Abstract: In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method includes: sending, within at least one of a first and a second symbol time, a first transmission having first downlink control information from a network access node to a first mobile node located within a first cell serviced by the network access node; and sending, within at least a third symbol time, a second transmission having second downlink control information from the network access node to a relay node over a wireless communication link that is a backhaul link, where the second transmission is configured to enable the relay node to send, within the first symbol time, a third transmission having third downlink control information from the relay node to a second mobile node located within a second cell serviced by the relay node, where the second cell is different from the first cell.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products provide channel state information (CS1) measurement and reporting for a segment carrier in certain situations. An apparatus such as a base station may determine whether CSI is needed for a channel of a segment carrier comprising a segment portion and a contiguous bandwidth extension of a backward compatible carrier utilized by a base station for wireless communications with a mobile terminal. In response to determining that CSI is needed, the apparatus configures the mobile terminal to communicate channel state information from the mobile terminal to the base station. In other embodiments, an apparatus such as a mobile terminal is configured to receive configuration data indicating whether CSI is to be measured by the mobile terminal, and measuring the CSI and communicating the CSI to the base station in response to the configuration data.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products are provided for establishing a time-frequency reference signal pattern configuration in a carrier extension or a carrier segment, such as for cell-specific reference signals (CRS) and/or demodulation reference signals (DM RS). One method includes receiving information regarding a time-frequency reference signal pattern configuration in a carrier extension or carrier segment. The time-frequency reference signal pattern configuration defines a subframe to include a reference signal based upon a time density parameter and defines a resource element to be utilized within the subframe based upon a frequency density parameter.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for providing improved spectrum efficiency by triggering a ranked transmission. In this regard, a method is provided that includes causing a configuration message to be transmitted to a mobile terminal, wherein the configuration message provides interpretation information for a frequency hopping flag bit. The method also includes determining a rank for a transmission. The method may include setting a rank indication in the frequency hopping flag bit of a downlink control message based on the determined rank of the transmission.

Abstract: In some examples, the method, apparatus and computer program product as described herein is configured for cell Discontinuous Transmission. In this regard, a method is provided that includes receiving an indication of a discovery of a cell by a communications device. The method of this embodiment may also include determining the cell based on the indication. The method of this embodiment may also include causing the cell to transition to an activated state from a dormant state.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided to provide for timely switching between antenna port configurations as the mode of operation of a mobile terminal changes which may, in turn, dictate different combinations of the MIMO, CoMP and/or CA capabilities. In this regard, a method is provided that includes utilizing one or more antennas in a first antenna port configuration in a first mode of operation. The method may also receive a command that triggers switching to another antenna port configuration and then determines another one of a plurality of antenna port configurations to be utilized in response to the command. The method may then utilize one or more antennas of the another one of the antenna port configurations in a second mode of operation. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also provided.

Abstract: There are provided measures for interference control in time division duplex communication. Such measures may exemplarily comprise setting up a predefined uplink-downlink configuration of a frame structure for time division duplex communication, said frame structure comprising a predefined number of downlink subframes, deriving measurement groups from the frame structure according to a measurement configuration, said measurement configuration defining a set of all downlink subframes of the frame structure or at least two subsets of the downlink subframes of the frame structure, each of said measurement groups comprising a set of subframes out of the downlink subframes of the frame structure, and performing an interference measurement for the downlink subframes of at least one of the measurement groups.

Abstract: A radio frame or subframe is checked and it is determined to satisfy at least one predefined condition. In response to that determination, a second search space is utilized such that a number Y of blind detections for a user equipment UE in the determined radio frame/subframe is greater than a number X of blind detections for the UE in the radio frame/subframe if a first search space were utilized. In various embodiments the predefined condition is: the number X of blind detections is less than a threshold value Z (Z>=Y) where Z is a maximum number M of blind detections defined by a transmission mode for the frame's/subframe's component carrier CC; a number of CCs configured for the UE; the radio frame or subframe is in the first CC but not in the second CC one of uplink or a special subframe (further conditions) or an almost blank subframe.

Abstract: There is determined a first uplink-downlink configuration for subframes in a frame, which in various examples is fixed or dynamically allocated. A second uplink-downlink configuration is semi-statically allocated such as in system information. When mapping automatic repeat request signaling for a first user equipment which is dynamically allocated an uplink-downlink configuration, at least some downlink subframes mapped by the second uplink-downlink configuration are excluded by the mapping. In one example, UL resources mapped from a first group DL subframes are indexed according to the second configuration, and then UL resources mapped from a second group of DL subframes are indexed according to the first configuration, and the excluded DL subframes are within the first group and excluded from the second group and the automatic repeat request signaling is in an uplink resource mapped from the second group.

Abstract: Apparatuses, methods and computer program products are proposed, by which resource elements in an uplink transmission of a user equipment are determined, on which interference may be caused and which are to be muted in the uplink transmission, and wherein the user equipment is configured to mute resource elements based on the determined resource elements.

