System and method for network uplink measurement based operation using UE centric sounding
Embodiments are provided for uplink measurement based mechanism and control using user equipment (UE) centric sounding signals. The mechanism provides an alternative to DL-measurement dominated system control. Based on UL-measurements at TPs, the network obtains knowledge of users' channel and timing information, traffic, and interference, and is thus able to perform better control, including TP and UE clustering and optimization, and power control and link adaptation. In an embodiment method, a TP receives one-to-one mapping information indicating a plurality of UE IDs and a plurality of sounding channels assigned to the corresponding UE IDs. When the TP detects a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a UE, the TP is able to identify the UE using the detected SRS and the one-to-one mapping information. The TP then obtains measurement information for the identified UE, enabling better control and communications for uplink and downlink transmissions between multiple TPs and the UE.
1. A method for communicating a sounding reference signal (SRS) in a communications system, comprising:
receiving, by a transmission point (TP) in a network area of a network, a SRS from a user equipment (UE), wherein the SRS comprises a connection sequence and is transmitted over a channel opportunity associated with a group of UEs to which the UE belongs, a different connection sequence being assigned to each UE in the group of UEs, each of the different connection sequences being independent from the TPs in the network area, wherein the combination of the connection sequence in the SRS and the channel opportunity over which the SRS is received is used to uniquely identify the UE by TPs in the network area, and wherein the connection sequence in the SRS is independent of any of the TPs in the network area; and
identifying, by the TP, the UE that transmitted the SRS based on the combination of the connection sequence carried by the SRS and the channel opportunity over which the SRS is transmitted.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining, by the TP, a corresponding relationship between the UE and the connection sequence from a network node in the network area.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the corresponding relationship comprises an association between the connection sequence and a UE identifier (ID) uniquely identifying the UE.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the UE ID comprises a dedicated connection sequence (DCS) allocated to the UE and uniquely identifying the UE in the network area, or comprises a DCS allocated to the UE and location information for the UE both uniquely identifying the UE in the network area.
5. The method of claim 2 further comprising transmitting, by the TP, the SRS comprising the corresponding relationship to the UE.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting, by the TP, the SRS comprising the channel opportunity to the UE, wherein the channel opportunity is obtained by the UE from the SRS.
7. A method communicating a sounding reference signal (SRS) in a communications system, comprising:
obtaining transmitting, by a user equipment (UE) in a network area of a network, a SRS assigned by the network; and
transmitting, by the UE, the SRS to at least one transmission point (TP), the SRS comprising a connection sequence and being transmitted over a channel opportunity associated with a group of UEs to which the UE belongs, each UE in the group of UEs being assigned a different connection sequence, each of the different connection sequences being independent from the TPs in the network area, wherein the combination of the connection sequence in the SRS and the channel opportunity over which the SRS is transmitted is used to uniquely identify the UE by TPs in the network area, and wherein the connection sequence in the SRS is independent of any of the TPs in the network area.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising identifying, by the UE, the channel opportunity based on a corresponding relationship between the connection sequence and a UE identifier (ID) uniquely identifying the UE.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the UE ID comprises a dedicated connection sequence (DCS) allocated to the UE and uniquely identifying the UE in the network area, or comprises a DCS allocated to the UE and location information for the UE both uniquely identifying the UE in the network area.
10. A transmission point (TP) for communicating a sounding reference signal (SRS) in a network, the TP comprising:
at least one processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming including instructions to:
receive, in a network area, a SRS from a user equipment (UE), wherein the SRS comprises a connection sequence and is transmitted over a channel opportunity associated with a group of UEs to which the UE belongs, a different connection sequence being assigned to each UE in the group of UEs, each of the different connection sequences being independent from the TPs in the network area, wherein the combination of the connection sequence in the SRS and the channel opportunity over which the SRS is transmitted is used to uniquely identify the UE by TPs in the network area, and wherein the connection sequence in the SRS is independent of any of the TPs in the network area; and
identify the UE that transmitted the SRS based on the combination of the connection sequence and the channel opportunity over which the SRS is transmitted.
11. The TP of claim 10 , wherein the programming further includes instructions to:
obtain a corresponding relationship between the connection sequence and the UE from a network node in the network area.
12. The TP of claim 11 , wherein the corresponding relationship comprises an association between the connection sequence and a UE identifier (ID) uniquely identifying the UE.
13. The TP of claim 12 , wherein the UE ID comprises a dedicated connection sequence (DCS) allocated to the UE and uniquely identifying the UE in the network area, or comprises a DCS allocated to the UE and location information for the UE both uniquely identifying the UE in the network area.
14. The TP of claim 11 , wherein the programming further includes instructions to transmit the SRS comprising the corresponding relationship to the UE.
15. The TP of claim 10 , wherein the programming further includes instructions to transmit the SRS comprising the channel opportunity to the UE, wherein the channel opportunity is obtained by the UE from the SRS.
16. A user equipment (UE) for communicating a sounding reference signal (SRS) in a communications system, the UE comprising:
at least one processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming including instructions to:
obtain transmit a SRS assigned by a network; and
transmit, by the UE, the SRS to at least one transmission point (TP) in a network area of the network, the SRS comprising a connection sequence and being transmitted over a channel opportunity associated with a group of UEs to which the UE belongs, a different connection sequence being assigned to each UE in the group of UEs, each of the different connection sequences being independent from the TPs in the network area, wherein the combination of the connection sequence and the channel opportunity over which the SRS is transmitted is used to uniquely identify the UE by TPs in the network area, and wherein the connection sequence in the SRS is independent of any of the TPs in the network area.
17. The UE of claim 16 , wherein the programming further includes instructions to obtain a corresponding relationship between the connection sequence and the UE from at least one TP in the network area.
18. The UE of claim 16 , wherein the programming further includes instructions to identify the channel opportunity based on the corresponding relationship, wherein the corresponding relationship comprises an association between the connection sequence and a UE identifier (ID) uniquely identifying the UE.
19. The UE of claim 18 , wherein the UE ID comprises a dedicated connection sequence (DCS) allocated to the UE and uniquely identifying the UE in the network area, or comprises a DCS allocated to the UE and location information for the UE both uniquely identifying the UE in the network area.
20. The method of claim 7 , wherein the combination of the connection sequence the channel opportunity associated with the SRS is used by a TP to identify the UE that transmitted the SRS.