In an example method of scheduling mobile users, mobile users are assigned to one of at least a first layer and a second layer, where each of the first and second layers are associated with a same frequency band. The mobile users are further assigned, in the first layer, to different frequency sub-bands in the frequency band such that the users in the first layer have non-overlapping first sub-band assignments. The mobile users are further assigned, in the second layer, to different frequency sub-bands in the frequency band such that the users in the second layer have non-overlapping second sub-band assignments. The mobile users are then scheduled for transmission based on the first and second layer and the first and second sub-band assignments. In a further example decoding method, layer transmissions are decoded in succession with interference cancellation performed between each layer decoding step. In a second example decoding method, mobile users in multiple layers and within assigned channels are jointly decoded.