Method and apparatus for reference signal selection in a cellular system

1. A method for a remote unit to select reference signals to be transmitted by the remote unit, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting a first reference signal from a predetermined limited set of reference signals;

transmitting by the remote unit the first reference signal on a first channel resource;

selecting a second reference signal from the predetermined limited set of reference signals; and

transmitting by the remote unit the second reference signal on a second channel resource;

wherein the first and the second reference signals are utilized for channel estimation, channel sounding, or system access;

wherein the step of selecting comprise the steps of pseudo-randomly selecting in a manner that is known to a target receiver of the transmissions.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of selecting the second reference signal is based on predetermined process known by the remote unit and known by a target receiver of the transmissions.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the predetermined process comprises a pseudo-random process based on an ID associated with the target receiver.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined limited set of reference signals comprises a plurality of reference signals with a predetermined peak-to-average power ratio property.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined limited set of reference signals comprises a plurality of reference signals with a predetermined cross correlation property.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined limited set of reference signals comprises at least one reference signal based on a truncated or cyclically extended generalized chirp-like sequence.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein there exist a plurality of subsets of the predetermined limited set of reference signals, and wherein both the first and second reference signals are selected from a same subset.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein there exist a plurality of subsets of the predetermined limited set of reference signals, and wherein the first reference signal is selected from a first subset and the second reference signal is selected from a second subset.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein there exists a predetermined time period between the transmitting of the first and second reference signals.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

selecting a reference signal from the predetermined limited set of reference signals for transmission by a second remote unit; and

transmitting by the second remote unit the reference signal on the first channel resource;

wherein the remote unit is associated with a first cell, the second remote unit is associated with a second cell, and the second cell utilizes a same RF channel as the first cell.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the first reference signal is a channel estimation reference signal.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the second reference signal is a channel sounding reference signal.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the first reference signal is a random access signal.

14. A method for selecting reference signals to be transmitted by a base station, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting by the base station a first reference signal from a predetermined limited set of reference signals;

transmitting by the base station the first reference signal on a first channel resource;

selecting by the base station a second reference signal from the predetermined limited set of reference signals;

transmitting by the base station the second reference signal on a second channel resource;

wherein there is a predetermined time period between the transmitting of the first and second reference signals;

wherein the step of selecting the second reference signal is based on predetermined pseudo-random selection process; and

wherein the first and the second reference signals are utilized for channel estimation, channel sounding, or system access.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the first reference signal is a downlink channel estimation signal.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the first reference signal is a cell identification signal.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

selecting by a second base station, a reference signal from the predetermined limited set of reference signals; and

transmitting by the second base station the reference signal on the first channel resource, wherein the step of selecting the reference signal by the second base station is based on second pseudo-random selection process.

18. The method of claim 14 where the predetermined pseudo-random selection process is based on a cell ID of the base station.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a reference signal selection unit, for pseudo-randomly selecting a first reference signal from a predetermined limited set of reference signals, and for pseudo-randomly selecting a second reference signal from the predetermined limited set of reference signals; and

a receiver unit, coupled to the reference signal selection unit, for receiving a first signal on a first channel resource and for analyzing the first received signal relative to the first reference signal to provide at least one of synchronization or channel estimation information, and for receiving a second signal on a second channel resource and for analyzing the second received signal relative to the second reference signal to provide at least one of synchronization or channel estimation information.