Flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) (e.g., an enhanced machine type communication (EMTC) UE) may identify several narrowbands associated with an eMTC protocol based on a system bandwidth of a new radio (NR) carrier. A base station may transmit an indication of a valid narrowband set for eMTC to the UE (e.g., based on coexistence considerations between eMTC and NR). The base station may further transmit a frequency hopping pattern (e.g., associated with a narrowband within the valid narrowband set) to the UE and transmit one or more downlink transmissions according to the frequency hopping pattern. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may identify a subcarrier offset and / or a resource block offset between resources (e.g., a resource grid) used for the eMTC protocol and resources used for NR. The base station may transmit a frequency alignment parameter to the UE, and the UE may align the narrowband for eMTC accordingly.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This patent application claims priority to international patent application No. PCT / CN2018 / 093834 of WEI et al., entitled “FLEXIBLE RESOURCEALLOCATION FOR NARROWBAND AND WIDEBAND COEXISTENCE” filed on June 29, 2018, assigned to its assignee, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to flexible resource allocation for narrowband (e.g., enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) protocols) and wideband (e.g., new radio (NR) protocols) coexistence. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems that may be referred to as NR systems. These systems may use techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread spectrum OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations or network access nodes, each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).

[0005] Some wireless communication systems may support narrowband communications involving communications over limited frequency bandwidths compared to frequency bandwidths used for other communications (e.g., LTE or NR communications). For example, eMTC may be limited to narrowbands within certain system bandwidths (e.g., a system bandwidth of 10 MHz may be divided into 8 narrowbands, some of which may be utilized for eMTC). In some cases, the frequency of the transmitted eMTC signal may hop between narrowbands. This frequency hopping may help achieve frequency diversity and may help avoid narrowband interference. As the number of narrowbands available for eMTC devices increases, more eMTC devices may be scheduled, increased gain may be achieved due to frequency hopping, and so on. However, resources within the system bandwidth (e.g., narrowband) dedicated to eMTC may reduce resources available for other protocols (e.g., LTE, NR, etc.). Summary of the invention

[0006] The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices and apparatuses that support flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence. Generally, the described techniques provide frequency hopping schemes and narrowband / resource grid (e.g., frequency) alignment schemes for improved narrowband (e.g., enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) protocols) and broadband (e.g., new radio (NR) protocols) coexistence.

[0007] A user equipment (UE) (e.g., a machine type communication (MTC) UE) may identify several narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol (e.g., associated with an eMTC protocol) based on a system bandwidth of a carrier. A base station may identify a valid narrowband set (e.g., a set of several narrowbands corresponding to a system bandwidth valid for eMTC) and may transmit an indication of the valid narrowband set to the UE. In some cases, the valid narrowband set may be indicated via a bitmap. For example, a bitmap may be signaled to indicate a narrowband or a wideband (e.g., a narrowband group) valid for eMTC within the system bandwidth. The base station may further transmit a frequency hopping pattern (e.g., a frequency transition or frequency hopping pattern between narrowbands within the valid narrowband set) to the UE and transmit one or more downlink transmissions (e.g., an MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc.) according to the frequency hopping pattern. In some cases, the base station may also indicate a subframe set valid for communications of the first protocol in conjunction with the valid narrowband set. The UE may receive an indication of an active narrowband set (e.g., in some cases, an active subframe set for each of a plurality of narrowbands) and a frequency hopping pattern. The UE may perform frequency hopping across the active narrowband set according to the frequency hopping pattern to receive time domain repetitions of downlink transmissions.

[0008] Additionally or alternatively, the base station may identify an offset between resources (e.g., a resource grid) used for communication using a first protocol (e.g., an eMTC protocol) and resources used for communication using a second protocol (e.g., an NR protocol). For example, the base station may identify a subcarrier offset between a resource block grid associated with the first protocol and a resource block grid associated with the second protocol, a starting point of a narrowband (e.g., associated with the first protocol) and a resource block (RB) offset between resource block groups (RBGs) (e.g., associated with the second protocol), or both. The base station may transmit a frequency alignment parameter (e.g., a resource grid alignment parameter) for communication using the first protocol (e.g., indicating a subcarrier offset, an RB offset, or both) to a UE (e.g., an MTC UE). The UE may receive the frequency alignment parameter and may align a narrowband (e.g., a narrowband of a carrier identified by a certain system bandwidth, or some indicated valid narrowband set) according to the frequency alignment parameter. The UE may then receive a downlink transmission based on the aligned narrowband (e.g., based on a narrowband or frequency resource aligned using the frequency alignment parameter).

[0009] A method of wireless communication at a UE is described. The method may include identifying a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier. The method may also include receiving an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol (e.g., an effective set of narrowbands identified based on the system bandwidth), identifying a frequency hopping pattern for communications using the first protocol, and receiving a downlink transmission based on frequency hopping repeated across multiple time domains for the downlink transmission according to the frequency hopping pattern across the effective set of narrowbands.

[0010] A device for wireless communication at a UE is described. The device may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the device to identify a narrowband set associated with communication using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier. The instructions are executable by the processor to further cause the device to receive an indication of an effective narrowband set for communication using the first protocol, identify a frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol, and receive a downlink transmission based on frequency hopping repeated across multiple time domains for downlink transmissions according to the frequency hopping pattern across the effective narrowband set.

[0011] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include means for identifying a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier. The apparatus may also include means for receiving an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol, identifying a frequency hopping pattern for communications using the first protocol, and receiving a downlink transmission based on frequency hopping repeated across multiple time domains for the downlink transmission according to the frequency hopping pattern across the effective set of narrowbands.

[0012] A non-transitory computer-readable medium is described, storing code for wireless communication at a UE. The code includes instructions executable by a processor to identify a plurality of narrowbands associated with communication using a first protocol based at least in part on a system bandwidth of a carrier. The instructions are further executable by the processor to receive an indication of a valid narrowband set for communication using the first protocol, identify a frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol, and receive a downlink transmission based on frequency hopping repeated across a plurality of time domains for downlink transmission according to the frequency hopping pattern across the valid narrowband set.

[0013] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a downlink transmission may include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for performing frequency hopping for a set of time domain repetitions of the downlink transmission across a set of effective narrowbands that may be effective for communication using a first protocol according to the frequency hopping pattern, and receiving the downlink transmission based on the frequency hopping.

[0014] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a downlink transmission may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a control message for paging via an MPDCCH mapped to a valid narrowband set that may be valid for communication using a first protocol according to the frequency hopping, and receiving a paging message via a PDSCH mapped to the valid narrowband set according to the frequency hopping based on the control message.

[0015] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving an indication of a set of valid narrowbands that may be valid for communication using a first protocol may also include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a bitmap including one or more values, wherein the one or more values ​​indicate whether each narrowband in the set of narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands that may be valid for communication using the first protocol.

[0016] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the bitmap includes a value for each of a set of narrowbands of the carrier. In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the bitmap includes a value for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband consists of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

[0017] Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving an indication of one or more subframes valid for a narrowband associated with a first protocol, and receiving a downlink transmission based on the indication. Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving an indication of a second valid set of narrowbands that may be valid for communications using the first protocol, and transmitting an uplink transmission based on the second valid set of narrowbands.

[0018] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a carrier may be associated with a second protocol, and a set of effective narrowbands that may be valid for communication using the first protocol may be based on the carrier associated with the second protocol. In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol and the second protocol includes an NR protocol.

[0019] A method of wireless communication at a UE is described. The method may include identifying a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier. The method may also include receiving a frequency alignment parameter for communication using the first protocol, aligning a plurality of narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameter, and receiving a downlink transmission based on the aligned set of narrowbands.

[0020] A device for wireless communication at a UE is described. The device may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the device to identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, receive a frequency alignment parameter for communication using the first protocol, align a plurality of narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameter, and receive a downlink transmission based on the aligned set of narrowbands.

[0021] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include means for identifying a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, receiving a frequency alignment parameter for communication using the first protocol, aligning a plurality of narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameter, and receiving a downlink transmission based on the aligned set of narrowbands.

[0022] A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication at a UE is described. The code may include processor-executable instructions to identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, receive a frequency alignment parameter for communication using the first protocol, align a plurality of narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameter, and receive a downlink transmission based on the aligned set of narrowbands.

[0023] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving frequency alignment parameters may include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a first subcarrier offset for a first narrowband set and receiving a second subcarrier offset for a second narrowband set, wherein the first narrowband set may be associated with subcarriers having a lower frequency than a center subcarrier of the system bandwidth and the second narrowband set may be associated with subcarriers having a higher frequency than the center subcarrier.

[0024] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving frequency alignment parameters may include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a first resource block shift for aligning the beginning of a narrowband of the narrowband set with an RBG associated with the second protocol, and receiving a second resource block shift for aligning the end of the narrowband with the RBG associated with the second protocol.

[0025] Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a DCI status indication, wherein the DCI status indication indicates a resource allocation based on the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a one-bit shift indicator associated with one or more narrowbands of a plurality of narrowbands, wherein the one-bit shift indicator indicates the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol, and the second protocol includes an NR protocol, wherein the frequency alignment parameter may be based on an RBG associated with the second protocol.

[0026] A method for wireless communication at a base station is described. The method may include identifying a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier. The method may further include transmitting an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol to a first UE, transmitting a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to the first UE, and transmitting a first downlink transmission to the first UE based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency hopping pattern.

[0027] An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmit an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol to a first UE, transmit a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to the first UE, and transmit a first downlink transmission to the first UE based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency hopping pattern.

[0028] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include means for identifying a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmitting to a first UE an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol, transmitting to the first UE a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol, and transmitting to the first UE a first downlink transmission based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency hopping pattern.

[0029] A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication at a base station is described. The code may include processor-executable instructions to identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmit an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol to a first UE, transmit a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to the first UE, and transmit a first downlink transmission to the first UE based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency hopping pattern.

[0030] Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a plurality of repetitions of a control message for paging to the first UE via an MPDCCH mapped to a valid narrowband set that may be valid for communication using a first protocol according to the first frequency hopping pattern, and transmitting a plurality of repetitions of a paging message to the first UE via a PDSCH mapped to the valid narrowband set according to the first frequency hopping pattern and the control message for paging.

[0031] Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a second frequency hopping pattern for communication using a first protocol to a second UE, and transmitting a second downlink transmission to the second UE based on a narrowband set associated with the first protocol and the second frequency hopping pattern.

[0032] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting an indication of a set of narrowbands that may be valid for communication using a first protocol may further include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a bitmap including one or more values, wherein the one or more values ​​indicate whether each of the multiple narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands that may be valid for communication using the first protocol.

[0033] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the bitmap includes a value for each of the set of narrowbands for the carrier. In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the bitmap includes a value for one or more widebands for the carrier, wherein each wideband consists of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

[0034] Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include including operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting an indication of one or more subframes that may be valid for a narrowband associated with the first protocol, and transmitting a first downlink transmission based on the indication. Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include including operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting an indication of a second set of valid narrowbands that may be valid for communications using the first protocol, and receiving an uplink transmission based on the second set of the plurality of narrowbands.

[0035] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the carrier can be associated with a second protocol, and the effective narrowband set that can be valid for communication using the first protocol can be based on the carrier associated with the second protocol. In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol and the second protocol includes an NR protocol.

[0036] A method for wireless communication at a base station is described. The method may include: identifying a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier. The method may further include transmitting a frequency alignment parameter for communications using the first protocol, and transmitting a downlink transmission based on the identified set of narrowbands and the frequency alignment parameter.

[0037] An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmit a frequency alignment parameter for communications using the first protocol, and transmit a downlink transmission based on the identified set of narrowbands and the frequency alignment parameter.

[0038] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include means for identifying a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmitting a frequency alignment parameter for communications using the first protocol, and transmitting a downlink transmission based on the identified set of narrowbands and the frequency alignment parameter.

[0039] A non-transitory computer-readable medium is described, having stored thereon code for wireless communication at a base station. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmit a frequency alignment parameter for communications using the first protocol, and transmit a downlink transmission based on the identified set of narrowbands and the frequency alignment parameter. Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include including the following operations, features, components, or instructions for identifying a subcarrier offset between a resource block grid associated with the first protocol and a resource block grid associated with the second protocol, wherein the frequency alignment parameter may be based on the identified subcarrier offset.

[0040] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting frequency alignment parameters may include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a first subcarrier offset for a first narrowband set, and transmitting a second subcarrier offset for a second narrowband set, wherein the first narrowband set may be associated with subcarriers having a lower frequency than a center subcarrier of the system bandwidth, and the second narrowband set may be associated with subcarriers having a higher frequency than the center subcarrier.

[0041] In some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting frequency alignment parameters may include the following operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a first resource block shift for aligning the beginning of a narrowband of the narrowband set with an RBG associated with the second protocol, and transmitting a second resource block shift for aligning the end of the narrowband with the RBG associated with the second protocol.

[0042] Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a DCI status indication, wherein the DCI status indication indicates a resource allocation based on the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a one-bit shift indicator associated with one or more narrowbands of a plurality of narrowbands, wherein the one-bit shift indicator indicates the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. .

[0043] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol, the second protocol includes an NR protocol, and wherein the frequency alignment parameter may be based on an RBG associated with the second protocol. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Figure 1

[0013] An example of a system for wireless communication supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0045] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and wideband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0046] Figure 3 and 4 An example of a frequency hopping scheme supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and wideband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0047] Figures 5 to 7 An example resource grid alignment scheme supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0048] Figure 8 and 9 An example of a process flow supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0049] Fig.10 and 11A block diagram of an apparatus supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0050] Fig.12 A block diagram of a communication manager supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and wideband coexistence is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0051] Fig.13 A diagram of a system including apparatus supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0052] Fig.14 and 15 A block diagram of an apparatus supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0053] Fig.16 A block diagram of a communication manager supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and wideband coexistence is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0054] Fig.17 A diagram of a system including apparatus supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0055] Figures 18 to 26 A flow chart illustrating a method of supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] Some wireless communication systems support data communication technology that allows devices (e.g., user equipment (UE)) to communicate with each other or base stations without human intervention. This communication may be referred to as machine type communication (MTC). In some cases, the system may support MTC by using technology or features customized for MTC devices. Technology or features adopted for the purpose of improving MTC may be referred to as enhanced MTC (eMTC). In order to support eMTC, the system may be configured to take into account the operating characteristics of MTC devices (e.g., MTC UEs), which may be different from the operating characteristics of other UEs. This may include broadcasting certain MTC-specific system information using various repetition levels, transport block sizes, etc. MTC devices or MTC UEs may be low-complexity, low-cost devices relative to other UEs, and may be characterized by features such as low-power operation, limited duplex capability, and operating in an environment with poor radio link conditions. In addition, some MTC UEs may be configured to operate using narrow bandwidths compared to the bandwidths used by other UEs or compared to the total available system bandwidth. Systems supporting eMTC may be configured taking into account these MTC UE characteristics. In particular, in some examples and as described below, the system may support eMTC by supporting narrowband operation within a larger system bandwidth.

