Identifying support of reduced capability in mobile communications
Various solutions for identifying support of a reduced capability in mobile communications are described. An apparatus, implementable in a user equipment (UE), receives from a network an indication of support of a reduced capability. The apparatus then communicates with the network using the reduced capability, including transmitting to the network an identifier that identifies the UE as a reduced-capability UE.
1 . A method, comprising:
receiving, by a user equipment (UE), from a network an indication of support of a reduced capability; and
communicating, by the UE, with the network using the reduced capability,
wherein the receiving of the indication comprises;
receiving, from a cell of the network, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) including a field which indicates support of an operation with the reduced capability by the cell; and
receiving, from the cell of the network, the indication in a System Information Block 4 (SIB4) of support of the operation with the reduced capability by a neighboring cell of the network, and
wherein the reduced capability comprises one or more of:
the UE communicating with a reduced operating bandwidth,
the UE supporting a reduced number of antennas, and
the UE operating with a half-duplex instead of a full-duplex in a frequency-division duplexing (FDD) operation.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the indication further comprises receiving from the network a broadcast indicating support of an operation with the reduced capability at a frequency by one or more cells of the network.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the receiving of the broadcast comprises receiving the indication in the SIB1 in the broadcast.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reduced operating bandwidth is 20 MHz, and wherein the reduced number of antennas is 1 or 2.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting to the network an identifier that identifies the UE as a reduced-capability UE.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the transmitting of the identifier comprises identifying the UE as the reduced-capability UE by transmitting a standalone message.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the transmitting of the identifier comprises identifying the UE as the reduced-capability UE during an initial access procedure.
8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the transmitting of the identifier comprises transmitting the identifier in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) during a random access procedure.
9 . A method, comprising:
transmitting to a network an identifier that identifies a user equipment (UE) as a reduced-capability UE;
receiving from the network an indication of support of a reduced capability; and
communicating with the network using the reduced capability,
wherein the receiving of the indication comprises;
receiving, from a cell of the network, a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) including a field which indicates support of an operation with the reduced capability by the cell; and
receiving, from the cell of the network, the indication in a System Information Block 4 (SIB4) of support of the operation with the reduced capability by a neighboring cell of the network, and
wherein the reduced capability comprises one or more of:
the UE communicating with a reduced operating bandwidth,
the UE supporting a reduced number of antennas, and
the UE operating with a half-duplex instead of a full-duplex in a frequency-division duplexing (FDD) operation.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the reduced operating bandwidth is 20 MHz, and wherein the reduced number of antennas is 1 or 2.
11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the transmitting of the identifier comprises identifying the UE as the reduced-capability UE by transmitting a standalone message.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the transmitting of the identifier comprises identifying the UE as the reduced-capability UE during an initial access procedure.
13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the transmitting of the identifier comprises transmitting the identifier in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) during a random access procedure.
14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the receiving of the indication further comprises receiving from a cell of the network a broadcast indicating support of an operation with the reduced capability by the cell.
15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the receiving of the indication further comprises receiving from the network a broadcast indicating support of an operation with the reduced capability at a frequency by one or more cells of the network.