Effective master information block acquisition for a user equipment device

1. A method for use in a user equipment (UE), comprising:

receiving one or more symbols at the start of a first transmission time interval (TTI) of a channel;

obtaining a signal quality estimate based on at least one of the one or more symbols;

comparing the signal quality estimate to a signal quality threshold; and

determining, based on the comparison, whether to continue a reception of the channel in the first TTI;

in response to determining, based on the comparison, to continue the reception of the channel in the first TTI, processing the channel in the first TTI;

in response to determining, based on the comparison, not to continue the reception of the channel in the first TTI:

waiting until the next TTI;

receiving one or more second symbols at the start of a second TTI of a channel;

obtaining a second signal quality estimate based on at least one of the one or more second symbols;

comparing the second signal quality estimate to the signal quality threshold; and

determining, based on the comparison, whether to continue a reception of the channel in the second TTI.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, based on the comparison, whether to continue the reception of the channel in the first TTI comprises:

continuing the reception of the channel in the first TTI if the signal quality estimate is greater than the signal quality threshold; and

discontinuing the reception of the channel in the first TTI if the signal quality estimate is lower than the signal quality threshold.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the channel is a broadcast channel.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein prior to receiving the one or more symbols, the method further comprises:

receiving a request to perform one or more operations related to the channel within a time period, the time period comprising at least two TT's of the channel.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more operations related to the channel comprise one or more of:

receiving one or more of information, data, and control information over the channel;

acquiring a cell global identifier (CGI);

acquiring a master information block (MIB);

acquiring a master information block narrowband (MIB-NB);

acquiring a broadcast channel of a target cell during a cell change procedure; and

acquiring a broadcast channel of a serving cell.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the request to perform one or more operations related to the channel within the time period comprises at least one of:

an internal request received in the UE through a higher layer; and

an external request received from a network node.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the external request comprises downlink control information (DCI) received from the network node, the DCI comprising a scheduling grant.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adapting the signal quality threshold based on one or more of:

a battery life of the UE;

a type of the channel received by the UE;

a time period during which the UE is required to successfully receive the channel; and

a type of operation of the UE.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal quality estimate comprises one of:

a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR),

a signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR),

a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and

a block error rate (BLER).

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the type of operation of the UE comprises one of:

a cell change;

an initial cell selection;

a paging reception;

a cell reselection;

a radio resource control (RRC) re-establishment;

a RRC connection release with redirection; and

a CGI reading.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the channel comprises at least one of:

decoding the channel;

continuing reception of the channel;

storing the received symbol data in a buffer;

acquiring a MIB; and

acquiring a MIB-NB.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining a signal quality estimate of the one or more symbols comprises measuring the signal quality of the one or more symbols.

13. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

an interface configured to receive one or more symbols at the start of a first transmission time interval (TTI) of a channel;

processing circuitry operably coupled to the interface, the processing circuitry configured to:

obtain a signal quality estimate based on at least one of the one or more symbols;

compare the signal quality estimate to a signal quality threshold; and

determine, based on the comparison, whether to continue a reception of the channel in the first TTI;

in response to determining, based on the comparison, to continue the reception of the channel in the first TTI, process the channel in the first TTI; and

in response to determining, based on the comparison, not to continue the reception of the channel in the first TTI:

wait until the next TTI;

receive one or more second symbols at the start of a second TTI of a channel;

obtain a second signal quality estimate based on at least one of the one or more second symbols;

compare the second signal quality estimate to the signal quality threshold; and

determine, based on the comparison, whether to continue a reception of the channel in the second TTI.

14. The UE of claim 13 , wherein to determine, based on the comparison, whether to process the channel in the first TTI, the interface is configured to:

continue the reception of the channel in the first TTI if the signal quality estimate is greater than the signal quality threshold; and

discontinue the reception of the channel in the first TTI if the signal quality estimate is lower than the signal quality threshold.

15. The UE of claim 13 , wherein the channel is a broadcast channel.

16. The UE of claim 13 , wherein prior to receiving the one or more symbols, the interface is further configured to:

receive a request to perform one or more operations related to the channel within a time period, the time period comprising at least two TT's of the channel.

17. The UE of claim 16 , wherein the one or more operations related to the channel comprises one or more of:

receive, via the interface, one or more of information, data, and control information over the channel;

acquire, via the interface, a cell global identifier (CGI);

acquire, via the interface, a master information block (MIB)

acquire, via the interface, a master information block narrowband (MIB-NB);

acquire, via the interface, a broadcast channel of a target cell during a cell change procedure; and

acquire, via the interface, a broadcast channel of a serving cell.

18. The UE of claim 16 , wherein the request to perform one or more operations related to the channel within the time period comprises at least one of:

an internal request received in the UE through a higher layer; and

an external request received from a network node.

19. The UE of claim 18 , wherein the external request comprises downlink control information (DCI) received from the network node, the DCI comprising a scheduling grant.

20. The UE of claim 13 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to adapt the signal quality threshold based on one or more of:

a battery life of the UE;

a type of the channel received by the UE;

a time period during which the UE is required to successfully receive the channel; and

a type of operation of the UE.

21. The UE of claim 13 , wherein the estimated signal quality comprises one of:

a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR),

a signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR),

a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and

a block error rate (BLER).

22. The UE of claim 20 , wherein the type of operation of the UE comprises one of:

a cell change;

an initial cell selection;

a paging reception;

a cell reselection;

a radio resource control (RRC) re-establishment;

a RRC connection release with redirection; and

a CGI reading.

23. The UE of claim 13 , wherein processing the channel comprises at least one of:

decoding the channel;

continuing reception of the channel;

storing the received symbol data in a buffer; and

acquiring a MIB; and

acquiring a MIB-NB.

24. The UE of claim 13 , wherein obtaining a signal quality estimate of the one or more symbols comprises measuring the signal quality of the one or more symbols.