Robust inter-radio access technology operations in unlicensed spectrum

Abstract

Systems and methods for co-existence in unlicensed spectrum are disclosed. In one aspect, mitigating interference between Radio Access Technologies (RATs) sharing operating spectrum in an unlicensed band of radio frequencies may comprise, for example, determining an inter-RAT interference metric associated with base station narrowband signaling on the unlicensed band and modifying a transmission parameter relating to a transmission power or signaling scheme for narrowband signaling based on the determined inter-RAT interference metric. In accordance with the modified transmission parameter, a narrowband signal may be transmitted on the unlicensed band.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application for patent claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 873,599, entitled “METHODS FOR ROBUST LTE OPERATIONS IN UNLICENSED CHANNELS,” filed Sep. 4, 2013, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS FOR PATENT[0002]The present application for patent is also related to the following co-pending U.S. patent application: “ROBUST INTER-RADIO ACCESS TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS IN UNLICENSED SPECTRUM,” having Attorney Docket No. QC132771U1, filed concurrently herewith, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.INTRODUCTION[0003]Aspects of this disclosure relate generally to telecommunications, and more particularly to co-existence between wireless Radio Access Technologies (RATs) and the like.[0004]Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text discusses the use of small cell base stations to improve indoor or specific geographic coverage in buildings and homes. These small cell base stations offer additional capacity and a better user experience. The main technical effect of this patent text is the increased demand for small cell base stations to supplement conventional macro networks and provide coverage in areas where it is needed.

Problems solved by technology

Even such careful planning, however, cannot fully accommodate channel characteristics such as fading, multipath, shadowing, etc., especially in indoor environments.

Indoor users therefore often face coverage issues (e.g., call outages and quality degradation) resulting in poor user experience.

However, it may also encroach on the operations of other RATs that typically utilize the same unlicensed bands, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.”

However, a clean channel may not always be available.

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