Abstract: A number N physical resource blocks PRBs are allocated among M users in a single control signal, in which some PRBs are allocated as localized to only one user UE and some PRBs are allocated as distributed among multiple UEs. The control signal includes M allocation entries, allocation type bits and a user index sequence of N user indexes. Each allocation entry comprises a UE-ID for indicating to which user a corresponding resource is allocated, where an order of the allocation entries indicates a relationship between the user index and the UE-ID. Individual ones of the allocation type bits corresponds to an individual one of the UE index. The allocation type bits indicate whether a corresponding UE is to use localized allocation or distributed allocation.

Abstract: A method for allocation of multi-carrier transmission resources to terminal devices in a network cell of a radio access network, the transmission resources being dividable into symbol-duration time spans in a time domain and into a plurality of sub-carriers in a frequency domain, comprises allocating to a respective terminal device a group of consecutive symbol-duration time spans in the time domain and at least one respective sub-carrier block in the frequency domain, the at least one respective sub-carrier block being formed by a group of respective consecutive sub-carriers. The allocating comprises allocating a respective sub-carrier block and the group of symbol-duration time spans according to one respective allocation type, which is either a localized or a distributed allocation type, the localized allocation type allocating them to one respective terminal device, and the distributed allocation type allocating them to a respective set of terminal devices.

Abstract: An apparatus that provides control channel signalling to a plurality of user terminals is provided. A definition unit is configured to define at least two allocation table formats. A selection unit is configured to select which allocation table format from the at least two allocation formats is to be used to construct an allocation table. A construction unit is configured to construct an allocation table based at least in part, on the selected allocation table format. A transmitter unit is configured to signal the allocation table to a plurality of user terminals, wherein the selected allocation table format is identified by a unified entry in the allocation table.