Methods and apparatus for enabling further enhancements to flexible subframes in LTE heterogeneous networks
View Patent ↗A method is provided for communication in a wireless telecommunication network. The method comprises providing, by a network element, one of an uplink grant or a downlink grant to at least one UE that the network element has determined, based on information received from a plurality of UEs, is closer to the network element than is another UE, wherein the uplink grant is scheduled such that the UE transmits to the network element only during at least one flexible subframe, and wherein the downlink grant is scheduled such that the network element transmits to the UE only during at least one flexible subframe. The method further comprises transmitting, by the network element, to at least one UE that the network element has determined, based on information received from a plurality of UEs, is closer to the network element than is another UE, only during at least one flexible subframe.
1. A method for communication in a wireless telecommunication network, the method comprising:
assigning, by a network element, a first scheduling grant to a first user equipment (UE) and a second scheduling grant to a second UE, the first UE being closer to the network element than the second UE; and
transmitting the first scheduling grant and the second scheduling grant to the first UE and the second UE, respectively,
wherein the first UE only performs transmissions using the first scheduling grant during flexible subframes and wherein the second UE only performs transmissions using the second scheduling grant during static subframes, the static subframes having a different subframe pattern than the flexible subframes,
wherein the flexible subframes are capable of dynamically switching between subframes used by the first UE for uplink traffic and downlink traffic, while the static subframes are restricted subframes used by the second UE for only uplink traffic or downlink traffic.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network element is deployed in a low-power cell having a time division duplexing (TDD) configuration.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second UE is closer to an edge of the low-power cell than the first UE, and wherein the network element assigns a third scheduling grant to a third UE based on whether the third UE is closer to the network element or the edge.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the third scheduling grant is such that the third UE only performs transmissions during one of:
flexible subframes if the third UE is closer to the network element; or
static subframes if the third UE is closer to the edge.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the network element instructs the first UE to transmit at low power for an uplink transmission using a flexible subframe to avoid interference to a third UE performing a downlink transmission in a neighboring cell during a coinciding subframe.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the network element, one channel state information (CSI) from the first UE for multiple flexible subframes and one CSI from the second UE for multiple static subframes.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising instructing, by the network element, the first UE to use two consecutive flexible subframes for two consecutive uplink transmissions or two consecutive downlink transmissions.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmissions in flexible subframes occur at lower power than transmissions in static subframes.
9. A network element comprising:
at least one storage device; and
a processor configured to execute instructions stored on the at least one storage device such that when executed, the network element assigns a first scheduling grant to a first user equipment (UE) and a second scheduling grant to a second UE based on the first UE being closer to the network element than the second UE,
wherein the processor is further configured such that the network element transmits the first scheduling grant and the second scheduling grant to the first UE and the second UE, respectively, wherein the first UE only performs transmissions using the first scheduling grant during flexible subframes and wherein the second UE only performs transmissions using the second scheduling grant during static subframes, the static subframes having a different subframe pattern than the flexible subframes,
wherein the flexible subframes are capable of dynamically switching between subframes used by the first UE for uplink traffic and downlink traffic, while the static subframes are restricted subframes used by the second UE for only uplink traffic or downlink traffic.
10. The network element of claim 9 , wherein the network element is deployed in a low-power cell having a time division duplexing (TDD) configuration.
11. The network element of claim 10 , wherein the second UE is closer to an edge of the low-power cell than the first UE.
12. The network element of claim 10 , wherein the network element instructs the first UE to transmit at low power for an uplink transmission using a flexible subframe to avoid interference to a third UE performing a downlink transmission in a neighboring cell during a coinciding subframe.
13. The network element of claim 10 , wherein the network element is configured to schedule uplink and downlink transmissions in the low-power cell by taking account of a relative narrowband transmit power (RNTP) and/or a high interference indicator (HII) of a neighboring cell having a dynamically adaptable TDD configuration.
14. The network element of claim 13 , wherein scheduling the uplink and downlink transmissions in the low-power cell by taking account of the neighboring cell's RNTP and/or HII is such that interference to the neighboring cell is minimized even if the network element does not know the neighboring cell's TDD configuration.
15. The network element of claim 9 , wherein the network element is further configured to receive multiple channel quality indices (CQIs) from the first UE for multiple flexible subframes, respectively, and receive a single CQI from the second UE for multiple static subframes.
16. The network element of claim 9 , wherein the network element is further configured to instruct the first UE to use two consecutive flexible subframes for two consecutive uplink transmissions or two consecutive downlink transmissions.
17. The network element of claim 9 , wherein transmissions in flexible subframes occur at lower power than transmissions in static subframes.
18. A user equipment (UE) comprising:
at least one storage device; and
a processor configured to execute instructions stored on the at least one storage device such that when executed, the UE receives a first scheduling grant assigned by a network element, the UE being closer to the network element than a second UE to which a second scheduling grant is assigned,
wherein the processor is further configured to use the first scheduling grant such that the UE only performs transmissions during flexible subframes and to use the second scheduling grant such that the second UE only performs transmissions during static subframes, the static subframes having a different subframe pattern than the flexible subframes,
wherein the flexible subframes are capable of dynamically switching between subframes used by the UE for uplink traffic and downlink traffic, while the static subframes are restricted subframes used by the second UE for only uplink traffic or downlink traffic.
19. The UE of claim 18 , wherein the network element is deployed in a low-power cell having a time division duplexing (TDD) configuration.
20. The UE of claim 19 , wherein the second UE is closer to an edge of the low-power cell than the UE.
21. The UE of claim 19 , wherein the UE is further configured to receive an instruction from the network element to transmit at low power for an uplink transmission using a flexible subframe to avoid interference to a third UE performing a downlink transmission in a neighboring cell during a coinciding subframe.
22. The UE of claim 18 , wherein the UE is further configured to transmit one channel state information (CSI) for multiple flexible subframes to the network element, wherein the one CSI reflects an average of interference levels during all flexible subframes within the multiple flexible subframes.
23. The UE of claim 18 , wherein transmissions in flexible subframes occur at lower power than transmissions in static subframes.