Enhanced uplink spectrum sharing

Abstract

Techniques and apparatuses are described for enhanced uplink spectrum sharing. A base station transmits (605), to a user equipment, UE, an air interface resource configuration for second air interface resources allocated to a second cell, the second cell using a second radio access technology, RAT, and implemented by the base station. The base station receives (610) a first air interface resource configuration for first air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first RAT, where the first air interface resource configuration is different from the second air interface resource configuration. In aspects, the base station transmits (615) the first air interface resource configuration to the UE. Based on receiving (620) a low utilization indication of the first air interface resources, the base station directs (625) the UE to utilize the first air interface resources for transmission of uplink communications using the second RAT.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This application relates to techniques and apparatus for enhanced uplink spectrum sharing. BACKGROUND

[0002] A wide variety of contemporary devices include wireless capabilities. To illustrate, some Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as smart televisions (TVs) or smart appliances, connect to a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication system to access remote services. As another example, smart watches and laptops can connect to a cellular communication system to access remote data and / or services. While devices with wireless functionality provide users with additional flexibility and information, the increasing number of devices can quickly consume air interface resources of a wireless network and impact the reliability and availability of accessing the wireless network.

[0003] Statically allocated resources (e.g., resources allocated on a recurring and / or periodic basis) can further compound the availability of air interface resources. To illustrate, consider air interface resources shared between two base stations having overlapping cells and / or coverage areas using time division multiplexing (TDM) such that a first base station accesses the shared air interface resources in a first time period and a second base station accesses the shared air interface resources in a second time period. While the static allocation provides each base station with access to the shared air interface resources, the static allocation also reduces the availability of the resources to each base station. Inefficiencies can occur using statically allocated air interface resources, such as when the first base station serves few devices to no devices and does not use the shared air interface resources during a portion of the first time period. Because the first base station does not use the shared air interface resources during a portion of the first time period and the static allocation prevents the second base station from using the shared air interface resources during the first time period, the shared air interface resources remain unused during the first time period. Thus, to increase capacity and provide reliable wireless connections, evolving communication systems seek new means to efficiently utilize available resources and avoid waste. SUMMARY

[0004] Techniques and apparatus for enhanced uplink spectrum sharing are described herein. A base station transmits, to a user equipment (UE), a second air interface resource configuration of second air interface resources allocated to a second cell, the second cell using a second radio access technology, RAT, and implemented by the base station. The base station receives a first air interface resource configuration of first air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first RAT, where the first air interface resource configuration is different than the second air interface resource configuration. In aspects, the base station transmits the first air interface resource configuration to the UE. Based on receiving a low utilization indication of the first air interface resources, the base station directs the UE to utilize the first air interface resources for transmitting uplink communications using the second RAT.

[0005] In some aspects, a UE borrows air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) to increase its air interface resources in a second cell using a second RAT (and implemented by a base station). The UE receives, from the base station, a second air interface resource configuration allocating second air interface resources to the second cell using the second RAT. The UE also receives, from the base station, a first air interface resource configuration allocating first air interface resources to the first cell using the first RAT, where the first air interface resource configuration is different from the second air interface resource configuration. In aspects, the UE receives an indication to utilize the first air interface resources for uplink communications to the base station using the second RAT. Based on receiving the indication, the UE transmits, to the base station, an uplink communication using the first air interface resources and the second RAT.

[0006] In some aspects, a first base station shares air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) implemented by the first base station with a second cell using a second RAT implemented by a second base station. The first base station transmits, to the second base station, an air interface resource configuration allocating the air interface resources to the first cell using the first RAT. The first base station subsequently detects low utilization of the air interface resources. Based on detecting the low utilization, the first base station transmits, to the second base station, a low utilization indication.

[0007] Details of one or more implementations of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing are set forth in the accompanying drawings and description below. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. This summary is provided to introduce some aspects of the subject matter, which is further described in the detailed description and drawings. It is not intended to define either the essential features of the claimed subject matter or the scope of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] Details of one or more aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing are described below. The same numbers are used in different drawings to represent the same or similar features.

[0009] Figure 1 An example environment in which various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing can be implemented is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 2 An example device diagram of a device in which various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing can be implemented is illustrated.

[0011] Figure 3 An example air interface resource extending between a user equipment and a base station that can be used in accordance with various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing is illustrated.

[0012] Figure 4An example stack model is illustrated that can implement various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing.

[0013] Figure 5 An example transaction diagram between various network entities is illustrated in accordance with various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing.

[0014] Figure 6 An example method is illustrated in accordance with various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing.

[0015] Figure 7 An example method is illustrated in accordance with various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing.

[0016] Figure 8 An example method is illustrated in accordance with various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Various technologies, such as television and radio broadcasts, cellular networks, satellite communications, wireless local area networks (WLANs), and so on, transmit wireless communications over different portions of the radio frequency spectrum. To avoid contention between transmissions, regulatory bodies, such as the Office of Communications (Ofcom), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Information Technology (MIIT), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), among others, govern how a particular region allocates portions of the radio frequency spectrum to various technologies. Thus, in aspects, each technology has access to a limited portion of the spectrum based on a regulatory body prescribed spectrum plan.

[0018] As more and more devices attempt to use the corresponding technology, the availability of frequency bands and / or portions of the radio frequency spectrum becomes strained. To illustrate, a first base station that serves a single user equipment (UE) can direct a majority of the allocated spectrum to the single UE, while a second base station that serves multiple UEs splits the available radio frequency spectrum among the multiple UEs. Because the frequency bands and / or portions of the radio frequency spectrum allocated to the cellular technology implemented by the base stations have a limited size, each base station can only support a limited number of UEs at a time. Thus, to increase capacity and provide reliable wireless connections, there is a need to improve the efficiency of how the corresponding resources of the technology are used and reduce wasted resources.