[0057] In some cases, the frequency of the transmitted signal (e.g., the frequency resources utilized for the transmitted signal) may be periodically changed. Such frequency hopping may help achieve frequency diversity and may help avoid or reduce narrowband interference. The UE may receive a signal when the frequency changes according to a certain frequency hopping pattern configured by the base station. Frequency hopping techniques may be used in conjunction with eMTC. For example, an MTC UE may perform frequency hopping between narrowbands for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) communications. As the number of narrowbands available for MTC devices increases, more MTC devices may be scheduled, and increased gains may be achieved due to frequency hopping over a wider set of narrowband frequencies, etc. However, resources dedicated to eMTC within the system bandwidth (e.g., narrowband) may reduce resources available for other protocols (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), New Radio (NR), etc.).

[0058] For example, to support eMTC, the system may be configured to take into account the operational characteristics of MTC devices. In some cases, an MTC UE may use narrowband operation within a wider system bandwidth that may be associated with another protocol (e.g., LTE or NR). For example, for eMTC in-band operation in an NR carrier, the system bandwidth associated with the NR protocol may be divided into several narrowbands for eMTC. The resources (e.g., narrowband) used by eMTC may be configured as reserved resources for NR rate matching. That is, resources used for eMTC messages (e.g., transmitted via an MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH)) and other downlink transmissions (e.g., transmitted via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) may be configured as dynamic rate matching resources indicated using layer 1 (L1) in downlink control information (DCI). Therefore, as more narrowband is allocated for eMTC, fewer resources are available for NR, and more signaling overhead (e.g., more bits in the DCI) may be used to indicate a set of NR rate matching resources corresponding to the narrowband allocated for eMTC. Additionally, in some cases where an MTC UE uses narrowband operation within a wider system bandwidth associated with another protocol, the resource block (RB) grid associated with eMTC may not align with the RB grid associated with the protocol associated with the system bandwidth (e.g., due to modulated direct current (DC) subcarriers in NR, floating sync blocks in NR, etc.).

[0059] The techniques described herein provide a reduced set of narrowbands for eMTC within a system bandwidth of a carrier associated with another protocol. For example, a network (e.g., a base station) may identify a set of narrowbands (e.g., an effective set of narrowbands) within a carrier associated with another protocol (e.g., within an NR carrier), and may configure eMTC devices to hop within the set to effectively reduce the narrowbands used by eMTC when coexisting with NR on the same frequency band. An eMTC device capable of receiving and adopting an effective set of narrowbands within a larger system bandwidth may receive an indication of such an effective set, and a first hopping pattern to be implemented within (e.g., between) the effective set of narrowbands for receiving MPDCCH and PDSCH. An MTC device that is not capable of receiving and adopting an effective set of narrowbands (e.g., a legacy MTC device) may be configured with a second hopping pattern for implementing between the effective set of narrowbands for receiving PDSCH (e.g., the second hopping pattern may be configured to cause the legacy eMTC device to hop to a narrowband within the effective set). That is, a legacy eMTC device that cannot employ a valid set of narrowbands (e.g., an eMTC device that only determines narrowband numbers on the carrier system bandwidth) may be configured with a frequency hopping pattern that ensures that the legacy eMTC device skips invalid narrowbands. The legacy eMTC device may be configured not to employ frequency hopping for receiving the MPDCCH.

[0060] Additionally or alternatively, the technology may further provide alignment of the eMTC RB grid and the NR RB grid, alignment of the eMTC narrowband and the NR resource block group (RBG), or both. For example, the network (e.g., a base station) may identify a subcarrier offset, an RB offset, or both, and may transmit frequency alignment parameters to the eMTC device. The eMTC device may receive frequency alignment parameters (e.g., subcarrier offset, RB offset, etc.) and may align one or more narrowbands accordingly. In this way, the eMTC RB grid and the NR RB grid may be aligned, which may allow dynamic resource sharing between eMTC and NR based on scheduling (e.g., instead of rate matching based on reserved resources). That is, NR RGBs overlapping with MPDCCH / PDSCH may not be allocated to NR UEs by the scheduler.

[0061] Various aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communication system. Example frequency hopping schemes, narrowband alignment schemes, and process flows implementing the discussed techniques are then described. Various aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated and described by and with reference to device diagrams, system diagrams, and flow charts related to flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence.

[0062] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated, which supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence. The wireless communication system 100 includes a base station 105, a UE 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 can be an LTE network, an LTE Advanced (LTE-a) network, an LTE-aPro network, or an NR network. In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 can support enhanced broadband communication, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communication, low latency communication, or communication with low-cost and low-complexity devices.

[0063] The base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UE 115 via one or more base station antennas. The base station 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a Node B, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation Node B or a Gigabit Node B (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a home Node B, a home eNodeB, or other suitable terms. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UE 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations 105 and network devices including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs, relay base stations, etc.

[0064] Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110 in which communications with various UEs 115 are supported. Each base station 105 may provide communications coverage for the respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communications link 125, and the communications link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE 115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communications link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to the base station 105, or a downlink transmission from the base station 105 to the UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

[0065] The geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 can be divided into sectors that constitute only a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector can be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 can provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hotspot, or other types of cells, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base station 105 can be mobile, thereby providing communication coverage for a mobile geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can overlap, and overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can be supported by the same base station 105 or by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE / LTE-A / LTE-A Pro or NR network, in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

[0066] The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish between adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocols that may provide access to different types of devices (e.g., MTC, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocols). In some cases, the term "unit" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which the logical entity operates.

[0067] UE 115 can be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 can be fixed or mobile. UE 115 can also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where "device" can also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client. UE 115 can also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 can also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, etc., which can be implemented in various items such as electrical appliances, vehicles, meters, etc.

[0068] Some UEs 115 (e.g., MTC or IoT devices) may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from a device that integrates sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay the information to a central server or application that can utilize the information or present the information to a person interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines. Application examples of MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

[0069] Additional MTC enhancements (e.g., which may be referred to as eMTC) may also be supported. For example, to support eMTC, the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to take into account the operating characteristics of MTC devices (e.g., MTC UEs). Narrowband operation may be supported so that the MTC UE 115 may operate in a wider system bandwidth (e.g., the MTC UE 115 may operate in a narrowband region of a larger system bandwidth). In some examples, eMTC may reduce device complexity, enable multi-year battery life, and provide deeper coverage to reach challenging locations, such as deep inside a building. In some cases, MTC devices or MTC UEs 115, and eMTC devices or eMTC UEs 115 may be used interchangeably.

[0070] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize coverage enhancement (CE) techniques to improve the quality of the communication link 125 of UEs 115 (including MTC UEs 115) located at the edge of a cell, operating with a low-power transceiver, or experiencing high interference or path loss. CE techniques may include repeated transmissions, TTI bundling, HARQ retransmissions, PUSCH frequency hopping, beamforming, power boosting, or other techniques. The CE techniques used may depend on the specific needs of the UE 115 in different situations. For example, TTI bundling may involve transmitting multiple copies of the same information in a set of consecutive TTIs, rather than waiting for a negative acknowledgement (NACK) before retransmitting a redundant version. This may be effective for users participating in voice over long term evolution (VoLTE) or VOIP communications, and for MTC UEs 115 operating with coverage limitations. In other cases, the number of HARQ retransmissions may also be increased. Frequency hopping may be used to transmit uplink data transmissions to achieve frequency diversity. Beamforming may be used to increase the strength of the signal in a particular direction, or the transmission power may be simply increased. In some cases, one or more CE options may be combined, and the CE level may be defined based on the decibel level by which the technology improvement signal is expected (e.g., no CE, 5dB CE, 10dB CE, 15dB CE, etc.). In some cases, the scheduling parameters for SIB1 may depend on the frequency hopping configuration. For example, this configuration may be explicitly signaled in a bit field included in the MIB.

[0071] For example, some systems may adopt CE modes (e.g., CE mode A and CE mode B) to support eMTC devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. (e.g., Cat M1, M2 UEs). Supporting CE mode operation may involve network broadcasts, and devices supporting CE mode operation are capable of processing new types of bandwidth reduction (BR) system information blocks (BR-SIBs) that are different from traditional SIBs (e.g., such as SIB1-BR). In some cases, CE mode devices may be able to support both traditional SIBs and new SIBs (e.g., BR versions). CE technology can improve the robustness of the system. There may be different levels of CE, so that higher levels of CE can provide more reliable communications, especially for devices located relatively far away from the base station or at locations where wireless transmissions are relatively highly attenuated relative to lower levels of CE (e.g., in basement locations). In some cases, CE may depend on repetition of transmissions.

[0072] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but does not support simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for UE 115 include entering a power saving "deep sleep" mode when not participating in active communications or operating on limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications). In some cases, UE 115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communications for these functions.

[0073] In some cases, UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UE 115 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocol). One or more of a group of UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105, or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some cases, multiple groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving the base station 105.

[0074] The base stations 105 can communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base stations 105 can interface with the core network 130 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations 105 can communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between the base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) via a backhaul link 134 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interface).

[0075] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UE 115 served by base station 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be delivered through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The P-GW may be connected to a network operator IP service. Operator IP services may include access to the Internet, (multiple) intranets, IP multimedia subsystems (IMS), or packet switching (PS) streaming services.

[0076] At least some network devices, such as base stations 105, may include subcomponents such as access network entities, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with UE 115 through multiple other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission / reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed between various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or merged into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0077] The wireless communication system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. In general, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately 1 decimeter to 1 meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features. However, the waves can penetrate the structure sufficiently so that the macro unit provides service to the UE 115 located indoors. Compared to transmissions using smaller frequencies and longer waves in the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz, transmissions using UHF waves can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 km).

[0078] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Super High Frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3 GHz to 30 GHz (also referred to as a centimeter wave band). The SHF region includes bands such as the 5 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, which may be opportunistically used by devices that can tolerate interference from other users.

[0079] The wireless communication system 100 can also operate in the extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as the millimeter wave band. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 can support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between UE 115 and base station 105, and the EHF antennas of each device can be smaller and closer than UHF antennas. In some cases, this can facilitate the use of antenna arrays within UE 115. However, compared with SHF or UHF transmissions, the propagation of EHF transmissions can withstand even greater atmospheric attenuation and a shorter range. Transmissions that can span the use of one or more different frequency regions employ the techniques disclosed herein, and the designated use of frequency bands spanning these frequency regions may vary from country to country or regulatory agency.

[0080] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may adopt license assisted access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in unlicensed bands such as the 5GHz ISM band. When operating in an unlicensed radio spectrum band, wireless devices such as base stations 105 and UE 115 can use a listen-before-talk (LBT) process to ensure that the frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a CA configuration combined with a CC operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these transmissions. Duplexing in unlicensed spectrum may be based on frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

[0081] In some examples, the base station 105 or the UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., the base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., the UE 115), wherein the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, the transmitting device may transmit multiple signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Similarly, the receiving device may receive multiple signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technology includes single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

[0082] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array so that signals propagating at a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference and other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustment of signals communicated via antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying certain amplitude and phase offsets to the signals carried via each antenna element associated with the device. The adjustment associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

[0083] In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays to perform beamforming operations for directional communications with the UE 115. For example, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by the base station 105 in different directions, which may include signals transmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify beam directions (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device such as the UE 115) for subsequent transmission and / or reception by the base station 105. Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by the base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device (e.g., the UE 115)). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions, and UE 115 may report indications of signals received with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality to base station 105. Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115), or for transmitting signals in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device).

[0084] A receiving device (e.g., UE 115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may try multiple receive beams when receiving various signals from base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, the receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). A single receive beam may be aligned along a beam direction determined at least in part based on listening according to different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio, or other acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0085] In some cases, the antennas of the base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays that may support MIMO operations, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be located at an antenna assembly (e.g., an antenna tower). In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array including multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

[0086] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, the communication at the bearer or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer can be IP-based. The radio link control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reorganization in some cases to communicate through logical channels. The media access control (MAC) layer can perform priority handling of logical channels and multiplex logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer can also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer can provide the establishment, configuration and maintenance of the RRC connection between the base station 105 or the core network 130 of the radio bearer supporting the user plane data. At the physical (PHY) layer, the transport channel can be mapped to the physical channel.

[0087] In some cases, UE 115 and base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the possibility of successfully receiving data. HARQ feedback is a technique to increase the possibility of correctly receiving data through communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve the throughput of the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, wherein the device may provide HARQ feedback for data received in a previous symbol in the slot in a specific slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot or according to some other time interval.

[0088] The time interval in LTE or NR can be expressed as a multiple of the basic time unit, for example, it can be referred to as T s=1 / 30,720,000 second sampling period. The time interval of the communication resource can be organized according to a radio frame each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period can be expressed as T f =307,200T s . A radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots, each slot having a duration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may include 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of a cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In addition to the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may include 2048 sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may be the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe, or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of a shortened TTI (sTTI) or in a selected component carrier using sTTI).

[0089] In some wireless communication systems, a time slot may be further divided into multiple mini-slots including one or more symbols. In some cases, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the minimum unit of scheduling. For example, the duration of each symbol may vary depending on the subcarrier spacing or the frequency band of operation. In addition, some wireless communication systems may implement time slot aggregation, where multiple time slots or mini-slots are aggregated together and used for communication between UE 115 and base station 105.

[0090] The term "carrier" refers to a collection of radio spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications on the communication link 125. For example, a carrier of the communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio spectrum band that operates according to a physical layer channel for a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. A carrier may be associated with a predefined frequency channel (e.g., an e-UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by a UE 115. A carrier may be a downlink or uplink (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode). In some examples, a signal waveform transmitted by a carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using a multi-carrier modulation (MCM) technique such as OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM).

[0091] The organization structure of the carrier may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.). For example, communications on a carrier may be organized based on TTIs or time slots, each of which may include user data and control information or signaling to support decoding of the user data. A carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.), and control signaling to coordinate carrier operations. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling, or control signaling to coordinate the operation of other carriers.

[0092] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. Physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique. In some examples, control information transmitted in a physical control channel may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or common search space, and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces).

