# Channel and Gradient-Importance Aware Device Scheduling for Over-the-Air Federated Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.16854 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.16854/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 22 of its 42 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 26 May 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 22 of 22)

- [Communication-Efficient Learning of Deep Networks from Decentralized Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.05629/) (2016)
- [Convex optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.01946/) (2021)
- [On the Convergence of FedAvg on Non-IID Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.02189/) (2019)
- [Optimization Methods for Large-Scale Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.04838/) (2016)
- [Federated Learning on Non-IID Data Silos: An Experimental Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.02079/) (2021)
- [Federated Learning in Mobile Edge Networks: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.11875/) (2019)
- [Federated Learning via Over-the-Air Computation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.11750/) (2018)
- [Broadband Analog Aggregation for Low-Latency Federated Edge Learning (Extended Version)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.11494/) (2018)
- [Over-the-Air Federated Learning from Heterogeneous Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.12787/) (2020)
- [Convergence of Update Aware Device Scheduling for Federated Learning at the Wireless Edge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.10402/) (2020)
- [Scheduling for Cellular Federated Edge Learning with Importance and Channel Awareness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.00490/) (2020)
- [Communication Efficiency in Federated Learning: Achievements and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.10996/) (2021)
- [Dynamic Scheduling for Over-the-Air Federated Edge Learning with Energy Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.00490/) (2021)
- [DELTA: Diverse Client Sampling for Fasting Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.13925/) (2022)
- [Gradient and Channel Aware Dynamic Scheduling for Over-the-Air Computation in Federated Edge Learning Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.00491/) (2022)
- [Joint Optimization of Communications and Federated Learning Over the Air](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.03490/) (2021)
- [Semi-Decentralized Federated Edge Learning with Data and Device Heterogeneity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10313/) (2021)
- [Relay-Assisted Cooperative Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.09518/) (2021)
- [Knowledge-aided Federated Learning for Energy-limited Wireless Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.12277/) (2022)
- [User Scheduling for Federated Learning Through Over-the-Air Computation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.02891/) (2021)
- [Stochastic Coded Federated Learning: Theoretical Analysis and Incentive Mechanism Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.04132/) (2022)
- [CFLIT: Coexisting Federated Learning and Information Transfer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.12884/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Green Edge AI: A Contemporary Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.00333/) (2023)
- [Achieving Linear Speedup in Asynchronous Federated Learning with Heterogeneous Clients](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.11198/) (2024)
- [Energy-Efficient Channel Decoding for Wireless Federated Learning: Convergence Analysis and Adaptive Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.13703/) (2024)
- [Age-Based Device Selection and Transmit Power Optimization in Over-the-Air Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.01828/) (2025)
- [pFedWN: A Personalized Federated Learning Framework for D2D Wireless Networks with Heterogeneous Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.09822/) (2025)
- [How to Collaborate: Towards Maximizing the Generalization Performance in Cross-Silo Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.13236/) (2024)
- [FedCGD: Collective Gradient Divergence Optimized Scheduling for Wireless Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.07581/) (2025)
- [Byzantine-Resilient Over-the-Air Federated Learning under Zero-Trust Architecture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.18284/) (2025)
- [Non-Coherent Over-the-Air Federated Learning: Protocol, Convergence, and Device Scheduling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.08312/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Federated learning (FL) is a popular privacy-preserving distributed training scheme, where multiple devices collaborate to train machine learning models by uploading local model updates. To improve communication efficiency, over-the-air computation (AirComp) has been applied to FL, which leverages analog modulation to harness the superposition property of radio waves such that numerous devices can upload their model updates concurrently for aggregation. However, the uplink channel noise incurs considerable model aggregation distortion, which is critically determined by the device scheduling and compromises the learned model performance. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic device scheduling framework for over-the-air FL, named PO-FL, to mitigate the negative impact of channel noise, where each device is scheduled according to a certain probability and its model update is reweighted using this probability in aggregation. We prove the unbiasedness of this aggregation scheme and demonstrate the convergence of PO-FL on both convex and non-convex loss functions. Our convergence bounds unveil that the device scheduling affects the learning performance through the communication distortion and global update variance. Based on the convergence analysis, we further develop a channel and gradient-importance aware algorithm to optimize the device scheduling probabilities in PO-FL. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed PO-FL framework with channel and gradient-importance awareness achieves faster convergence and produces better models than baseline methods.