[0019] Sometimes, radio access technologies (RATs) such as 4G and 5G networks share a common frequency band via frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), common air interface resource partitioning, and / or synchronized time bases. As one example, a 4G wireless network dynamically shares portions of sub-3 gigahertz (GHz) radio frequency spectrum with a 5G network using FDM, TDM, common air interface resource partitioning, and / or synchronized time bases. Alternatively or additionally, a network operator of a radio access network (RAN) statically allocates (e.g., on a recurring or periodic basis) portions of the shared radio frequency spectrum to each RAT implemented by a base station having overlapping cells and / or coverage areas. To illustrate, assume a first RAT and a second RAT utilize a common partitioning of air interface resources such as those described with reference to Figure 3

[0020] The static allocation of the shared radio frequency spectrum sometimes results in inefficient use of the radio frequency spectrum. For example, assume a first base station in a RAN has zero attached UEs while a second base station in the RAN covers a similar geographic area and has multiple attached UEs. Also assume that a first cell / coverage area provided by the first base station partially or completely overlaps a second cell / coverage area provided by the second base station. In this example, while the second base station reaches capacity (e.g., a maximum number of UEs that the second base station can serve) and can reject service for other UEs, the portion of the shared radio frequency spectrum allocated to the first base station remains unused and results in inefficient use of the radio frequency spectrum.

[0021] ​In aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing, a base station transmits, to a user equipment (UE), a second air interface resource configuration (e.g., a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource configuration) for a second air interface resource (e.g., a second PUCCH resource) allocated to a second cell that uses a second radio access technology (RAT) (and which is implemented by the base station). The base station receives a first air interface resource configuration (e.g., a first PUCCH resource configuration) for a first air interface resource (e.g., a first PUCCH resource) allocated to a first cell that uses a first RAT, where the first air interface resource configuration is different from the second air interface resource configuration. In aspects, the base station transmits the first air interface resource configuration to the UE. Based on receiving a low utilization indication of the first air interface resource, the base station directs the UE to utilize the first air interface resource to transmit uplink communications using the second RAT.

[0022] Dynamically sharing statically allocated uplink air interface resources allows participating devices, such as a base station and a corresponding UE, to improve utilization of air interface resources. In turn, this increases capacity and reliability of a corresponding wireless network by dynamically providing unused air interface resources to other devices for use.

[0023] Example Environment

[0024] Figure 1 An example environment 100 is illustrated that includes a user equipment 110 (UE 110) that can communicate with base stations 120 (base stations 121 and 122) over one or more wireless communication links 130 (wireless links 130) (illustrated as wireless links 131 and 132). For simplicity, the UE 110 is implemented as a smartphone, but can be implemented as any suitable computing or electronic device, such as a mobile communication device, a modem, a cellular phone, a gaming device, a navigation device, a media device, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a smart appliance, a vehicle communication system, or an Internet of Things (IoT) device, such as a sensor or an actuator. The base stations 120 (e.g., Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Node B, E-UTRAN Node B, Evolved Node B, eNode B, eNB, Next Generation Node B, gNode B, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.) can be implemented in a macro cell, a micro cell, a small cell, a pico cell, a distributed base station, etc., or any combination thereof.

[0025] The base stations 120 communicate with the UE 110 using wireless links 131 and / or 132, which can be implemented as any suitable type of wireless link. The wireless links 131 and 132 include control plane information and / or user plane data, such as downlink of user plane data and control plane information communicated from the base stations 120 to the UE 110, uplink of other user plane data and control plane information communicated from the UE 110 to the base stations 120, or both. The wireless links 130 can include one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links) or bearers implemented using any suitable communication protocol or standard or combination of communication protocols or standards, such as Third Generation Partnership Project Long-Term Evolution (3GPP LTE), Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR), etc. Multiple wireless links 130 can be aggregated in carrier aggregation or multi-connectivity techniques to provide higher data rates for the UE 110. Multiple wireless links 130 from multiple base stations 120 can be configured for coordinated multipoint (CoMP) communication with the UE 110.

[0026] The base stations 120 are collectively referred to as a radio access network 140 (e.g., RAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN, 5G NR RAN, NR RAN), where the RAN 140 communicates with one or more core networks 150 (core network 150). To illustrate, the base station 121 connects to a 5G core network 151 (5GC 151) at interface 102 through an NG2 interface for control plane signaling and using an NG3 interface for user plane data communication. The base station 122 connects to an evolved packet core 152 (EPC 152) at interface 106 using an S1 interface for control plane signaling and user plane data communication. Alternatively or additionally, if the base station 122 connects to a 5GC 151 core network, the base station 122 connects to the 5GC 151 at interface 107 using an NG2 interface for control plane signaling and through an NG3 interface for user plane data communication. Thus, certain base stations 120 can communicate with multiple core networks 150 (e.g., 5GC 151, EPC 152).

[0027] In addition to wireless links to core networks, the base stations 120 can communicate with each other. For example, the base stations 121 and 122 communicate over the Xn interface at interface 105 to coordinate allocation of air interface resources, as further described.

[0028] The UE 110 can connect through the 5G core network 151 or the evolved packet core network 152 to a public network, such as the Internet 170, to interact with a remote service 180. The remote service 180 is representative of computing, communication, and storage devices that are used to provide any of a wide variety of services, including interactive voice or video communication, file transfer, streaming audio, voice or video, and other technical services implemented in any manner, such as voice calls, video calls, website access, messaging services (e.g., text messaging or multimedia messaging), photo file transfer, enterprise software applications, social media applications, video games, streaming video or audio services, and podcasts.

