Positioning reference signal enhancements

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication, and more particularly, to positioning reference signal (PRS) enhancements for enhanced machine type communications (eMTC). An exemplary method generally includes determining a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE), determining a second bandwidth within the system bandwidth for transmitting a second PRS to a second type of UE, and transmitting information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the patent application filed on September 29, 2017, entitled "Location Reference Signal Enhancement" and application number 201780060193.1.

[0002] Cross-reference to related applications

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 15 / 718,220, filed September 28, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 402,680, filed September 30, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0004] In general, certain aspects of this disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more specifically, certain aspects of this disclosure relate to Position Reference Signal (PRS) enhancement for enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC). Background Technology

[0005] Wireless communication systems have been widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, data, etc. These systems can be multiple access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple access systems include: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) (which includes improved LTE systems), and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems.

[0006] Generally, a wireless multiple access communication system can support the communication of multiple wireless terminals simultaneously. Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward link and the reverse link. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base station to the terminal, while the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminal to the base station. This communication link can be established via a single-input single-output, multiple-input single-output, or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system.

[0007] Wireless communication networks may include multiple base stations capable of supporting communication between multiple wireless devices. Wireless devices may include user equipment (UE). Machine-type communication (MTC) can refer to communication involving at least one remote device at at least one end of the communication. MTC may include forms of data communication involving one or more entities that do not necessarily require human-machine interaction. For example, an MTC UE may include a UE capable of MTC communication with an MTC server and / or other MTC devices via a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN).

[0008] To enhance coverage of certain devices, such as MTC devices, "binding" can be used, where certain transmissions are sent as a bundle of transmissions (e.g., having the same information transmitted on multiple subframes). Summary of the Invention

[0009] The systems, methods, and apparatuses of this disclosure have several aspects, but no single aspect can be solely responsible for its desired properties. Without limiting the scope of protection of this disclosure as set forth in the appended claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. After careful consideration of these discussions, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," one will understand how the features of this disclosure are advantageous, including improved communication between access points and stations in a wireless network.

[0010] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication performed by a base station (BS). Generally, the method includes: determining a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); determining a second bandwidth within the system bandwidth for transmitting a second PRS to a second type of UE; and transmitting information associated with the first and second PRS.

[0011] This disclosure provides, in certain aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication performed by a base station (BS). Generally, the apparatus includes: units for determining a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); units for determining a second bandwidth within the system bandwidth for transmitting a second PRS to a second type of UE; and units for transmitting information associated with the first and second PRS.

[0012] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide an apparatus for wireless communication performed by a base station (BS). Generally, the apparatus includes at least one processor configured to: determine a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); determine a second bandwidth within the system bandwidth for transmitting a second PRS to a second type of UE; and transmit information associated with the first and second PRS. The apparatus typically also includes a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

[0013] Some aspects of this disclosure provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium including code for: determining a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); determining a second bandwidth within the system bandwidth for transmitting a second PRS to a second type of UE; and transmitting information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS.

[0014] For example, numerous other aspects, including methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, computer-readable media, and processing systems, are provided for performing the techniques disclosed herein. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To provide a detailed understanding of the implementation of the features described above in this disclosure, this application provides a more specific description of some aspects with reference to the above brief summary, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that since the description of the invention allows for other equivalent and effective aspects, these drawings merely depict certain typical aspects of this disclosure and should not be considered as limiting the scope of protection of the invention.

[0016] Figure 1 Based on certain aspects of this disclosure, a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication network is conceptually illustrated.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a block diagram that conceptually illustrates an example of communication between an evolved Node B (eNB) and a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, based on certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an exemplary frame structure for a particular radio access technology (RAT) used in a wireless communication network, based on certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 4 Based on certain aspects of this disclosure, an exemplary subframe format for a downlink with a common cyclic prefix is ​​shown.

[0020] Figure 5A and Figure 5B Based on certain aspects of this disclosure, examples of MTC coexistence in broadband systems (e.g., LTE) are shown.

[0021] Figure 6 Based on certain aspects of this disclosure, exemplary operations for wireless communication that can be performed by a base station (BS) are shown.

[0022] Figure 7An exemplary PRS operation is shown based on certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 An exemplary PRS operation is shown based on certain aspects of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0024] This disclosure provides techniques and apparatus for enhancing Position Reference Signals (PRS) in enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC). For example, aspects of this disclosure provide techniques for increasing PRS density to help eMTC type user equipment accurately receive PRS while keeping overhead to a minimum. In some cases, increasing PRS density while keeping overhead to a minimum may involve transmitting PRS associated with different bandwidths in different subframes.

[0025] The techniques described in this article can be used in various wireless communication networks, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, and so on. The terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably. CDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Time Division Synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA), and other CDMA variants. CDMA2000 covers the IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. TDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). OFDMA networks can implement technologies such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, etc. Radio technologies such as UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Improved LTE (LTE-A) (with both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes) are newer releases of UMTS that adopt E-UTRA, using OFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). The technologies described herein can be used with the aforementioned wireless network and radio technologies, as well as other wireless network and radio technologies. For clarity, certain aspects of these technologies are described below with reference to LTE / LTE-A, and the term LTE / LTE-A is used in most of the following description. LTE and LTE-A are commonly referred to as LTE.

[0026] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication network 100 having a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) is shown, in which aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0027] The wireless communication network 100 may be an LTE network or some other wireless network. The wireless communication network 100 may include multiple evolved Node Bs (eNBs) 110 and other network entities. An eNB is an entity that communicates with a User Equipment (UE); an eNB may also be referred to as a base station, Node B, Access Point (AP), etc. Each eNB can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area. In 3GPP, depending on the context in which the term "cell" is used, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​an eNB and / or the eNB subsystem serving that coverage area.

