Dual in-band/out-band radio access system field

1. A method, comprising:

providing an in-band cellular radio access technology and an out-band radio access technology for use by at least one user equipment within the coverage area via at least one in-band cellular radio access link and at least one out-band radio access link, respectively,

wherein the in-band cellular radio access link is via a first radio access technology,

wherein the out-band radio access link is via a second radio access technology,

wherein the first radio access technology is different from the second radio access technology, and

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology operate on two different frequency bands; and

transmitting user data related to the in-band cellular radio access technology via a first cellular radio backhaul link and user data related to the out-band radio access technology via a second cellular radio backhaul link to at least one donor cellular system.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

interacting with at least one interconnected relay node providing dual in-band/out-band radio access in order to perform radio control-related functionalities with the interconnected at least one node.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: providing information about the availability of the out-band radio access technology and the in-band cellular radio access technology to at least one of the following: at least one user equipment and at least one donor cellular system.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: suspending the in-band cellular radio access link temporarily.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

maintaining connection to at least one of the at least one cellular donor system in order to obtain at least radio control-related services.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising: informing at least one user equipment communicating on the in-band cellular radio access technology that suspension of the in-band cellular radio access link is to take place.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the informing takes place via an out-band radio access link.

8. The method of claim 4 , further comprising: offloading at least one user equipment communicating on the in-band cellular radio access technology to the out-band radio access technology before the suspension takes place.

9. The method of claim 4 , further comprising: re-allocating, for the period of the suspension, the at least one cellular radio backhaul link otherwise carrying user data related to the in-band cellular radio access technology to carry user data related to the out-band radio access technology.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: providing the use of both in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology through a distributed antenna system.

11. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which, when loaded into an apparatus, execute the method according to claim 1 .

12. A method, comprising:

obtaining by a user equipment information about an availability of using both an out-band radio access technology and an in-band cellular radio access technology,

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology is a first radio access technology,

wherein the out-band radio access technology is a second radio access technology,

wherein the first radio access technology is different from the second radio access technology, and

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology operate on two different frequency bands; and

selecting by the user equipment which radio access technology to apply in communication; and

communicating with a cellular donor system, by the user equipment, through a relay node, wherein the data transfer to the relay node is performed on an in-band cellular radio access link or on an out-band radio access link.

13. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which, when loaded into an apparatus, execute the method according to claim 12 .

14. A method, comprising:

deciding by a network element whether or not to perform suspension of using an in-band cellular radio access technology from a relay node, wherein the relay node provides the in-band cellular radio access link and an out-band radio access link,

wherein the in-band cellular radio access link is via a first radio access technology,

wherein the out-band radio access link is via a second radio access technology,

wherein the first radio access technology is different from the second radio access technology, and

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology operate on two different frequency bands; and

informing the relay node, by the network element, about the suspension of the in-band cellular radio access link when the suspension is decided to be performed.

15. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory distribution medium readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which, when loaded into an apparatus, execute the method according to claim 14 .

16. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:

provide an in-band cellular radio access technology and an out-band radio access technology for use by at least one user equipment within the coverage area via at least one in-band cellular radio access link and at least one out-band radio access link, respectively,

wherein the in-band cellular radio access link is via a first radio access technology,

wherein the out-band radio access link is via a second radio access technology,

wherein the first radio access technology is different from the second radio access technology, and

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology operate on two different frequency bands; and

transmit user data related to the in-band cellular radio access technology via a first cellular radio backhaul link and user data related to the out-band radio access technology via a second cellular radio backhaul link to at least one donor cellular system.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

interact with at least one interconnected node providing dual in-band/out-band radio access technology in order to perform radio control-related functionalities with the interconnected at least one node.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

provide information about the availability of using the out-band radio access technology in addition to the in-band cellular radio access technology to at least one of the following: at least one user equipment and at least one donor cellular system.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

suspend the in-band cellular radio access link temporarily.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

maintain connection to at least one of the at least one cellular donor system in order to obtain at least radio control-related services.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

inform at least one user equipment communicating on the in-band cellular radio access technology that suspension of the in-ban cellular radio access link is to take place.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the informing takes place via an out-band radio access link.

23. The apparatus claim 19 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

offload at least one user equipment communicating on the in-band cellular radio access technology to the out-band radio access technology before the suspension takes place.

24. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

re-allocate, for the period of the suspension, the at least one cellular radio backhaul link otherwise carrying user data related to the in-band cellular radio access technology to carry user data related to the out-band radio access technology.

25. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

provide use of both the in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology through a distributed antenna system.

26. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer pro-gram code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:

obtain information about an availability of using both an out-band radio access technology and an in-band cellular radio access technology;

select which radio access technology to apply in communication,

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology is via a first radio access technology,

wherein the out-band radio access technology is via a second radio access technology,

wherein the first radio access technology is different from the second radio access technology, and

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology operate on two different frequency bands; and

communicate with a cellular donor system through a relay node, wherein the data transfer to the relay node is performed on an in-band cellular radio access link or on an out-band radio access link.

27. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:

decide whether or not to perform suspension of using an in-band cellular radio access technology from a relay node, wherein the relay node provides the in-band cellular radio access link and an out-band radio access link,

wherein the in-band cellular radio access link is via a first radio access technology,

wherein the out-band radio access link is via a second radio access technology,

wherein the first radio access technology is different from the second radio access technology, and

wherein the in-band cellular radio access technology and the out-band radio access technology operate on two different frequency bands; and

inform the relay node about the suspension of the in-band cellular radio access link when the suspension is decided to be performed.