[0029] Example Device

[0030] Figure 2 An example device diagram 200 of one of the base stations 120 and a UE 110 that can implement various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing in a wireless communication system is illustrated. The UE 110 and / or the base station 120 can include components from the group of components that are omitted for the sake of clarity from Figure 2 Additional functionality and interfaces are omitted for clarity.

[0031] The UE 110 includes an antenna 202, a radio frequency front end 204 (RF front end 204), and wireless transceivers (e.g., an LTE transceiver 206 and / or a 5G NR transceiver 208) for communicating with the base stations 120 in the RAN 140. The RF front end 204 of the UE 110 can couple or connect the LTE transceiver 206 and the 5G NR transceiver 208 to the antenna 202 to facilitate various types of wireless communication. The antenna 202 of the UE 110 can include an array of multiple antennas that are configured in a similar or different manner to each other. The antenna 202 and the RF front end 204 can be tuned to, and / or be tunable to, one or more frequency bands defined by the 3GPP LTE and 5G NR communication standards and implemented by the LTE transceiver 206 and / or the 5G NR transceiver 208. Further, the antenna 202, the RF front end 204, the LTE transceiver 206, and / or the 5G NR transceiver 208 can be configured to support beamforming for transmission and reception in communications with the base stations 120. By way of example and not limitation, the antenna 202 and the RF front end 204 can be implemented for operation in sub-gigahertz (GHz) bands, sub-6 GHz bands, and / or above 6 GHz bands defined by the 3GPP LTE and 5G NR communication standards.

[0032] The UE 110 also includes a processor 210 and a computer-readable storage medium 212 (CRM 212). The processor 210 can be a single-core processor or a multiple-core processor, composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, etc. The computer-readable storage medium described herein excludes propagating signals. The CRM 212 can include any suitable memory or storage device such as random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or Flash memory, which can be used for storage of device data 214 of the UE 110. The device data 214 includes user data, multimedia data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and / or an operating system of the UE 110, some of which can be executed by the processor 210 to enable user-plane data, control-plane information, and user interaction with the UE 110.

[0033] The CRM 212 of the UE 110 includes a UE communication system protocol stack 216 (UE protocol stack 216). Alternatively or additionally, the UE protocol stack 216 can be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the UE 110. In aspects, the UE protocol stack 216 of the UE 110 enables how devices in a communication system exchange information, such as by implementing a number of layers that function as an entity communicating with another device using protocols defined for the layers, as referenced in the Figure 4 Further described. In aspects, the UE protocol stack 216 processes messages and / or indications from the base station 120, such as: a first message including a first PUCCH resource configuration of a first PUCCH resource allocated for uplink communications using a first RAT implemented by the base station 120; a second message including a second PUCCH resource configuration of a second PUCCH resource allocated for uplink communications using a second RAT; and / or, a third message (or indication) directing the UE 110 to utilize the second PUCCH resource for uplink communications of the first RAT, as further described.

[0034] Figure 2The device diagram of the base station 120 shown in FIG. 2 includes a single network node (e.g., a gNodeB). The functionality of the base station 120 can be distributed across multiple network nodes or devices and can be distributed in any manner suitable to perform the functionality described herein. Such branched base station functionality is variously termed and includes terms such as central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), baseband unit (BBU), remote radio head (RRH), and / or remote radio unit (RRU). The base station 120 includes an antenna 252, a radio frequency front end 254 (RF front end 254), one or more wireless transceivers (e.g., one or more LTE transceivers 256 and / or one or more 5G NR transceivers 258) for communicating with the UE 110. The RF front end 254 of the base station 120 can couple or connect the LTE transceivers 256 and the 5G NR transceivers 258 to the antenna 252 to facilitate various types of wireless communication. The antenna 252 of the base station 120 can include an array of multiple antennas that are configured in a similar or different manner to one another. The antenna 252 and the RF front end 254 can be tuned to, and / or tunable to, one or more frequency bands defined by the 3GPP LTE and 5G NR communication standards and implemented by the LTE transceivers 256 and / or the 5G NR transceivers 258. Further, the antenna 252, the RF front end 254, the LTE transceivers 256, and / or the 5G NR transceivers 258 can be configured to support beamforming, such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (massive MIMO), for transmission and reception of communications with the UE 110.

[0035] The base station 120 also includes a processor 260 and a computer-readable storage medium 262 (CRM 262). The processor 260 can be a single-core processor or a multiple-core processor, composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, and so on. The CRM 262 can include any suitable memory or storage device such as random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or Flash memory, which can be used to store device data 264 of the base station 120. The device data 264 includes network scheduling data, radio resource management data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and / or an operating system of the base station 120, which are executable by the processor 260 to enable communications with the UE 110.

[0036] In aspects, the CRM 262 of the base station 120 also includes a base station-communication system protocol stack 266 (BS protocol stack 266). Alternatively or additionally, the BS protocol stack 266 can be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the base station 120. At times, the BS protocol stack 266 communicates with the UE protocol stack 216 using complementary operations such as those described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0037] CRM 262 also includes an uplink spectrum sharing manager 268. Alternatively or additionally, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 can be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the base station 120. While FIG. 200 illustrates the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 separate from the BS protocol stack 266, alternative or additional implementations include aspects of the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 in the BS protocol stack 266.

