Shared demodulation reference signal design for control channels in 5G or other next generation networks

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by network equipment comprising a processor, that a usage parameter associated with a user equipment satisfies a function of a defined usage parameter associated with control channel demodulation reference signal reuse; and

in response to a determination that the usage parameter satisfies the function of the defined usage parameter, transmitting, by the network equipment to the user equipment, an indication of usage of a shared demodulation reference signal for a data channel and a control channel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of usage is a first indication, and wherein the method further comprises:

in response to determining the usage parameter fails to satisfy the defined usage parameter, transmitting, by the network equipment to the user equipment, a second indication of usage of a first demodulation reference signal for the data channel and a second demodulation reference signal for the control channel.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first demodulation reference signal and the second demodulation reference signal are separate demodulation reference signals.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the indication of usage comprises transmitting the indication of usage as a separate encoded bit in a signal that comprises downlink control information.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination is a first determination, wherein the usage parameter is a movement speed of the user equipment, and wherein the method further comprises:

measuring, by the network equipment, the movement speed of the user equipment;

comparing, by the network equipment, the movement speed with a defined movement speed parameter; and

in response to a second determination that the movement speed is less than the defined movement speed parameter, determining, by the network equipment, that the shared demodulation reference signal is available for use by the user equipment.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination is a first determination, wherein the usage parameter is rank data, and wherein the method further comprises:

evaluating, by the network equipment, the rank data associated with the user equipment; and

in response to a second determination that the rank data is rank one, determining, by the network equipment, that the shared demodulation reference signal is available for use by the user equipment.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the usage parameter is a duration of a physical downlink shared channel, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by the network equipment, the duration of the physical downlink shared channel; and

transmitting, by the network equipment to the user equipment, a demodulation reference signal port table based on the duration of the physical downlink shared channel, wherein the demodulation reference signal port table comprises the indication of usage for the user equipment to use the shared demodulation reference signal for the data channel and the control channel.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the control channel demodulation reference signal reuse comprises a downlink control channel demodulation reference signal being reused for physical downlink shared channel estimation.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the indication of usage of the shared demodulation reference signal comprises transmitting an instruction to implement the control channel demodulation reference signal reuse as a jointly encoded bit in a demodulation reference signal port table that comprises a group of indication bits comprising the jointly encoded bit.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the control channel demodulation reference signal reuse is implemented for slot-based scheduling.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the control channel demodulation reference signal reuse is implemented for non-slot-based scheduling.

12. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

evaluating a usage parameter associated with a user equipment device as a function of a defined usage parameter associated with control channel demodulation reference signal reuse;

based on a first determination that the usage parameter satisfies the function of the defined usage parameter, conveying, to the user equipment device, a first indication of usage of a shared demodulation reference signal for a data channel and a control channel based on the determining; and

based on a second determination that the usage parameter fails to satisfy the function of the defined usage parameter, conveying, to the user equipment device, a second indication of usage of a first demodulation reference signal for the data channel and a second demodulation reference signal for the control channel.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting the first indication of usage as a separate encoded bit in a signal that comprises downlink control information.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, with the first indication of usage, a third indication to implement the control channel demodulation reference signal reuse as a jointly encoded bit in a demodulation reference signal port table that comprises a group of indication bits comprising the jointly encoded bit.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first demodulation reference signal and the second demodulation reference signal are separate demodulation reference signals.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the defined usage parameter is a movement speed of the user equipment device.

17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the defined usage parameter is rank data of the user equipment device.

18. The system of claim 12 , wherein the defined usage parameter is a duration of a physical downlink shared channel.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

in response to a first determination that a usage parameter associated with a user equipment satisfies a function of a defined usage parameter associated with control channel demodulation reference signal reuse, facilitating a first transmission to the user equipment, wherein the first transmission comprises a first indication of usage of a shared demodulation reference signal for a data channel and a control channel; and

in response to a second determination that the usage parameter fails to satisfy the function of the defined usage parameter, facilitating a second transmission to the user equipment, wherein the second transmission comprises a second indication of usage of a first demodulation reference signal for the data channel and a second demodulation reference signal for the control channel.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, with the first indication of usage, a third indication to implement the control channel demodulation reference signal reuse as a jointly encoded bit in a demodulation reference signal port table that comprises a group of indication bits comprising the jointly encoded bit.