Method of signaling particular types of resource elements in a wireless communication system

1. A method of receiving resource allocation at a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

receiving a control message providing information of a set of allocated resource elements carrying data intended for the wireless terminal;

receiving information of a first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration and a second set of zero power reference signal configuration, where the first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration corresponds to one or more reference symbols corresponding to one or more antenna ports configured for wireless terminal channel measurements, where the second set of zero power reference signal configuration corresponds to one or more resource elements where there is no transmission to the wireless terminal, and where both the first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration and the second set of zero power reference signal configuration are from a common set of pre-defined and allowable reference signal configurations;

deriving resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal excluding the resource elements associated with the first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration and the second set of zero power reference signal configuration; and

decoding resource elements that carry data intended for the wireless terminal based on deriving the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of allocated resource elements corresponds to a set of subcarriers in one or more symbols in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference symbol configurations correspond to antenna ports that enable the measurements of channel state information.

4. A wireless terminal comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive a control message providing information of a set of allocated resource elements carrying data intended for the wireless terminal and configured to receive information of a first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration and a second set of zero power reference signal configuration, where the first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration corresponds to one or more reference symbols corresponding to one or more antenna ports configured for wireless terminal channel measurements, where the second set of zero power reference signal configuration corresponds to one or more resource elements where there is no transmission to the wireless terminal, and where both the first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration and the second set of zero power reference signal configuration are from a common set of pre-defined and allowable reference signal configurations; and

a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to control operations of the wireless terminal, the processor configured to derive resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal excluding the resource elements associated with the first set of non-zero power reference signal configuration and the second set of zero power reference signal configuration, and the processor configured to decode resource elements that carry data intended for the wireless terminal based on deriving the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal.

5. The wireless terminal of claim 4 , wherein the reference symbol configurations correspond to antenna ports that enable the measurements of channel state information.

6. A method of receiving resource allocation at a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

receiving a control message providing information of a set of allocated resource elements carrying data intended for the wireless terminal;

receiving an indication corresponding to a first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type within the set of allocated resource elements, where the one or more resource elements of the particular type are resource elements that are obtained by shifting a known reference signal pattern corresponding to a serving cell of the wireless terminal, where the known reference signal pattern comprises a second set of one or more resource elements;

deriving the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal excluding the resource elements associated with the first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type and the second set of one or more resource elements; and

decoding the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal based on deriving the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the known reference signal pattern corresponds to antenna ports that enable the measurements of channel state information on common antenna port reference signals.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the resource elements of particular type correspond to no data transmission to the wireless terminal.

9. A wireless terminal comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive a control message providing information of a set of allocated resource elements carrying data intended for the wireless terminal and configured to receive an indication corresponding to a first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type within the set of allocated resource elements, where the one or more resource elements of the particular type are resource elements that are obtained by shifting a known reference signal pattern corresponding to a serving cell of the wireless terminal, where the known reference signal pattern comprises a second set of one or more resource elements; and

a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to control operations of the wireless terminal, the processor configured to derive the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal excluding the resource elements associated with the first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type and the second set of one or more resource elements, and the processor configured to decode the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal based on deriving the resource elements that carry the data intended for the wireless terminal.

10. The wireless terminal of claim 9 , wherein the known reference signal pattern corresponds to antenna ports that enable the measurements of channel state information on common antenna port reference signals.

11. The wireless terminal of claim 9 , wherein the resource elements of particular type correspond to no data transmission to the wireless terminal.

12. A method of receiving resource allocation at a wireless terminal, the method comprising:

receiving a control message providing information of a set of allocated resource elements carrying data intended for the wireless terminal;

receiving an indication corresponding to a first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type within the set of allocated resource elements, where the one or more resource elements of the particular type are resource elements that are obtained by shifting a known reference signal pattern corresponding to a serving cell of the wireless terminal, where the known reference signal pattern comprises a second set of one or more resource elements;

deriving a third set of resource elements excluding resource elements associated with first resource element and second resource element sets of reference signal configurations;

determining a first nominal interference characteristic on the third set of resource elements;

determining a second interference characteristic on the first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type; and

decoding the first and third set of resource elements that carry data intended for the wireless terminal using the first nominal interference characteristic and the second interference characteristic.

13. The method of claim 12 ,

wherein the indication of corresponding to the first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type corresponds to an indication of superposition of reference and data symbols on at least one resource element of the particular type, and

wherein the method further comprises suppressing interference on the first of one or more resource elements to decode the corresponding data symbols using the knowledge of a potential reference symbol transmission on the first set of one or more resource elements from a hypothetical interfering base station.

14. A wireless terminal comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive a control message providing information of a set of allocated resource elements carrying data intended for the wireless terminal and configured to receive an indication corresponding to a first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type within the set of allocated resource elements, where the one or more resource elements of the particular type are resource elements that are obtained by shifting a known reference signal pattern corresponding to a serving cell of the wireless terminal, where the known reference signal pattern comprises a second set of one or more resource elements; and

a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to control operations of the wireless terminal, the processor configured to derive a third set of resource elements excluding resource elements associated with first resource element and second resource element sets of reference signal configurations, the processor configured to determine a first nominal interference characteristic on the third set of resource elements, the processor configured to determine a second interference characteristic on the first set of resource elements of a particular type, and the processor configured to decode the first and third set of resource elements that carry data intended for the wireless terminal using the first nominal interference characteristic and the second interference characteristic.

15. The wireless terminal of claim 14 ,

wherein the indication corresponding to the first set of one or more resource elements of a particular type corresponds to an indication of superposition of reference and data symbols on at least one resource element of the particular type, and

wherein the processor is configured to suppress interference on the first of one or more resource elements to decode the corresponding data symbols, using the knowledge of a potential reference symbol transmission on the first set of one or more resource elements from a hypothetical interfering base station.