[0038] In some aspects, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 communicates a PUCCH configuration statically allocated to uplink communications of the base station 120 to a second base station 120. Alternatively or additionally, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 identifies one or more conditions indicating low utilization of uplink air interface resources of the base station 120. Generally, low utilization corresponds to an expected number of transmissions using the uplink air interface resources below a threshold and / or zero. In aspects, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 determines, based on a synchronized transmission, that the expected number of transmissions using the uplink air interface resources is below a threshold and / or zero.

[0039] To illustrate, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 monitors downlink communications on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and identifies an absence of downlink transmissions on the PDSCH for a time interval. In various communication systems, a device (e.g., UE 110) receiving downlink transmissions over the PDSCH transmits an acknowledgement / negative acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) to the base station 120 using PUCCH resources allocated to uplink communications of the base station 120. More specifically, the device synchronously (e.g., within an expected timeframe) transmits the ACK / NACK to the base station such that the base station 120 expects to receive the ACK / NACK at a time. In aspects, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 identifies the lack of downlink communications on the PDSCH as a condition indicating low (expected) utilization of the uplink air interface resources because the lack of downlink PDSCH transmissions indicates a lack of corresponding ACK / NACK transmitted over the PUCCH. Based on identifying one or more conditions, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 directs a second base station to utilize the PUCCH resources allocated to uplink communications of the base station 120. Alternatively or additionally, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 indicates a start time to use the PUCCH resources and / or a stop time to cease using the PUCCH resources. In some aspects, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 communicates a Boolean or toggle field indicating availability (e.g., available, unavailable, change in availability) of the PUCCH resources.

[0040] In some aspects, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 receives an indication of a PUCCH resource configuration from an uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 of another base station. In other words, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 receives a PUCCH resource configuration for a PUCCH resource allocated to an uplink communication of the other base station. The uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 identifies a UE to forward the PUCCH resource configuration to and directs the base station 120, such as through the BS protocol stack 266 and using a radio resource control (RRC) message, to transmit the PUCCH resource configuration to the UE. To illustrate, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 identifies the UE based on a priority (e.g., the UE exchanges a higher priority communication relative to other UEs attached to the base station 120) or based on a load (e.g., the UE exchanges more user plane data relative to other UEs attached to the base station 120). Alternatively or additionally, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 receives an indication of a low utilization of the PUCCH resource and determines to use the PUCCH resource allocated to the uplink communication of the other base station, such as by identifying that a number of connected UEs exceeds a first threshold or that expected uplink communications from the attached UEs exceed a second threshold. In aspects, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 directs the UE, such as through the BS protocol stack 266 and using a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message, a layer 1 messaging, a layer 2 messaging, or a RRC message, to utilize the PUCCH resource. This can include the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 indicating to the UE a start time and / or a stop time regarding when to begin using and / or terminate using the PUCCH resource allocated to the uplink communication of the other base station.

[0041] The CRM 262 also includes a base station manager 270. Alternatively or additionally, the base station manager 270 can be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the base station 120. At least in some aspects, the base station manager 270 configures the LTE transceiver 256 and the 5G NR transceiver 258 to communicate with the UE 110, as well as with a core network, such as the core network 150.

[0042] The base station 120 also includes an inter-base station interface 272, such as an Xn and / or X2 interface, which the base station manager 270 configures to exchange user plane data, control plane information, and / or other data / information between other base stations to manage communications of the base station 120 with the UE 110. The base station 120 includes a core network interface 274, which the base station manager 270 configures to exchange user plane data, control plane information, and / or other data / information with core network functions and / or entities.

[0043] Air interface resources

[0044] Figure 3 An air interface resource extending between user equipment and a base station is illustrated, which can be used to implement various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing. The air interface resource 302 can be partitioned into resource units 304, each of which occupies some intersection of frequency and duration. A portion of the air interface resource 302 is shown graphically in a grid or matrix having a plurality of resource blocks 310, including example resource blocks 311, 312, 313, 314. An example of a resource unit 304 thus includes at least one resource block 310. As shown, time is depicted along the horizontal dimension as the abscissa, and frequency is depicted along the vertical dimension as the ordinate. The air interface resource 302 can span any suitable designated frequency range and / or can be partitioned into intervals of any designated duration, as defined by a given communication protocol or standard. Increments of time can correspond to, for example, milliseconds (mSec). Increments of frequency can correspond to, for example, megahertz (MHz).

[0045] In a general example operation, the base station 120 allocates portions of the air interface resource 302 (e.g., resource units 304) for uplink and downlink communications. Each resource block 310 of the network access resource can be allocated to support a respective wireless communication link 130 (wireless link 130) of a plurality of user equipment 110. In the lower left corner of the grid, the resource block 311 can span a designated frequency range 306 and include a plurality of subcarriers or frequency subbands, as defined by a given communication protocol. The resource block 311 can include any suitable number of subcarriers (e.g., 12), each corresponding to a respective portion (e.g., 15 kHz) of the designated frequency range 306 (e.g., 180 kHz). The resource block 311 can also span a designated time interval 308 or time slot (e.g., lasting approximately one-half of a millisecond or 7 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols), as defined by the given communication protocol. The time interval 308 includes subintervals that can each correspond to a symbol, such as an OFDM symbol. As shown, each resource block 310 can include a plurality of resource elements 320 (REs) corresponding to or defined by the subcarriers of the frequency range 306 and the subintervals (or symbols) of the time interval 308. Alternatively, a given resource element 320 can span multiple frequency subcarriers or symbols. Thus, a resource unit 304 can include at least one resource block 310, at least one resource element 320, etc. Figure 3 As shown, each resource block 310 can include a plurality of resource elements 320 (REs) corresponding to or defined by the subcarriers of the frequency range 306 and the subintervals (or symbols) of the time interval 308. Alternatively, a given resource element 320 can span multiple frequency subcarriers or symbols. Thus, a resource unit 304 can include at least one resource block 310, at least one resource element 320, etc.

