  In this paper, we compare the resource allocation fairness of uplink
communications between non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes and
orthogonal multiple access (OMA) schemes. Through characterizing the
contribution of the individual user data rate to the system sum rate, we
analyze the fundamental reasons that NOMA offers a more fair resource
allocation than that of OMA in asymmetric channels. Furthermore, a fairness
indicator metric based on Jain's index is proposed to measure the asymmetry of
multiuser channels. More importantly, the proposed metric provides a selection
criterion for choosing between NOMA and OMA for fair resource allocation. Based
on this discussion, we propose a hybrid NOMA-OMA scheme to further enhance the
users fairness. Simulation results confirm the accuracy of the proposed metric
and demonstrate the fairness enhancement of the proposed hybrid NOMA-OMA scheme
compared to the conventional OMA and NOMA schemes.
