Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) search space determination. In one embodiment, a base station may identify an index of the current EPDCCH occasion period, each EPDCCH occasion period including a number of subframes, and the subframes being divided to a number of search units. A distribution of EPDCCH candidates corresponding to at least one EPDCCH aggregation level in the EPDCCH occasion period may be determined based on the index of the EPDCCH occasion period and the number of search units in the EPDCCH occasion period. The base station may then select, from the distribution of the EPDCCH candidates, an EPDCCH candidate for transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to a UE.

Abstract: A method includes operating a network access node to determine, in cooperation with at least one other network access node, a coordinated scheduling granularity having a plurality of physical resource blocks; and signaling an indication of the determined coordinated scheduling granularity to at least one mobile device served by the network access node for use in enhancing estimation at a receiver of the mobile device, such as when estimating an interference covariance matrix. Apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed, as are mobile device methods and apparatus for receiving and using the signaling.

Abstract: Various communication systems may benefit from appropriate synchronization signal design. For example, third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution advanced (LTE-A) releases 12 and 13 (Rel 12/13) may benefit from such design for device to device (D2D) communications. In particular, synchronization signals may be designed to benefit proximity services (ProSe)/D2D discovery and communication. A method can include transmitting a cellular synchronization signal on a first resource. The method can also include transmitting a device to device synchronization signal on a second resource. The first resource can be different from the second resource. The cellular synchronization signal and the device to device synchronization signal can share a same base sequence.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) search space determination. In one embodiment, a base station may identify an index of the current EPDCCH occasion period, each EPDCCH occasion period including a number of subframes, and the subframes being divided to a number of search units. A distribution of EPDCCH candidates corresponding to at least one EPDCCH aggregation level in the EPDCCH occasion period may be determined based on the index of the EPDCCH occasion period and the number of search units in the EPDCCH occasion period. The base station may then select, from the distribution of the EPDCCH candidates, an EPDCCH candidate for transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to a UE.

Abstract: Various communication systems may benefit from appropriate synchronization signal design. For example, third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution advanced (LTE-A) releases 12 and 13 (Rel 12/13) may benefit from such design for device to device (D2D) communications. In particular, synchronization signals may be designed to benefit proximity services (ProSe)/D2D discovery and communication. A method can include transmitting a cellular synchronization signal on a first resource. The method can also include transmitting a device to device synchronization signal on a second resource. The first resource can be different from the second resource. The cellular synchronization signal and the device to device synchronization signal can share a same base sequence.

Abstract: Systems and techniques for managing the use of discovery resources in device to device communication-capable devices. A message is configured for transmission to one or more user devices by a base station to indicate permission or denial of discovery resources, and based on the message, one or more of the user devices receiving the message uses, or is inhibited from using, the resource. Indication of permission or denial may, in various embodiments designate all discovery resources in general, specific resources assigned to groups and allocated to a specific user device, or groups of resources, with permission or denial relating to all members of a group.

Abstract: An approach is provided for efficient signaling of redundancy version information. A redundancy version signaling module detects the start of a system information radio transmission window and assigns a redundancy version sequence at the start of the transmission window.

Abstract: An approach is provided for efficient signaling of redundancy version information. A redundancy version signaling module detects the start of a system information radio transmission window and assigns a redundancy version sequence at the start of the transmission window.

Abstract: Various communication systems may benefit from techniques and systems for acknowledgment. For example, acknowledgements of enhanced physical downlink control channel uplink grants with enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel may benefit long term evolution communication systems. A method can include preparing an enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel for transmission, as a response to an uplink enhanced physical downlink control channel grant. The method can also include transmitting the enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel in semi-static time and frequency resources reserved for enhanced physical downlink control channel. A predetermined number of enhanced control channel elements to be distributed over a certain number of physical resource block pairs can be configured for the transmission of the enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel.

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: Various example embodiments are disclosed relating to wireless networks, such as relay networks or multi-hop networks, and also relating to control signaling techniques for wireless networks. In an example embodiment, a method or technique may include transmitting (e.g., data or control) frames in a downlink direction and control frames in an uplink direction during a first phase, and transmitting (e.g., data or control) frames in an uplink direction and control frames in a downlink direction during a second phase.