[0046] Example Protocol Stack

[0047] Figure 4An example block diagram of a wireless network stack model 400 (network stack 400) that can be used to implement various aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing is illustrated. The network stack 400 represents a communication system of the example environment 100 that can be used to implement aspects of adaptive selection of network access modes by user equipment. The network stack 400 includes a user plane 402 and a control plane 404. Upper layers of the user plane 402 and the control plane 404 share common lower layers in the network stack 400. A wireless device (e.g., UE 110 or base station 120) implements each layer as an entity that communicates with another device using the protocols defined for the layer. For example, the UE 110 uses a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity to communicate with a peer PDCP entity in the base station 120 using PDCP.

[0048] Lower layers that are shared include a physical (PHY) layer 406, a medium access control (MAC) layer 408, a radio link control (RLC) layer 410, and a PDCP layer 412. The PHY layer 406 provides a hardware specification for devices that communicate with each other. Thus, the PHY layer 406 establishes how devices are connected to each other, helps manage how communication resources are shared among devices, and the like.

[0049] The MAC layer 408 specifies how data is transported between devices. Generally, the MAC layer 408 provides a way in which data packets to be transmitted are encoded and decoded into bits as part of the transmission protocol.

[0050] The RLC layer 410 provides data transport services to higher layers in the network stack 400. Generally, the RLC layer 410 provides error correction, packet segmentation and reassembly, and management of data transport in various modes (such as acknowledged, unacknowledged, or transparent mode).

[0051] The PDCP layer 412 provides data transport services to higher layers in the network stack 400. Generally, the PDCP layer 412 provides transport of user plane 402 and control plane 404 data, header compression, ciphering, and integrity protection.

[0052] Above the PDCP layer 412, the stack branches into a user plane 402 and a control plane 404. Layers of the user plane 402 include an optional service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer 414, an internet protocol (IP) layer 416, a transmission control protocol / user datagram protocol (TCP / UDP) layer 418, and an application layer 420 that transports data using the interface 106. The optional SDAP layer 414 is present in 5G NR networks. The SDAP layer 414 maps quality of service (QoS) flows for each data radio bearer and labels a QoS flow identifier in uplink and downlink data packets for each packet data session. The IP layer 416 specifies how to transport data from the application layer 420 to a destination node. The TCP / UDP layer 418 is used to verify that data packets intended to be transported to a target node have arrived at the target node using TCP or UDP for data transport by the application layer 420. In some implementations, the user plane 402 can also include a data service layer (not shown) that provides data transport services to transport application data, such as IP packets that include web browsing content, video content, image content, audio content, or social media content.

[0053] The control plane 404 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer 424 and a non-access stratum (NAS) layer 426. The RRC layer 424 establishes and releases connections and radio bearers, broadcasts system information, or performs power control. The RRC layer 424 also controls a resource control state of the UE 110 and directs the UE 110 to perform operations according to the resource control state. Example resource control states include a connected state (e.g., an RRC connected state) or a disconnected state, such as an inactive state (e.g., an RRC inactive state) or an idle state (e.g., an RRC idle state). Generally, if the UE 110 is in the connected state, a connection with the base station 120 is active. In the inactive state, the connection with the base station 120 is suspended. If the UE 110 is in the idle state, the connection with the base station 120 is released. Generally, the RRC layer 424 supports 3GPP access but not non-3GPP access (e.g., WLAN communication).

[0054] The NAS layer 426 provides support for mobility management (e.g., using a fifth generation mobility management (5GMM) layer 428) and packet data bearer context (e.g., using a fifth generation session management (5GSM) layer 430) between the UE 110 and entities or functions in the core network, such as an access and mobility management function of the 5GC 151. The NAS layer 426 supports 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0055] In the UE 110, each layer in the user plane 402 and the control plane 404 of the network stack 400 interacts with a corresponding peer layer or entity in the base station 120, a core network entity or function, and / or a remote service to support user application and control operations of the UE 110 in the RAN 140.

[0056] Enhanced uplink spectrum sharing

[0057] To increase capacity and provide reliable wireless connections, evolving communication systems seek new means to more efficiently utilize air interface resources. As one example, various RATs often allocate physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources to a fixed region of a frequency band, such as a top portion of the frequency band and / or a bottom portion of the frequency band. By allocating PUCCH resources at the edges of the frequency band, the RAT reduces fragmentation and leaves a central portion of the frequency band for other transmissions, such as physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions that utilize multiple (contiguous) resource blocks.

[0058] In aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing, base stations of different RATs communicate with one another to dynamically share statically allocated air interface resources, such as sharing PUCCH resources statically allocated for uplink communications using a first RAT for transmitting uplink communications using a second RAT. The static allocation of air interface resources can include a time-based allocation that statically partitions air interface resources using orthogonal (e.g., separate and non-overlapping) time periods, such as frames, subframes, or slots. Alternatively or additionally, the static allocation can include a frequency-based allocation that statically partitions air interface resources into orthogonal frequency portions (e.g., subcarriers, frequency subbands). As yet another example, the static allocation can include a resource block-based allocation, such as described with reference to Figure 3 those described. Dynamically sharing the statically allocated uplink air interface resources improves the efficiency of utilization of the corresponding air interface resources and results in increased capacity and reliability of wireless connections in the corresponding wireless network.

