System and method for semi-persistent resource scheduling

1. A component in a telecommunications system, comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

promote semi-persistent scheduling of a resource;

promote sending a release message to a user equipment, the release message informing the user equipment to cease attempting to process data on the resource that was semi-persistently scheduled, wherein the release message is not a media access control (MAC) control protocol data unit (PDU);

receive a notification of a silent period in an uplink portion of a voice over Internet Protocol call and,

when a traffic level in the telecommunications system is below a threshold, to retain an existing resource with a user equipment during the silent period, and

when the traffic level is above the threshold, to release the existing resource; and

to promote sending a message to the user equipment upon releasing the existing resource, the message informing the user equipment of the release of the existing resource.

2. The component of claim 1 , wherein the release message is sent near the beginning of a silent period.

3. The component of claim 1 , wherein the release message is sent prior to a silence insertion descriptor being sent to the user equipment.

4. The component of claim 1 , wherein the component is an enhanced node B.

5. A method for managing a semi-persistently scheduled resource comprising:

sending a release message to a user equipment, wherein the release message is not a media access control (MAC) control protocol data unit (PDU);

the user equipment, upon receiving the release message, ceasing to attempt to process data on the semi-persistently scheduled resource;

when a quantity of available resources in a telecommunications system is above a threshold, retaining an existing resource for an uplink data transmission when a silent period occurs in the uplink data transmission;

when the quantity of available resources in the telecommunications system is below the threshold, releasing the existing resource when the silent period occurs in the uplink data transmission, and sending a message to a user equipment engaged in the voice over Internet Protocol call informing the user equipment of the release of the existing resource.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising sending the release message near the beginning of a silent period.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising sending the release message prior to a silence insertion descriptor being sent to the user equipment.

8. The component of claim 1 , wherein the component is an enhanced node B.