[0028] eNBs can provide communication coverage for macro cells, pico cells, femto cells, and / or other types of cells. Macro cells can cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers), allowing unrestricted access for UEs with service subscriptions. Pico cells can cover a relatively small geographic area, allowing unrestricted access for UEs with service subscriptions. Femto cells can cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home), allowing restricted access for UEs associated with that femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). An eNB used for a macro cell can be called a macro eNB. An eNB used for a pico cell can be called a pico eNB. An eNB used for a femto cell can be called a femto eNB or a home eNB (HeNB). Figure 1In the example shown, eNB 110a can be a macro eNB for macro cell 102a, eNB 110b can be a pico eNB for pico cell 102b, and eNB 110c can be a femto eNB for femto cell 102c. An eNB can support one or more (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB,” “base station,” and “cell” are used interchangeably in this document.

[0029] The wireless communication network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive data transmissions from an upstream station (e.g., an eNB or a UE) and transmit those data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or an eNB). Furthermore, a relay station may also be a UE capable of relaying transmissions from other UEs. Figure 1 In the example shown, the relay (site) eNB 110d can communicate with the macro eNB 110a and UE 120d to facilitate communication between eNB 110a and UE 120d. A relay station can also be called a relay eNB, relay base station, repeater, etc.

[0030] The wireless communication network 100 can be a heterogeneous network comprising different types of eNBs (e.g., macro eNBs, pico eNBs, femto eNBs, repeater eNBs, etc.). These different types of eNBs can have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different interference effects within the wireless communication network 100. For example, macro eNBs can have higher transmit power levels (e.g., 5 to 40 W), while pico eNBs, femto eNBs, and repeater eNBs can have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 W).

[0031] Network controller 130 can be coupled to a group of eNBs and provide coordination and control for these eNBs. Network controller 130 can communicate with these eNBs via backhaul. These eNBs can also communicate with each other, for example, directly or indirectly via wireless or wired backhaul.

[0032] UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) can be distributed throughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE can be stationary or mobile. UEs can also be referred to as access terminals, terminals, mobile stations (MS), subscriber units, stations (STA), etc. Examples of UEs may include cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, navigation devices, gaming devices, cameras, tablets, laptops, netbooks, smartbooks, ultrabooks, cordless phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, wearable devices (e.g., smart glasses, smart goggles, smartwatches, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart jewelry, smart hats, smart clothing), etc. Some UEs can be considered machine-type communication (MTC) UEs, which may include remote devices (e.g., sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, drones, trackers, robots, etc.) capable of communicating with a base station, another remote device, or some other entity. MTC devices and other types of devices may include Internet of Things (IoE) devices or Internet of Things (IoT) devices (e.g., NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) devices), and the technologies disclosed herein can be applied to MTC devices, NB-IoT devices, and other devices.

[0033] One or more UEs 120 in a wireless communication network 100 (e.g., an LTE network) may also be low-cost (LC), low-data-rate devices (e.g., LC MTC UEs, LC eMTC UEs, etc.). LC UEs may coexist with legacy and / or advanced UEs in an LTE network, and may have one or more limited capabilities when compared to other UEs in the wireless network (e.g., non-LC UEs). For example, when compared to legacy and / or advanced UEs in an LTE network, an LC UE may operate under one or more of the following conditions: reduced maximum bandwidth (relative to legacy UEs), single receive radio frequency (RF) chain, reduced peak rate, reduced transmit power, rank-1 transmission, half-duplex operation, etc. As used herein, devices with limited communication resources (e.g., MTC devices, eMTC devices, etc.) are generally referred to as LC UEs. Similarly, legacy devices such as legacy and / or advanced UEs (e.g., in LTE) are generally referred to as non-LC UEs.

[0034] Figure 2 The diagram shows the design schemes for eNB 110 and UE 120, where eNB 110 and UE 120 can be respectively Figure 1 One of the eNB 110 in the middle and Figure 1One of the UE 120 in the example. The eNB 110 can be equipped with T antennas 234a to 234t, and the UE120 can be equipped with R antennas 252a to 252r, where T ≥ 1 and R ≥ 1.

[0035] At eNB 110, transmit processor 220 can receive data for one or more UEs from data source 212, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from each UE, process the data for each UE (e.g., encoding and modulation) based on the selected MCS for each UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor 220 can also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource allocation information (SRPI), etc.) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper-layer signaling, etc.), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Processor 220 can also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., common reference signal (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 can perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​these data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols (if applicable), and can provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a to 232t. Each MOD 232 can process its own output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each MOD 232 can further process (e.g., convert to analog signal, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from modulators 232a to 232t can be transmitted via T antennas 234a to 234t respectively.

[0036] At UE 120, antennas 252a to 252r can receive downlink signals from eNB 110 and / or other BSs, and provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a to 254r respectively. Each DEMOD 254 can adjust (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) its received signal to obtain an input sample. Each DEMOD 254 can further process these input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. MIMO detector 256 can obtain the received symbols from all R demodulators 254a to 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide the detected symbols. Receiver processor 258 can process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to data sink 260, and provide decoded control information and system information to controller / processor 280. The channel processor can determine the Received Reference Power (RSRP), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Received Reference Quality (RSRQ), CQI, and so on.

[0037] On the uplink, at UE 120, transmit processor 264 can receive data from data source 262, receive control information (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.) from controller / processor 280, and process the data and control information. Processor 264 can also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. Symbols from transmit processor 264 can be pre-encoded (if applicable) by TX MIMO processor 266, further processed by MODs 254a to 254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to eNB 110. At eNB 110, uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs can be received by antenna 234, processed by DEMOD 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 120. Processor 238 can provide decoded data to data sink 239 and decoded control information to controller / processor 240. eNB 110 may include communication unit 244 and communicate with network controller 130 via communication unit 244. Network controller 130 may include communication unit 294, controller / processor 290 and memory 292.

