Graph Neural Networks for Resource Allocation in Multi-Channel Wireless Networks

Abstract: As the number of mobile devices continues to grow, interference has become a major bottleneck in improving data rates in wireless networks. Efficient joint channel and power allocation (JCPA) is crucial for managing interference. In this paper, we first propose an enhanced WMMSE (eWMMSE) algorithm to solve the JCPA problem in multi-channel wireless networks. To reduce the computational complexity of iterative optimization, we further introduce JCPGNN-M, a graph neural network-based solution that enables simultaneous multi-channel allocation for each user. We reformulate the problem as a Lagrangian function, which allows us to enforce the total power constraints systematically. Our solution involves combining this Lagrangian framework with GNNs and iteratively updating the Lagrange multipliers and resource allocation scheme. Unlike existing GNN-based methods that limit each user to a single channel, JCPGNN-M supports efficient spectrum reuse and scales well in dense network scenarios. Simulation results show that JCPGNN-M achieves better data rate compared to eWMMSE. Meanwhile, the inference time of JCPGNN-M is much lower than eWMMS, and it can generalize well to larger networks.