Methods and systems for dynamic switching, uplink power control and synchronization in wireless networks

1. A method of switching by a user equipment (UE) from a transmission point common (TP-common) mode to a transmission point specific (TP-specific) mode in a wireless network, comprising:

receiving, by the UE, a plurality of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) each associated with a respective transmit point (TP);

measuring, by the UE, respective reference signal received power (RSRP) of the CSI-RS s;

transmitting, by the UE, a measurement report including the measured RSRPs;

receiving, by the UE, a TP-specific configuration, wherein the TP-specific configuration identifies a specific TP; and

switching, by the UE, from the TP-common mode to the TP-specific mode in response to the TP-specific configuration by establishing connectivity with the identified specific TP.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the UE, in the TP-common mode prior to switching to the TP-specific mode.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the UE, a timing advance (TA) signal from the identified specific TP; and

synchronizing timing by the UE with the identified specific TP using the TA signal.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the UE, a TP-specific power control signal from the identified specific TP; and

adjusting the UE's transmit power level based on the TP-specific power control signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the UE, a TP-specific power control signal from the identified specific TP; and

switching, by the UE, a transmit power level from a TP-common power level to a TP-specific power level in response to the TP-specific power control signal.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the UE, an allocation of a data channel and a control channel from the identified specific TP; and

transmitting, by the UE, in the TP-specific mode over the allocated data channel and the control channel.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the specific TP mode configuration is determined based on the measured RSRPs.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE receives the CSI-RSs from the TPs.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein in the TP-common mode uplink signals transmitted by the UE are received by a plurality of TPs.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein in the TP-specific mode uplink signals transmitted by the UE are received by the identified specific TP.

11. A method of uplink power control in a wireless network, comprising:

transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), at a transmit point common (TP-common) power level;

receiving, by the UE, a plurality of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) each associated with a specific transmit point (TP);

measuring, by the UE, respective reference signal received power (RSRP) of the CSI-RSs;

transmitting, by the UE, a measurement report in response to the measured RSRPs;

receiving, by the UE, TP-specific configuration, wherein the TP-specific configuration identifies a specific TP;

establishing, by the UE, UE uplink connectivity with the identified specific TP;

receiving, by the UE, a TP-specific power control signal including a TP-specific power level from the identified specific TP; and

adjusting, by the UE, a transmit power level from the TP-common power level to the TP-specific power level responsive to the TP-specific power level.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the TP-common power level is higher than the TP-specific power level.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

transmitting at a relatively high power level by the UE in a transmit point common (TP-common) mode to compensate for a larger path loss between the UE and the TPs; and

transmitting at a relatively low power level by the UE in a transmit point specific (TP-specific) mode due to a smaller path loss between the UE and the identified specific TP.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

receiving, by the UE, a timing advance (TA) signal from the identified specific TP; and

synchronizing timing by the UE with the identified specific TP responsive to the TA signal.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the TP-specific configuration is determined based on the measured RSRPs.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the TP-specific power level is determined from the measured RSRPs.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the UE receives the CSI-RSs from the identified specific TP.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein in the TP-common mode uplink signals transmitted by the UE are received by a plurality of TPs.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein in the TP-specific mode uplink signals transmitted by the UE are received by the identified specific TP.

20. A method of uplink power control in a wireless network, comprising:

transmitting at a high power level by a user equipment (UE) in a transmit point common (TP-common) mode to compensate for a larger path loss between the UE and the TPs; and

transmitting at a low power level by the UE in a transmit point specific (TP-specific) mode to save battery power due to a smaller path loss between the UE and a specific TP.

21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising:

receiving, by the UE, a plurality of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) each associated with a respective specific transmit point (TP);

measuring, by the UE, respective reference signal received power (RSRP) of the CSI-RS s; and

transmitting, by the UE, a measurement report in response to the measured RSRPs.

22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising:

receiving, by the UE, TP-specific configuration, wherein the TP-specific configuration identifies a specific TP;

establishing, by the UE, uplink connectivity with the identified specific TP;

receiving, by the UE, a TP-specific power control signal from the identified specific TP; and

adjusting, by the UE, the transmit power level from the high power level to the low power level responsive to the TP-specific power control signal.

23. A system for switching from a transmission point common (TP-common) mode to a transmission point specific (TP-specific) mode in a wireless network, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a plurality of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) each associated with a respective transmit point (TP) and operable to measure respective reference signal received power (RSRP) of the CSI-RSs, the receiver configured to receive a TP-specific configuration, wherein the TP-specific configuration identifies a specific TP; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a measurement report including the measured RSRPs,

wherein the system switches from the TP-common mode to the TP-specific mode in response to the TP-specific configuration by establishing uplink connectivity with the identified specific TP.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the receiver is configured to receive a timing advance (TA) signal from the identified specific TP, and wherein the UE synchronizes timing with the identified specific TP using the TA signal.

25. The system of claim 23 , wherein the receiver is configured to receive a TP-specific power control signal from the identified specific TP, and wherein the UE's transmit power level is adjusted based on the TP-specific power control signal.

26. The system of claim 23 , wherein the receiver is configured to receive an allocation of a data channel and a control channel from the identified specific TP.

27. The system of claim 23 , wherein the transmitter is operable to transmit in the TP-specific mode over the allocated data channel and the control channel.

28. The system of claim 23 , wherein the specific TP mode configuration is determined based on the measured RSRPs.

29. The system of claim 23 , wherein in the TP-common mode uplink signals are received by a plurality of TPs.

30. The system of claim 23 , wherein in the TP-specific mode uplink signals are received by the identified specific TP.