According to embodiments of the invention, an apparatus is provided which includes a connection unit configured to send and/or receive data to and/or from a secondary network control node, a processor configured to establish a configuration preparation message for the secondary network control node for preparing a carrier aggregation in which data to a user equipment is transmitted by at least two component carriers, and in which at least one first component carrier is provided between the apparatus and the user equipment and at least one second component carrier is provided between the secondary network control node and the user equipment, wherein the configuration preparation message includes configuration preparation information for the carrier aggregation, and the connection unit is configured to send the configuration preparation message to the secondary network control node.