Abstract: An improved method and system for achieving target function failure rates for time-critical functions. Communication systems often utilize distributed functions occurring in two or more nodes. Various embodiments of the invention enable such system to achieve target function failure rates by adjusting the maximum allowable duration for time-critical functions. Adjustments to either a function starting time or a maximum allowable function duration may be used to achieve target failure rates. Various embodiments measure a real-time function failure rate. Other embodiments simply lengthen or compress the maximum allowable function duration based on failure or success of the function. The function duration or the function duration statistics do not need to be known.

Abstract: A cellular telecommunications system and method of scheduling a group of user equipments is provided. The system includes a macro cell with a macro base station and multiple associated low power nodes (LPN's). The macro base station and the LPN's share the same cell ID. The system and method provide for scheduling a group of UE's by grouping a plurality of the UE's together, assigning a group identifier to the group, notifying the group and encoding a control channel with the group identifier. A single control channel is delivered to each UE in the group of UE's. The UE's of the group of UE's may be processed by different LPN's. The transmitted control channel may be included in a DCI (downlink control information) and delivers uplink scheduling grants to the UE's. Based on the transmitted control channel, the UE's are scheduled for uplink transmission.

Abstract: A method, system and non transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium provides for controlling the BLER (block error rate) in a digital communication system. The outer loop control of the system discounts responses sent by a receiver to data transmission from a transmitter that were sent during a receiver outage event. Either the NACKs or both the ACKs and NACKs sent by the receiver during receiver outage are discounted by the outer loop control which adapts subsequent transmissions by either directly adjusting transmission parameters or by adjusting the selection of transmission parameters. The adapting may be based on individual NACKs and ACKs or after establishing a BLER.