[0038] Controllers / processors 240 and 280 can respectively direct operations at eNB 110 and UE 120. For example, controller / processor 240 and / or other processors and modules at eNB 110 can perform or direct operations and / or processes using the techniques described herein. Similarly, controller / processor 280 and / or other processors and modules at UE 120 can perform or direct operations and / or processes using the techniques described herein (e.g., Figure 6 (The operations shown are illustrated). Memory 242 and 282 can store data and program code for eNB 110 and UE 120, respectively. Scheduler 246 can schedule data transmission by the UE on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0039] Figure 3 An exemplary frame structure 300 for FDD in LTE is shown. The transmission time axis for each of the downlink and uplink can be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame can have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)) and can be divided into 10 subframes with indices 0 to 9. Each subframe can include two time slots. Therefore, each radio frame can include 20 time slots with indices 0 to 19. Each time slot can include L symbol periods, for example, seven symbol periods for a normal cyclic prefix (e.g., ...). Figure 2 (as shown in the diagram) or six symbol periods used to extend the cyclic prefix. Indices 0 to 2L-1 can be assigned to the 2L symbol periods in each subframe.

[0040] In LTE, an eNB can transmit the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) on the downlink within the middle 1.08 MHz of the system bandwidth used for each cell supported by that eNB. The PSS and SSS can be transmitted in subframes 0 and 5 of each radio frame with a normal cyclic prefix, respectively, within symbol periods 6 and 5, as follows: Figure 3As shown. The PSS and SSS can be used by the UE for cell search and acquisition. The eNB can transmit a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) across the system bandwidth for each cell supported by the eNB. The CRS can be transmitted in certain symbol periods of each subframe, and can be used by the UE to perform channel estimation, channel quality measurement, and / or other functions. The eNB can also transmit the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) in symbol periods 0 to 3 of slot 1 in certain radio frames. The PBCH can carry some system information. The eNB can transmit other system information, such as System Information Blocks (SIBs), on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in certain subframes. The eNB can transmit control information / data on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for the first B symbol periods of a subframe, where B can be configurable for each subframe. The eNB can transmit traffic data and / or other data on the PDSCH for the remaining symbol periods of each subframe.

[0041] The PSS, SSS, CRS, and PBCH in LTE are described in 3GPP TS 36.211, titled "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation," and this document is publicly available.

[0042] Figure 4 Two exemplary subframe formats 410 and 420 for downlink with a common cyclic prefix are shown. The time-frequency resources available for the downlink can be divided into resource blocks. Each resource block can cover 12 subcarriers in a time slot, and each resource block can include multiple resource elements. Each resource element can cover one subcarrier in one symbol period, and each resource element can be used to transmit one modulation symbol, which can be a real value or a complex value.

[0043] Subframe format 410 can be used with eNBs equipped with two antennas. CRS can be transmitted from antennas 0 and 1 during symbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11. The reference signal is a signal previously known to both the transmitter and receiver; it can also be called a pilot. The CRS is a cell-specific reference signal, for example, it may be generated based on the cell identifier (ID). Figure 4 In the middle, for those with label R aFor a given resource element, modulation symbols can be transmitted from antenna a on that resource element, while no modulation symbols can be transmitted from other antennas on that resource element. Subframe format 420 can be used for an eNB equipped with four antennas. CRS can be transmitted from antennas 0 and 1 during symbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11, and from antennas 2 and 3 during symbol periods 1 and 8. For both subframe formats 410 and 420, CRS can be transmitted on uniformly spaced subcarriers, where these subcarriers are determined based on the cell ID. Different eNBs can transmit their CRS on the same or different subcarriers based on their cell IDs. For both subframe formats 410 and 420, resource elements not used for CRS can be used to transmit data (e.g., traffic data, control data, and / or other data).

[0044] For each of the downlink and uplink in LTE's FDD, an interleaving structure can be used. For example, Q interleavings with indices 0 to Q-1 can be specified, where Q can be equal to 4, 6, 8, 10, or some other value. Each interleaving can include subframes separated by Q frames. Specifically, interleaving q can include subframes q, q+Q, q+2Q, etc., where q∈{0,…,Q-1}.

[0045] For data transmission on both the downlink and uplink, wireless networks can support Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ). With HARQ, a transmitter (e.g., eNB 110) can send one or more transmissions of a packet until the packet is correctly decoded by a receiver (e.g., UE 120) or some other termination condition is met. For synchronous HARQ, all transmissions of the packet can be sent within a single interleaved subframe. For asynchronous HARQ, every transmission of the packet can be sent within any subframe.

[0046] The UE can be located within the coverage area of ​​multiple eNBs. One of these eNBs can be selected to serve the UE. The selection of the serving eNB can be based on various criteria such as received signal strength, received signal quality, path loss, etc. Received signal quality can be quantified using signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), reference signal quality (RSRQ), or some other metric. The UE may operate in scenarios with significant interference, where it may observe strong interference from one or more interfering eNBs.

[0047] As mentioned above, one or more UEs in a wireless communication network (e.g., wireless communication network 100) may be devices with limited communication resources compared to other (non-LC) devices in the wireless communication network (e.g., LC UEs).

[0048] In some systems (e.g., in LTE Rel-13), the LC UE may be restricted to a specific narrowband allocation within the available system bandwidth (e.g., no more than six resource blocks (RBs)). However, the LC UE may be able to retune (e.g., operate and / or camp) to different narrowband regions within the available system bandwidth of the LTE system (e.g., to coexist within the LTE system).

[0049] As another example of coexistence within an LTE system, an LC UE may be able to (repeatedly) receive a legacy Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) (e.g., an LTE physical channel that typically carries parameters that can be used for initial access to the cell) and support one or more legacy Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) formats. For example, an LC UE may be able to receive one or more additional repetitions of a legacy PBCH with a PBCH over multiple subframes. As yet another example, an LC UE may be able to send one or more repetitions of a PRACH (e.g., with one or more supported PRACH formats) to an eNB in ​​the LTE system. The PRACH can be used to identify the LC UE. Furthermore, the eNB can configure the number of repeated PRACH attempts.

[0050] The LC UE can also be a link budget-constrained device, which may operate in different operating modes based on its link budget limitations (e.g., this inevitably results in different numbers of duplicate messages being sent to or from the LC UE). For example, in some cases, the LC UE can operate in normal coverage mode, where there is almost no duplication (e.g., the number of duplications required for the UE to successfully receive and / or send messages may be low or even unnecessary). Alternatively, in some cases, the LC UE can operate in coverage enhancement (CE) mode, where there may be a large number of duplications. For example, for a 328-bit payload, an LC UE in CE mode may require 150 or more duplications of the payload to successfully receive it.

