Method and apparatus for allocating acknowledgement resources
A method includes receiving initial acknowledgement resource information at a user device from a base station. The initial acknowledgement resource information is associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources. The method includes determining in dependence on the initial acknowledgement resource information which of the subset of acknowledgement resources is to be used. The user device transmits an acknowledgement on the determined resource.
1. A method comprising:
receiving common physical uplink control channel configuration information at a user device and from a base station, said common physical uplink control channel configuration information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources in a cell;
determining in dependence on said common physical uplink control channel configuration information which of the acknowledgement resources is to be used in association with an ACK/NACK resource indicator; and
causing transmission by the user device of an acknowledgement on an acknowledgement resource being associated with a received ACK/NACK resource indicator value,
wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user device during initial access when radio resource control connection has not yet been established.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , comprising subsequently receiving dedicated acknowledgment resource information and causing transmission by the user device of an acknowledgment in a resource associated with said dedicated acknowledgement resource information.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein acknowledgement resource information of the common physical uplink control channel configuration information comprises one or more of the following:
a physical uplink control channel channelization structure defining one or more sets of parallel HARQ-ACK resources;
an index of a first resource to be used for HARQ-ACK;
a first physical uplink control channel interface to be used for HARQ-ACK;
a number of physical uplink control channel interfaces to be used for HARQ-ACK;
a supported physical uplink control channel format; or
a HARQ-ACK bundling scheme to be applied.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said acknowledgment comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement on a physical uplink control channel.
5. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received via system information.
6. A method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the method further comprises receiving a physical downlink control channel assignment for downlink transmission including the ACK/NACK resource indicator value.
7. A method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the acknowledgement is transmitted in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure.
8. A method comprising:
causing common physical uplink control channel configuration information to be transmitted from a base station to a user device, said common physical uplink control channel configuration information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources in a cell; and
receiving at said base station from said user device and in the subset of acknowledgement resources an acknowledgement on an acknowledgement resource being associated with an ACK/NACK resource indicator value,
wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is transmitted to the user device during initial access when radio resource control connection has not yet been established.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8 , comprising subsequently causing transmission of dedicated acknowledgment resource information and receiving from the user device of an acknowledgment in a resource associated with said dedicated acknowledgement resource information.
10. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the acknowledgement resource information of the common physical uplink control channel configuration information comprises one or more of the following:
a physical uplink control channel channelization structure defining one or more sets of parallel HARQ-ACK resources;
an index of a first resource to be used for HARQ-ACK;
a first physical uplink control channel interlace to be used for HARQ-ACK;
a number of physical uplink control channel interlaces to be used for HARQ-ACK;
a supported physical uplink control channel format; or
a HARQ-ACK bundling scheme to be applied.
11. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the acknowledgement comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement on a physical uplink control channel.
12. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received via system information.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the acknowledgement is received in response to a to a physical downlink control channel assignment for downlink transmission including the ACK/NACK resource indicator value to the user device.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the acknowledgement on said acknowledgement resource is received in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure to the user device.
15. An apparatus, the 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, with the at least one processor, to:
receive common physical uplink control channel configuration information at a user device and from a base station, said common physical uplink control channel configuration information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources in a cell;
determine in dependence on said common physical uplink control channel configuration information which of the acknowledgement resources is to be used in association with an ACK/NACK resource indicator; and
cause transmission by the user device of an acknowledgement on an acknowledgement resource being associated with a received ACK/NACK resource indicator value,
wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user device during initial access when radio resource control connection has not yet been established.
16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received via system information.
17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to receive a physical downlink control channel assignment for downlink transmission including the ACK/NACK resource indicator value.
18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the acknowledgement is transmitted in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure.
19. An apparatus, the 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, with the at least one processor, to:
cause common physical uplink control channel configuration information to be transmitted from a base station to a user device, said common physical uplink control channel configuration information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources in a cell; and
receive at said base station from said user device and in the subset of acknowledgement resources an acknowledgement an acknowledgement resource being associated with an ACK/NACK resource indicator value,
wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is transmitted to the user device during initial access when radio resource control connection has not yet been established.
20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received via system information.
21. An apparatus as claimed in claim 20 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to receive in response to a to a physical downlink control channel assignment for downlink transmission including the ACK/NACK resource indicator value to the user device.
22. An apparatus as claimed in claim 21 , wherein the acknowledgement on said acknowledgement resource is received in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure to the user device.
23. A computer program comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer, the computer program code comprising code for causing the computer to perform the method of claim 1 .