Methods of wirelessly communicating with a group of devices
Aspects of this disclosure relate to pair of wireless communication devices communicating with a network system in a coordinated manner. The network system can transmit data to and/or receive data from the pair of wireless communication devices. This can enable the network system to communicate with a primary wireless communication device of the pair at a higher data rate than a peak data rate of wirelessly communicating with the primary wireless communication device. The pair of wireless communication devices can be in communication with each other via a peer-to-peer link.
1. A method of processing uplink data, the method comprising:
receiving, by a network system, a first uplink data transmission associated with a primary user equipment from the primary user equipment, wherein the primary user equipment is configured to transmit uplink data at a rate of up to a peak uplink data rate;
receiving, by a transmit-receive point of the network system, at least a portion of a second uplink data transmission associated with the primary user equipment from a secondary user equipment, wherein the transmit-receive point is unavailable for cellular communication with the primary user equipment;
determining, by the network system, that the first uplink data transmission and the second uplink data transmission are both associated with the primary user equipment; and
processing, by the network system, data associated with the first uplink data transmission together with data associated with the second uplink data transmission so as to process uplink data associated with the primary user equipment at a rate of greater than the peak uplink data rate of the primary user equipment.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising establishing a tunnel between the primary user equipment and the network system through the secondary user equipment, wherein the second uplink data transmission is via the tunnel.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
prior to the receiving the first uplink data transmission and the receiving the second uplink data transmission,
determining, by the network system, to pair the primary user equipment and the secondary user equipment for coordinated transmission of uplink data; and
in response to the determining, transmitting, by the network system, a pairing command to at least one of the primary user equipment or the secondary user equipment.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the network system, a joint channel report associated with the primary user equipment and the secondary user equipment; and
transmitting, by the network system, downlink data associated with the primary user equipment to both the primary user equipment and the secondary user equipment based on the joint channel report.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the first uplink data transmission and the receiving the second uplink data transmission are performed while the primary user equipment and the secondary user equipment are in communication via a peer-to-peer link.
6. A method of processing uplink data, the method comprising:
transmitting, by a network system, a first part of a downlink data transmission for a primary user equipment to a secondary user equipment and a second part of the downlink data transmission for the primary user equipment to the primary user equipment;
receiving, by the network system, a first uplink data transmission associated with the primary user equipment from the primary user equipment, wherein the primary user equipment is configured to transmit uplink data at a rate of up to a peak uplink data rate;
receiving, by the network system, a second uplink data transmission associated with the primary user equipment from the secondary user equipment, wherein the second uplink data transmission comprises multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) data; and
processing, by the network system, data associated with the first uplink data transmission together with data associated with the second uplink data transmission so as to process uplink data associated with the primary user equipment at a rate of greater than the peak uplink data rate of the primary user equipment.
7. A method of transmitting downlink data, the method comprising:
generating, by a network system, downlink transmission data for a primary user equipment;
establishing a tunnel between the network system and the primary user equipment through the secondary user equipment; and
while the primary user equipment is in communication with the secondary user equipment via a peer-to-peer link,
transmitting, by the network system, a first part of the downlink transmission data for the primary user equipment to the primary user equipment; and
transmitting, by the network system, a second part of the downlink transmission data for the primary user equipment to the secondary user equipment via the tunnel, wherein the second part of the downlink transmission data comprises multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) data.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
determining, by the network system, to pair the primary user equipment and the secondary user equipment for coordinated transmission of uplink data; and
in response to the determining, transmitting, by the network system, a pairing command to at least one of the primary user equipment or the secondary user equipment.
9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising sending, by the network system, a command to cause the peer-to-peer link to be established.
10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising receiving, by the network system, a joint channel report associated with the primary user equipment and the secondary user equipment, wherein the transmitting the first part of the downlink data transmission and the transmitting the second part of the downlink data transmission are based on the joint channel report.
11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the transmitting the first part of the downlink data transmission and the transmitting the second part of the downlink data transmission together comprise providing different spatial beams to the secondary user equipment and the primary user equipment such that the different spatial beams are spatially multiplexed.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the different spatial beams are provided by the same serving node.
13. The method of claim 7 , wherein a transmit-receive point of the network system transmits at least a portion of the second part of the downlink data transmission to the secondary user equipment, and wherein the transmit-receive point is unavailable for cellular communication with the primary user equipment.
14. A method of transmitting downlink data, the method comprising:
generating, by a network system, downlink transmission data for a primary user equipment; and
while the primary user equipment is in communication with a secondary user equipment via a peer-to-peer link,
transmitting, by the network system, a first part of the downlink transmission data for the primary user equipment to the primary user equipment; and
transmitting, by the network system, a second part of the downlink transmission data for the primary user equipment to the secondary user equipment,
wherein the network system comprises a plurality of distributed remote radio units.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising establishing a tunnel between the network system and the primary user equipment through the secondary user equipment, wherein the transmitting the second part of the downlink transmission data is via the tunnel.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the transmitting comprises providing different spatial beams to the secondary user equipment and the primary user equipment such that the different spatial beams are spatially multiplexed.
17. A method of transmitting downlink data comprising:
determining a secondary user equipment to enter a clone mode based on a joint spectral efficiency of a group of user equipments, the group of user equipments comprising the secondary user equipment and a primary user equipment;
signaling to the secondary user equipment to enter the clone mode; and
while the secondary user equipment is in the clone mode, transmitting (a) first downlink data for the primary user equipment to the secondary user equipment and (b) second downlink data for the primary user equipment to the primary user equipment, wherein the transmitting comprises providing different spatial beams to the secondary user equipment and the primary user equipment such that the different spatial beams are spatially multiplexed.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising receiving a list of possible groups of user equipments from the primary user equipment, wherein the determining is based on comparing joint spectral efficiencies of the possible groups of user equipments, and wherein the possible groups includes the group.
19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the transmitting is from a plurality of distributed remote radio units.