Wireless communication can be used as a means of accessing a communication network. Wireless communication has certain advantages over wired communications for accessing a network. For example, implementing a wireless interface can eliminate a need for a wired infrastructure thereby reducing the cost of building and maintaining network infrastructure. In addition, a wireless network can support added mobility by allowing a wireless device to access the network from various locations or addresses. A wireless interface can comprise at least one transceiver in active communication with another transceiver that is connected to the network.
Various types of network configurations can be used to communicate data over the wireless network. For example, a heterogeneous network can be configured to include various types of access nodes such as a macro access node, a micro access node, a pico access node, a femto access node, etc. In a heterogeneous network, a wireless device can be served by an access node having the lowest signal path loss rather than by an access node having the strongest signal strength as in traditional network configurations.
In a heterogeneous network, interference can occur at the cell edge of the short range, low power access nodes due to the macro access node. This interference can result in undesirable reduction in coverage and throughput to the wireless devices in communication with the short range access node. A scheduling scheme comprising almost blank subframes (ABS) can be used to create an opportunity for the wireless devices within the cell edge region of a short range access node to receive downlink information without interference from the macro access node. However, ABS subframes can undesirably limit an amount of resources allocated to wireless devices during each frame.