Method for transmitting a sequence of symbols

1. A method for transmitting a certain sequence of symbols, said method comprising:

constructing a frame of a certain number of consecutive symbols;

transmitting the symbols belonging to the sequence using at least two antennas;

wherein the transmission of the sequence of symbols is with a certain transmission pattern and

the transmission of the sequence of symbols always starts from a same predefined antenna;

wherein each symbol of the sequence is transmitted using not more than one antenna, whereby only one antenna is transmitting at one time; and

starting the transmission pattern from the beginning of a next frame when a partial transmission pattern is used at the end of a frame, said partial transmission pattern starting from the beginning of a transmission pattern and ending before an end of the transmission pattern.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the length of the transmission pattern is shorter than the length of a frame;

the length of the frame is not a multiple of the length of the transmission pattern; and

said method further comprising during each frame:

repeating the transmission pattern until the length is the length of the rest of the frame, which length is the length of the transmission pattern multiplied by the number of the repetition times within the frame subtracted from the length of the frame, is less than the length of the transmission pattern, and

thereafter using only a certain part having a length which is the length of the rest of the frame of the transmission pattern.

3. A method according to claim 2 , further comprising selecting the part of the pattern from the beginning of the transmission pattern.

4. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the length of the transmission pattern is an even number and the length of the frame is an odd number.

5. A method according to claim 4 , further comprising transmitting the sequence of symbols using a first antenna and a second antenna, and wherein the transmission pattern is an alternating pattern and the length of the transmission pattern is two.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein each frame comprises a certain number of consecutive time slots and each time slot comprises a certain number of consecutive symbols, and said method further comprises transmitting one symbol belonging to the sequence of symbols in each time slot.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein each frame comprises a certain number of consecutive time slots and each time slot comprises a certain number of consecutive symbols, and said method further comprises transmitting more than one symbol belonging to the sequence of symbols in each time slot.

8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein each frame comprises certain number of consecutive time slots and each time slot comprises a certain number of consecutive symbols, and said method further comprises transmitting in at least one of the time slots no symbol belonging to the sequence of symbols.

9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the length of the transmission pattern is larger than the length of the frame.

10. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising starting the transmission of the sequence of symbols from a primary antenna that transmits a common pilot signal.

11. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the sequence of symbols in a downlink direction in a cellular network.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a controller for controlling the transmission of a sequence of symbols according to a certain transmission pattern through at least two antennas;

an indicator for indicating an antenna from which to transmit the first symbol belonging to the sequence, wherein a first symbol belonging to a sequence is always transmitted from a same antenna;

an arranger for arranging the transmission of each symbol of the sequence using not more than one antenna, whereby only one antenna is transmitting at a time; and

a starter for always starting the transmission pattern from the beginning in the beginning of a next frame when a partial transmission pattern is used at the end of a frame, said partial transmission pattern starting from the beginning of a transmission pattern and ending before an end of the transmission pattern.

13. A network element comprising an apparatus according to claim 12 .

14. A network element according to claim 13 , wherein said network element comprises a radio network controller of a spread spectrum system.

15. A network element according to claim 13 , wherein said network element comprises a base station of a spread spectrum system and at least two antennas.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein starting the transmission of the sequence of symbols from the same predefined antenna further comprises always transmitting a first symbol of a sequence of symbols from the same predefined antenna.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the transmission pattern defines the predefined antenna from which to always transmit the first symbol of the sequence of symbols.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein a length of the partial transmission pattern is less than a length of a complete frame.