BROADCASTING COMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

1 . A method for supporting broadcast transmissions and unicast communications in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

supporting unicast communication in a first mode of operation wherein at least one unicast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated within a time-continuous sub-frame of a first length and a first number of timeslots; and

supporting broadcast transmission in a second mode of operation, wherein at least one broadcast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated over a time period that comprises a discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames of the first length.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein supporting broadcast transmission in a second mode of operation comprises concatenating the discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames to generate an extended transmission time interval for the broadcast transmission.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein encoding the broadcast data transmission unit comprises mapping the at least one broadcast data transmission unit to at least one simultaneously transmitted code division multiple access (CDMA) code(s) of a first spreading factor.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein encoding the at least one unicast data transmission unit comprises mapping the at least one unicast data transmission unit to at least one simultaneously transmitted CDMA code(s) of the first spreading factor.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the time-continuous sub-frame comprises a 2 ms sub-frame.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the unicast communication comprises high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA).

7 . The method of claim 6 further comprising, at a base station, inserting a short time domain pilot code into at least one timeslot of the discontinuous plurality of time-continuous sub-frames for broadcast transmission.

8 . The method of claim 7 further comprising time multiplexing the short time domain pilot code with data in the broadcast transmission.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein at least one timeslot of the discontinuous plurality of time-continuous sub-frames comprises a short time domain pilot code, the method further comprising, at a user equipment, utilizing the short time domain pilot code to perform channel estimation.

10 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, at a user equipment, employing time-discontinuous receiver operation within the discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames when receiving the broadcast transmission.

11 . The method of claim 1 further comprising performing the broadcast transmission using a Single Frequency Network (SFN) mode of transmission from multiple base stations.

12 . The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcast transmission occurs on an unpaired carrier dedicated to Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) transmission.

13 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, at a user equipment, using a type-3 receiver both to receive the unicast transmission in the first mode of operation and to receive the broadcast transmission in the second mode of operation.

14 . The method of claim 1 further comprising time-multiplexing a broadcast data service with another broadcast data service.

15 . The method of claim 1 further comprising time-multiplexing broadcast common control channels with other data.

16 . The method of claim 15 wherein time-multiplexing further comprises encoding at least one broadcast common control channel.

17 . The method of claim 16 wherein the at least one broadcast common control channel comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of: broadcast channel (BCH), MBMS control channel (MCCH), and MBMS notification indication channel (MICH).

18 . The method of claim 16 further comprising mapping, using a reduced spreading factor, the at least one encoded broadcast common control channel to a number less than a total of time-continuous sub-frames of a radio frame such that broadcast common control channel transmissions are time discontinuous.

19 . The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication system comprises third generation partnership project (3GPP) wideband code division multiple access (CDMA) technology.

20 . A non-transitory computer program product having executable program code stored therein for supporting broadcast transmissions and unicast communications in a wireless communication system, the executable program code, when executed at an apparatus in a wireless communication system, operable for:

supporting unicast communication in a first mode of operation wherein at least one unicast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated within a time-continuous sub-frame of a first length and a first number of timeslots; and

supporting broadcast transmission in a second mode of operation, wherein at least one broadcast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated over a time period that comprises a discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames of the first length.

21 . A communication unit for supporting broadcast transmissions and unicast communications in a wireless communication system, the communication unit comprising a signal processing module comprising:

logic for supporting unicast communication in a first mode of operation wherein at least one unicast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated within a time-continuous sub-frame of a first length and a first number of timeslots; and

logic for supporting broadcast transmission in a second mode of operation, wherein at least one broadcast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated over a time period that comprises a discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames of the first length.

22 . The communication unit of claim 21 , wherein the communication unit is a base station comprising logic arranged to concatenate the discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames to generate an extended transmission time interval for the broadcast transmission.

23 . The communication unit of claim 21 , wherein the communication unit is a user equipment and wherein the broadcast transmission comprises a short time domain pilot code, the user equipment comprising logic for performing channel estimation utilizing the short time domain pilot code.

24 . An integrated circuit for a communication unit to support broadcast transmissions and unicast communications in a wireless communication system, the integrated circuit comprising a signal processing module comprising:

logic for supporting unicast communication in a first mode of operation wherein at least one unicast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated within a time-continuous sub-frame of a first length and a first number of timeslots; and

logic for supporting broadcast transmission in a second mode of operation, wherein at least one broadcast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated over a time period that comprises a discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames of the first length.

25 . A wireless cellular communication system for supporting broadcast transmissions and unicast communications between a base station and at least one user equipment, the wireless cellular communication system comprising:

logic for supporting unicast communication in a first mode of operation wherein at least one unicast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated within a time-continuous sub-frame of a first length and a first number of timeslots; and

logic for supporting broadcast transmission in a second mode of operation, wherein at least one broadcast data transmission unit is encoded and communicated over a time period that comprises a discontinuous plurality of the time-continuous sub-frames of the first length.