[0051] In some cases, for example, still for LTE Rel-13, the LC UE may have limited capabilities in receiving its broadcast and unicast transmissions. For example, the maximum transport block (TB) size of a broadcast transmission received by the LC UE may be limited to 1000 bits. Additionally, in some cases, the LC UE may not be able to receive more than one unicast TB in a subframe. In some cases (e.g., for both CE mode and normal mode described above), the LC UE may not be able to receive more than one broadcast TB in a subframe. Furthermore, in some cases, the LC UE may not be able to receive both unicast and broadcast TBs in a subframe.

[0052] For MTC, LC UEs coexisting in an LTE system can also support new messages for certain procedures such as paging, random access procedures, etc. (e.g., compared to regular messages used for these procedures in LTE). In other words, these new messages for paging, random access procedures, etc., can be separated from messages used for similar procedures associated with non-LC UEs. For example, compared to regular paging messages used in LTE, LC UEs can monitor and / or receive paging messages that non-LC UEs cannot monitor and / or receive. Similarly, compared to regular random access response (RAR) messages used in regular random access procedures, LC UEs can receive RAR messages that may not be received by non-LC UEs. New paging and RAR messages associated with LC UEs can also be repeated once or multiple times (e.g., "bound"). Furthermore, different numbers of repetitions (e.g., different binding sizes) can be supported for these new messages.

[0053] Exemplary MTC coexistence in broadband systems

[0054] As mentioned above, MTC and / or eMTC operation can be supported in wireless communication networks (e.g., coexistence with LTE or some other RAT). For example, Figure 5A and 5B An example is shown of how LC UEs can coexist in MTC operations within a broadband system such as LTE (e.g., 1.4 / 3 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 20MHz).

[0055] like Figure 5A As shown in the exemplary frame structure, subframe 510 associated with MTC and / or eMTC operation can be time-division multiplexed (TDM) with regular subframe 520 associated with LTE (or some other RAT).

[0056] Alternatively or alternatively, such as Figure 5B As shown in the exemplary frame structure, one or more narrowband regions 560, 562 used by the LC UE in MTC can be frequency-division multiplexed within the wider bandwidth 550 supported by LTE. For MTC and / or eMTC operation, multiple narrowband regions can be supported, where each narrowband region spans no more than a total bandwidth of 6 RBs. In some cases (e.g., LTE Release 13), each LC UE in MTC operation can operate within one narrowband region at a time (e.g., 1.4 MHz or 6 RBs). In other cases, such as LTE Release 14, the LC UE in MTC operation can operate on a 5 MHz narrowband region (e.g., using 25 RBs).

[0057] At any given time, an LC UE in MTC operation can be retuned to another narrowband area within a wider system bandwidth. In some cases, multiple LC UEs can be served by the same narrowband area. In other cases, different combinations of LC UEs can be served by one or more of the same narrowband areas and / or one or more different narrowband areas.

[0058] LC UEs can operate within a narrowband area for various different operations (e.g., monitoring / receiving / transmitting). For example, as... Figure 5B As shown, one or more LC UEs can monitor the first narrowband region 560 of subframe 552 in response to PSS, SSS, PBCH, MTC signaling, or paging transmissions from a BS in the wireless communication network. Also as... Figure 5B As shown, the LC UE can use the second narrowband area 562 of subframe 554 to transmit RACH or data previously configured in signaling received from the BS. In some cases, the same LC UE utilizing the first narrowband area can use the second narrowband area (e.g., the LC UE may have retuned to the second narrowband area for transmission after monitoring in the first narrowband area). In some cases (though not shown), an LC UE different from the LC UE utilizing the first narrowband area can use the second narrowband area.

[0059] In some systems, the eMTC UE can support narrowband operation while operating over a wider system bandwidth. For example, the eMTC UE can transmit and receive within a narrow band of the system bandwidth. As mentioned above, this narrow band can span 6 resource blocks (RBs). In other cases, this narrow band can span 25 RBs.

[0060] Some systems can provide up to 15 dB of coverage enhancement to the MTC UE, which maps to a maximum coupling loss of 155.7 dB between the UE and the eNB. Therefore, the eMTC UE and eNB can perform measurements at low SNR levels (e.g., -15 dB to -20 dB). In some systems, coverage enhancement may include channel bonding, where messages associated with the eMTC UE can be repeated (e.g., bonded) once or multiple times.

[0061] Although the examples described herein assume a narrowband of 6 RBs, those skilled in the art will recognize that the techniques presented herein can also be applied to narrowband regions of different sizes (e.g., 25 RBs).

[0062] Exemplary probe reference signal transmission in enhanced machine-type communications

[0063] Location Reference Signal (PRS) was introduced in LTE Release 9 to assist in determining the location of User Equipment (UE) based on radio access network information. Typically, the PRS signal can be transmitted within a predetermined bandwidth and according to a set of configuration parameters such as subframe offset, periodicity, and duration. The PRS bandwidth is configurable on a per-cell basis, with 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz bandwidths supported. However, regardless of the bandwidth, the PRS is transmitted in a central resource block of a given bandwidth. Additionally, in some cases, the PRS period can be fixed, allowing all repetitions of the PRS to utilize the same bandwidth.

[0064] Furthermore, each cell can apply a different silence mode (which defines the time during which the cell does not transmit PRS) in an effort to avoid interfering with PRS transmitted from other cells. PRS can be transmitted at predefined subframes and repeated (e.g., in several consecutive subframes, where each set of subframes is called a "positioning moment"). The sequence transmitted as PRS can be based on any suitable known sequence. PRS from different cells can be multiplexed in the coding domain (e.g., each cell transmits different (orthogonal) PRS sequences), in the frequency domain (e.g., with different frequency offsets), and / or in the time domain (e.g., using time-based blanking).

