Flexible multicarrier NB-IoT operation in a network

1. A method comprising:

selecting, by a base station device, one or more anchor Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) channels in a frequency band based on frequencies consistent with a user equipment (UE) device raster scan;

assigning, by the base station device, a plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in the frequency band based on frequencies aligned with Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) of the frequency band, wherein a quantity of the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels is greater than a quantity of NB-IoT channels that fit into the frequency band based on the frequencies consistent with the UE device raster scan; and

broadcasting, by the base station device, information identifying the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels and the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in a system information block (SIB).

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frequency band includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) band.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a connection request from a UE device via a supplementary NB-IoT channel of the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels; and

attaching the UE device to the base station device via the supplementary NB-IoT channel.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frequency band includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) band, and wherein at least one of the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels is in a guard band associated with the LTE band.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

assigning priority values to the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels and to the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels; and

including information identifying the assigned priority values in the SIB.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

assigning a time period for which the priority values are valid; and

including information identifying the assigned time period in the SIB.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

performing load balancing on the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels and the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels; and

including access barring instructions for at least one of the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels or the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in the SIB based on the load balancing or instructions to release or redirect one or more UE devices from the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels or the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

selecting one or more channels from the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels or the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels for a channel hopping communication method; and

including information identifying the selected one or more channels and the channel hopping communication method in the SIB.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SIB corresponds to LTE SIBS.

10. A base station device comprising:

a processor configured to:

select one or more anchor Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) channels in a band based on frequencies consistent with a user equipment (UE) device raster scan; and

assign a plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in the band based on frequencies aligned with Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) of the band, wherein a quantity of the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels is greater than a quantity of NB-IoT channels that fit into the frequency band based on the frequencies consistent with the UE device raster scan; and

a transceiver configured to:

broadcast information identifying the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels and the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in a system information block (SIB).

11. The base station device of claim 10 , wherein the band includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) band.

12. The base station device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a connection request from a UE device via a supplementary NB-IoT channel of the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels; and

attach the UE device to the base station device via the supplementary NB-IoT channel.

13. The base station device of claim 10 , wherein the band includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) band, and wherein at least one of the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels is in a guard band associated with the LTE band.

14. The base station device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

assign priority values to the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels and to the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels; and

include information identifying the assigned priority values in the SIB.

15. The base station device of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

assign a time period for which the priority values are valid; and

include information identifying the assigned time period in the SIB.

16. The base station device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform load balancing on the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels and the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels; and

include access barring instructions for at least one of the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels or the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in the SIB based on the load balancing.

17. The base station device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

select one or more channels from the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels or the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels for a channel hopping communication method; and

include information identifying the selected one or more channels and the channel hopping communication method in the SIB.

18. A system comprising:

a base station device configured to:

select one or more anchor Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) channels in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) band based on frequencies consistent with a user equipment (UE) device raster scan;

assign a plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in the LTE band based on frequencies aligned with Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) of the LTE band, wherein a quantity of the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels is greater than a quantity of NB-IoT channels that fit into the frequency band based on the frequencies consistent with the UE device raster scan; and

broadcast information identifying the one or more anchor NB-IoT channels and the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels in a system information block (SIB); and

a UE device configured to:

receive the SIB;

select an NB-IoT channel based on the information in the SIB; and

connect to the base station device using the selected NB-IoT channel.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein, when selecting the NB-IoT channel based on the information in the SIB, the UE device is further configured to:

determine that the base station device is redirecting UE devices to the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels; and

search for an available supplementary NB-IoT channel, in response to determining that the base station device is redirecting UE devices to the plurality of supplementary NB-IoT channels.

20. The system of claim 18 , wherein, when selecting the NB-IoT channel based on the information in the SIB, the UE is further configured to:

determine a preferred supplementary NB-IoT channel and a specified time period based on information stored in the SIB; and

use the preferred supplementary NB-IoT channel during the specified time period.