[0059] Figure 5 FIG. illustrates an example signaling and control transaction diagram 500 in accordance with one or more aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing. In aspects, the operations of the signaling and control transaction can be performed by any combination of devices, including a first base station 501 (e.g., the base station 121 or the base station 122), a second base station 502 (e.g., the base station 122 or the base station 121), and the UE 110, using aspects described with reference to any of Figures 1 to 4

[0060] ​In FIG. 500, base station 502 implements a second RAT (RAT2) and base station 501 implements a first RAT (RAT1), where the second and first RATs operate in a common radio frequency spectrum and utilize a common air interface resource partition. Alternatively or additionally, the first cell / coverage area provided by base station 501 at least partially overlaps with the second cell / coverage area provided by base station 502. As one example of the common radio frequency spectrum and / or common air interface resource partition, assume RAT1 and RAT2 correspond to 4G and 5G (or vice versa), and base station 501 and base station 502 operate in a common radio frequency spectrum (e.g., a portion of sub-3 GHz band) using a common air interface resource partition, such as described with reference to Figure 3 FIG. 500. Also assume that base station 501 and base station 502 reside in a common RAN (e.g., RAN 140). Because base station 501 and base station 502 utilize a common air interface resource partition and operate in a common radio frequency spectrum, a network operator controlling configuration of the corresponding RAN statically allocates a first portion of the common radio frequency spectrum (e.g., air interface resources, such as PUCCH resources) for RAT1 uplink communications with base station 501 and a second portion of the common radio frequency spectrum (e.g., air interface resources, such as additional PUCCH resources) for RAT2 uplink communications with base station 502. This can include the network operator allocating the common radio frequency spectrum using any combination of time-based, frequency-based, and / or resource block-based portions for the static allocation, as further described. While FIG. 500 illustrates base station 501 and base station 502 as separate entities, some aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing include elements of co-location of base station 501, 502 (e.g., sharing the same baseband unit, sharing the same baseband processor, or the same baseband hardware resources).

[0061] As shown, at 505, the base station 502 communicates a second PUCCH resource configuration for a second PUCCH resource to the UE 110. As one example, the base station 502 communicates the second PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110 during an initial access procedure. Alternatively or additionally, the base station 502 communicates the second PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110 after a radio resource control (RRC) configuration / reconfiguration. The base station 502 can communicate a common PUCCH configuration that conveys cell-specific PUCCH configuration parameters and / or UE-specific PUCCH configuration. To illustrate, the base station 502 communicates any combination of timing information, PUCCH format parameters, code rate, resource identity (ID), resource block (RB) allocation, PUCCH region, reference signal structure information, coding scheme, etc., as the second PUCCH resource configuration. In some aspects, the second PUCCH resource configuration corresponds to a PUCCH resource statically allocated to uplink control communications of the second RAT to the base station 502, as further described. The base station 502 communicates the second PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110 in compliance with the second RAT. In aspects, the base station 502 communicates the air interface resource configuration based on an air interface resource partition defined by the second RAT (e.g., Figure 3 ) and / or a common air interface resource partition shared between multiple RATs.

[0062] At 510, the base station 502 and the UE 110 maintain a connection with each other. To illustrate, the UE 110 maintains a connection with the base station 502 while operating in an RRC CONNECTED mode or an RRC INACTIVE mode. In aspects, the UE 110 maintains a connection with the base station 502 while operating in a standalone mode (e.g., communicating with the base station 502 using a single RAT). In other words, the UE 110 maintains a connection with the base station 502 without establishing a second connection with the base station 501 (e.g., without using carrier aggregation (CA), without using dual connectivity (DC)). Alternatively, the UE 110 maintains a connection with the base station 502 while operating in a non-standalone mode, which can include a second connection with the base station 501 or a third base station (not shown).

[0063] At 515, the base station 501 communicates a first PUCCH resource configuration for a first PUCCH resource to the base station 502. To illustrate, the base station 501 communicates the first PUCCH resource configuration to the base station 502 using an Xn interface (e.g., the interface 105). In aspects, the first PUCCH resource configuration corresponds to a PUCCH resource statically allocated for uplink communications of a first RAT in a second cell supported by the base station 501, as further described. The base station 501 communicates any combination of configuration parameters indicating the first PUCCH resource configuration, such as any combination of timing information, PUCCH format parameters, code rate, resource identity (ID), resource block (RB) allocation, PUCCH region, reference signal structure information, coding scheme, etc. In aspects, the first PUCCH resource is different from a second PUCCH resource (e.g., the first PUCCH resource does not overlap in time or frequency with the second PUCCH resource). For example, the first PUCCH resource uses a different frequency partitioning, duration, coding scheme, etc. than the first PUCCH resource. In aspects, the base station 501 communicates the air interface resource configuration based on an air interface resource partitioning defined by the first RAT (e.g., Figure 3 ) and / or a common air interface resource partitioning shared between multiple RATs.

[0064] At 520, the base station 502 communicates the first PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110. In aspects, the base station 502 communicates the first PUCCH resource configuration by communicating the first PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110 in an RRC message, where the base station 502 implicitly or explicitly directs the UE 110 to refrain from using the first PUCCH resource until receiving a notification to begin using the first PUCCH resource.

[0065] At 525, the base station 501 detects low utilization of the first PUCCH resource. For example, the base station 501 detects one or more conditions indicating low (expected) utilization of the uplink resource, such as by detecting an absence of downlink transmissions on the PDSCH for a time interval. To illustrate, the base station 501 sets a timer and monitors for outgoing downlink transmissions by the base station 501 on the PDSCH by the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268. If the base station 501 detects an outgoing downlink transmission on the PDSCH, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 resets the timer. Alternatively, if the timer expires, the uplink spectrum sharing manager 268 detects an occurrence of a condition of low utilization (e.g., an absence of downlink transmissions) because the lack of downlink PDSCH transmissions indicates a lack of corresponding ACK / NACK transmitted over the PUCCH, as further described.

