Framework for coordinated multipoint transmission based on a multicell MAC/RRC design
Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, two or more cells are configured to perform coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission for one or more user equipment devices with a common media access control (MAC) or a common radio resource control (RRC). Measurement information is received from the one or more user equipment devices. One or more of the cells may be deactivated, or one or more additional cells may be activated for coordinated multipoint transmission based at least in part on the measurement information.
1. A method, comprising:
configuring two or more cells comprising a single enhanced Node B (eNB) and one or more remote radio elements (RREs) in a distributed antenna system (DAS) deployment to perform coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission for one or more user equipment devices with a common media access control (MAC) or a common radio resource control (RRC), or combinations thereof, wherein the two or more cells have a same cell identification (ID) and different physical (PHY) attributes;
selecting one of the two or more cells as a primary cell and at least another of the two or more cells as a secondary cell;
receiving measurement information related to CoMP operation from the one or more user equipment devices on a feedback channel of the primary cell only, and from one or more secondary cells; and
deactivating one or more of the cells or activating one or more additional cells for coordinated multipoint transmission based at least in part on the measurement information.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the measurement information comprises radio resource measurement (RRM) measurements.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein two or more of the cells comprise different collocated antenna configurations of an enhanced Node B on a single cell site.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cells are distinguished based at least in part on a physical (PHY) layer cell identification (Cell-ID).
5. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said configuring comprises determining if two or more cells are operating on the same frequency for eligibility for coordinated multipoint operation, and otherwise configuring cells operating on different frequencies for carrier aggregation.
6. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising designating one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and providing downlink scheduling or control information, or combinations thereof, from the primary cell to the one or more secondary cells.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising designating one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and configuring channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) on the one or more secondary cells with the primary cell.
8. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising designating one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and configuring uplink control channels on the one or more secondary cells with the primary cell.
9. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising receiving feedback information from one or more of the cells, or one or more of the user equipment devices, or combinations thereof, to support coordinated multipoint transmission.
10. An apparatus, comprising:
a radio-frequency transceiver;
a processor coupled to the radio-frequency transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to cause the radio-frequency transceiver to:
configure two or more cells comprising a single enhanced Node B (eNB) and one or more remote radio elements (RREs) in a distributed antenna system (DAS) deployment to perform coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission for one or more user equipment devices with a common media access control (MAC) or a common radio resource control (RRC), or combinations thereof, wherein the two or more cells have a same cell identification (ID) and different physical (PHY) attributes;
select one of the two or more cells as a primary cell and at least another of the two or more cells as a secondary cell;
receive measurement information related to CoMP from the one or more user equipment devices on a feedback channel of the primary cell only, and from one or more secondary cells; and
deactivate one or more of the cells or activating one or more additional cells for coordinated multipoint transmission based at least in part on the measurement information.
11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the measurement information comprises radio resource measurement (RRM) measurements.
12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein two or more of the cells comprise different collocated antenna configurations of an enhanced Node B on a single cell site.
13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the cells are distinguished based at least in part on a physical (PHY) layer cell identification (Cell-ID).
14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine if two or more cells are operating on the same frequency for eligibility for coordinated multipoint operation, and otherwise configuring cells operating on different frequencies for carrier aggregation.
15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to designate one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and provide downlink scheduling or control information, or combinations thereof, to the one or more secondary cells.
16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to designate one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and configure channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) on the one or more secondary cells.
17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to designate one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and configure uplink control channels on the one or more secondary cells.
18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to designate receiving feedback information from one or more of the cells, or one or more of the user equipment devices, or combinations thereof, to support coordinated multipoint transmission.
19. An article of manufacture comprising a storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed, result in:
configuring two or more cells comprising a single enhanced Node B (eNB) and one or more remote radio elements (RREs) in a distributed antenna system (DAS) deployment to perform coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission for one or more user equipment devices with a common media access control (MAC) or a common radio resource control (RRC), or combinations thereof, wherein the two or more cells have a same cell identification (ID) and different physical (PHY) attributes;
selecting one of the two or more cells as a primary cell and at least another of the two or more cells as a secondary cell;
receiving measurement information related to CoMP operation from the one or more user equipment devices on a feedback channel of the primary cell only, and from one or more secondary cells; and
deactivating one or more of the cells or activating one or more additional cells for coordinated multipoint transmission based at least in part on the measurement information.
20. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the measurement information comprises radio resource measurement (RRM) measurements.
21. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 , wherein two or more of the cells comprise different collocated antenna configurations of an enhanced Node B on a single cell site.
22. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the cells are distinguished based at least in part on a physical (PHY) layer cell identification (Cell-ID).
23. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in determining if two or more cells are operating on the same frequency for eligibility for coordinated multipoint operation, and otherwise configuring cells operating on different frequencies for carrier aggregation.
24. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in designating one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and providing downlink scheduling or control information, or combinations thereof, to the one or more secondary cells.
25. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in designating one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and configuring channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) on the one or more secondary cells.
26. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in designating one of the cells as a primary cell, and one or more of the cells as a secondary cell, and configuring uplink control channels on the one or more secondary cells.
27. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in receiving feedback information from one or more of the cells, or one or more of the user equipment devices, or combinations thereof, to support coordinated multipoint transmission.