Abstract:
Spectrum reservation circuitry for use in a source electronic device (e.g. eNB or UE) of a wireless communication system is provided. The availability of an unlicensed carrier for use is checked by control circuitry of the source device and a License Assisted Access (LAA) Request to Send signal is transmitted on an unlicensed carrier if it is determined to be available for use. Receive circuitry is configured to receive on an unlicensed carrier, from a destination electronic device an LAA Clear to Send signal in response, depending upon availability of the unlicensed channel at the destination. Corresponding spectrum reservation circuitry is provided for use in a destination device, comprising transmit circuitry to transmit the LAA Clear to Send signal. A corresponding computer program product is provided on a non-transitory medium.
Abstract:
A User Equipment (UE) device operates to directly determine a target small cell for access or handover with the assistance of a macro cell network. The UE directly generates the connection and selects which small cell to access from among a subset of small cells chosen of a set of candidate small cells. The UE is provided dedicated assistance information from the evolved node B (eNB) or macro network device. The dedicated assistance information enables the UE to measure data from the candidate small cells within a heterogeneous network environment. The UE shares the measured data and connects directly to the selected small cell for an access or handover operation.
Abstract:
In the context of License Assisted Access on a wireless network, LAA LTE, to unlicensed spectrum, uplink scheduling and reception at an evolved Node B, eNB, and contention access and transmission at a User euipment, UE, are described. the eNB schedules uplink resources consisting of multiple subframes. The UE performs Listen-Before-Talk, LBT, procedures before transmitting within the scheduled subframes. transmission puncturing is applied either before a subframe or at the end of a subframe. A first, second and third circuitry are described. The first circuitry may be operable to identify a first subframe being unavailable for a first Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) procedure within the unlicensed spectrum, in which the first LBT procedure determined the unlicensed spectrum to be busy. The second circuitry may be operable to perform a second LBT procedure in a second subframe subsequent to the first subframe. The third circuitry may be operable to generate an Uplink (UL) transmission over the unlicensed spectrum in the second subframe. The UE that acquires the uplink channel sends a reservation signal, for example, a demodulation reference signal, DM-RS.
Abstract:
A network device (e.g., an evolved Node B (eNB), user equipment (UE) or the like) can operate to enable the assigning of different listen-before-talk (LBT) priority classes or levels within a same DL transmission for scheduling UL transmissions, either in the same transmission opportunity as the UL grant or another transmission opportunity outside of the UL grant. Other data elements or traffic of the DL transmission can be multiplex with the UL grant, such as LBT parameters or a PUSCH, while each can be separately and selectively assigned different or equivalent LBT priority classes. The device can operate to process or generate communications on an unlicensed band or a licensed band in response to UL grants and indications provided via a DL transmission on a first transmission opportunity.
Abstract:
Techniques for transmission of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH) within a partial subframe of a license assisted access (LAA) burst are discussed. One example apparatus comprises a processor configured to generate a LAA burst; generate one or more downlink control channel messages that comprise at least one of PDCCH messages or EPDCCH messages; generate a physical layer encoding of the LAA burst comprising a first partial subframe, wherein the first partial subframe comprises a physical layer encoding of the one or more downlink control channel messages; and output the first partial subframe comprising the physical layer encoding of the one or more control channel messages to transmitter circuitry for subsequent transmission via an unlicensed carrier.
Abstract:
A base station for secondary-cell (S-cell) operation in an unlicensed band is subject to listen-before-talk (LBT) rules. The apparatus generates S-cell discovery reference signal (DRS) that includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS) based on a cell ID associated with the base station, a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), and optionally CSI-RS. Solutions are described for generating portions of the DRS to accommodate the placement of the DRS in arbitrary subframes.
Abstract:
Systems, apparatus, user equipment (UE), evolved node B (eNB), computer readable media, and methods are described for uplink grants and hybrid automatic repeat requests (HARQ) in communications systems. Some embodiments operate to determine that an unlicensed first channel is idle based on a sensing of the first channel for a first period of time. Such an embodiment may then generate a reservation signal on the first channel and an uplink grant for a first user equipment (UE). After the uplink grant is communicated, the embodiment senses the first channel to detect a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission associated with the uplink grant. A HARQ acknowledgment or negative acknowledgement may be sent in various embodiments following the sensing.
Abstract:
Embodiments of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) and methods for HARQ transmission are disclosed herein. The eNB may transmit, to a reduced-latency User Equipment (UE), an initial HARQ block and a diversity HARQ block for a reduced-latency data block. A sub-frame spacing between the transmissions of the HARQ blocks may be less than a sub-frame spacing used for transmissions of HARQ blocks to UEs not operating as reduced-latency UEs. The HARQ blocks for the reduced-latency data block may be transmitted in a reduced-latency region of time and frequency resources reserved for HARQ processes with reduced-latency UEs. In addition, HARQ blocks may be transmitted in time and frequency resources exclusive of the reduced-latency region to other UEs not operating as reduced-latency UEs.