[0065] As described above, PRS is used, for example, to determine the location of a UE based on radio access network information. The process of determining the UE's location follows three main steps. For example, the UE may first receive PRS from its serving cell and neighboring cells. Based on the received PRS, the UE may measure the observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) and report the Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement to its serving cell. The network can then use the RTSD measurement to calculate the UE's longitude and latitude.

[0066] LTE Release 14 introduced certain enhancements to OTDOA, addressing specific aspects of eMTC operation such as narrowband operation, enhanced coverage, and single-receive (RX) antennas. However, these enhancements may not address some issues associated with eMTC operation. For example, in eMTC, narrowband UEs may require higher PRS density (e.g., more repetitions) because these UEs have poorer link budgets, a single RX, and operate with reduced bandwidth. However, using a single bandwidth across all PRS repetitions, and employing a larger bandwidth with many repetitions (e.g., necessary for wideband UEs), would lead to increased overhead.

[0067] Therefore, aspects of this disclosure propose techniques for improving PRS operation for eMTC operation, for example, by allowing increased PRS density while keeping overhead to a minimum. In some cases, increasing PRS density while keeping overhead to a minimum may involve transmitting PRS associated with different bandwidths in different subframes.

[0068] Figure 6 For example, according to certain aspects of this disclosure, an exemplary operation 600 for wireless communication in a network is shown. According to certain aspects, operation 600 can be performed by a base station such as an eNB 110. Operation 600 can help increase PRS density while keeping overhead to a minimum.

[0069] Depending on certain aspects, a base station may include, for example: Figure 2 One or more components are shown, which can be configured to perform the operations described herein. For example, such as... Figure 2 The antenna 234, demodulator / modulator 232, controller / processor 240 and / or memory 242 shown herein can perform the operations described herein.

[0070] Operation 600 begins at 602, first determining a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE). In some cases, the first type of UE may include a narrowband UE capable of narrowband communication with the network over a narrowband region (e.g., 1.4MHz / 5MHz) within the larger system bandwidth.

[0071] At point 604, the base station determines a second bandwidth within the system bandwidth for transmitting the second PRS to the second type of UE. In some cases, the second type of UE includes broadband UEs that cannot communicate with the network in narrowband.

[0072] At position 606, the base station transmits information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS.

[0073] In some respects, Operation 600 can allow base stations to increase PRS density while keeping overhead to a minimum by transmitting PRS associated with different bandwidths (and the types of UEs operating in those bandwidths) in different subframes, for example, as... Figure 7 As shown in the image.

[0074] Figure 7According to certain aspects of this disclosure, an exemplary PRS operation is illustrated. For example, as shown, a base station may transmit a first PRS for a 10MHz bandwidth (e.g., for a wideband UE) in the first two subframes (e.g., 702), followed by a second PRS for a 1.4MHz bandwidth (e.g., for a narrowband UE) in the next two subframes (e.g., 704). Furthermore, the periods associated with the first and second PRS may be different. For example, as... Figure 7 As shown, compared to the period of the PRS for 10MHz (e.g., 160ms), the base station can set the period of the PRS transmitted for the 1.4MHz bandwidth to be more frequent (e.g., 20ms). In some respects, setting the period of the PRS for the 1.4MHz bandwidth (i.e., for narrowband UEs) to be more frequent can help narrowband UEs receive the PRS correctly, for example, because these UEs are link budget and power-constrained.

[0075] In addition to determining the bandwidth used to transmit the PRS, aspects of this disclosure also provide techniques for configuring a UE to receive the PRS. For example, in some cases, the PRS configuration information transmitted by the base station to both the eMTC UE (e.g., a narrowband UE) and the non-eMTC UE (e.g., a wideband UE) (e.g., via a higher-level unicast message from a location server) can be the same. For example, in a first example, for each bandwidth value (e.g., 1.4 MHz, 10 MHz, etc.), the base station can be configured to signal a subset of the following: periodicity, bandwidth, silence mode, and number of consecutive subframes. For example, for a first PRS transmitted on a 1.4 MHz bandwidth, the PRS configuration information would indicate the bandwidth (e.g., 1.4 MHz) to receive the first PRS, the period for transmitting the first PRS, the silence mode for the first PRS, and / or the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the first PRS. Furthermore, for a second PRS transmitted on a 10MHz bandwidth, the PRS configuration information will indicate: the bandwidth to be received for the second PRS (e.g., 10MHz), the period for transmitting the second PRS, the silence mode used for the second PRS, and / or the number of consecutive subframes used to receive the second PRS. Additionally, the base station can signal the offset between bandwidth values ​​to avoid conflicts between PRS values ​​with different bandwidths.

[0076] In another example, the base station may send PRS configuration information indicating a single PRS period (and, in some cases, a silent mode) and information specific to each PRS being sent, such as bandwidth, the number of consecutive subframes, and (in some cases) a silent mode. For example, suppose the base station intends to send a first PRS on a 1.4MHz bandwidth and a second PRS on a 10MHz bandwidth. In this case, the PRS configuration information may include a single period for both the first and second PRS, the bandwidth for receiving each of the first and second PRS, the silent mode for each of the first and second PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving each of the first and second PRS. For example, the period could be 160ms, and the silent mode could be {10MHz, 2SF}, {1.4MHz, 4SF}. In this case, for each time period, the UE expects to have two subframes for the 10MHz bandwidth PRS, followed by four subframes for the 1.4MHz bandwidth PRS.

[0077] Depending on the context, once the base station has determined the PRS configuration information, it can send the PRS configuration to both narrowband (e.g., eMTC) UEs and wideband (e.g., non-eMTC) UEs. Alternatively, the base station can send legacy PRS configuration information (i.e., comprising a single PRS) to legacy UEs (e.g., UEs operating according to releases that do not support multi-PRS bandwidth transmission), indicating PRS transmissions scheduled around the RB used for narrowband PRS.