[0066] At 530, the base station 501 indicates (an expected) low utilization of the first PUCCH resource to the base station 502. In aspects, the base station 501 indicates the low utilization to the base station 502 using an Xn interface (e.g., interface 105). Alternatively or additionally, the base station 501 communicates one or more time metrics with the low utilization indication, such as a start time metric indicating when the first PUCCH resource is available for borrowing / sharing, a stop time metric indicating when the first PUCCH resource is not available for borrowing / sharing, or a duration metric indicating a time window of PUCCH resource availability. While FIG. 500 illustrates the base station 502 communicating the second PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110 at 505 and prior to communicating the first PUCCH resource configuration at 520 (via the communication between the base stations 501 and 502 at 515), other implementations can include the base station 502 communicating the first PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110 at 505 prior to communicating the second PUCCH resource configuration.

[0067] At 535, the base station 502 determines to use the first PUCCH resource. As one example, the base station 502 identifies a number of connected UEs (e.g., remaining connected with the base station 502 as described at 510) exceeds a first threshold and determines to use the first PUCCH resource. As another example, the base station 502 determines expected uplink HARQ feedback (e.g., ACK / NACK signals) from the UE 110 exceeds a second threshold.

[0068] At 540, the base station 502 directs the UE 110 to utilize the first PUCCH resource. For example, the base station 502 directs the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource using a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message, a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE), layer 1 signaling, a layer 2 message, or an RRC message. In some aspects, the base station 502 indicates a start time and / or a stop time to the UE 110, where the start time indicates when to begin using the first PUCCH resource and the stop time indicates when to terminate use of the first PUCCH resource. Alternatively or additionally, the base station 502 transmits a Boolean or toggle field indicating availability (e.g., available, not available) of the first PUCCH resource. In aspects, the base station 502 communicates the first PUCCH resource configuration of the first PUCCH resource at 520 using a first communication mechanism (e.g., RRC message) that is slower relative to a second communication mechanism (e.g., MAC CE, layer 1 signaling, layer 2 message). Alternatively or additionally, the base station 502 communicates the first and second PUCCH resource configurations using similar communication mechanisms (e.g., RRC messaging, layer 1 signaling, layer 2 messaging).

[0069] By transmitting 520 the first PUCCH resource configuration to the UE 110 separately from the guidance 540 to utilize the first PUCCH resource, the base station 502 can quickly respond to the low utilization indication from the base station 501 and direct the UE 110 to begin using the first PUCCH resource. To illustrate, the communication 520 including the first PUCCH resource configuration can utilize more air interface resources relative to the communication 540 directing the UE 110 to begin using the first PUCCH resource because the first PUCCH resource configuration includes more information (e.g., air interface resource configuration parameters). Using separate guidance communications 540 reduces transmission latency and improves the efficiency of the base stations (and corresponding RATs and cells) sharing the first PUCCH resource.

[0070] At 545, the UE 110 transmits one or more uplink control communications using the first PUCCH resource, where the UE 110 transmits the uplink communications using the second RAT supported by the base station 502. To illustrate, the UE 110 transmits one or more ACK / NACKs to the base station 502 using the first PUCCH resource, where the ACK / NACKs provide HARQ feedback for downlink PDSCH transmissions from the base station 502 (using the second RAT). Alternatively or additionally, the UE 110 transmits one or more uplink user-plane data communications using the first PUCCH resource.

[0071] Generally, a first UE communicating with a first base station using a first RAT has a different identity (e.g., cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) information) than a second UE communicating with a second base station using a second RAT. In aspects, the UE 110 encodes or scrambles uplink transmissions using the first PUCCH resource with identity information associated with the second RAT. The base station 502 then decodes and / or descrambles the uplink transmissions using the identity information (e.g., the C-RNTI of the second base station). However, because the base station 501 uses different identity information (e.g., the C-RNTI of the first base station), the base station 501 is unable to decode and / or descramble uplink transmissions from the UE 110 that use the first PUCCH resource and are encoded using the C-RNTI of the second base station.

[0072] At 550, the UE 110 optionally transmits the uplink communication using the second PUCCH resource. This can include the UE 110 transmitting the uplink communication using the second PUCCH resource concurrently with the uplink communication transmitted using the first PUCCH resource at 545. To illustrate, assume that the base station 502 communicated at 540 a start time and a stop time defining a PUCCH resource availability time window when the UE 110 can transmit the uplink communication using the first PUCCH resource. In aspects, the UE 110 concurrently uses the second PUCCH resource and the first PUCCH resource such as by transmitting uplink control plane information using the first PUCCH resource while transmitting additional uplink control information using the second PUCCH resource.

[0073] At 555, the base station 501 optionally detects the (intended) utilization of the first PUCCH resource. For example, similar to described at 525, the base station 501 detects one or more transmissions on the PDSCH and identifies the transmission as indicating the (intended) utilization of the uplink resource (e.g., ACK / NACK). At 560 and based on detecting the (intended) utilization of the first PUCCH resource, the base station 501 optionally directs the base station 502 to terminate use of the first PUCCH resource and / or indicate that the first PUCCH resource is unavailable. To illustrate and similar to described at 530, the base station 501 communicates with the base station 502 using the Xn interface and directs the base station to terminate use of the first PUCCH resource and / or that the first PUCCH resource is unavailable. At 565 and based on receiving the direction to terminate use of the first PUCCH resource, the base station 502 directs the UE 110 to terminate use of the first PUCCH resource such as by communicating a MAC CE, layer 1 signaling, layer 2 messaging, or RRC messaging direction as described at 540. At 570, the UE 110 terminates use of the first PUCCH resource based on receiving the direction to terminate use of the first PUCCH resource.

