Long term evolution (LTE) control region for downlink transmissions for enhanced machine type communications (eMTC)

1. An apparatus of a base station operable to perform downlink (DL) transmissions using a Long Term Evolution (LTE) control region of a subframe for enhanced machine type communication (eMTC), the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

encode, at the base station, a system information block type 1 bandwidth reduced (SIB1-BR) for transmission to a bandwidth reduced low complexity or coverage enhancement (BL/CE) user equipment (UE), wherein the SIB1-BR includes an indication that the LTE control region in the subframe includes information for at least one of a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) transmission or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, and wherein any consecutive N symbols from a last 14-N symbols of the subframe are copied to the LTE control region in the subframe, when the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is a common transmission and use of the LTE control region for at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is enabled; and

encode, at the base station, at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission for delivery in a downlink over the LTE control region in the subframe to the BL/CE UE; and

a memory interface configured to retrieve from a memory the indication to be included in the SIB1-BR.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a transceiver configured to: transmit the SIB1-BR including the indication to the BL/CE UE.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

the MPDCCH transmission includes a unicast MPDCCH transmission or a common MPDCCH transmission; and

the PDSCH transmission includes a unicast PDSCH transmission or a common PDSCH transmission.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a first N symbols of the LTE control region in the subframe are used to carry a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), when the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is a unicast transmission and use of the LTE control region for at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is enabled, wherein a frequency domain mapping of the DMRS or the CRS in the LTE control region of the subframe matches a frequency domain mapping of the DMRS or the CRS in a last 14-N symbols of the subframe, wherein N is a positive integer and denotes a number of symbols in the LTE control region.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the any consecutive N symbols include a first N symbols or a last N symbols from the last 14-N symbols of the subframe, wherein N is a positive integer and denotes a number of symbols in the LTE control region.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to decode a capability message received from the BL/CE UE, wherein the capability message indicates that the BL/CE UE is capable of receiving at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission over the LTE control region in the subframe.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a starting symbol of at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission in the subframe is symbol #0 in the subframe.

8. An apparatus of a bandwidth reduced low complexity or coverage enhancement (BL/CE) user equipment (UE) operable to decode downlink (DL) transmissions received from a base station over a Long Term Evolution (LTE) control region of a subframe, the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

decode, at the BL/CE UE, a system information block type 1 bandwidth reduced (SIB1-BR) received from the base station, wherein the SIB1-BR includes an indication that the LTE control region in the subframe includes information for at least one of a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) transmission or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, and wherein N symbols from a last 14-N symbols of the subframe are copied to the LTE control region in the subframe, when the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is a common transmission and use of the LTE control region for at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is enabled; and

decode, at the BL/CE UE, at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission received from the base station in a downlink over the LTE control region in the subframe; and

a memory interface configured to send to a memory the indication in the SIB1-BR.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein:

the MPDCCH transmission includes a unicast MPDCCH transmission or a common MPDCCH transmission; and

the PDSCH transmission includes a unicast PDSCH transmission or a common PDSCH transmission.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein a first N symbols of the LTE control region in the subframe are used to carry a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), when the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is a unicast transmission and use of the LTE control region for at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is enabled, wherein a frequency domain mapping of the DMRS or the CRS in the LTE control region of the subframe matches a frequency domain mapping of the DMRS or the CRS in a last 14-N symbols of the subframe, wherein N is a positive integer and denotes a number of symbols in the LTE control region.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to encode a capability message for transmission to the base station, wherein the capability message indicates that the BL/CE UE is capable of receiving at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission over the LTE control region in the subframe.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein a starting symbol of at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission in the subframe is symbol #0 in the subframe.

13. At least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for performing downlink (DL) transmissions using a Long Term Evolution (LTE) control region of a subframe for enhanced machine type communication (eMTC), the instructions when executed by one or more processors at a base station perform the following:

encoding, at the base station, a system information block type 1 bandwidth reduced (SIB1-BR) for transmission to a bandwidth reduced low complexity or coverage enhancement (BL/CE) user equipment (UE), wherein the SIB1-BR includes an indication that the LTE control region in the subframe includes information for at least one of a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) transmission or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, and wherein N symbols from a last 14-N symbols of the subframe are copied to the LTE control region in the subframe, when the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is a common transmission and use of the LTE control region for at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is enabled; and

encoding, at the base station, at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission for delivery in a downlink over the LTE control region in the subframe to the BL/CE UE.

14. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein:

the MPDCCH transmission includes a unicast MPDCCH transmission or a common MPDCCH transmission; and

the PDSCH transmission includes a unicast PDSCH transmission or a common PDSCH transmission.

15. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein a first N symbols of the LTE control region in the subframe are used to carry a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), when the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is a unicast transmission and use of the LTE control region for at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission is enabled, wherein a frequency domain mapping of the DMRS or the CRS in the LTE control region of the subframe matches a frequency domain mapping of the DMRS or the CRS in a last 14-N symbols of the subframe, wherein N is a positive integer and denotes a number of symbols in the LTE control region.

16. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the N symbols include a first N symbols or a last N symbols from the last 14-N symbols of the subframe, wherein N is a positive integer and denotes a number of symbols in the LTE control region.

17. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13 , further comprising instructions when executed perform the following: decoding a capability message received from the BL/CE UE, wherein the capability message indicates that the BL/CE UE is capable of receiving at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission over the LTE control region in the subframe.

18. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein a starting symbol of at least one of the MPDCCH transmission or the PDSCH transmission in the subframe is symbol #0 in the subframe.