Method and device for paging a machine to machine device

1. Infrastructure equipment for use with a wireless telecommunications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising:

a transceiver; and

control circuitry configured to control the transceiver to begin transmitting, during one of a plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with a terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network, a scheduling signal scheduling a paging message for paging the terminal device, wherein

a value of a characteristic of the scheduling signal is associated with the one of the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device,

each periodic paging occasion associated with the terminal device is associated with a corresponding value of the characteristic of the scheduling signal, which is different from values of characteristics of the scheduling signal associated with other periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device and each periodic paging occasion associated with one or more other terminal devices of the wireless telecommunications network, and

a total time taken for the scheduling signal to be repeatedly transmitted by the transceiver is greater than a time period between consecutive periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device and with any other terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network with which plural periodic paging occasions is associated.

2. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the scheduling signal is a paging occasion identifier identified by the scheduling signal.

3. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 2 , wherein all periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device are associated with a same identifier of the scheduling signal.

4. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 2 , wherein each periodic paging occasion associated with the terminal device is associated with an identifier of the scheduling signal which is different from identifiers of the scheduling signal associated with each of the other periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device.

5. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the scheduling signal is a scrambling of the scheduling signal.

6. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 5 , wherein all periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device are associated with a same scrambling of the scheduling signal.

7. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 5 , wherein each periodic paging occasion associated with the terminal device is associated with a scrambling of the scheduling signal which is different from scramblings of the scheduling signal associated with each of the other periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device.

8. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the scheduling signal is transmitted using a candidate of a radio search space, the radio search space being defined by a plurality of candidates and each candidate of the radio search space being defined by a set of time and/or frequency radio resources for use in repeatedly transmitting the scheduling signal a number of times associated with that candidate.

9. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 1 , wherein

the scheduling signal is transmitted using a candidate of a radio search space, the radio search space being defined by a plurality of candidates and each candidate of the radio search space being defined by a set of time and/or frequency radio resources for use in repeatedly transmitting the scheduling signal a number of times associated with that candidate,

the characteristic of the scheduling signal is a starting time of the radio search space indicated by the scheduling signal, and

the starting time of the radio search space matching the starting time of the one of the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device.

10. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is a Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) terminal device and the scheduling signal is carried by a Narrow Band Physical Downlink Control Channel (NB-PDCCH).

11. Infrastructure equipment for use with a wireless telecommunications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising:

a transceiver; and

control circuitry configured to;

control the transceiver to begin transmitting, during one of a plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with a terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network, a scheduling signal scheduling a paging message for paging the terminal device; and

transmit the scheduling signal a predetermined number of times over a predetermined plurality of separate time periods, wherein

each of the separate time periods has a duration less than or equal to a time period between consecutive periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device and with any other terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network with which a plurality of periodic paging occasions is associated,

one of the separate time periods is a periodic paging occasion or between periodic paging occasions other than the one of the plurality of periodic paging occasions during which the scheduling signal is begun to be transmitted, and

a total time taken for the scheduling signal to be repeatedly transmitted by the transceiver is greater than a time period between consecutive periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device and with any other terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network with which plural periodic paging occasions is associated.

12. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device are interleaved with the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with any other terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network.

13. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to control the transceiver to transmit a signal, to the terminal device, indicative of the predetermined plurality of separate time periods.

14. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 11 , wherein

a number of other terminal devices of the wireless telecommunications network with which a plurality of periodic paging occasions is associated is one or more, and

the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the number of other terminal devices is different to the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device.

15. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 11 , wherein the scheduling signal is transmitted using a candidate of a radio search space, the radio search space being defined by a plurality of candidates and each candidate of the radio search space being defined by a set of time and/or frequency radio resources for use in repeatedly transmitting the scheduling signal a number of times associated with that candidate.

16. The infrastructure equipment according to claim 11 , wherein the terminal device is a Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) terminal device and the scheduling signal is carried by a Narrow Band Physical Downlink Control Channel (NB-PDCCH).

17. A method of operating infrastructure equipment for use with a wireless telecommunications network, the method comprising:

controlling a transceiver of the infrastructure equipment to begin transmitting, during one of a plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with a terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network, a scheduling signal scheduling a paging message for paging the terminal device; and

controlling the transceiver to repeatedly transmit the scheduling signal a predetermined number of times over a predetermined plurality of separate time periods, wherein

each of the separate time periods has a duration less than or equal to a time period between consecutive periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device and with any other terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network with which a plurality of periodic paging occasions is associated,

one of the separate time periods is a periodic paging occasion or between periodic paging occasions other than the one of the plurality of periodic paging occasions during which the scheduling signal is begun to be transmitted, and

a total time taken for the scheduling signal to be repeatedly transmitted by the transceiver is greater than a time period between consecutive periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device and with any other terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network with which plural periodic paging occasions is associated.

18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device are interleaved with the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with any other terminal device of the wireless telecommunications network.

19. The method according to claim 17 , further comprising controlling the transceiver to transmit a signal, to the terminal device, indicative of the predetermined plurality of separate time periods.

20. The method according to claim 17 , wherein

a number of other terminal devices of the wireless telecommunications network with which a plurality of periodic paging occasions is associated is one or more, and

the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the number of other terminal devices is different to the plurality of periodic paging occasions associated with the terminal device.