[0093] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a plurality of predetermined bandwidths of a carrier for a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). In some examples, each serviced UE 115 may be configured to operate on part or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol associated with a predefined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or RBs) within a carrier (e.g., an "in-band" deployment of a narrowband protocol).

[0094] In a system using MCM technology, a resource element may consist of a symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and a subcarrier, where the symbol period and the subcarrier spacing are inversely proportional. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Therefore, the more resource elements received by UE 115 and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of UE 115 may be. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio spectrum resources, time resources, and space resources (e.g., space layers), and the use of multiple space layers may further increase the data rate used to communicate with UE 115.

[0095] A device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) of wireless communication system 100 may have a hardware configuration that supports communication on a specific carrier bandwidth, or may be configured to support communication on one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, wireless communication system 100 may include base stations 105 and / or UEs 115 that may support simultaneous communication via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidths.

[0096] The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with the UE 115 on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. The UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used for both FDD and TDD component carriers.

[0097] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an enhanced component carrier (eCC). An eCC may be characterized as having one or more characteristics, including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured for use in an unlicensed spectrum or a shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by a UE 115 that is unable to monitor the entire carrier bandwidth or is configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., for power conservation).

[0098] In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other CCs, which may include the use of a reduced symbol duration compared to the symbol duration of other CCs. A shorter symbol duration may be associated with an increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. A device utilizing an eCC (e.g., a UE 115 or a base station 105) may transmit a wideband signal (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80 MHz, etc.) at a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in an eCC may consist of one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

[0099] Among other things, wireless communication systems, such as NR systems, can utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, etc. The flexibility of eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing can allow eCC to be used across multiple spectrums. In some examples, NR shared spectrum can increase spectrum utilization and spectrum efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical (e.g., across frequency domain) and horizontal (e.g., across time domain) sharing of resources.

[0100] The wireless communication system 100 may support frequency hopping schemes and frequency alignment schemes for improving the coexistence of narrowband (e.g., eMTC protocol) and broadband (e.g., NR protocol). For example, the MTC UE 115 may identify several narrowbands associated with the eMTC protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier associated with the NR protocol. In some cases, the MTC UE may not know that the carrier is associated with the NR protocol, and the MTC UE may identify several narrowbands based only on the system bandwidth (e.g., based on the size or frequency range of the system bandwidth, based on how many narrowbands fit within the system bandwidth, etc.). The base station 105 may identify a valid narrowband set for eMTC (e.g., based on coexistence considerations between eMTC and NR). For example, the base station 105 may identify eMTC operation within the band using the NR carrier, and may decide to reduce the number of narrowbands available for eMTC within the carrier (e.g., the base station 105 may indicate to the eMTC UE the set of narrowbands valid for eMTC and used by the eMTC UE to reserve the frequency region within the carrier for NR communication). The base station 105 may transmit an indication of the effective narrowband set (e.g., via an effective narrowband bitmap or an effective wideband bitmap) to the MTC UE 115. The base station 105 may also transmit a frequency hopping pattern (e.g., a pattern of frequency transitions or frequency hopping between narrowbands within the effective narrowband set) to the MTC UE 115, and may transmit one or more downlink transmissions according to the frequency hopping pattern.

[0101] Additionally or alternatively, the base station 105 may identify a subcarrier offset and / or a resource block offset between resources (e.g., resource grids) for the eMTC protocol and resources (e.g., resource grids) for NR. The base station 105 may transmit a frequency alignment parameter to the MTC UE 115. The MTC UE 115 may align the narrowband used for eMTC with the NR resource grid (e.g., with NR subcarriers, with NR RBGs, or both). The base station 105 and the MTC UE 115 may then communicate based on the alignment, according to the narrowband identified by the MTC UE or the effective narrowband indicated by the base station.

[0102] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system 200 that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 200 can include a UE 115-a and a base station 105-a, which can be a reference Figure 1An example of a UE 115 and a base station 105 is described. The carrier 205 may be divided into multiple narrowband regions serving different devices, and the UE 115-a may operate in a narrowband region 210 within a frequency range or system bandwidth of the carrier 205. In some cases, the UE 115-a may be an MTC device, and the base station 105-a may dynamically allocate an effective set of narrowband resources (e.g., the base station 105-a may dynamically allocate an effective set of narrowband regions 210 for eMTC) for coexistence with broadband communications (e.g., for coexistence with other in-band resources allocated for NR). The effective set of narrowband resources may, for example, be a subset of the total number of narrowband regions within the system bandwidth of the carrier 205. The base station 105-a may indicate the effective set of narrowband resources to the UE 115-a (e.g., in system information, via RRC signaling). In addition, the base station 105-a may transmit frequency alignment parameters (e.g., frequency resource grid alignment parameters) to the UE 115-a to align one or more narrowbands (e.g., for eMTC) used by the UE 115-a with a resource grid associated with a communication protocol associated with the system bandwidth (e.g., aligning the narrowband used for eMTC with the NR resource grid).

[0103] The wireless communication system 200 may support MTC operation to enable operation of low-cost and low-complexity devices. For example, in the context of an LTE system, such low-cost UEs or MTC UEs (e.g., including UE 115-a) may be referred to as Class 0 UEs, which may be characterized by reduced peak data rates (e.g., for transport block sizes, a possible maximum of 1000 bits), rank-one transmission, one receive antenna, and, if half-duplex, an easy switching timing (from transmission to reception or vice versa) from 20 μs for conventional UEs to 1 ms for MTC UEs. These MTC UEs may monitor downlink channels in a manner similar to other UEs 115, including monitoring of MPDCCH, enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH), PDSCH, etc. Additional MTC enhancements (referred to as eMTC) may also be supported. For example, to support eMTC, the wireless communication system 200 may be configured to take into account the operating characteristics of MTC devices (e.g., UE 115-a). Narrowband operation may be supported so that the MTC UE 115-a may be able to operate in a wider system bandwidth. In some cases, the wireless communication system 200 may support operation in multiple system bandwidth ranges (e.g., 1.4 / 3 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 MHz). For example, a 10 MHz system bandwidth associated with the NR protocol (e.g., a carrier 205 associated with a 10 MHz frequency range) may include 50 physical resource blocks (PRBs), and a narrowband region 210 (e.g., for eMTC) may be divided into 1.4 MHz or 6 PRBs.

[0104] That is, the MTC device (e.g., UE 115-a) can transmit or receive on a narrowband bandwidth (e.g., a narrowband region 210 of 6 consecutive RBs). In this way, the carrier 205 can be split into multiple non-overlapping narrowband regions 210. The total number of narrowband regions 210 in the system bandwidth associated with the carrier 205 can be fixed to That is, the number of narrowband regions 210 (N NB ) can be determined as the number of RBs (N) within the system bandwidth of carrier 205. RB ) divided by 6 (eg. N RB divided by 6 RBs, corresponding to the size of each narrowband region 210). In some cases, there may be one or more RBs within the system bandwidth of carrier 205 that are not part of or included in any narrowband region 210 (e.g., one or more RBs at each edge of carrier 205 may not be part of or included in any narrowband region 210). In addition, the center RBs of carrier 205 may not be part of or included in any narrowband region 210 (e.g., in the case where carrier 205 includes an odd number of RBs within the entire system bandwidth).

[0105] In some cases, UE 115-a (e.g., an eMTC device) may switch narrowband between subframes (e.g., using inter-subframe frequency hopping to achieve frequency diversity gain). Such frequency hopping may be performed between N hop The frequency hopping devices may be configured to perform a multi-frame hopping operation in blocks of N subframes, which may be cell-specific and commonly configured for all frequency hopping devices in the cell. That is, within the cell, the frequency hopping devices may all be configured to perform a multi-frame hopping operation in blocks of N subframes. hop The frequency hopping pattern may be used to hop frequency every N subframes (e.g., every 4 subframes) so that all devices operate according to a coordinated frequency hopping pattern. For example, a frequency hopping pattern may refer to a pattern or an ordered list of frequency ranges, center frequencies, or bandwidth regions between which devices may hop or switch frequencies for communication (e.g., every N subframes). hop subframes, the device may frequency hop or switch radio frequency (RF) communication circuits according to a frequency hopping pattern to achieve frequency diversity).

[0106] MTC UEs may use narrowband operation within a wider system bandwidth that may be associated with another protocol (e.g., an LTE protocol or an NR protocol). As described above, for eMTC in-band operation in an NR carrier, the resources used by eMTC may be configured as reserved resources for NR rate matching. For example, the resources of the bandwidth-reduced SIB1 (SIB1-BR) may be configured as semi-static rate matching resources because the time and frequency locations may be fixed for a given LTE eMTC cell (e.g., the resources used for the eMTC SIB1 may be configured as semi-static rate matching resources because these resources may have fixed time and frequency locations). However, such semi-static resource partitioning between NR and eMTC may result in resources dedicated to eMTC (e.g., the narrowband region 210 dedicated to UE 115-a) being unavailable to NR. The NR UE may assume that the data transmitted on these reserved resources will be rate matched and may use the reserved resources for rate matching, but otherwise the reserved resources may not be available for NR communications. Thus, there may be a tradeoff between allocating more narrowband regions 210 for eMTC (e.g., which may allow for more MTC devices to be supported, provide increased gain from more diverse frequency hopping, may distribute paging over more narrowband, etc.) and reserving more resources for NR (e.g., which results in fewer narrowband regions 210 for eMTC). In addition, resources used for paging MPDCCH and other downlink transmissions may be configured as rate matching resources (e.g., NR rate matching resources) via L1 indications in DCI. Thus, as the number of narrowband regions 210 used for eMTC increases, the DCI overhead for delivering such reserved resources for NR rate matching may also increase.

[0107] The techniques described herein may provide dynamic resource sharing between eMTC and NR. That is, the network (e.g., base station 105-a) may indicate a set of effective narrowbands for eMTC (e.g., a first protocol) in order to balance the allocation of eMTC narrowband areas 210 and the resource reservation of NR. In addition, eMTC paging and data services may be bursty, and the number of MTC devices to which resources are to be allocated may vary over time. The described techniques may further provide efficient resource sharing because the set of effective narrowbands for eMTC may be expanded (e.g., including more narrowbands) or reduced (e.g., including fewer narrowbands) from time to time depending on eMTC and / or NR requirements. That is, the amount of resources allocated to eMTC (e.g., the size of the effective set of narrowband areas 210, or the number of narrowbands included in the effective set of narrowband areas 210) may be dynamically adjusted depending on the scenario because the amount of eMTC traffic varies depending on the bursty nature of certain eMTC services, the number of MTC devices in the system, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, NR considerations (e.g., NR pending traffic, DCI overhead associated with the L1 indication of a rate matching reserved resource set corresponding to an eMTC narrowband, the number of NR devices in the system, etc.) may also be considered in determining the set of valid narrowband resources.

[0108] In some examples, the narrowband region 210 for eMTC (e.g., the number of narrowbands indicated in the valid narrowband set) can be reduced or minimized when coexisting with NR on the same frequency band. When the system bandwidth (e.g., a large LTE system bandwidth, such as 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 MHz) is signaled to the eMTC UE (e.g., UE 115-a), the valid narrowband set for eMTC (e.g., for MPDCCH / PDSCH / PUSCH) can also be signaled. The set of indicated valid narrowbands can limit the narrowband region 210 available for eMTC (e.g., when the carrier 205 is associated with the NR protocol). In some cases, the set of valid narrowbands indicated for uplink and downlink may be different. In some examples, the set of valid narrowbands (e.g., for uplink, downlink, or both) can be indicated via a bitmap (e.g., where a value of "0" indicates invalid and a value of "1" indicates valid). In some cases, the bitmap can be signaled using one bit per narrowband or one bit per broadband. In the case of a valid broadband bitmap, one bit may correspond to the number (e.g., three, four, five, six) of consecutive (e.g., multiple and adjacent) narrowbands corresponding to a broadband (e.g., narrowbands within a broadband may all be valid or all invalid). For example, four broadbands may be defined, each broadband including four consecutive narrowbands (e.g., broadband 1 may include narrowbands 0-3, broadband 2 may include narrowbands 4-7, broadband 3 may include narrowbands 8-11, and broadband 4 may include narrowbands 12-15). As an example, a valid broadband bitmap may be used to support a category "M2" UE with a large bandwidth (e.g., 5 MHz).

[0109] In some cases, the set of valid narrowbands may be subframe specific (e.g., since PSS / SSS / PBCH and SIB1-BR may be associated with certain slots and subframes). For example, if a narrowband overlapping the 72 center subcarriers (e.g., the center 72 subcarriers of the system bandwidth) is indicated as valid for MPDCCH / PDSCH, then a narrowband overlapping the 72 center subcarriers may be indicated as invalid in subframes used for PSS / SSS / PBCH (e.g., subframes 4 and 9 for FDD). The invalid subframe configuration for each narrowband may also be based on NR (e.g., to avoid collision or interference with NR synchronization channels and other NR channels). That is, the valid subframe configuration in eMTC may be extended to narrowbands specifically used for improved coexistence with NR on the same frequency band. For example, the valid subframe configuration may be extended to indicate that those narrowbands are valid for subframes indicated by the valid subframe configuration. In some cases, the valid subframe configuration may be different for each narrowband (e.g., for each valid narrowband).

[0110] With respect to backward capability, a legacy eMTC UE (e.g., an MTC device that is not able to receive, support, or understand the indication of the valid narrowband set) may be signaled with the same system bandwidth (e.g., the system bandwidth of carrier 205). However, such a legacy eMTC UE may be configured not to perform frequency hopping of the MPDCCH / PDSCH for paging, as described below with reference to Figure 3 As further described.

[0111] Where frequency hopping is used, frequency hopping may occur only over a valid set of narrowbands. For example, a UE 115-a (e.g., an eMTC device supporting a valid set of narrowbands) may hop within a numerology associated with an effective set of narrowbands and may not hop to frequencies or narrowbands outside of the indicated effective set of narrowbands. A legacy eMTC UE may still support frequency hopping for random access and unicast transmissions, but a legacy eMTC UE (e.g., an eMTC UE that divides the indicated system bandwidth into narrowbands and is unaware of frequency regions reserved for NR or invalid narrowbands for eMTC) may be configured with a different frequency hopping pattern (e.g., different from the frequency hopping pattern indicated to a UE 115-a that is assumed to use a numerology associated with an effective set of narrowbands). Different frequency hopping patterns for legacy UEs (e.g., different frequency hopping narrowband offsets) may ensure that the legacy UE hops within the effective set of narrowbands. For example, the frequency hopping pattern for legacy UEs may be determined based on numbers assumed by legacy eMTC UEs (eg, assuming that all narrowbands within the system bandwidth are available), however, the pattern may ensure that the narrowband used is one of the valid narrowbands.