Abstract: An approach is provided for efficient signaling of redundancy version information. A redundancy version signaling module detects the start of a system information radio transmission window and assigns a redundancy version sequence at the start of the transmission window.

Abstract: A set of J predetermined power level offsets that scale transmission power per user are stored in a local computer-readable memory. A set of N users to which are allocated overlapping downlink frequency resources are selected. From the stored set is then selected a power level offset. An indication of the selected power level offset is signaled to at least one of the N users; and the at least one of the N users are also sent a multiplexed transmission using the selected power level offset. N is an integer at least equal to two, J is an integer at least equal to two, and at least one member of the set is other than 1/n in which n is any positive integer less than Nmax in which Nmax is a maximum number of users that can be multiplexed together. Various embodiments include an apparatus such as a network access node, a method, and a stored computer program. Also detailed are apparatus and method and stored computer program for practicing the invention from the perspective of the user/UE.

Abstract: When resources reserved for the purpose of transmitting control information relating to transmissions between an access node and any one of a plurality of communication devices served by the access node are identified as resources that are not required for said purpose, transmitting via said resources a data sequence recognisable by each communication device served by said access node as not being control information for said respective communication device.

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing an efficient mechanism for transmitting interference vectors to communications terminals, such as user equipments (UEs), in an over the air radio telecommunications network with spatially multiplexed multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) capability. A new pre-coding information downlink channel is defined. Messages containing semi-persistent interference vector information for MU-MIMO user equipment are defined and transmitted over the new channel in a manner that allows infrequent transmission and efficient use of resources. Using the interference vectors and applying inter-user interference adaptation to received messages, the UEs may receive spatially multiplexed MIMO transmissions and actively remove inter-user interference after reception of the messages. Compression of the pre-coding vector information transmitted over the pre-coding information channel may result in additional increases in efficiency in the system.

Abstract: A method includes operating a network access node to determine, in cooperation with at least one other network access node, a coordinated scheduling granularity having a plurality of physical resource blocks; and signaling an indication of the determined coordinated scheduling granularity to at least one mobile device served by the network access node for use in enhancing estimation at a receiver of the mobile device, such as when estimating an interference covariance matrix. Apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed, as are mobile device methods and apparatus for receiving and using the signaling.

Abstract: Various example embodiments are disclosed relating to wireless networks, such as relay networks or multi-hop networks, and also relating to control signaling techniques for wireless networks. In an example embodiment, a method or technique may include transmitting (e.g., data or control) frames in a downlink direction and control frames in an uplink direction during a first phase, and transmitting (e.g., data or control) frames in an uplink direction and control frames in a downlink direction during a second phase.

Abstract: Various example embodiments are disclosed relating to wireless networks, such as relay networks or multi-hop networks, and also relating to control signaling techniques for wireless networks. In an example embodiment, a method or technique may include transmitting (e.g., data or control) frames in a downlink direction and control frames in an uplink direction during a first phase, and transmitting (e.g., data or control) frames in an uplink direction and control frames in a downlink direction during a second phase.

Abstract: Introducing a set of limitations on where different payload sizes are allowed in a control channel element aggregation ‘tree’ is shown. Following these limitations, the network element (e.g. Node B) will have a large flexibility for scheduling users, while the terminal (e.g. User Equipment) will have an option for still keeping the number of blind decoding attempts at a quite low number.

Abstract: A receiver includes, in series, at least one receive antenna, a buffer, and arithmetic logic block, a symbol detector, and a phase noise estimator. A further feedback loop couples an output of the phase noise estimator to an input of the arithmetic logic block for providing an estimate of phase noise. The buffer is for storing the received signal. The arithmetic logic block, such as a multiplier, is for removing the estimate of phase noise, received via the feedback loop, from the buffered signal. The symbol detector is for estimating a symbol from the output of the arithmetic logic block. The phase noise estimator estimates phase noise from two inputs received from the symbol detector: the estimated symbol and the remainder signal. Preferably, the phase noise estimator performs an IFFT on these two inputs and Kalman filters the result. Iteratively estimating the phase noise improves precision substantially.