System and method for determining a search space in carrier aggregation in LTE-A

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium for processing a control channel at a user agent (UA) within a wireless communication system, the computer readable medium storing instructions to cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying one carrier as an anchor carrier and at least one other another carrier as a non-anchor carrier, the anchor carrier and the at least one non-anchor carrier compatible with Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier aggregation operations;

receiving information indicating a first number of control channel candidates for a first aggregation level for the anchor carrier and a second number of control channel candidates for the first aggregation level for the non-anchor carrier, wherein the first number of control channel candidates is different from the second number of control channel candidates; and

for each carrier:

based on the received information, determining a location of a UA specific search space including one or more control channel candidates for the carrier based on a linear congruential random number and a carrier index of the carrier, wherein each control channel candidate comprises at least one control channel element (CCE); and

attempting to decode each of the one or more control channel candidates in the UA specific search space to identify at least one of an uplink or a downlink grant associated with the carrier.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the linear congruential random number is based on the carrier index.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , the instructions further comprising where a control channel candidate is successfully decoded, using the grant to facilitate communication.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium for processing a control channel at an access device within a wireless communication system for transmission to a user agent, the computer readable medium storing instructions to cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying one carrier as an anchor carrier and at least one other another carrier as a non-anchor carrier, the anchor carrier and the at least one non-anchor carrier compatible with Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier aggregation operations; and

transmitting information indicating a first number of control channel candidates for a first aggregation level for the anchor carrier and a second number of control channel candidates for the first aggregation level for the non-anchor carrier, wherein the first number of control channel candidates is different from the second number of control channel candidates; and

for each carrier:

based on the information, determining a location of a UA specific search space including one or more control channel candidates for the carrier based on a linear congruential random number and a carrier index of the carrier, wherein each control channel candidate comprises at least one control channel element (CCE); and

transmitting at least one of an uplink grant or a downlink grant to a UA using at least one of the one or more control channel candidates.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 4 , wherein the linear congruential random number is based on the carrier index.

6. An access device for processing a control channel within a wireless communication system for transmission to a user agent, the access device comprising:

a linear congruential random number generator;

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to one or more processors and storing programming instructions for execution by the one or more processors configured to:

identify one carrier as an anchor carrier and at least one other another carrier as a non-anchor carrier, the anchor carrier and the at least one non-anchor carrier compatible with Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier aggregation operations; and

transmit information indicating a first number of control channel candidates for a first aggregation level for the anchor carrier and a second number of control channel candidates for the first aggregation level for the non-anchor carrier, wherein the first number of control channel candidates is different from the second number of control channel candidates; and

for each carrier:

based on the information, determine a location of a UA specific search space including one or more control channel candidates for the carrier based on a linear congruential random number and a carrier index of the carrier, wherein each control channel candidate comprises at least one control channel element (CCE); and

transmit at least one of an uplink grant or a downlink grant to a UA using at least one of the one or more control channel candidates.

7. The access device of claim 6 , wherein the linear congruential random number is based on the carrier index.

8. A method for processing a control channel at a user agent (UA) within a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

identifying one carrier as an anchor carrier and at least one other another carrier as a non-anchor carrier, the anchor carrier and the at least one non-anchor carrier compatible with Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier aggregation operations;

receiving information indicating a first number of control channel candidates for a first aggregation level for the anchor carrier and a second number of control channel candidates for the first aggregation level for the non-anchor carrier, wherein the first number of control channel candidates is different from the second number of control channel candidates; and

for each carrier:

based on the received information, determining a location of a UA specific search space including one or more control channel candidates for the carrier based on a linear congruential random number and a carrier index of the carrier, wherein each control channel candidate comprises at least one control channel element (CCE); and

attempting to decode each of the one or more control channel candidates in the UA specific search space to identify at least one of an uplink or a downlink grant associated with the carrier.

9. An apparatus for processing a control channel at a user agent (UA) within a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

a linear congruential random number generator;

a processor; and

a processor that is programmed to perform the steps of a memory coupled to the processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the processor to:

identifying identify one carrier as an anchor carrier and at least one other another carrier as a non-anchor carrier, the anchor carrier and the at least one non-anchor carrier compatible with Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier aggregation operations; and

receive information indicating a first number of control channel candidates for a first aggregation level for the anchor carrier and a second number of control channel candidates for the first aggregation level for the non-anchor carrier, wherein the first number of control channel candidates is different from the second number of control channel candidates; and

for each carrier:

determining based on the received information, determine a location of a UA specific search space including one or more control channel candidates for the carrier based on a carrier index of the carrier and a linear congruential random number generated by the linear congruential random number generator, wherein each control channel candidate comprises at least one control channel element (CCE); and

attempting attempt to decode each of the one or more control channel candidates in the UA specific search space to identify at least one of an uplink or a downlink grant associated with the carrier.