[0112] The base station 105-a may indicate to the UE 115-a a reduced set of narrowbands for eMTC (e.g., an effective set of narrowbands). For example, the network (e.g., a base station) may identify an effective set of narrowbands within a carrier associated with another protocol (e.g., within an NR carrier), and may configure the UE 115-a to frequency hop within the effective set to effectively reduce the narrowbands used when eMTC and NR coexist in a unified frequency band. The UE 115-a may receive an indication of the effective set along with a frequency hopping pattern, and may receive the MPDCCH and PDSCH within the effective set of narrowbands (e.g., across) according to the frequency hopping pattern. For example, the UE 115-a may receive an indication (e.g., a bitmap) indicating the effective set of narrowbands from the base station 105-a.

[0113] In the event that the MTC device is unable to receive and employ an effective set of narrowbands (e.g., a legacy MTC device), the MTC device may be configured with a second frequency hopping pattern (e.g., different from the frequency hopping pattern associated with the effective set of narrowbands that may be indicated to the UE 115-a) to enable reception for the PDSCH. The second frequency hopping pattern may effectively allocate a narrowband for the legacy MTC device that is within the effective set of narrowbands indicated to the UE 115-a. That is, a legacy MTC device that is unable to employ an effective set of narrowbands (e.g., an MTC device that determines only a narrowband number over a carrier system bandwidth) may be configured with a frequency hopping pattern that ensures that the legacy MTC device skips invalid narrowbands. The legacy MTC device may be configured to receive the MPDCCH without employing frequency hopping.

[0114] In some cases, eMTC may not be aligned with a resource grid (e.g., an NR resource grid). For example, in some cases, eMTC may be aligned with a resource grid associated with the LTE protocol. In the case where a carrier (e.g., including in-band eMTC) is associated with NR, the eMTC resource grid may be offset from the NR resource grid (e.g., in subcarriers, RBs, or both). For example, a direct current (DC) subcarrier may be modulated in NR but not in the LTE downlink (e.g., this may result in an offset between the LTE eMTC RB grid and the NR RB grid, even though the LTE eMTC subcarrier grid and the NR subcarrier grid may be aligned). In addition, due to the "floating" synchronization blocks used in NR, the narrowband used for eMTC may also be offset by some arbitrary number of subcarriers (e.g., from 0 to 11 subcarriers) relative to the NR RB grid. For example, NR may use "floating" synchronization blocks, where the PRBs used for the synchronization blocks may not be aligned with the PRBs used for the data blocks, which may result in a subcarrier offset. In some cases, the offset may be different for the lower half of the eMTC narrowband within the system bandwidth (e.g., narrowband with frequencies lower than the center subcarrier associated with the system bandwidth) than for the upper half of the eMTC narrowband (e.g., due to the unused DC subcarrier in LTE).

[0115] Additionally or alternatively, the techniques may further provide alignment of the eMTC-RB grid and the NR-RB grid, alignment of the eMTC narrowband and the NR RBG, or both. For example, the network (e.g., a base station) may identify a subcarrier offset, an RB offset, or both, and may transmit frequency alignment parameters to the MTC device. The MTC device may receive the frequency alignment parameters (e.g., subcarrier offset, RB offset, etc.) and may align one or more narrowbands accordingly. In this way, the eMTC RB grid and the NR RB grid may be aligned, which may allow dynamic resource sharing between eMTC and NR based on scheduling (e.g., instead of rate matching based on reserved resources). That is, NR RBGs overlapping with MPDCCH / PDSCH may not be allocated to NR UEs by the scheduler.

[0116] Figure 3 An example of a frequency hopping scheme 300 is illustrated that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and wideband coexistence (e.g., more narrowband can be reserved for eMTC) in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the frequency hopping scheme 300 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. For example, the frequency hopping scheme 300 can illustrate scheduling of MPDCCH, PDSCH, and SIB1-BR, which can implement various aspects of frequency hopping in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Specifically, the frequency hopping scheme 300 can illustrate scheduling or downlink transmissions for two UEs 115 (e.g., UE1 and UE2), including which narrowbands can be scheduled on different subframes using UE1 paging MPDCCH 305, UE2 paging MPDCCH 310, UE1 PDSCH 315, UE2 PDSCH 320, and SIB1-BR 325.

[0117] In some cases, the frequency hopping pattern used for the downlink may depend on the information being transmitted (e.g., eMTC frequency hopping may be channel-specific or dependent on the information being transmitted). For example, SIB1-BR 325 may be associated with hopping between two narrowbands (e.g., for system bandwidths between 12-50 RBs) or four narrowbands (e.g., for system bandwidths between 51-110 RBs). Two narrowbands overlapping the 72 center subcarriers (e.g., narrowband region 330) may be excluded from frequency hopping. That is, narrowband region 330 may not be available for SIB1-BR. The starting narrowband (e.g., default or initial narrowband) index may be determined based on the cell ID (e.g., the initial location of the SIB1-BR may depend on the cell ID associated with the SIB1-BR). For paging MPDCCH, the same narrowband set of SIB1-BRs may be used (e.g., two narrowbands overlapping the 72 center subcarriers, or narrowband region 330, may be excluded from frequency hopping for paging MPDCCH). For paging MPDCCH, the starting narrowband index may be determined based on both the cell ID and the UE ID (e.g., UE1 paging MPDCCH 305 starting from narrowband 0 and UE2 paging MPDCCH 310 starting from narrowband 1 may be a function of different UE IDs for UE1 and UE2). For other downlink data transmissions (e.g., PDSCH), frequency hopping between two narrowbands or four narrowbands may be configured on a per-cell basis. The starting narrowband may be semi-statically configured (e.g., by a higher layer or upper layer) or dynamically indicated in the DCI (e.g., L1 signaling). All narrowbands of a carrier (e.g., an LTE carrier) may be valid for frequency hopping, including narrowband region 330.

[0118] As described above, the narrowband region 330 may not be available for SIB1-BR or paging MPDCCH frequency hopping, but may be available for PDSCH frequency hopping. Each of the multiple narrowbands associated with the system bandwidth may be associated with an NB index. In this embodiment, the 10 MHz carrier may be divided into 8 narrowbands, with NB indexes of 0-7. However, for SIB1-BR or paging MPDCCH, the narrowbands associated with NB indexes 3 and 4 (e.g., 72 center subcarriers) may not be available, so that the second narrowband set (e.g., multiple narrowbands excluding narrowbands 3 and 4) may be associated with indexes 0-5.

[0119] The frequency hopping scheme 300 may illustrate eMTC downlink transmission using 7 of the 8 narrowbands of a 10 MHz LTE carrier (e.g., narrowband 3 may not be used in a preset example). The 10 MHz system bandwidth may include 50 PRBs, from which 8 narrowbands may be identified (e.g., each narrowband includes 6 PRBs). There may be 6 valid narrowbands for SIB1-BR and paging MPDCCH because SIB1-BR and paging MPDCCH may not utilize narrowband region 330 for frequency hopping. The starting index of UE1 paging MPDCCH 305 and UE2 paging MPDCCH 310 may depend on the UE ID associated with UE1 and UE2. The narrowband offset may further depend on the cell ID. For example, assuming that the physical cell identity (PCID) is 0, PCID=0 and j=(PCID mod K)=0 are used for cell-specific narrowband offsets. In some cases, the SIB1-BR may be associated with 16 time domain repetitions and may therefore be transmitted on subframe 4 and subframe 9 of each radio frame (e.g., for a transmission period of 80 ms, the SIB1-BR may hop every 5 subframes). For paging MPDCCH, the starting narrowband index may be narrowband 1 for UE1 and narrowband 2 for UE2 based on the UE IDs associated with UE1 and UE2. For PDSCH, the starting narrowband index may be the same as the index of the corresponding MPDCCH (e.g., PDSCH and MPDCCH may be associated with the same starting narrowband, which may depend on the UE ID). For MPDCCH and PDSCH, frequency hopping may be between 2 narrowbands and in blocks of four subframes (e.g., N ). hop =4), the hopping offset is 4 narrowbands (e.g., freqHoppingOffset=4).

[0120] As can be seen, both the MPDCCH and the PDSCH have four narrowband frequency offsets for frequency hopping. However, since different narrowbands are available (e.g., the MPDCCH may not use narrowbands of the narrowband region 330, while the PDSCH may), the narrowbands used for hopping may be different, even though both the MPDCCH and the PDSCH are associated with the same starting index and the same frequency offset for hopping. That is, the set of narrowbands used for MPDCCH frequency hopping may be different from the set of narrowbands used for PDSCH frequency hopping (e.g., the hopping pattern used for paging the MPDCCH may be different from the hopping pattern used for paging the PDSCH, because the narrowbands overlapping the 72 center subcarriers may not be used for paging the MPDCCH, but may be used for the PDSCH). In some cases, this may result in an undesirable amount of resources utilized for eMTC (e.g., because 7 of the 8 narrowbands are available for two MTC UEs). In some cases, there may be a subframe gap (e.g., subframe 6 of SFN1) between the scheduling of MPDCCH and PDSCH to allow UEs (e.g., UE1 and UE2) to decode the MPDCCH.

[0121] Figure 4 An example of a frequency hopping scheme 400 is illustrated that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and wideband coexistence in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the frequency hopping scheme 400 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. For example, the frequency hopping scheme 400 can illustrate scheduling of MPDCCH, PDSCH, and SIB1-BR, which can implement aspects of efficient narrowband frequency hopping in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Specifically, the frequency hopping scheme 400 can illustrate scheduling or downlink transmissions for two UEs 115 (e.g., UE1 and UE2), including which narrowbands can be scheduled using UE1 paging MPDCCH 405, UE2 paging MPDCCH 410, UE1 PDSCH 415, UE2 PDSCH 420, and SIB1-BR 425 on different subframes.

[0122] The frequency hopping scheme 400 may be similar to the frequency hopping scheme 300 in that the frequency hopping scheme 400 may be associated with a system bandwidth of 10 MHz, where 8 narrowbands may be identified for eMTC. However, for the frequency hopping scheme 400, it may be assumed that UE1 supports a set of valid narrowbands (e.g., for eMTC), and UE2 may be assumed to be a legacy UE (e.g., UE2 may not support a set of valid narrowbands). The frequency hopping scheme 400 may illustrate 4 valid narrowbands (e.g., narrowband 0, narrowband 1, narrowband 6, and narrowband 7) and 4 invalid (or reserved for NR) narrowbands (e.g., narrowband 2, narrowband 3, narrowband 4, and narrowband 5). In some cases, UE1 may receive an indication (e.g., a bitmap) indicating a valid set of narrowbands from a base station. For example, in some cases, UE1 may determine a narrowband number based on the indication, while UE2 (e.g., a legacy UE) may assume all narrowbands (e.g., UE2 may determine a narrowband number assuming all narrowbands 0-7).

[0123] Therefore, UE1 and UE2 may be configured with different frequency hopping patterns (e.g., assuming different narrowband numbers) to ensure that UE1 and UE2 frequency hop within the valid set of narrowbands. For example, UE1 is configured with a frequency hopping offset of 2 narrowbands, and UE1 may identify a frequency hopping pattern between narrowband 0 and narrowband 6 (e.g., narrowband 6 is associated with 2 narrowband offsets form narrowband 0 according to the valid narrowband number). The frequency hopping offsets may be used for both MPDDCH and PDSCH. However, UE2 may be configured not to frequency hop for MPDCCH (e.g., UE2 may receive MPDCCH via narrowband 1). In addition, for PDSCH, UE2 may receive a frequency hopping offset of 6 narrowbands, and UE2 may therefore identify a frequency hopping pattern between narrowband 1 and narrowband 7. Therefore, UE1 and UE2 may be configured to frequency hop such that all eMTCs (e.g., associated with UE1 and UE2) are within the valid set of narrowbands. That is, UE1 (e.g., new eMTC UE) and UE2 (e.g., traditional MTC UE) can be configured with different frequency hopping offsets to accommodate different narrowband sets used by each UE (e.g., since UE1 can be configured with an effective set number of narrowbands, and UE2 can still assume the original number based on the total system bandwidth). In this way, by implementing such different frequency hopping offset configurations, two narrowbands (e.g., narrowband region 430) overlapping with 72 center subcarriers can be effectively excluded from frequency hopping.

[0124] Figure 5An example of a resource grid alignment scheme 500 is illustrated that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the resource grid alignment scheme 500 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. Specifically, the resource grid alignment scheme 500 can illustrate the adjustment of subcarrier offsets between an eMTCRB grid (e.g., an LTE eMTC RB grid) and an NR RB grid.

[0125] In some cases, the NR RB 505 may be offset from a narrowband (e.g., according to some arbitrary offset 520). For example, the NRRB 505-a may be offset from the narrowband 510-a (e.g., a narrowband in the lower half of the carrier, or a narrowband associated with a frequency lower than the center subcarrier of the system bandwidth) by a subcarrier offset 520-a. In some cases, due to, for example, DC carrier modulation in NR, the narrowband 515-a (e.g., a narrowband in the upper half of the carrier, or a narrowband associated with a frequency higher than the center subcarrier of the system bandwidth) may be associated with a different offset from the NR resource grid (e.g., from NR RB 505-b). For example, the NRRB 505-b may be offset from the narrowband 515-a by a subcarrier offset 520-b (e.g., which may be different from the subcarrier offset 520-a). In other cases, the subcarrier offset 520-a and the subcarrier offset 520-b may be the same.

[0126] The base station may transmit a frequency alignment parameter to the UE that may indicate one or both of the subcarrier offset 520-A and the subcarrier offset 520-b. The UE may align one or more narrowbands according to the indicated frequency alignment parameter. For example, the UE may align to a narrowband (e.g., a shifted frequency for downlink monitoring of receiving MPDCCH, PDSCH, etc.). For example, the UE may shift narrowband 510-a to be similar to the alignment of narrowband 510-b (e.g., which may then be aligned with an NR resource grid).

[0127] Figure 6 An example of a resource grid alignment scheme 600 according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated, which supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence. In some examples, the resource grid alignment scheme 600 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. Specifically, the resource grid alignment scheme 600 can illustrate the adjustment of RB offsets between eMTC resource grids (e.g., LTE eMTC resource grids) and NR RBGs.