Abstract: Timing control procedure is needed for uplink transmissions in several communication networks. Some networks and bands have physical and regulatory limitations for obtaining timing advance value in conventional manner. One example of these limitations is disabled downlink channel in TV white spaces. The present invention provides an arrangement for obtaining timing advance value in a situation wherein the use of downlink channel is disabled.

Abstract: A method includes composing downlink control information having a format configured to support a presence of a plurality of transport blocks in a single subframe, where the downlink control information comprises, for the plurality of transport blocks, a common resource allocation and modulation/coding scheme field and a single cyclic redundancy check field. The method further includes transmitting the composed downlink control information to a relay node over a wireless link that comprises a backhaul link from the relay node.

Abstract: Methods, devices and computer program products in relation to interference reduction are presented, in particular for devices comprising a transceiver module configured for TDD operation in a network environment wherein a partition of subframes of channels are configurable to be flexibly assigned for downlink or uplink transmission while other subframes are fixedly configured for either uplink or downlink transmission. Aspects of such devices encompasses a controller module configured to determine those subframes that are flexibly assigned and configured for downlink transmission, identify, among those determined subframes, a subframe carrying a control channel, and restrict physical resources for the control channel in the identified subframe. The invention also addresses corresponding receiving devices and terminals as well as associated methods.

Abstract: The invention allows flexible disabling/enabling of cross-carrier scheduling in carrier-aggregated wireless data transmission. In response to detecting a predetermined disabling indication of cross-carrier scheduling of received carrier aggregated wireless data transmission, the disabling indication targeting subframes allocated to uplink in a first component carrier transmitted from a cross-carrier scheduling cell and to downlink in a second component carrier transmitted from a cross-carrier scheduled cell: a downlink control region in the targeted subframes in the second component carrier is monitored for uplink/downlink grants; and in response to detecting an uplink/downlink grant, the detected uplink/downlink grant is utilized in uplink/downlink scheduling of the targeted subframe in the second component carrier.

Abstract: If an allocated radio resource in a 2nd component carrier/CC, which is cross scheduled from a 1st CC and the 1st and 2nd CCs have different 1st and 2nd UL/DL subframe configurations, then it is checked if a mapped subframe for acknowledging data that is mapped from the allocated radio resource according to the 2nd UL/DL configuration is a subframe for acknowledging data according to the 1st UL/DL configuration. If not, then the UE or NodeB tune their radio to a predefined resource within the mapped subframe in the 1st CC for acknowledging data on the allocated radio resource in the 2nd CC. If yes then the mapping is conventional. Multiple implementations are shown by which the predefined resource is a resource element or physical resource block depending on whether the mapped subframe according to the 1st UL/DL configuration is a PDCCH or a PDSCH, and these may be implicitly or explicitly linked to the allocated resource.

Abstract: Embodiments include a method for physical layer transmission in a network equipment including receiving, from a higher layer, messages to be transmitted during a subframe on one or more control channels. The number of elements required (i.e. aggregation level) for each control channel is determined. A plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) for transmitting the control channels and partitioning the PRBs into clusters is allocated. The interleaving depth (IDP) for each cluster is determined. Each element is mapped to a cluster according to the IDP for that cluster. A transmission signal including the clusters is generated.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products configure a sounding reference signal (SRS) for a segment carrier that serves as a contiguous bandwidth extension of a component carrier, such as a component carrier that is backwards compatible with prior releases of a mobile terminal. In the context of a mobile terminal, the method receives a triggering message that identifies respective configurations of the SRS for the component carrier and the associated segment carrier. The configuration of the SRS for the component carrier is different than the configuration of the SRS for the segment carrier. The method also causes the SRS to be transmitted in accordance with the respective configurations identified by the triggering message via uplink subframes of the component carrier and the segment carrier.

Abstract: The present invention proposes methods, devices and computer program products in relation to interference reduction, in particular for control channels in TDD systems allowing allocation of flexible subframes for uplink or downlink transmission. In relation thereto, a format of data transmission in flexible subframes in the uplink and/or downlink is modified.

Abstract: Method and apparatus which prevents or at least significantly reduces errors during dynamic TDD UL/DL configuration changes. Received downlink time division duplex subframes are monitored during a predetermined time window, wherein at least a portion of the subframes includes an uplink/downlink configuration indication. In response to not detecting an uplink/downlink configuration indicated by any of the uplink/downlink configuration indications in the monitored downlink time division duplex subframes, an average of the monitored uplink/downlink configuration indications is calculated. The calculated average is utilized in determining a time division duplex uplink/downlink configuration to be used.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed that facilitate discontinuous reception via a primary cell and one or more secondary cells that have different TDD UL/DL subframe configurations including overlapping subframes, such as in an instance in which a UL subframe of a secondary cell overlaps with a corresponding DL subframe of the primary cell. A method may define an active state of a primary cell to be larger than an active state of a secondary cell in a TDD network that supports carrier aggregation. The method may also provide for discontinuous reception via the primary cell and the secondary cell in accordance with different TDD UL/DL subframe configurations and also in accordance with the respective active states of the primary and secondary cells.