[0078] In some cases, the PRS configuration for narrowband UEs and wideband UEs can differ. For example, in some cases, the PRS configuration information may include conventional PRS configuration information (e.g., for a 20MHz bandwidth), such as subframe offset, periodicity, and duration. However, in this case, the PRS configuration information may also include a bit mask indicating which subframes in the conventional PRS configuration are narrowband subframes. For example, a UE may receive PRS configuration information from a base station for a 20MHz bandwidth. The PRS configuration information may indicate the four subframes in which the PRS will be transmitted, along with a bit mask (e.g., 0, 0, 1, 1) corresponding to these four subframes. The UE may interpret the bit mask as indicating that only 1.4MHz (or 5MHz) of bandwidth is used for PRS transmission in the last two subframes.

[0079] Depending on certain aspects, in some cases, the base station may send the PRS configuration information (e.g., conventional PRS configuration information, which includes a bit mask) to both narrowband and wideband UEs. Depending on certain aspects, the wideband UE may ignore the bit mask. In other cases, the base station may send only the conventional PRS configuration information to the wideband UE (e.g., lacking a bit mask and / or adjusting the number of subframes accordingly), while sending both the conventional PRS configuration information and the bit mask to the narrowband UE.

[0080] In some cases, the base station can send PRS configuration information to a first UE (e.g., a narrowband UE such as an eMTC UE) indicating a bandwidth less than or equal to the bandwidth desired by the first UE for operation. A second UE (e.g., a UE capable of communicating over a wider band (e.g., 5 MHz)) can receive the conventional PRS configuration discussed above. For example, the first UE can receive a PRS configuration for 1.4 MHz and four subframes, while the second UE can receive a PRS configuration for 5 MHz and two subframes. In this case, the base station transmits the PRS in the 5 MHz bandwidth for the first two subframes, and in the 1.4 MHz bandwidth for the last two subframes. The second UE can use 5 MHz to receive the PRS only for the first two subframes, while the first UE uses 1.4 MHz to receive the PRS in all four subframes.

[0081] In some cases, PRS transmitted in a narrowband area with a large system bandwidth does not need to be centered on the system bandwidth. In such cases, the base station can include a frequency offset value in the PRS configuration information, indicating how much the bandwidth transmitting the PRS is offset from the center of the system bandwidth. Depending on certain aspects, this frequency offset value can be unique to each cell. That is, the frequency offset value can be different for different cells.

[0082] In some cases, a base station can use a wideband PRS as a guide to generate signals for a narrowband PRS that is not centered in the system bandwidth. For example, a base station can generate a narrowband PRS by first generating a 10MHz wideband PRS, and then using only the REs corresponding to the non-centered bandwidth within the wideband PRS. In other cases, a base station can use a centered PRS as a guide to generate signals for a non-centered narrowband PRS, for example, by acquiring the REs for the centered PRS and allocating them to the non-centered portion of the bandwidth.

[0083] Alternatively, the base station may signal a subband PRS mute configuration indicating that the PRS is muted in a specific portion of the bandwidth. Depending on the aspect, the mute mode for a given cell allows the UE to measure the PRS from other cells (i.e., to avoid interference). Depending on some aspects, the mute mode may be different for different cells.

[0084] Depending on certain aspects, the techniques described above can be extended to larger bandwidths, such as MTC UE with 1.4MHz, FeMTC UE with 5MHz, and WB UE with 20MHz. For example, as Figure 8 As shown, a first PRS can be transmitted in subframe 802 with a first period and a bandwidth of 10MHz, a second PRS can be transmitted in subframe 804 with a second period and a bandwidth of 5MHz, and a third PRS can be transmitted in subframe 806 with a third period and a bandwidth of 1.4MHz.

[0085] Depending on the context, regardless of whether PRS is transmitted in a 10MHz, 5MHz, or 1.4MHz bandwidth, the RB outside the bandwidth area used for PRS transmission can be used for other unicast or broadcast channels (e.g., Machine Type Communication Physical Downlink Control Channel (MPDCCH) and / or Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)).

[0086] The various operations of the methods described above can be performed by any suitable unit capable of performing the corresponding function. These units may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to: circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors. Typically, where operations are shown in the accompanying drawings, these operations may have corresponding paired means plus functional components with similar numbering.

[0087] For example, the unit for transmitting and / or the unit for receiving may include one or more antennas, such as antenna 234 of eNB 110 and / or antenna 252 of user equipment 120. Additionally, the unit for transmitting may include one or more processors configured to transmit / receive via said one or more antennas (e.g., transmit processors 220 / 264 and / or receive processors 238 / 258). Furthermore, the unit for judging, the unit for deciding, the unit for using, and / or the unit for executing may include one or more processors, such as transmit processor 220, receive processor 238, or controller / processor 240 of eNB 110 and / or transmit processor 264, receive processor 258, or controller / processor 280 of user equipment 120.

[0088] As used herein, the term "determine" encompasses a wide range of actions. For example, "determine" can include calculation, operation, processing, derivation, research, querying (e.g., querying a table, database, or other data structure), assertion, and so on. Furthermore, "determine" can also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and so on. Additionally, "determine" can also include parsing, selecting, choosing, creating, and so on.

[0089] As used herein, the term receiver may refer to an RF receiver (e.g., an RF receiver of the RF front end) or an interface (e.g., an interface of the processor) for receiving (e.g., via a bus) a structure processed by the RF front end of a UE (e.g., UE 120) or BS (e.g., eNB 110). Similarly, the term transmitter may refer to an RF transmitter or an interface (e.g., an interface of the processor) for outputting a structure to (e.g., via a bus) the RF front end of a UE (e.g., UE 120) or BS (e.g., eNB 110) for transmission. Depending on certain aspects, receivers and transmitters may be configured to perform the operations described herein. Additionally, transmitters may be configured to perform any of the transmission functions described herein, such as transmitting information associated with one or more PRSs scheduled in different bandwidths.

[0090] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” refers to any combination of these items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiple identical elements (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0091] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with this disclosure can be implemented or executed by a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, or it can be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, several microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0092] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in connection with this disclosure may be directly embodied in hardware, a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module may reside in any form of storage medium known in the art. Some examples of storage media that may be used include: random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, etc. The software module may include a single instruction or multiple instructions and may be distributed across several different code segments, different programs, and multiple storage media. The storage medium may be coupled to the processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may also be a component of the processor.

