Technique for communicating on unlicensed spectrum

1. A device providing access to other devices according to a cellular radio-access technology, the device comprising:

processing circuitry; and

memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the device is operative to:

perform a clear-channel assessment (CCA) of a channel in an unlicensed spectrum, wherein a result of the CCA indicates if the channel is clear or occupied;

send, in response to an indication the CCA indicating that the channel is clear, a signal on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum, the signal including a signature sequence indicating that the channel in the unlicensed spectrum is being used by a device according to a cellular radio-access technology; and

in response the CCA, communicate on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum according to a scheduling mechanism of the cellular radio-access technology, wherein communication on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum comprises transmission of data that includes a signature sequence based on the signal sent on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the data is signed using the signature sequence by encrypting a hash value of the data using a private key that is associated with the signature sequence as a public key, wherein sending of the signal and communication on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum are performed simultaneously and within a subframe, and wherein the signature sequence is transmitted continuously or periodically by a network node during regular data transmission.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the signature sequence is configured to be detected by correlating the signal as received with the signature sequence.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the signature sequence is transmitted on dedicated resource elements of the cellular radio-access technology.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the signature sequence differs in time and/or frequency from further signals that are sent in the unlicensed spectrum according to the indicated radio-access technology.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are such that the device is operative to trigger generating a pseudo-random number; and wherein a plurality of CCAs is performed, the number being decremented for each CCA result indicating clearance.

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein the instructions are such that the device is operative to trigger exchanging the generated pseudo-random number between nodes configured for using the cellular radio-access technology in the unlicensed spectrum.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the signature sequence uniquely identifies at least one of a node performing the communication on the unlicensed spectrum and a radio-access network including the node.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the signature sequence is time-dependent.

9. A device providing access to other devices according to a cellular radio-access technology, the device comprising:

processing circuitry; and

memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the device is operative to:

receive a signal in the unlicensed spectrum, the signal including a signature sequence indicating that the unlicensed spectrum is used by a device according to a cellular radio-access technology, wherein the signature sequence is transmitted continuously or periodically by a network node when using a channel during regular data transmission;

perform a clear-channel assessment (CCA) based on the received signal, wherein a result of the CCA indicates if the channel in the unlicensed spectrum is clear or occupied, and wherein the signature sequence is detected from the received signal; and

communicate, in response to the CCA, on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum according to a scheduling mechanism of the cellular radio-access technology, wherein communication on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum comprises transmission of data that includes a signature sequence based on the signal received on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the data is signed using the signature sequence by encrypting a hash value of the data using a private key that is associated with the signature sequence as a public key.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions are such that the device is operative to detect the signature sequence by correlating the signal as received with the signature sequence.

11. The device of claim 9 , wherein the signature sequence is received on dedicated resource elements.

12. The device of claim 9 , wherein the signature sequence differs in time and/or frequency from further signals that are sent in the unlicensed spectrum according to the indicated radio-access technology.

13. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions are such that the device is operative to:

perform an initial CCA based on the signal as received, a result of the initial CCA indicating that the unlicensed spectrum is occupied; and

decode the signature sequence from the received signal.

14. The device of claim 9 , wherein the radio-access technology uses a frame structure or a subframe structure; and wherein the communicating includes sending padding data until a subsequent frame or subframe boundary.

15. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions are such that the device is operative to trigger sending the signature sequence or a dedicated signature sequence during the communication.

16. The device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions are such that the device is operative to:

generate or receive a pseudo-random number; and

perform a plurality of CCAs, with the number being decremented for each CCA result indicating clearance.

17. A method of communicating on unlicensed spectrum, the method comprising:

performing a clear-channel assessment (CCA) for a channel in the unlicensed spectrum, wherein a result of the CCA indicates if the channel is clear or occupied;

sending, in response to an indication the result of the CCA indicating that the channel is clear, a signal in the unlicensed spectrum, the signal including a signature sequence indicating that the unlicensed spectrum is used by a device according to a cellular radio-access technology; and

communicating, in response to the CCA, on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum according to a scheduling mechanism of the a cellular radio-access technology, wherein communicating on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum comprises a step of transmitting data that includes a signature sequence based on the signal sent on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the data is signed using the signature sequence by encrypting a hash value of the data using a private key that is associated with the signature sequence as a public key, wherein sending the signal and communicating on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum are performed simultaneously and within a subframe, and wherein the signature sequence is transmitted continuously or periodically by a network node when using the channel during regular data transmission.

18. A method of communicating on unlicensed spectrum, the method comprising:

receiving a signal in the unlicensed spectrum, the signal including a signature sequence indicating that the unlicensed spectrum is used by a device according to a cellular radio-access technology; wherein the signature sequence is received continuously or periodically from a network node on a channel in the unlicensed spectrum during regular data transmission;

performing a clear-channel assessment (CCA) based on the received signal, wherein a result of the CCA indicates if the channel is clear or occupied, and wherein the signature sequence is detected from the received signal; and

communicating, in response to the CCA, on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum according to a scheduling mechanism of the cellular radio-access technology, wherein communicating on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum comprises a step of transmitting data that includes a signature sequence based on the signal received on the channel in the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the data is signed using the signature sequence by encrypting a hash value of the data using a private key that is associated with the signature sequence as a public key.