SCHEDULING BEAMFORMING COMMUNICATIONS BASED ON A NUMBER OF COMMUNICATION DEVICES IN EACH BEAM

A network node configured to communicate with a plurality of communication devices in a communications network via a plurality of beams can schedule communications based on the number of communication devices in each beam. The network node can determine a number of communication devices of the plurality of communication devices that are in a beam of the plurality of beams. The network node can determine a scheduling priority of a communication device of the plurality of communication devices based on the number of communication devices that are in the beam, the communication device being in the beam. The network node can select the beam based on the scheduling priority of the communication device. The network node can, responsive to selecting the beam, schedule communication with the communication device via the beam.