[0093] The methods disclosed herein include one or more steps or actions for implementing the described methods. These method steps and / or actions may be interchanged without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0094] The described functionality can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in hardware, an exemplary hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. This processing system may be implemented using a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges. The bus can link together various circuits, including a processor, machine-readable media, and a bus interface. The bus interface can be used to connect network adapters, etc., to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter can be used to implement signal processing functions at the PHY layer. In user equipment 120 (see...) Figure 1 In this case, user interfaces (e.g., keyboards, displays, mice, joysticks, etc.) can also be connected to the bus. The bus can also link various other circuits such as clock sources, peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and therefore not described further.

[0095] A processor can be responsible for managing the bus and general-purpose processing, including executing software stored on a machine-readable medium. A processor can be implemented using one or more general-purpose processors and / or special-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry capable of executing software. Software should be interpreted broadly to mean instructions, data, or any combination thereof, regardless of whether it is referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terms. For example, a machine-readable medium can include RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), registers, disks, optical disks, hard disks, or any other suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. A machine-readable medium can be embodied in a computer program product. A computer program product can include packaging material.

[0096] In hardware implementations, machine-readable media can be part of a processing system separate from the processor. However, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, machine-readable media, or any portion thereof, can be external to the processing system. For example, machine-readable media may include transmission lines, carrier waveforms modulated by data, and / or computer products separate from wireless nodes, all of which can be accessed by the processor via a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, machine-readable media, or any portion thereof, may be integrated into the processor, for example, in the case of a cache and / or general-purpose register file.

[0097] The processing system can be configured as a general-purpose processing system having one or more microprocessors and external memory, the microprocessors providing processor functionality and the external memory providing at least a portion of machine-readable medium, all linked together with other supporting circuitry via an external bus architecture. Alternatively, the processing system can be implemented using an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), which has a processor, a bus interface (a user interface in the case of an access terminal), supporting circuitry, and at least a portion of machine-readable medium integrated into a single chip. The processing system can also be implemented using one or more FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), controllers, state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, or any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuitry capable of performing the various functions described throughout this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functions for the processing system, depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system as a whole.

[0098] Machine-readable media may include multiple software modules. These software modules include instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processing system to perform various functions. Software modules may include transfer modules and receive modules. Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. For example, when a triggering event occurs, a software module may be loaded from a hard disk into RAM. During the execution of a software module, the processor may load some of these instructions into a cache to increase access speed. Subsequently, one or more cache lines may be loaded into a general-purpose register file for execution by the processor. When referring to the function of a software module below, it should be understood that the processor implements that function when executing the instructions from that software module.

[0099] When implemented using software, these functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that a computer can access. For example, but not limitingly, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, any connection can be appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared (IR), wireless, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used in this article, disks and optical discs include compressed optical discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile optical discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and... Disks, where magnetic disks typically copy data magnetically, and optical disks use lasers to copy data optically. Therefore, in some aspects, computer-readable media can include non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media). Furthermore, in other aspects, computer-readable media can include transient computer-readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0100] Therefore, certain aspects may include a computer program product for performing the operations set forth herein. For example, the computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon (and / or encoded thereon) that can be executed by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein. In some aspects, the computer program product may include packaging material.

[0101] Furthermore, it should be understood that modules and / or other suitable units for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained on demand by user terminals and / or base stations. For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of units for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via storage units (e.g., RAM, ROM, physical storage media such as compressed optical discs (CDs) or floppy disks, etc.), so that user terminals and / or base stations can obtain the various methods when the storage units are coupled to or provided to the device. Furthermore, any other suitable techniques for providing the methods and techniques described herein to the device can also be utilized.

[0102] It should be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components shown above. Various modifications, alterations, and variations may be made to the arrangement, operation, and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication in a network, comprising: Determine a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); Determine a second bandwidth, different from the first bandwidth, within the system bandwidth used to transmit the second PRS to the second type of UE; and Send information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS; and The first PRS and the second PRS are transmitted in different subframes associated with the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first type of UE includes a narrowband UE capable of narrowband communication with the network over a narrowband area of ​​a larger system bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth includes the narrowband area of ​​the larger system bandwidth.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The second type of UE includes broadband UEs that are unable to communicate with the network in a narrowband manner.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A first period for transmitting the first PRS and a second period for transmitting the second PRS are determined, wherein the first period for transmitting the first PRS is more frequent than the second period for transmitting the second PRS.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The information associated with the first PRS includes information indicating the following: the first bandwidth for receiving the first PRS, the period during which the first PRS will be transmitted, the silence mode for the first PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the first PRS; and The information associated with the second PRS includes information indicating the following: the second bandwidth for receiving the second PRS, the period for transmitting the second PRS, the silence mode for the second PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the second PRS.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The information also includes an offset between the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth, and wherein sending includes sending the information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS to the first type of UE and the second type of UE.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: The information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS is sent to the first type of UE, and the information associated with the second PRS is sent to the second type of UE.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein, The information indicates the bandwidth representing the minimum value of the first PRS and the second PRS, and the method further includes: sending the information indicating the bandwidth representing the minimum value of the first PRS and the second PRS to the UE of the first type.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, The information includes information for indicating at least one of the following: The period during which the first PRS and the second PRS will be sent; The bandwidth used to receive the first PRS, the silent mode used for the first PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes used to receive the first PRS; or The bandwidth used to receive the second PRS, the silent mode used for the second PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes used to receive the second PRS.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Use resource blocks outside of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth to transmit at least one of the unicast channel or broadcast channel.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein, Sending the information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS includes: The information is sent to the second type of UE, wherein the information includes information indicating the second bandwidth and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the second PRS; and The information is sent to the UE of the first type, wherein the information includes a bit mask for indicating the narrowband subframe in which the first PRS is received.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first bandwidth and the second bandwidth are centered on the center of the system bandwidth.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth is not centered on the center of the system bandwidth; and The information includes information indicating frequency offset for at least one of the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth, and information indicating how much the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth is offset from the center of the system bandwidth.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth is not centered on the center of the system bandwidth; The information includes a sub-band PRS mute indicator, which indicates the location where the PRS is muted in the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth; and The sub-band PRS mute indicator is unique to the base station.