[0128] For example, frequency alignment parameters (e.g., signaled from a base station to an MTC UE so that the MTC UE aligns the eMTC resource grid with the NR resource grid) may include an RB shift (e.g., an "s" value) for aligning the start of a narrowband with an NR RBG, an RB shift (e.g., a "t" value) for aligning the end of a narrowband with an NR RBG, or both. The "s" value may refer to an RB offset from the beginning or start of a narrowband 605 to an NR RBG 610. The "t" value may refer to an RB offset from a narrowband 605 to an end of an NR RBG 610. In some cases, the "s" and "t" values ​​may be used with DCI resource grid alignment status signaling to indicate narrowband alignment. For example, a DCI may be used to indicate a resource grid alignment status. The resource grid alignment state may indicate the length of the resource allocation (e.g., the number of PRBs allocated within the narrowband) and the index of the starting PRB of the allocated resources (e.g., the resource grid alignment state may indicate "s" as the starting PRB of the NR RBG where the first PRB of the narrowband is located, or "t" as the ending PRB of the NR RBG where the last PRB of the narrowband is located). Table 1 below shows examples of possible resource grid alignment states.

[0129] Table 1

[0130]

[0131]

[0132] For example, resource grid alignment state 1 may indicate that the narrowband 605-a has a length of two RBs and the UE should align the narrowband 605-a at the beginning of the NR RBG 610-a (e.g., this may cause the UE to shift the narrowband 605-a by one RB (because s=-1). As another example, resource grid alignment state 7 may indicate that the narrowband 605-a has a length of three RBs and the UE should align the narrowband 605-a at the end of the NR RBG 610-b (e.g., this may cause the UE to shift the narrowband 605-a by one RB (because t=1, so t-2=-1). In general, for resource allocation with narrowband alignment of NR RBGs (e.g., for CE mode A), resource grid alignment states 1-5 indicate that the starting PRB is the first PRB of the narrowband with an RB shift of "s". And resource grid alignment states 6-10 indicate that the ending PRB is the last PRB of the narrowband with an RB shift of "t".

[0133] That is, the narrowband can be aligned with the NR RBG. In this case, dynamic resource multiplexing with NR can be supported via scheduling (e.g., instead of RM). For example, RBGs overlapping with MPDCCH / PDSCH may not be allocated to NR UEs by the scheduler. The RBG definition in NR can be associated with the bandwidth part configuration. Depending on the configured bandwidth part size, the RBG size can be 2, 4, 6, or 16 RBs. For RBG sizes of 2 or 4 RBs, alignment with NR RBGs can be used to reduce the number of unused PRBs due to conflicts between RBGs and narrowbands. For RBG sizes of 8 or 16 RBs, alignment ensures that one narrowband does not span two RBGs. Otherwise, NR may not be able to use two RBGs when they overlap with one narrowband of eMTC.

[0134] If the eMTC narrowband is not aligned with the NR RBG, the RB shift may be signaled to align the narrowband with the NR RBG (e.g., align the start of the narrowband or the end of the narrowband with the RBG). The RB shift value may depend on the NR RBG size, which may depend on the bandwidth portion configuration. The RB shift may also be narrowband specific because each narrowband may overlap with a different bandwidth portion. In some cases, the NR RBG size and other parameters (e.g., such as the starting PRB of the NR) may be indicated so that the UE can derive the RB shift for each narrowband. In some cases, the RB shift may be explicitly signaled for each narrowband (e.g., two configurable parameters may be indicated for each narrowband). That is, for each narrowband or for a narrowband below the DC subcarrier and a narrowband above the DC subcarrier, an "s" value indicating the RB shift for aligning the start of the narrowband with the NR RBG and a value indicating the RB shift for aligning the end of the narrowband with the NR RBG may be signaled. In this case, the NR RBG size and the association of the eMTC narrowband with the NR bandwidth portion can be transparent to the UE. Due to the alignment of RBG and narrowband, this RBG alignment can minimize the number of unused PRBs in NR.

[0135] If enabled in CE mode A with flexible downlink start PRB, allocations for alignment with NR RBGs using "s" and "t" values ​​may be implemented based on 10 unused states in the DCI (e.g., in DCI format 6-1A), as described above. If enabled in CE mode B with flexible downlink start PRB, a 1-bit (on / off) indicator may be used to enable narrowband offsets with shift values ​​equal to "s" or "t". The SIB may also indicate narrowband shifts for MPDCCH, at least for unicast. In some cases, for backward compatibility (e.g., for compatibility with legacy MTC UEs), if the MPDCCH is transmitted on a shifted narrowband, the narrowband may not be used for legacy UEs. The SIB1 indication of NB shifts for MPDCCH may not be limited to narrowbands on NR bands. Furthermore, not all narrowbands may need to be signaled with RB shift values ​​of "s" and "t".

[0136] Figure 7 An example of a resource grid alignment scheme 700 is illustrated that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the resource grid alignment scheme 700 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. Specifically, the resource grid alignment scheme 700 can illustrate the adjustment of RB offsets between eMTC resource grids (e.g., LTE-eMTC resource grids) and NR RBGs.

[0137] For example, the resource grid alignment parameters (e.g., signaled from the base station to the MTC UE to cause the MTC UE to align the eMTC resource grid with the NR resource grid) may include an RB shift (e.g., an "s" value) for aligning the start of the narrowband with the NR RBG, an RB shift (e.g., a "t" value) for aligning the end of the narrowband with the NR RBG, or both. The "s" value may refer to the RB offset from the beginning or start of the narrowband 705 to the RBG 710. The "t" value may refer to the RB offset from the narrowband 705 to the end of the RBG 710. In some cases, the "s" and "t" values ​​may be used with DCI resource grid alignment status signaling to indicate narrowband alignment. For example, the DCI may be used to indicate the resource grid alignment status. The resource grid alignment state may indicate the length of the narrowband (e.g., the number of PRBs allocated within the narrowband) and the index of the starting PRB of the allocated resources (e.g., the resource grid alignment state may indicate "s" as the starting PRB of the RBG where the first PRB of the narrowband is located, or "t" as the ending PRB of the RBG where the last PRB of the narrowband is located). As described above, examples of possible resource grid alignment states are shown in Table 1.

[0138] For example, resource grid alignment state 1 may indicate that the narrowband 705-a has a length of two RBs and the UE should align the narrowband 705-a at the beginning of the RBG 710-a (e.g., this may cause the UE to shift the narrowband 705-a by three RBs (because s=-3). As another example, resource grid alignment state 7 may indicate that the narrowband 705-a has a length of three RBs and the UE should align the narrowband 705-a at the end of the RBG 710-b (e.g., this may cause the UE to shift the narrowband 705-a by one RB (because t=1, so 3-2=1). In general, for resource allocation with narrowband alignment of NR RBGs (e.g., for CE mode A), resource grid alignment states 1-5 indicate that the starting PRB is the first PRB of the narrowband with an RB shift of "s". And resource grid alignment states 6-10 indicate that the ending PRB is the last PRB of the narrowband with an RB shift of "t".

[0139] Figure 8 An example of a process flow 800 that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the process flow 800 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. The process flow 800 includes a base station 105-b and a UE 115-b (e.g., an MTC UE), which can be a reference Figure 1 and 2 An example of a base station 105 and a UE 115 is described. Processing flow 800 may illustrate that base station 105-b configures UE 115-b using an effective set of narrowbands for eMTC. In the following description of processing flow 800, operations between UE 115-b and base station 105-b may be transmitted in an order different from the exemplary order shown, or operations performed by UE 115-b and base station 105-b may be performed in a different order or at a different time. In some cases, certain operations may also be excluded from processing flow 800, or other operations may be added to processing flow 800.

[0140] At 805-a, UE 115-b may identify multiple narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol (e.g., associated with eMTC), and at 805-b, base station 105-b may identify multiple narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol (e.g., associated with eMTC). For example, UE 115-b and base station 105-b may identify a system bandwidth associated with a carrier, and may identify multiple narrowbands based on the system bandwidth. In some cases, UE 115-b and base station 105-b may identify multiple narrowbands concurrently (e.g., in parallel or at least partially overlapping in time) or at different times (e.g., 805-a and 805-b may occur simultaneously or at different times).

[0141] At 810, the base station 105-b may transmit an indication of a set of multiple narrowbands that are valid for communication using the first protocol (e.g., an effective set of narrowbands). For example, the base station 105-b may transmit an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for eMTC. The indication of the effective set of multiple narrowbands may be transmitted, for example, via system information or RRC signaling. In some cases, the effective set of narrowbands may depend on considerations of coexistence of eMTC and NR. For example, in a scenario where a large amount of eMTC traffic (e.g., a large number of MTC devices) is to be scheduled, the base station 105-b may indicate a large set of valid narrowbands. In other cases, in scenarios where there are fewer eMTC services, in scenarios where NR traffic volume occupies priority, in scenarios where few eMTC devices are to be scheduled, etc. (e.g., because a smaller set of valid narrowbands can reserve bandwidth associated with invalid narrowbands for NR), the base station 105-b may indicate a relatively small set of valid narrowbands. In some cases, the indication of the effective set of narrowbands may include an effective narrowband bitmap or an effective broadband bitmap transmitted to the UE 115-b. The valid narrowband bitmap or the valid broadband bitmap may include a value "1" indicating a valid state and a value "0" indicating an invalid state (for example, the bitmap may indicate a valid narrowband or a valid broadband for eMTC). That is, the bitmap may indicate whether each narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands (for example, identified at 805) is within the set of the plurality of narrowbands valid for communication using the first protocol (for example, is a valid narrowband).

[0142] In some cases, at 815, the base station 105-b may further transmit an indication of one or more subframes that are valid for a narrowband associated with the first protocol (e.g., an effective narrowband for eMTC). For example, because certain signaling (e.g., PSS / SSS / PBCH and SIB1-BR) may only be present in certain subframes, different sets of effective narrowbands may be available for eMTC in different subframes. In addition, based on NR considerations (e.g., to avoid conflicts with NR synchronization channels and other channels that may vary from subframe to subframe), the effective set of narrowbands may be subframe specific. That is, in some cases, the base station 105-b may indicate a subframe-specific effective narrowband set (e.g., or a narrowband-specific effective subframe set) to the UE 115-b for improved coexistence with eMTC and NR on the same frequency band.

[0143] At 820, base station 105-b may transmit a frequency hopping pattern to UE 115-b. In some cases, the frequency hopping pattern may refer to the number of subframes (N) used for each hop. hop) (e.g., or the number of subframes before performing a frequency hopping operation), a frequency hopping offset (freqHoppingOffset) (e.g., the number of narrowbands to hop per frequency hopping operation, the index of the narrowbands to hop between, etc.), or both. The frequency hopping pattern may configure the UE 115-b to hop within the set of valid narrowbands indicated at 810. In some cases, the frequency hopping pattern may be applied to MPDCCH and PDSCH downlink transmissions.

[0144] At 825, UE 115-b may repeatedly perform frequency hopping for multiple time domains for downlink transmissions (e.g., across a set of multiple narrow bands valid for communication using the first protocol according to a frequency hopping pattern).

[0145] For example, at 830, the base station 105-b may transmit the MPDCCH (e.g., one or more repetitions of the control message for paging via the MPDCCH) according to the frequency hopping pattern indicated at 820. The UE 115-b may receive the one or more control messages for paging via the MPDCCH mapped to the set of multiple narrowbands valid for communication using the first protocol according to the frequency hopping.

[0146] At 835, the base station 105-b may transmit one or more repetitions of the paging message via a PDSCH mapped to a plurality of narrowband sets according to a first frequency hopping pattern and a control message for paging (e.g., transmitted by the base station 105-b at 830). The UE 115-b may receive one or more paging messages based on the control message received at 830 via a PDSCH mapped to a plurality of narrowband sets according to a frequency hopping pattern.

[0147] Fig. 9 An example of a process flow 900 that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the process flow 900 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. The process flow 900 includes a base station 105-c and a UE 115-c (e.g., an MTC UE), which can be a reference Figure 1 and 2An example of a base station 105 and a UE 115 described. Processing flow 900 may illustrate that the base station 105-c indicates a frequency alignment parameter (e.g., a resource grid alignment parameter) to the UE 115-c so that the UE 115-c can align multiple identified narrowbands (e.g., for eMTC) with a resource grid associated with another protocol (e.g., with an NR resource grid). In the following description of processing flow 900, operations between the UE 115-c and the base station 105-c may be transmitted in an order different from the exemplary order shown, or operations performed by the UE 115-c and the base station 105-c may be performed in a different order or at different times. In some cases, certain operations may also be excluded from processing flow 900, or other operations may be added to processing flow 800.

[0148] At 905-a, UE 115-b may identify multiple narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol (e.g., associated with eMTC), and at 905-b, base station 105-c may identify multiple narrowbands associated with communications using the first protocol (e.g., associated with eMTC). For example, UE 115-c and base station 105-c may identify a system bandwidth associated with a carrier and may identify multiple narrowbands based on the system bandwidth. In some cases, UE 115-c and base station 105-c may identify multiple narrowbands concurrently or at different times (e.g., 905-a and 905-b may occur simultaneously, at least partially overlap in time, or at different times).

[0149] At 910, the base station 105-c may identify a resource grid offset. For example, the base station 105-c may identify an offset between resources (e.g., a resource grid) used for communication using a first protocol (e.g., an eMTC protocol) and resources used for communication using a second protocol (e.g., an NR protocol). In some cases, the identified resource grid offset may include or refer to a subcarrier offset, a resource block offset, or both. For example, the base station 105-c may identify that a narrowband for eMTC has a subcarrier offset with an NR RB grid, may identify that a narrowband for eMTC has an RB offset with an NR RBG, or both.

[0150] At 915, the base station 105-c may transmit a frequency alignment parameter for communication using the first protocol, wherein the frequency alignment parameter indicates a frequency resource alignment (e.g., a frequency alignment parameter based on the resource grid offset identified at 910). The frequency alignment parameter may refer to an indication of a subcarrier offset (e.g., a subcarrier offset for a narrowband having a higher frequency than certain center subcarriers of the system bandwidth, a subcarrier offset for a narrowband having a lower frequency than certain center subcarriers of the system bandwidth, etc.), an RB shift for aligning the beginning of the narrowband with the RBG (e.g., an "s" value), an RB shift for aligning the end of the narrowband with the RBG (e.g., a "t" value), etc.

[0151] In some cases, at 920, the base station 105-c may transmit a DCI to the UE 115-c indicating a status associated with one or more frequency alignment parameters indicated at 915, as described with reference to FIG. Figure 6 and 7 As described in more detail. For example, in some cases, the base station 105-c can indicate a state corresponding to a resource grid alignment state, which can refer to the length of the narrowband and whether the UE 115-c should use "s" or "t" (e.g., indicated at 915) for alignment. That is, the base station 105-c can transmit a resource grid alignment state to the UE 115-c (e.g., via DCI), indicating the length of the narrowband and whether the UE 115-c aligns the beginning or end of the narrowband with the RBG. In some cases, the resource grid alignment state signaling (e.g., a state indicated in an unused state of the DCI for resource grid alignment) can be referred to as a frequency alignment parameter. That is, in some cases, the frequency alignment parameter can refer to all information transmitted by the base station 105-c to enable the UE 115-c to align the narrowband with the NR resource grid. In other cases, the frequency alignment parameter can refer to information used in conjunction with the DCI state signaling to enable the UE 115-c to align the narrowband with the NR resource grid.

