Orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) sub-band allocation to enhance wireless data communications

A method of operating an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) communication system comprising:

• a serving base station transferring a wideband measurement request for a wideband OFDM spectrum to a User Equipment (UE);
• the serving base station receiving a wideband signal metric for the wideband OFDM spectrum from the UE, and if the wideband signal metric is below a wideband threshold, then transferring a sub-band null request to shield an OFDM sub-band of the wideband OFDM spectrum to an adjacent base station and transferring a sub-band measurement request for the OFDM sub-band to the UE;
• the serving base station receiving a sub-band signal metric for the shielded OFDM sub-band from the UE, and if the sub-band signal metric is above a sub-band threshold, then authorizing enhanced use of the shielded OFDM sub-band for the UE;
• and
• receiving an enhanced communication request for the UE, and in response, transferring another sub-band null request for the OFDM sub-band to the adjacent base station and exchanging wireless data over the shielded OFDM sub-band with the UE.