Apparatus and method for time domain ICIC with muting pattern comprising fixed and optional parts

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a user equipment a configuration of a flexible muting pattern, wherein the flexible muting pattern comprises a fixed part and an optional part, wherein during the fixed part of the flexible muting pattern a network element is triggered to always be muted;

determining at the user equipment to activate the optional part of the flexible muting pattern, when the optional part of the flexible muting pattern is activated the network element is triggered to be muted, and the optional part is activated based on the determination of the user equipment; and

sending from the user equipment a message informing the network element to activate the optional part of the flexible muting pattern.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

preparing a message indicating to the network element that the optional part of the flexible muting pattern is activated.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising:

sending the message to the network element by one of using a random access procedure;

introducing a new random access procedure message; and

introducing a new value in a radio resource control connection request message.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising repeating sending the message to extend the duration of the activation of the optional part.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising receiving an acknowledgement message from the network element.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

sending a second message to a serving network element indicating that the optional part of the flexible muting pattern has been activated.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising sending separate channel quality measurements for the fixed and optional parts to the serving network element.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein determining to activate the optional part comprises at least one of: measuring the interference from a neighboring network element, observing the quality of a received traffic, and receiving a request to activate the optional part from the serving network element.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether to activate the optional part of the flexible muting pattern for at least one other network element; and

preparing a message indicating to the at least one other network element that the optional part of the flexible muting pattern is activated.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor;

and at least one memory including 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:

receive at a user equipment a configuration of a flexible muting pattern, wherein the flexible muting pattern comprises a fixed part and an optional part, wherein during the fixed part of the flexible muting pattern a network element is triggered to always be muted; and

determine at the user equipment to activate the optional part of the flexible muting pattern, when the optional part of the flexible muting pattern is activated the network element is triggered to be muted, and the optional part is activated based on the determination of the user equipment; and

send from the user equipment a message informing the network element to activate the optional part of the flexible muting pattern.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to prepare a message indicating to the network element that the optional part of the flexible muting pattern is activated.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to send the message to the network element by one of:

using a random access procedure,

introducing a new random access procedure message, and

introducing a new value in a radio resource control connection request message.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to repeat sending the message to extend the duration of the activation of the optional part.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive an acknowledgement message from the network element.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to send a second message to a serving network element indicating that the optional part of the flexible muting pattern has been activated.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to send separate channel quality measurements for the fixed and optional parts to the serving network element.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the optional part is determined to be activated by at least one of: measuring the interference from a neighboring network element, observing the quality of a received traffic, and receiving a request to activate the optional part from the serving network element.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

determine whether to activate the optional part of the flexible muting pattern for at least one other network element; and

prepare a message indicating to the at least one other network element that the optional part of the flexible muting pattern is activated.

19. A method, comprising:

obtaining a configuration of a flexible muting pattern, wherein the flexible muting pattern comprises a fixed part and an optional part, wherein during the fixed part of the flexible muting pattern a network element is always muted, and wherein the optional part is activated upon a request of a user equipment, and when the optional part of the flexible muting pattern is activated the network element is muted; and

sending a message indicating the configuration of the flexible muting pattern to the user equipment.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19 , further comprising sending a second message to the user equipment or to a neighbor network element to initiate the activation of the optional part.