[0152] At 925, the UE 115-c may align to the narrowbands based on the frequency alignment parameters received at 915 (e.g., and in some cases, further based on the DCI resource alignment state signaling received at 920). For example, the UE 115-c may align to one or more narrowbands based on the system bandwidth (e.g., a number identifying the narrowband, and a frequency or subcarrier location within the system bandwidth) and the frequency alignment parameters received at 915. In some cases, the UE 115-c may align to multiple narrowbands identified at 905-a. In some cases, the UE 115-c may align to an effective set of narrowbands.

[0153] At 930, the base station 105-c may transmit one or more downlink transmissions to the UE 115-c. The UE 115-c may receive the one or more downlink transmissions based on the one or more narrowbands aligned at 925. For example, the UE 115-c may receive the downlink transmissions based on the identified plurality of narrowbands and the frequency alignment parameters (e.g., the UE 115-c may receive the downlink transmissions aligned with the NR resource grid because the UE 115-c may align the narrowband with the NR resource grid at 925).

[0154] Fig.10 A block diagram 1000 of an apparatus 1005 supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The apparatus 1005 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The apparatus 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a communication manager 1015, and a transmitter 1020. The apparatus 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0155] The receiver 1010 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the apparatus 1005. The receiver 1010 may be a reference Fig.13 Examples of aspects of the transceiver 1320 are described. The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0156] The communication manager 1015 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, receive an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol, identify a frequency hopping pattern for communications using the first protocol, and receive multiple time-domain repeated, frequency hopping-based downlink transmissions of downlink transmissions across the effective set of narrowbands according to the frequency hopping pattern. The communication manager 1015 may also identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, receive frequency alignment parameters for communications using the first protocol, align multiple narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameters, and receive downlink transmissions based on the aligned set of narrowbands. The communication manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1310 described herein.

[0157] The communication manager 1015 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1015 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0158] The communication manager 1015 or its subcomponents can be physically located in a variety of locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 1015 or its subcomponents can be separate and distinct components according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 1015 or its subcomponents can be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to input / output (I / O) components, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0159] The transmitter 1020 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1005. In some examples, the transmitter 1020 may be collocated with the receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1020 may be a reference Fig.13 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1320 are described. The transmitter 1020 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0160] Fig.11 A block diagram 1100 of an apparatus 1105 supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. As described herein, the apparatus 1105 can be an example of aspects of the apparatus 1005 or UE 115. The apparatus 1105 can include a receiver 1110, a communication manager 1115, and a transmitter 1145. The apparatus 1105 can also include a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0161] The receiver 1110 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the device 1105. The receiver 1110 may be a reference Fig.13 Examples of aspects of the transceiver 1320 are described. The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0162] As described herein, communication manager 1115 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1015. Communication manager 1115 may include narrowband manager 1120, effective narrowband manager 1125, frequency hopping manager 1130, reception manager 1135, and resource grid alignment manager 1140. Communication manager 1115 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1310 described herein.

[0163] The narrowband manager 1120 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The effective narrowband manager 1125 may receive an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol. The frequency hopping manager 1130 may identify a frequency hopping pattern for communications using the first protocol. The reception manager 1135 may receive a downlink transmission based on frequency hopping repeated across multiple time domains of the downlink transmission of the effective set of narrowbands according to the frequency hopping pattern.

[0164] The narrowband manager 1120 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The resource grid alignment manager 1140 may receive frequency alignment parameters for communications using the first protocol and align a plurality of narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameters. The reception manager 1135 may receive a downlink transmission based on the aligned set of narrowbands.

[0165] The transmitter 1145 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1105. In some examples, the transmitter 1145 may be collocated with the receiver 1110 in the transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1145 may be a reference Fig.13 Examples of aspects of the transceiver 1320 are described. The transmitter 1145 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0166] Fig.12 A block diagram 1200 of a communication manager 1205 supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication manager 1205 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1015, the communication manager 1115, or the communication manager 1310 described herein. The communication manager 1205 can include a narrowband manager 1210, an effective narrowband manager 1215, a frequency hopping manager 1220, a reception manager 1225, a transmission manager 1235, and a resource grid alignment manager 1240. Each of these modules can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0167] The narrowband manager 1210 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of the carrier. In some cases, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol and the second protocol includes an NR protocol. In some examples, the narrowband manager 1210 may pass an indication 1275 of the system bandwidth or set of narrowbands to the effective narrowband manager 1215. In some cases, the narrowband manager 1210 may pass narrowband information 1270 to the resource grid alignment manager 1240 (e.g., and the resource grid alignment manager 1240 may align frequency resources associated with the narrowband indicated via the narrowband information 1270).

[0168] The effective narrowband manager 1215 may receive an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol. For example, the effective narrowband manager 1215 may receive effective narrowband information 1230 (e.g., via the receiver 1010 or the receiver 1110, respectively, as described in reference to Fig.10 and 11 The effective narrowband information 1230 may be received via, for example, system information, RRC signaling, etc. In some examples, the effective narrowband manager 1215 may receive a bitmap (e.g., the effective narrowband information 1230 may include a bitmap) that includes one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the narrowband set is within the effective set of narrowbands. In some cases, the bitmap includes a value for each of the narrowband sets of the carrier. In some cases, the bitmap includes values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband is composed of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands. In some cases, the carrier is associated with a second protocol, and the effective set of narrowbands is based on the carrier associated with the second protocol.

[0169] The frequency hopping manager 1220 can identify a frequency hopping pattern for communications using the first protocol. In some examples, the frequency hopping manager 1220 can perform frequency hopping for a set of time domain repetitions of a valid set of downlink transmissions 1250 across a narrowband according to the frequency hopping pattern, wherein the downlink transmissions are received based on the frequency hopping. For example, the frequency hopping manager 1220 can identify the frequency hopping pattern 1245 and can communicate the frequency hopping pattern 1245 to the reception manager 1225.

[0170] The reception manager 1225 may receive the downlink transmission 1250 based on frequency hopping repeated in multiple time domains for downlink transmission across an active set of narrowbands according to a frequency hopping pattern. For example, in some cases, the effective narrowband manager 1215 may communicate an active set 1255 of narrowbands to the reception manager 1225. The reception manager 1135 may utilize information received via the active set 1255 of narrowbands and the frequency hopping pattern 1245 to receive the downlink transmission 1250 (e.g., the reception manager 1135 may use the active set of narrowbands and the frequency pattern defined digitally according to the active set of assumed narrowbands to receive the downlink transmission 1250 based on frequency hopping performed according to the active set of narrowbands and the frequency pattern).

[0171] In some examples, the reception manager 1225 can receive the downlink transmission 1250 based on the identified narrowband set and the resource grid alignment parameter. For example, the resource grid alignment manager 1240 can receive (e.g., via the receiver 1010 or the receiver 1110, as described in reference to Fig.10 and 11 The resource grid alignment manager 1240 may align the set of narrowbands based on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameters, wherein the downlink transmission is received based on the alignment. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1240 may communicate resource grid alignment information 1265 (e.g., resource grid alignment parameters) to the receive manager 1225 (e.g., the receive manager 1225 may receive the downlink transmission 1250 based on the aligned resource grid, e.g., by preparing the receiver circuitry to receive the downlink transmission 1250 based on the realigned frequency resources).

[0172] In some examples, the reception manager 1225 may receive a control message for paging via an MPDCCH mapped to an active set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol according to frequency hopping. In some examples, the reception manager 1225 may receive a paging message based on the control message via a PDSCH mapped to an active set of narrowbands according to frequency hopping.

[0173] In some examples, the effective narrowband manager 1215 can receive an indication of a second effective narrowband set that is effective for communications using the first protocol. In some cases, the effective narrowband manager 1215 can pass the second effective narrowband set 1280 to the transmission manager 1235. The transmission manager 1235 can transmit an uplink transmission 1285 based on the second effective narrowband set.

[0174] The effective narrowband manager 1215 may receive an indication of one or more subframes that are effective for a narrowband associated with the first protocol. In some examples, the reception manager 1225 may receive a downlink transmission based on the indication. The transmission manager 1235 may transmit an uplink transmission based on the second effective narrowband set.

[0175] The resource grid alignment manager 1240 may receive a first subcarrier offset for a first narrowband set. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1240 may receive a second subcarrier offset for a second narrowband set, wherein the first narrowband set is associated with subcarriers having a frequency lower than a center subcarrier of a system bandwidth and the second narrowband set is associated with subcarriers having a frequency higher than the center subcarrier.

[0176] The resource grid alignment manager 1240 may receive a first resource block shift for aligning the start of a narrowband of the narrowband set with an RBG associated with a second protocol. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1240 may receive a second resource block shift for aligning the end of the narrowband with an RBG associated with the second protocol. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1240 may receive a DCI status indication, wherein the DCI status indication indicates a resource allocation based on the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1240 may receive a one-bit shift indicator associated with one or more narrowbands of the plurality of narrowbands, wherein the one-bit shift indicator indicates the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. In some cases, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol, the second protocol includes an NR protocol, and the resource grid alignment parameter is based on the RBG associated with the second protocol.

[0177] Fig.13 A diagram of a system 1300 is shown that includes an apparatus 1305 that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As described herein, the apparatus 1305 can be an example of the apparatus 1005, the apparatus 1105, or the UE 115, or include components of these apparatuses. The apparatus 1305 can include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1310, an I / O controller 1315, a transceiver 1320, an antenna 1325, a memory 1330, and a processor 1340. These components can be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 1345).

[0178] The communication manager 1310 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, receive an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol, identify a frequency hopping pattern for communications using the first protocol, and receive a downlink transmission based on a frequency hopping pattern across multiple time domain repetitions of a downlink transmission across an effective set of narrowbands (e.g., based on an effective set of narrowbands and a frequency modulation pattern) according to the frequency hopping pattern. The communication manager 1310 may also identify a set of narrowbands associated with the first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, receive a frequency alignment parameter for communications using the first protocol, align multiple narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameter, and receive a downlink transmission based on the aligned set of narrowbands.

[0179] I / O controller 1315 can manage input and output signals of device 1305. I / O controller 1315 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 1305. In some cases, I / O controller 1315 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 1315 can utilize a computer such as a 1305. In some cases, the I / O controller 1315 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 1315 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 1305 via the I / O controller 1315 or via a hardware component controlled by the I / O controller 1315.

[0180] As described above, the transceiver 1320 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links. For example, the transceiver 1320 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1320 can also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulate packets received from an antenna.

[0181] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 1325. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1325, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions concurrently.

[0182] Memory 1330 may include RAM and ROM. Memory 1330 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code or software 1335, including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1330 may include, among other things, BIOS, which may control basic hardware or software operations such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0183] Processor 1340 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1340 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1340. Processor 1340 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1330) to cause device 1305 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence).

[0184] The software 1335 may include instructions to implement various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The software 1335 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the software 1335 may not be directly executed by the processor 1340, but may cause the computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0185] Fig.14 A block diagram 1400 of an apparatus 1405 supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The apparatus 1405 may be an example of aspects of a base station 105 as described herein. The apparatus 1405 may include a receiver 1410, a communication manager 1415, and a transmitter 1420. The apparatus 1405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0186] The receiver 1410 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the apparatus 1405. The receiver 1410 may be a reference Fig.17 Examples of aspects of transceiver 1720 are described. Receiver 1410 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0187] The communication manager 1415 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of the carrier, transmit to a first UE an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol, transmit to the first UE a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol, and transmit to the first UE a first downlink transmission based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency hopping pattern. The communication manager 1415 may also identify a set of narrowbands associated with communication using the first protocol based on a system bandwidth of the carrier, transmit a resource grid alignment parameter for communication using the first protocol, wherein the resource grid alignment parameter indicates frequency resource alignment, and transmit a downlink transmission based on the identified set of narrowbands and the resource grid alignment parameter. The communication manager 1415 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1710 described herein.

[0188] The communication manager 1415 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1415 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0189] The communication manager 1415 or its subcomponents can be physically located in a variety of locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 1415 or its subcomponents can be separate and distinct components according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 1415 or its subcomponents can be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to input / output (I / O) components, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0190] Transmitter 1420 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 1405. In some examples, transmitter 1420 may be collocated with receiver 1410 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 1420 may be a reference Fig.17 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1720 are described. The transmitter 1420 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0191] Fig.15A block diagram 1500 of an apparatus 1505 supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The apparatus 1505 may be an example of aspects of the apparatus 1405 or base station 105 as described herein. The apparatus 1505 may include a receiver 1510, a communication manager 1515, and a transmitter 1545. The apparatus 1505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0192] The receiver 1510 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the apparatus 1505. The receiver 1510 may be a reference Fig.17 Examples of aspects of transceiver 1720 are described. Receiver 1510 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0193] As described herein, communication manager 1515 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1415. Communication manager 1515 may include narrowband manager 1520, effective narrowband manager 1525, frequency hopping manager 1530, transmission manager 1535, and resource grid alignment manager 1540. Communication manager 1515 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 1710 described herein.

[0194] The narrowband manager 1520 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The effective narrowband manager 1525 may transmit an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol to the first UE. The frequency hopping manager 1530 may transmit a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to the first UE. The transmission manager 1535 may transmit a first downlink transmission to the first UE based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency hopping pattern.

[0195] Narrowband manager 1520 may identify a narrowband set associated with communications using the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. Resource grid alignment manager 1540 may transmit frequency alignment parameters for communications using the first protocol. Transmission manager 1535 may transmit a downlink transmission based on the identified narrowband set and frequency alignment parameters.

[0196] Transmitter 1545 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 1505. In some examples, transmitter 1545 can be collocated with receiver 1510 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 1545 can be a reference Fig.17 Examples of aspects of the transceiver 1720 are described. The transmitter 1545 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0197] Fig.16 A block diagram 1600 of a communication manager 1605 supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication manager 1605 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1415, the communication manager 1515, or the communication manager 1710 described herein. The communication manager 1605 may include a narrowband manager 1610, an effective narrowband manager 1615, a frequency hopping manager 1620, a transmit manager 1625, a receive manager 1635, and a resource grid alignment manager 1640. Each of these modules may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0198] The narrowband manager 1610 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of the carrier. In some cases, the carrier is associated with a second protocol, and an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol is based on the carrier associated with the second protocol. In some cases, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol and the second protocol includes an NR protocol. In some cases, the narrowband manager 1610 may pass the narrowband information 1630 to the resource grid alignment manager 1640 (e.g., the resource grid alignment manager 1640 may align frequency resources associated with the narrowband information 1630).

