Infrastructure equipment, communications device and methods
An infrastructure equipment (eNodeB) is configured to transmit a paging notification which indicates that configuration information which is broadcast in a cell to all communications devices which are configured to operate in accordance with a network controlled function has changed. Communications devices which are configured to perform the network controlled function are provided with an indication that they should receive the configuration information which is broadcast in order to reconfigure the network controlled function. A communications device which is not configured to perform the network controlled function may not recognise the paging notification or at least may detect that it does not need to receive the updated configuration information for the network controlled service. Such communications devices may therefore remain in an idle mode thereby saving power.
1. An infrastructure equipment for transmitting data to or receiving data from one or more communications devices in a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising:
transmitter circuitry configured to transmit signals to the communications devices via a wireless access interface,
receiver circuitry configured to receive signals from the communications devices via the wireless access interface, and controller circuitry is configured to control the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry
to transmit a paging message to one of the communications devices currently in a mode in which signals are only being received by the communications device from the infrastructure equipment, the paging message indicating that the communications device should establish a connection with the infrastructure equipment to receive downlink data transmitted from the infrastructure,
to receive, as part of a procedure for establishing the connection for transmitting the downlink data, an indication from the communications device of a function being performed or about to be performed by the communications device,
to determine, in accordance with a predetermined condition, whether the communications device should continue to establish the connection for receiving the downlink data from the communications device, and
in accordance with the predetermined condition to transmit an indication to the communications device either to abandon the connection for transmitting the data to the communications device or to establish the connection and to transmit the downlink data.
2. An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controller circuitry is configured with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to transmit multicast data to the communications device whilst the communications device is in the mode which is an idle mode, wherein the indication of the function performed or about to be performed by the communications device is receiving the multicast data, and the predetermined condition determines whether the communications device should continue to receive the multicast data or to receive the downlink data from the infrastructure equipment.
3. A method of transmitting data to or receiving data from an infrastructure equipment in a wireless communications network, the method comprising
receiving a paging message when the communications device is in an idle mode in which signals are only being received by the communications device from the infrastructure equipment, the paging message indicating that the communications device should establish a connection with the infrastructure equipment to receive downlink data transmitted from the infrastructure,
transmitting, as part of a procedure for establishing the connection for receiving the downlink data from the infrastructure equipment, an indication of a function being performed or about to be performed by the communications device, and
receiving an indication from the infrastructure equipment that the communications device should either not establish the connection for receiving the data from the infrastructure equipment or establish the connection and to receive the downlink data from the infrastructure equipment.