15. An apparatus for wireless communication in a network, comprising: At least one processor is configured as follows: Determine a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); Determine the second bandwidth within the system bandwidth used to send the second PRS to the second type of UE; A memory coupled to the at least one processor; as well as The transmitter is configured as follows: Send information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS; as well as The first PRS and the second PRS are transmitted in different subframes associated with the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The first type of UE includes a narrowband UE capable of narrowband communication with the network over a narrowband area of ​​a larger system bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth includes the narrowband area of ​​the larger system bandwidth.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The second type of UE includes broadband UEs that are unable to communicate with the network in a narrowband manner.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: determine a first period for transmitting the first PRS and a second period for transmitting the second PRS, wherein the first period for transmitting the first PRS is more frequent than the second period for transmitting the second PRS.

19. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein: The information associated with the first PRS includes information indicating the following: the first bandwidth for receiving the first PRS, the period during which the first PRS will be transmitted, the silence mode for the first PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the first PRS; and The information associated with the second PRS includes information indicating the following: the second bandwidth for receiving the second PRS, the period for transmitting the second PRS, the silence mode for the second PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the second PRS.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein, The information also includes an offset between the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to send the information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS to the first type of UE and the second type of UE.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein, The transmitter is also configured to: The information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS is sent to the first type of UE, and the information associated with the second PRS is sent to the second type of UE.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein, The information indicates the bandwidth representing the minimum value of the first PRS and the second PRS, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to send the information indicating the bandwidth representing the minimum value of the first PRS and the second PRS to the UE of the first type.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The information includes information indicating at least one of the following: The period during which the first PRS and the second PRS will be sent; The bandwidth used to receive the first PRS, the silent mode used for the first PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes used to receive the first PRS; or The bandwidth used to receive the second PRS, the silent mode used for the second PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes used to receive the second PRS.

24. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: Use resource blocks outside of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth to transmit at least one of the unicast channel or broadcast channel.

25. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The transmitter is configured to transmit the information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS in the following manner: The information is sent to the second type of UE, wherein the information includes information indicating the second bandwidth and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the second PRS; and The information is sent to the UE of the first type, wherein the information includes a bit mask for indicating the narrowband subframe in which the first PRS is received.

26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The first bandwidth and the second bandwidth are centered on the center of the system bandwidth.

27. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein: At least one of the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth is not centered on the center of the system bandwidth; and The information includes information indicating frequency offset for at least one of the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth, and information indicating how much the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth is offset from the center of the system bandwidth.

28. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein: At least one of the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth is not centered on the center of the system bandwidth; The information includes a sub-band PRS mute indicator, which indicates the location where the PRS is muted in the first bandwidth or the second bandwidth; and The sub-band PRS mute indicator is unique to the base station.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication in a network, comprising: A unit for determining a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); Units within the system bandwidth that are different from the first bandwidth for sending a second PRS to a second type of UE; as well as A unit for sending information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS; as well as A unit for transmitting the first PRS and the second PRS in different subframes associated with the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communication in a network, comprising: Instructions, when executed by at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to: Determine a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth for transmitting a first positioning reference signal (PRS) to a first type of user equipment (UE); Determine the second bandwidth within the system bandwidth used to send the second PRS to the second type of UE; Send information associated with the first PRS and the second PRS; as well as The first PRS and the second PRS are transmitted in different subframes associated with the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

31. A method for wireless communication in a network, comprising: Receive information, wherein the information includes: For a first type of user equipment (UE), a first indication of a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth used for receiving a first positioning reference signal (PRS); and For the second type of UE, an indication of a second bandwidth, different from the first bandwidth, within the system bandwidth for receiving the second PRS; and Based on the information, receive at least one of the following: The first PRS in the first subframe associated with the first bandwidth; or The second PRS in the second subframe associated with the second bandwidth.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein, The first type of UE includes a narrowband UE capable of narrowband communication with the network over a narrowband area of ​​a larger system bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth includes the narrowband area of ​​the larger system bandwidth.

33. The method according to claim 31, wherein, The second type of UE includes broadband UEs that are unable to communicate with the network in a narrowband manner.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein, The first PRS is sent in a first period and the second PRS is sent in a second period, wherein the first period for sending the first PRS is more frequent than the second period for sending the second PRS.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein, The information also includes at least one of the following: The period for transmitting the first PRS, the silence mode for the first PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the first PRS; or The period for transmitting the second PRS, the silence mode for the second PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the second PRS.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein, The information also includes the offset between the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

37. An apparatus for wireless communication in a network, comprising: At least one processor is configured as follows: Receive configuration information, wherein the configuration information includes: For a first type of user equipment (UE), a first indication of a first bandwidth within a larger system bandwidth used for receiving a first positioning reference signal (PRS); and For the second type of UE, an indication of a second bandwidth, different from the first bandwidth, within the system bandwidth for receiving the second PRS; and Based on the configuration information, receive at least one of the following: The first PRS in the first subframe associated with the first bandwidth; or The second PRS in the second subframe associated with the second bandwidth; and A memory coupled to the at least one processor.

38. The apparatus according to claim 37, wherein: The first type of UE includes a narrowband UE capable of narrowband communication with the network over a narrowband area of ​​a larger system bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth includes the narrowband area of ​​the larger system bandwidth; and The second type of UE includes broadband UEs that are unable to communicate with the network in a narrowband manner.

39. The device of claim 37, wherein, The first PRS is sent in a first period and the second PRS is sent in a second period, wherein the first period for sending the first PRS is more frequent than the second period for sending the second PRS.

40. The device of claim 37, wherein, The information also includes at least one of the following: The offset between the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth; The period for transmitting the first PRS, the silent mode for the first PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the first PRS. or The period for transmitting the second PRS, the silence mode for the second PRS, and the number of consecutive subframes for receiving the second PRS.

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