[0199] The effective narrowband manager 1615 may transmit an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol to the first UE. For example, the effective narrowband manager 1615 may pass effective narrowband information 1645 to the transmission manager 1625, and the transmission manager may pass an indication 1650 to, for example, the transmitter 1420 or the transmitter 1545, respectively, as described in reference to Fig.14 and 15 The indication 1650 may indicate a valid set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol. In some examples, the narrowband manager 1610 may pass the narrowband information 1655 to the effective narrowband manager 1615 (e.g., the effective narrowband manager 1615 may prepare an indication of the effective set of narrowbands based on the information (e.g., number) of the set of narrowbands indicated via the narrowband information 1655). In some examples, the effective narrowband manager 1615 may transmit a bitmap including one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the narrowband set is within the effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol. In some examples, the effective narrowband manager 1615 may transmit an indication of a second effective set of narrowbands that is valid for communication using the first protocol. In some cases, the bitmap includes a value for each of the narrowband sets of the carrier. In some cases, the bitmap includes values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband is composed of a plurality of continuous narrowbands.

[0200] The frequency hopping manager 1620 may transmit a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to the first UE. In some examples, the frequency hopping manager 1620 may transmit a second frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to the second UE. For example, the frequency hopping manager 1620 may communicate the frequency hopping information 1660 to the transmission manager 1625, and the transmission manager may communicate the indication 1650 to, for example, the transmitter 1420 or the transmitter 1545, respectively, as described in reference to Fig.14 and 15 As described, indication 1650 may indicate a first frequency hopping pattern, a second frequency hopping pattern, or both (eg, transmitter 1420 or transmitter 1545 may transmit the first frequency hopping pattern and the second frequency hopping pattern to the first UE and the second UE, respectively).

[0201] The transmission manager 1625 may transmit a first downlink transmission to the first UE based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency modulation pattern. In some examples, the transmission manager 1625 may transmit the downlink transmission based on the identified narrowband set and the frequency alignment parameter. In some examples, the transmission manager 1625 may transmit a set of repetitions of a control message for paging to the first UE via an MPDCCH mapped to an effective set of narrowbands for communication using a first protocol according to a first hopping pattern. In some examples, the transmission manager 1625 may transmit a set of repetitions of a paging message to the first UE via a PDSCH mapped to an effective set of narrowbands according to the first hopping pattern and a control message for paging. In some examples, the transmission manager 1625 may transmit a second downlink transmission to the second UE based on the set of narrowbands associated with the first protocol and the second hopping pattern.

[0202] The resource grid alignment manager 1640 may transmit frequency alignment parameters for communication using the first protocol. For example, the resource grid alignment manager 1640 may pass frequency alignment information 1665 to the transmission manager 1625, and the transmission manager may respectively transmit frequency alignment information 1665 to, for example, the reference signal. Fig.14 and 15 The transmitter 1420 or the transmitter 1545 transmits an indication 1650, where the indication 1650 may include frequency alignment parameters (eg, based on the frequency alignment information 1665).

[0203] The effective narrowband manager 1615 may transmit an indication of one or more subframes that are effective for a narrowband associated with the first protocol. In some examples, the transmit manager 1625 may transmit a first uplink transmission based on the indication. In some cases, the effective narrowband manager 1215 may pass an effective narrowband set 1675 to the receive manager 1635. The receive manager 1635 may receive an uplink transmission 1670 based on a second set of multiple narrowbands.

[0204] Resource grid alignment manager 1640 may receive a first subcarrier offset for a first narrowband set. In some examples, resource grid alignment manager 1240 may receive a second subcarrier offset for a second narrowband set, wherein the first narrowband set is associated with subcarriers having a frequency lower than a center subcarrier of a system bandwidth and the second narrowband set is associated with subcarriers having a frequency higher than the center subcarrier.

[0205] The resource grid alignment manager 1240 may identify a subcarrier offset between a resource block grid associated with the first protocol and a resource block grid associated with the second protocol, wherein a frequency alignment parameter is based on the identified subcarrier offset. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1640 may transmit a plurality of time domain repetitions of a downlink transmission across an effective set of narrowbands according to a frequency hopping pattern for a first set of narrowbands. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1640 may transmit a second subcarrier offset for a second set of narrowbands, wherein the first set of narrowbands is associated with subcarriers having a lower frequency than a center subcarrier of a system bandwidth, and the second set of narrowbands is associated with subcarriers having a higher frequency than a center subcarrier of a system bandwidth.

[0206] The resource grid alignment manager 1240 may transmit a first resource block shift for aligning the narrowband start of the narrowband set with the RBG associated with the second protocol. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1640 may transmit a second resource block shift for aligning the end of the narrowband with the RBG associated with the second protocol. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1640 may transmit a DCI status indication, wherein the DCI status indication indicates a resource allocation based on the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. In some examples, the resource grid alignment manager 1640 may transmit a one-bit shift indicator associated with one or more narrowbands in the plurality of narrowbands, wherein the one-bit shift indicator indicates the first resource block shift or the second resource block shift. In some cases, the first protocol includes an eMTC protocol, the second protocol includes an NR protocol, and the frequency alignment parameter is based on the RBG associated with the second protocol.

[0207] Fig.17A diagram of a system 1700 is shown that includes an apparatus 1705 that supports flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As described herein, the apparatus 1705 can be an example of the apparatus 1405, the apparatus 1505, or the base station 105, or include components thereof. The apparatus 1705 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1710, a network communication manager 1715, a transceiver 1720, an antenna 1725, a memory 1730, a processor 1740, and an inter-station communication manager 1745. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as a bus 1750.

[0208] The communication manager 1710 may identify a set of narrowbands associated with a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmit an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol to a first UE, transmit a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to the first UE, and transmit a first downlink transmission to the first UE based on the effective set of narrowbands and the first frequency hopping pattern. The communication manager 1715 may also identify a set of narrowbands associated with communication using the first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, transmit a frequency alignment parameter for communication using the first protocol, and transmit a downlink transmission based on the identified narrowband set and the frequency alignment parameter.

[0209] The network communications manager 1715 may manage communications with the core network (eg, via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 1715 may manage the delivery of data communications for client devices (eg, one or more UEs 115).

[0210] As described above, the transceiver 1720 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links. For example, the transceiver 1720 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1720 can also include a modem for modulating packets and providing the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulating packets received from an antenna.

[0211] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 1725. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1725, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions concurrently.

[0212] Memory 1730 may include RAM and ROM. Memory 1730 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code or software 1735, including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1730 may include, among other things, BIOS, which may control basic hardware or software operations such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0213] Processor 1740 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1740 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1740. Processor 1740 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1730) to cause the device to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support flexible resource allocation for coexistence of narrowband and broadband).

[0214] The inter-site communication manager 1745 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with other base stations 105 in coordination with UE 115. For example, the inter-site communication manager 1745 may coordinate scheduling of transmissions to UE 115 for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-site communication manager 1745 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between base stations 105.

[0215] The software 1735 may include instructions to implement various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The software 1735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the software 1735 may not be directly executed by the processor 1740, but may cause the computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0216] Fig.18 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 1800 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1800 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1800 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. Figures 10 to 13The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use special-purpose hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0217] At 1805, the UE may identify a set of valid narrowbands. For example, in some cases, the UE may identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of a carrier, and the UE may receive an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communications using the first protocol. In some cases, the UE may identify time resources, frequency resources, or both associated with an effective set of narrowbands based on the first protocol. The operations of 1805 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1805 may be performed by a narrowband manager and / or an effective narrowband manager, as described in reference to Figures 10 to 13 described.

[0218] At 1810, the UE may identify a frequency hopping pattern (e.g., for communications using a first protocol). For example, in some cases, the UE may identify the frequency hopping pattern based on a number associated with an effective set of narrowbands. The operations of 1815 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1815 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The frequency hopping manager executes.

[0219] At 1815, the UE may receive a downlink transmission (e.g., based on an effective set of narrowbands and a frequency hopping pattern). For example, the UE may perform frequency hopping on multiple time domain repetitions of the downlink transmission across an effective set of narrowbands according to the frequency hopping pattern, and the UE may receive a downlink transmission based on frequency hopping. For example, the UE may identify time-frequency resources on which a downlink transmission may be transmitted (e.g., based on a frequency hopping pattern, an effective set of narrowbands, etc.), demodulate the transmission on the time-frequency resources, and decode the demodulated transmission to obtain bits indicating information of the downlink transmission. The operations of 1815 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1815 may be performed by reference to Figures 10 to 13 The reception manager and / or frequency hopping manager executes.

[0220] Fig.19 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 1900 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1900 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1900 may be implemented by reference to Figures 10 to 13The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0221] At 1905, the UE may identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 1905 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1905 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The narrowband manager executes.

[0222] At 1910, the UE may receive an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using a first protocol. Operation 1910 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of operation 1910 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The efficient narrowband manager is implemented.

[0223] At 1915, the UE may identify a frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol. The operations of 1915 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1915 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The frequency hopping manager executes.

[0224] At 1920, the UE may receive a downlink transmission based on frequency hopping of multiple time domain repetitions of a downlink transmission across an effective set of narrowbands according to a frequency hopping pattern. The operation of 1920 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the reference Figures 10 to 13 The receive manager performs aspects of the operations of 1920.

[0225] Fig. 20 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 2000 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2000 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2000 may be implemented by reference to Figures 10 to 13 The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use special-purpose hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0226] At 2005, the UE may identify a set of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol based on a system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 2005 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2005 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The narrowband manager executes.

[0227] At 2010, the UE may receive an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using a first protocol. The operations at 2010 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations at 2010 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The efficient narrowband manager is implemented.

[0228] At 2015, the UE may identify a frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol. The operation of 2015 may be performed according to the method described herein. In some examples, such as reference Figures 10 to 13 As described, aspects of the operation of 2015 may be performed by a frequency hopping manager. .

[0229] At 2020, the UE may receive an indication of one or more subframes valid for a narrowband associated with a first protocol. The operations of 2020 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2020 may be described by reference to Figures 10 to 13 The active subframe manager executes.

[0230] At 2025, the UE may receive a downlink transmission based on the indication of the valid subframe, the valid narrowband set, and the frequency hopping pattern. The operations of 2025 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2025 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The receiving manager executes.

[0231] Fig.21 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 2100 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2100 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2100 may be implemented by reference to Figures 10 to 13 The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use special-purpose hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0232] At 2105, the UE may identify a narrowband set associated with the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 2105 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2105 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The narrowband manager executes.

[0233] At 2110, the UE may receive a frequency alignment parameter for communication using a first protocol. For example, the UE may identify a time-frequency resource (e.g., a time-frequency resource associated with system information, RRC signaling, etc.) on which the frequency alignment parameter may be transmitted, demodulate a transmission on the time-frequency resource, and decode the demodulated transmission to obtain a bit indicating the frequency alignment parameter. The operations of 2110 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2110 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The resource grid is aligned to the manager.

[0234] At 2115, the UE may align multiple narrowbands based at least in part on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameter. For example, the UE may align the time-frequency resources on which the downlink transmission may be transmitted. The operations of 2115 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2115 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The resource grid is aligned to the manager.

[0235] At 2120, the UE may receive a downlink transmission based on the aligned narrowband set. For example, the UE may identify a time-frequency resource on which the downlink transmission may be transmitted (e.g., based on a frequency alignment parameter, etc.), demodulate the transmission on the time-frequency resource, and decode the demodulated transmission to obtain bits indicating information of the downlink transmission. The operations of 2120 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2120 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The receiving manager executes.

[0236] Fig. 22 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 2200 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2200 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2200 may be performed by a communication manager, as described in reference to Figures 10 to 13 In some examples, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use special-purpose hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0237] At 2205, the UE may identify a narrowband set associated with the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 2205 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2205 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The narrowband manager executes.

[0238] At 2210, the UE may receive a first subcarrier offset for a first narrowband set (eg, for communication using a first protocol). The operations of 2210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2210 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The subcarrier offset manager performs

[0239] At 2215, the UE may receive a second subcarrier offset for a second narrowband set, wherein the first narrowband set is associated with a subcarrier having a lower frequency than a center subcarrier of the system bandwidth, and the second narrowband set is associated with a subcarrier having a higher frequency than the center subcarrier. The operations of 2215 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2215 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The subcarrier offset manager performs

[0240] At 2220, the UE may align the narrowband set based on the system bandwidth, the first subcarrier offset, and / or the second subcarrier offset, wherein the downlink transmission is received based on the alignment. The operations of 2220 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2220 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The resource grid is aligned to the manager.

[0241] At 2225, the UE may receive the downlink transmission based on the alignment (e.g., based on the identified narrowband set, the first subcarrier offset, and / or the second carrier offset). The operations of 2225 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, such as reference Figures 10 to 13 As described, the receive manager may perform various aspects of the operations of 2225.

[0242] Fig.23 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 2300 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As described herein, the operations of the method 2300 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components. For example, the operations of the method 2300 may be implemented by reference to Figures 10 to 13 The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0243] At 2305, the UE may identify a narrowband set associated with the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 2305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2305 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The narrowband manager executes.

[0244] At 2310, the UE may receive a first resource block shift for aligning the start of a narrowband of the narrowband set with an RBG associated with a second protocol. The operations of 2310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the UE may be configured to receive a first resource block shift for aligning the start of a narrowband of the narrowband set with an RBG associated with a second protocol. Figures 10 to 13 The RB offset manager performs aspects of the operation of 2310.

[0245] At 2315, the UE may receive a second resource block shift for aligning the end of the narrowband with the RBG associated with the second protocol. The operations of 2315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2315 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The RB offset manager is executed.

[0246] At 2325, the UE may align the narrowband set based on the system bandwidth and the frequency alignment parameter (e.g., the first resource block shift and / or the second resource block shift), wherein the downlink transmission is received based on the alignment. The operations of 2325 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2325 may be described with reference to Figures 10 to 13 The resource grid is aligned to the manager.

[0247] At 2330, the UE may receive a downlink transmission based on the identified narrowband set and frequency alignment parameters. The operations of 2330 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the UE may receive a downlink transmission based on the identified narrowband set and frequency alignment parameters. Figures 10 to 13 The receive manager performs aspects of the operations of 2330.

