Virtual multicarrier design for orthogonal frequency division multiple access communications

1. An apparatus for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication, the apparatus comprising: a transmitter to transmit signals; and a baseband processing block coupled to the transmitter and configured to encode input data for transmission on an OFDM signal with first and second logical subcarriers of a virtual carrier, map the first and second logical subcarriers to first and second physical subcarriers, and control the transmitter to transmit the OFDM signal with the encoded input data on the first and second physical subcarriers; wherein the first and second physical subcarriers respectively correspond to first and second physical carriers that have adjacent frequency bands and

the virtual carrier includes a first plurality of logical subcarriers, the first physical carrier includes a second plurality of physical subcarriers, and the second physical carrier includes a third plurality of physical subcarriers, wherein the first plurality is greater than the second plurality, and the first plurality is greater than the third plurality.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the baseband processing block is further configurable to

communicate with a second terminal, which is a legacy terminal, solely using physical subcarriers of the first physical carrier.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the baseband processing block is further configurable to

communicate with the first terminal solely using physical subcarriers of the first and the second physical carriers; and

communicate with a third terminal solely using physical subcarriers of the first physical carrier and a third physical carrier.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the baseband processing block is further configured to control the transmitter to transmit allocation information to identify, to the first terminal, a downlink resource that includes the OFDM signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the downlink resource includes a group of consecutive physical subcarriers that includes the first subcarrier and the second subcarrier.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second physical subcarriers having a spacing between each other equal to, or a multiple of, a spacing between adjacent physical subcarriers of the first physical carrier.

7. An apparatus for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication, the apparatus comprising: a receiver configured to receive signals; and a baseband processing block coupled to the receiver, and configured to receive an OFDM signal, from the receiver, with first and second physical subcarriers of respective first and second physical carriers, map the first and second physical subcarriers to respective first and second logical subcarriers of a virtual carrier, and decode the logical subcarriers to retrieve data encoded on the OFDM signal; wherein the first and second physical subcarriers are adjacent to one another and

the virtual carrier includes a first plurality of logical subcarriers, the first physical carrier includes a second plurality of physical subcarriers, and the second physical carrier includes a third plurality of physical subcarriers, wherein the first plurality is greater than the second plurality, and the first plurality is greater than the third plurality.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the baseband processing block is configurable to receive, from a base station, a first communication solely on the first physical carrier and to transmit, to the base station, a second communication solely on the second physical carrier.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first and second subcarriers have a spacing between each other equal to, or a multiple of, a spacing between adjacent physical subcarriers of the first physical carrier.

10. A method for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication, the method comprising: receiving an OFDM signal with first and second physical subcarriers of respective first and second physical carriers that have adjacent frequency bands, the first and second physical subcarriers having a spacing between each other equal to, or a multiple of, a spacing between adjacent physical subcarriers of the first physical carrier, mapping the first and second physical subcarriers to respective first and second logical subcarriers of a virtual carrier, and decoding the logical subcarriers to retrieve data encoded on the OFDM signal and

the virtual carrier includes a first plurality of logical subcarriers, the first physical carrier includes a second plurality of physical subcarriers, and the second physical carrier includes a third plurality of physical subcarriers, wherein the first plurality is greater than the second plurality, and the first plurality is greater than the third plurality.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving, from a wireless communication terminal, a first communication solely on the first physical carrier; and

transmitting, to the wireless communication terminal, a second communication solely on the second physical carrier.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first and second physical subcarriers are adjacent to one another.

13. A method for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), the method comprising: receiving input data; encoding a first portion of the input data for transmission on a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal with a first plurality of logical subcarriers of a virtual carrier; mapping the first plurality of logical subcarriers to a second plurality of physical subcarriers of one or more physical carriers;

encoding a second portion of the input data for transmission on a second OFDM signal with a third plurality of physical subcarriers of a first physical carrier, the first physical carrier having a physical subcarrier that is adjacent to at least one of the second plurality of physical subcarriers;

transmitting the first OFDM signal with the first plurality of physical subcarriers to a first terminal; and transmitting the second OFDM signal with third plurality of physical subcarriers to a second terminal, wherein the first plurality is greater than the second plurality and the first plurality is greater than the third plurality.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least two physical carriers includes the first physical carrier and a second physical carrier that is adjacent to the first physical carrier.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein a spacing between a physical subcarrier of the first physical carrier and a physical subcarrier of the second physical subcarrier is equal to, or a multiple of, a spacing between adjacent physical subcarriers of the first physical carrier.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the second terminal is a legacy terminal and the method further comprises:

communicating with the second terminal solely using physical subcarriers of the first physical carrier;

communicating with the first terminal with physical subcarriers of the first and the second physical carriers.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

transmitting, to the first terminal, allocation information to identify a downlink resource that includes the first OFDM signal.

18. An apparatus for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication, the apparatus comprising: means for transmitting signals; and means for encoding input data for transmission on an OFDM signal with first and second logical subcarriers of a virtual carrier, mapping the first and second logical subcarriers to first and second physical subcarriers, and controlling the transmitter to transmit the OFDM signal with the encoded input data on the first and second physical subcarriers; wherein the first and second physical subcarriers respectively corresponds to first and second physical carriers that have adjacent frequency bands and

the virtual carrier includes a first plurality of logical subcarriers, the first physical carrier includes a second plurality of physical subcarriers, and the second physical carrier includes a third plurality of physical subcarriers, wherein the first plurality is greater than the second plurality, and the first plurality is greater than the third plurality.