communication path and a second capacity of the second communication path, respectively, said first capacity and second capacity representing long-term capacities of the first and second communication paths respectively, said long-term capacities calculated based on a mean value and a variance of channel statistics and a number of transmitting antennas;
• and
• compare the first and second capacities and select a relaying scheme between relaying schemes based on the first and second capacities, at least one of the relaying schemes involving cooperative relaying between said first and second relay node.

A method in a wireless communications network comprising at least one transmitting unit arranged for wireless communication with at least one receiving unit, said network further comprising at least a first relay node of a first communication multi-hop path being arranged to receive a signal from the transmitting unit and forward it to the receiving unit, and a second relay node of a second multi-hop communication path being arranged to receive a signal from the transmitting unit and forward it to the receiving unit, said method comprising:

• identifying at least a first communication path and a second communication path, respectively between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, at least one of said paths involving the first or the second relay node;
• calculating at least a first capacity of the first communication path and a second capacity of the second communication path, respectively, said first capacity and second capacity representing long-term capacities of said first and second communication paths respectively, said long-term capacities calculated based on a mean value and a variance of channel statistics and a number of transmitting antennas;
• and
• transmitting information related to the capacities of the communication paths to at least one other communication unit in the wireless network provided for comparing the first and second capacities and selecting a relaying scheme between relaying schemes based on the first and second capacities, at least one of the relaying schemes involving cooperative relaying between the first and second relay nodes.

A method for a wireless communications network comprising at least one transmitting unit arranged for wireless communication with at least one receiving unit, said network further comprising at least a first relay node of a first communication multi-hop path arranged to receive a signal from the transmitting unit and forward it to the receiving unit and a second relay node of a second multi-hop communication path being arranged to receive a signal from the transmitting unit and forward it to the receiving unit, said method comprising:

• receiving information from another communication unit in the wireless communication network, said other communication unit identifying at least the first communication path and the second communication path, respectively between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, calculating at least a first capacity of the first communication path and a second capacity of the second communication path, respectively, said first capacity and second capacity representing long-term capacities of the first and second communication paths respectively, said long-term capacities calculated based on a mean value and a variance of channel statistics and a number of transmitting antennas;
• and
• comparing the first and second capacities and selecting a relaying scheme between relaying schemes based on the first and second capacities, at least one of the relaying schemes involving cooperative relaying between said first and second relay nodes.