[0248] Fig.24 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 2400 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2400 may be implemented by a base station 105 or a component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2400 may be implemented by reference to Figures 14 to 17 The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the base station may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0249] At 2405, the base station may identify a narrowband set associated with the first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 2405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2405 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The narrowband manager is implemented

[0250] At 2410, the base station may transmit to the first UE an indication of an effective set of narrowbands for communication using the first protocol. For example, the base station may identify time-frequency resources (e.g., time-frequency resources corresponding to system information signaling, RRC signaling, etc.) on which the indication of the effective set of narrowbands may be transmitted, and may encode and modulate bits indicating the indication of the effective set of narrowbands to transmit the coded and modulated bits on the identified time-frequency resources. The operation of 2410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2410 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The efficient narrowband manager is implemented.

[0251] At 2415, the base station may transmit a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using a first protocol to the first UE. For example, the base station may identify time-frequency resources (e.g., time-frequency resources corresponding to system information signaling, RRC signaling, etc.) on which an indication of the first frequency hopping pattern may be transmitted, and may encode and modulate bits indicating the first frequency hopping pattern to transmit the coded and modulated bits on the identified time-frequency resources. The operations of 2415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2415 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The frequency hopping manager executes.

[0252] At 2420, the base station may transmit a first downlink transmission to the first UE based on an effective set of narrowbands and a first frequency hopping pattern. For example, the base station may identify a time-frequency resource of a downlink channel (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH) on which the first downlink transmission may be transmitted, and may encode and modulate bits indicating the first downlink transmission to transmit the coded and modulated bits on the identified time-frequency resource. The operation of 2420 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2420 may be described by reference to Figures 14 to 17 The transfer manager executes.

[0253] Fig.25 A flowchart is shown that illustrates a method 2500 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2500 may be implemented by the base station 105 or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2500 may be implemented by reference to Figures 14 to 17 The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the base station may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0254] At 2505, the base station may identify a narrowband set associated with communications using a first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 2505 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2505 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The narrowband manager executes.

[0255] At 2510, the base station may transmit frequency alignment parameters for communication using the first protocol. For example, the base station may identify time-frequency resources (e.g., time-frequency resources corresponding to system information signaling, RRC signaling, etc.) on which the frequency alignment parameters may be transmitted, and may encode and modulate bits indicating the frequency alignment parameters to transmit the encoded and modulated bits on the identified time-frequency resources. The operations of 2510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2510 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The resource grid is aligned to the manager.

[0256] At 2515, the base station may transmit a downlink transmission based on the identified narrowband set and frequency alignment parameters. For example, the base station may identify time-frequency resources on a downlink channel (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH) on which the downlink transmission may be transmitted, and may encode and modulate bits indicating the downlink transmission to transmit the coded and modulated bits on the identified time-frequency resources. The operations of 2515 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2515 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The transfer manager executes.

[0257] Fig.26 A flow chart is shown that illustrates a method 2600 for supporting flexible resource allocation for narrowband and broadband coexistence according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2600 may be implemented by a base station 105 or a component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2600 may be implemented by reference to Figures 14 to 17 The communication manager described herein is executed. In some examples, the base station may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0258] At 2605, the base station may identify a narrowband set associated with communications using a first protocol based on the system bandwidth of the carrier. The operations of 2605 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2605 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The narrowband manager executes.

[0259] At 2610, the base station may identify a subcarrier offset between a resource block grid associated with a first protocol and a resource block grid associated with a second protocol, wherein a frequency alignment parameter is based on the identified subcarrier offset. The operations of 2610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2610 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The subcarrier offset manager performs

[0260] At 2615, the base station may transmit frequency alignment parameters for communication using the first protocol. The operations of 2615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2615 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The resource grid is aligned to the manager.

[0261] At 2620, the base station may transmit a downlink transmission based on the identified narrowband set and frequency alignment parameters. The operations of 2620 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2620 may be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17 The transfer manager executes.

[0262] It should be noted that the above methods describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified, and other implementations are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

[0263] The technology described herein can be used for various wireless communication systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. CDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). CDMA 2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 versions are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

[0264] OFDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A-Pro are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A-Pro, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The technology described herein can be used for the above systems and radio technologies as well as other systems and radio technologies. Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for example purposes, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in many of the descriptions, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR applications.

[0265] A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider. Compared to a macro cell, a small cell may be associated with a low power base station 105, and the small cell may operate in a frequency band that is the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) from the macro cell. According to various examples, a small cell may include a pico cell, a femto cell, and a micro cell. For example, a pico cell may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider. A femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide limited access by a UE 115 associated with a femto cell (e.g., a UE 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE 115 for a user in a home, etc.). An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (eg, two, three, four, etc.) cells and may also support communication using one or more component carriers.

[0266] One or more wireless communication systems 100 described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0267] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different processes and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips cited in the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0268] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other PLD, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0269] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination of these may be used to implement the functions described above. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located in different locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0270] Computer readable medium includes non-transient computer storage medium and communication medium, and the communication medium includes any medium that helps to transfer a computer program from one place to another place.Non-transient storage medium can be any available medium that a general-purpose computer or a special-purpose computer can access.As an example and not limitation, non-transient computer readable medium may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or can be used for carrying or storing instructions or data structures in the form of required program code components and can be accessed by general or special-purpose computers, or general or special-purpose processors Any other non-transient medium.In addition, any connection is properly referred to as computer readable medium.For example, if coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio and microwave) are used to transmit software from a website, server or other remote sources, then coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio and microwave) are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0271] As used herein, including in the claims, "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items beginning with a phrase such as "at least one" or "one or more") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Moreover, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0272] In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference number. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference number with a dash and a second label that distinguishes between the similar components. If only the first reference number is used in the specification, the description applies to any similar components having the same first reference number, regardless of the second or other subsequent reference numbers.

[0273] The descriptions set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe example configurations and do not represent all examples that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples." For the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques, these detailed descriptions include specific details. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are illustrated in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0274] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be given the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment UE, comprising: identifying, based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier, a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol; receiving an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with frequency alignment parameters for communications using a first protocol from the plurality of narrowbands, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is non-contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; identifying a frequency hopping pattern for communications using a first protocol; as well as A downlink transmission is received based at least in part on frequency hopping across a plurality of time domain repetitions of the effective narrowband set for the downlink transmission according to the frequency hopping pattern.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving a downlink transmission comprises: receiving a control message for paging via a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) mapped to the valid narrowband set according to the frequency hopping pattern; as well as Based at least in part on the control message, a paging message is received via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the frequency hopping pattern.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving an indication of a valid narrowband set for communications using the first protocol further comprises: A bitmap is received that includes one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the bitmap includes a value indicating each valid narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands of the carrier.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the bitmap comprises values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband is composed of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication of one or more subframes valid for a narrowband associated with the first protocol, wherein the one or more subframes valid for the narrowband are associated with a second protocol different from the first protocol; and Based at least in part on the indication, a downlink transmission is received.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication of a second valid narrowband set; as well as An uplink transmission is transmitted based at least in part on a second set of the plurality of narrowbands.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the carrier is associated with a second protocol and the effective narrowband set is based at least in part on the carrier associated with the second protocol, the first protocol comprising an enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) protocol, and the second protocol comprising a new radio (NR) protocol.

9. A method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: identifying a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications of the first protocol based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier; transmitting, to a first user equipment UE, an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with a frequency alignment parameter for communication using a first protocol, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is not contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; transmitting, to the first UE, a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using a first protocol; as well as Based at least in part on the effective narrowband set and the first frequency hopping pattern, a first downlink transmission is transmitted to the first UE.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: transmitting, to the first UE, a plurality of repetitions of a control message for paging via a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) mapped to the valid narrowband set according to the first frequency hopping pattern; as well as A plurality of repetitions of a paging message are transmitted to the first UE via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) mapped to the valid narrowband set according to the first frequency hopping pattern and the control message for paging.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: transmitting, to a second UE, a second frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol; as well as A second downlink transmission is transmitted to the second UE based at least in part on the plurality of narrowbands associated with the first protocol and the second frequency hopping pattern.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting an indication of an effective narrowband set for communications using the first protocol further comprises: A bitmap is transmitted including one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the bitmap includes a value indicating each valid narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands of the carrier.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the bitmap includes values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband is composed of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

15. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: transmitting an indication of one or more subframes valid for a narrowband associated with the first protocol, wherein the one or more subframes valid for the narrowband are associated with a second protocol different from the first protocol; as well as Based at least in part on the indication, a first downlink transmission is transmitted.

16. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a second valid narrowband set; as well as An uplink transmission is received based at least in part on a second set of the plurality of narrowbands.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the carrier is associated with a second protocol and the effective set of narrowbands for communications using a first protocol is based at least in part on the carrier associated with the second protocol.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first protocol comprises an enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) protocol, and the second protocol comprises a new radio (NR) protocol.

19. A device for wireless communication at a user equipment UE, comprising: processor, a memory coupled to the processor; as well as instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor to cause the device to: identifying, based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier, a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol; receiving an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with frequency alignment parameters for communications using a first protocol from the plurality of narrowbands, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is non-contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; identifying a frequency hopping pattern for communications using a first protocol; A downlink transmission is received based at least in part on frequency hopping across a plurality of time domain repetitions of the effective narrowband set for the downlink transmission according to the frequency hopping pattern.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions to receive a downlink transmission are executable by a processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving a control message for paging via a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the frequency hopping pattern; and Based at least in part on the control message, a paging message is received via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the frequency hopping pattern.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions to receive an indication of an effective narrowband set for communications using a first protocol are executable by a processor to cause the apparatus to: A bitmap is received that includes one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the bitmap comprises a value indicating each valid narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands of the carrier.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the bitmap comprises values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband consists of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions are further executable by a processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving an indication of one or more subframes valid for a narrowband associated with the first protocol, wherein the one or more subframes valid for the narrowband are associated with a second protocol different from the first protocol; and Based at least in part on the indication, a downlink transmission is received.

25. An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: processor, a memory coupled to the processor; as well as instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor to cause the device to: identifying a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications of the first protocol based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier; transmitting, to a first user equipment UE, an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with a frequency alignment parameter for communication using a first protocol, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is not contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; transmitting, to the first UE, a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using a first protocol; as well as Based at least in part on the effective narrowband set and the first frequency hopping pattern, a first downlink transmission is transmitted to the first UE.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the instructions are further executable by a processor to cause the apparatus to: transmitting, via a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the first frequency hopping pattern, a plurality of repetitions of a control message for paging to the first UE; and A plurality of repetitions of a paging message are transmitted to the first UE via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) mapped to the valid narrowband set according to the first frequency hopping pattern and the control message for paging.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the instructions are further executable by a processor to cause the apparatus to: transmitting a second frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol to a second UE; and A second downlink transmission is transmitted to the second UE based at least in part on the plurality of narrowbands associated with the first protocol and the second frequency hopping pattern.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the instructions to further transmit an indication of an effective narrowband set for communications using the first protocol are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: A bitmap is transmitted including one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the bitmap includes a value indicating each valid narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands of the carrier.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the bitmap comprises values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband consists of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

31. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the carrier is associated with a second protocol, and the effective narrowband set for communication using a first protocol is based at least in part on the carrier associated with the second protocol, the first protocol comprising an enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) protocol, and the second protocol comprising a new radio (NR) protocol.

32. A device for wireless communication at a user equipment UE, comprising: means for identifying, based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier, a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol; means for receiving an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with frequency alignment parameters for communications using a first protocol from the plurality of narrowbands, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is non-contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; means for identifying a frequency hopping pattern for communications using a first protocol; as well as Means for receiving a downlink transmission based at least in part on frequency hopping across a plurality of time domain repetitions of the effective narrowband set for a downlink transmission in accordance with the frequency hopping pattern.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the means for receiving a downlink transmission comprises: means for receiving a control message for paging via a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the frequency hopping pattern; as well as Means for receiving a paging message based at least in part on the control message via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the frequency hopping pattern.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the means for receiving an indication of a valid narrowband set for communications using the first protocol further comprises: Means for receiving a bitmap comprising one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the bitmap comprises a value indicating each valid narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands for the carrier.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the bitmap comprises values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband consists of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

37. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising: means for receiving an indication of one or more subframes valid for a narrowband associated with the first protocol, wherein the one or more subframes valid for the narrowband are associated with a second protocol different from the first protocol; as well as Means for receiving a downlink transmission based at least in part on the indication.

38. A device for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: means for identifying a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications of a first protocol based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier; means for transmitting to a first user equipment UE an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with a frequency alignment parameter for communication using a first protocol, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is not contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; means for transmitting to the first UE a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using a first protocol; as well as Means for transmitting a first downlink transmission to the first UE based at least in part on the effective narrowband set and the first frequency hopping pattern.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising: means for transmitting a plurality of repetitions of a control message for paging to the first UE via a machine type communication (MTC) physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the first frequency hopping pattern; as well as Means for transmitting a plurality of repetitions of a paging message to the first UE via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) mapped to the effective narrowband set according to the first frequency hopping pattern and the control message for paging.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising: means for transmitting, to a second UE, a second frequency hopping pattern for communication using the first protocol; as well as Means for transmitting a second downlink transmission to the second UE based at least in part on a plurality of narrowbands associated with the first protocol and the second frequency hopping pattern.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the means for transmitting an indication of an effective narrowband set for communications using the first protocol further comprises: Means for transmitting a bitmap comprising one or more values ​​indicating whether each narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands is within the set of valid narrowbands.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the bitmap includes a value indicating each valid narrowband of the plurality of narrowbands for the carrier.

43. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the bitmap comprises values ​​for one or more widebands of the carrier, wherein each wideband consists of a plurality of contiguous narrowbands.

44. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the carrier is associated with a second protocol, and the effective narrowband set for communication using a first protocol is based at least in part on the carrier associated with the second protocol, the first protocol comprising an enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) protocol, and the second protocol comprising a new radio (NR) protocol.

45. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the code comprising processor-executable instructions to: identifying, based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier, a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications using a first protocol; receiving an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with frequency alignment parameters for communications using a first protocol from the plurality of narrowbands, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is non-contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; identifying a frequency hopping pattern for communications using a first protocol; as well as A downlink transmission is received based at least in part on frequency hopping across a plurality of time domain repetitions of the effective narrowband set for the downlink transmission according to the frequency hopping pattern.

46. ​​A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a base station, the code comprising processor-executable instructions to: Based at least in part on a system bandwidth of the carrier, identifying a plurality of narrowbands associated with communications of the first protocol transmitting, to a first user equipment UE, an indication of a set of valid narrowbands associated with a frequency alignment parameter for communication using a first protocol, wherein at least one narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands is not contiguous in frequency with at least one other narrowband in the set of valid narrowbands; transmitting, to the first UE, a first frequency hopping pattern for communication using a first protocol; as well as Based at least in part on the effective narrowband set and the first frequency hopping pattern, a first downlink transmission is transmitted to the first UE.

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