Cell selection and reselection in normal and enhanced coverage mode

1. A communication apparatus that supports a normal coverage mode and an enhanced coverage mode, comprising:

a receiver which, in operation, receives a signal to perform measurements for cell selection or reselection; and

circuitry which, in operation,

detects candidate cells from a plurality of cells, the candidate cells being able to be subsequently selected or reselected successfully in at least one of the normal coverage mode or the enhanced coverage mode, and

selects or reselects a cell among the detected candidate cells, on the basis of stored information and a cell selection criterion,

wherein:

the circuitry utilizes the cell selection criterion with at least one of a first minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin or a first minimum required quality level Q qualmin , in case the cell selection criterion is utilized in the normal coverage mode, and

the circuitry utilizes the cell selection criterion with at least one of a second minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin that is different from the first minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin or a second minimum required quality level Q qualmin that is different from the first minimum required quality level Q qualmin , which are specific for the enhanced coverage mode, in case the cell selection criterion which is utilized in the normal coverage mode is not fulfilled for the selected or reselected cell.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, the second minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin is lower than the first minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin , and the second minimum required quality level Q qualmin is lower than the first minimum required quality level Q qualmin .

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the stored information indicates whether or not at least one of the candidate cells supports that the detection and the selection or reselection utilize the enhanced coverage mode.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in case the enhanced coverage mode is being utilized, the circuitry ranks each of the candidate cells on the basis of a measured cell RX level value or a measured cell quality value.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the stored information includes at least one of: a physical cell identifier (PCI), a carrier frequency of a radio frequency (RF) channel, a radio access technology (RAT), a band corresponding to the RAT, or a frequency priority.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a memory, wherein

the receiver, in operation, receives information broadcasted by a selected cell indicating whether or not at least one of the candidate cells supports that the detection and the selection or reselection utilize the enhanced coverage mode, and

the memory stores the information broadcasted by the selected cell.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the information broadcasted by the selected cell is system information block information.

8. A method for a communication apparatus that supports a normal coverage mode and an enhanced coverage mode, the method comprising:

detecting, by the communication apparatus, candidate cells from a plurality of cells, the candidate cells being able to be subsequently selected or reselected successfully in at least one of the normal coverage mode or the enhanced coverage mode; and

selecting or reselecting, by the communication apparatus, a cell among the detected candidate cells, on the basis of stored information and a cell selection criterion,

wherein:

the communication apparatus utilizes the cell selection criterion with at least one of a first minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin or a first minimum required quality level Q qualmin , in case the cell selection criterion is utilized in the normal coverage mode, and

the communication apparatus utilizes the cell selection criterion with at least one of a second minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin that is different from the first minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin or a second minimum required quality level Q qualmin that is different from the first minimum required quality level Q qualmin , which are specific for the enhanced coverage mode, in case the cell selection criterion which is utilized in the normal coverage mode is not fulfilled for the selected or reselected cell.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein, the second minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin lower than the first minimum required RX value Q rxlevmin , and the second minimum required quality level Q qualmin is lower than the first minimum required quality level Q qualmin .

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the stored information indicates whether or not at least one of the candidate cells supports that the detecting and the selecting or reselecting utilize the enhanced coverage mode.

11. The method according to claim 8 , wherein, in case of utilizing the enhanced coverage mode, the selecting and reselecting includes ranking each of the candidate cells on the basis of a measured cell RX level value or a measured cell quality value.

12. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the stored information includes at least one of: a physical cell identifier (PCI), a carrier frequency of a radio frequency (RF) channel, a radio access technology (RAT), a band corresponding to the RAT, or a frequency priority.

13. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving and storing, by the communication apparatus, information broadcasted by a selected cell indicating whether or not at least one of the candidate cells supports that the detecting and the selecting or reselecting utilize the enhanced coverage mode.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the information broadcasted by the selected cell is system information block information.