[0074] Dynamically sharing statically allocated uplink air interface resources allows participating devices (such as base stations and corresponding UEs) to more efficiently use air interface resources and improve the capacity and reliability of corresponding wireless networks.

[0075] Example methods

[0076] Reference Figure 6 、 7 Example methods 600, 700, and 800 according to one or more aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing are described with respect to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8. Figure 6FIG. 13 illustrates an example method 1300 for performing aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing, such as sharing physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) with a second cell implemented using a second RAT by a base station. In some implementations, the operations of method 1300 are performed by a base station, such as base station 120 of FIG. 1 and / or base station 502 of FIG. 5. Figure 1 Figure 5

[0077] At 605, the base station transmits, to a UE, a second air interface resource configuration for a second air interface resource allocated to a second cell using a second RAT. For example, base station 502 transmits a second PUCCH resource configuration for a second PUCCH resource to UE 110, as described at 505 of FIG. 5. Figure 5

[0078] At 610, the base station receives a first air interface resource configuration for a first air interface resource allocated to a first cell using a first RAT. To illustrate, base station 502 receives a first PUCCH resource configuration from base station 501, as described at 515 of FIG. 5, where the cell / coverage area provided by base station 502 at least partially overlaps the cell / coverage area provided by base station 501. In aspects, the first air interface resource configuration (e.g., the first PUCCH resource configuration) is different from the second air interface resource configuration (e.g., the first PUCCH resource does not overlap in time or frequency with the second PUCCH resource). In aspects, the first air interface resource configuration uses an air interface resource partition defined by the first RAT and / or a common air interface resource partition used by the first RAT and the second RAT. Figure 5

[0079] At 615, the base station transmits, to the UE, the first air interface resource configuration. For example, as described at 520 of FIG. 5, base station 502 transmits the first PUCCH resource configuration to UE 110, such as through an RRC message transmitted using the second RAT implemented by base station 502. Figure 5

[0080] At 620, the base station receives a low utilization indication for the first air interface resource. To illustrate, base station 502 receives a low utilization indication from base station 501, as described at 530 of FIG. 5. Figure 5

[0081] At 625, the base station directs the UE to utilize the first air interface resource to transmit, to the base station, an uplink communication using the second RAT. For example, as described at 535 of FIG. 5, base station 502 directs UE 110 to utilize the first PUCCH resource to transmit, to base station 502, an uplink communication using the second RAT. Figure 5 ​​​​​​As shown at 540, the base station 502 directs the UE 110 to utilize the first PUCCH resource. In some aspects, the base station 502 transmits a start time, a stop time, and / or an air interface resource availability (e.g., PUCCH resource availability) duration to the UE 110. Alternatively or additionally, the base station 502 transmits a toggle field indicating availability of the first air interface resource (e.g., the first PUCCH resource).

[0082] Figure 7 FIG. 13 illustrates an example method 1300 for performing aspects of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing, such as sharing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) with a second cell using a second radio access technology (RAT). In some implementations, the operations of method 1300 are performed by a user equipment (UE), such as the UE 110 of FIG. 1. Figure 1

[0083] At 705, the UE receives, from a base station, a second air interface resource configuration of a second air interface resource. For example, as described at 505 of FIG. 5, the UE 110 receives, from the base station 502, a second PUCCH resource configuration, an RRC configuration message, and / or an RRC reconfiguration message during an initial access procedure. In aspects, the second air interface resource (e.g., the second PUCCH resource) is allocated to a second cell using a second RAT, where the second air interface resource configuration utilizes an air interface resource partition defined by the second RAT. Figure 5

[0084] At 710, the UE receives, from a base station, a first air interface resource configuration of a first air interface resource allocated to a first cell using a first RAT. To illustrate, the UE 110 receives, from the base station 502, a first PUCCH resource configuration, as described at 520 of FIG. 5. Alternatively or additionally, the first air interface resource configuration is different than the second air interface resource configuration (e.g., the second air interface resource configuration and the first air interface resource configuration do not overlap). In aspects, the first cell and the second cell at least partially overlap. Alternatively or additionally, the first base station and the second base station include co-located elements (e.g., baseband units, baseband processors). In aspects, the first air interface resource configuration utilizes an air interface resource partition defined by the first RAT and / or a common air interface resource partition utilized by the first RAT and the second RAT. Figure 5

[0085] At 715, the UE receives, from the base station, a toggle field indicating to use the first air interface resource for uplink communications using the second RAT and to the base station. For example, as described at 540 of FIG. 5, the UE 110 receives, from the base station 502, a toggle field indicating availability of the first PUCCH resource. Figure 5 ​​​As shown at 540, the UE 110 receives an indication to utilize the first PUCCH resource from the base station 502 in a MAC CE, a PDCCH message, layer 1 signaling, layer 2 messaging, and / or RRC messaging. In some aspects, the UE 110 receives a start time, a stop time, and / or a duration of air interface resource availability (e.g., PUCCH resource availability) that collectively or individually indicate when to begin and / or terminate use of the first air interface resource. Alternatively or additionally, the UE receives a toggle field that indicates availability (e.g., available, unavailable) of the first air interface resource.

[0086] At 720, the UE transmits a first of the uplink communications to the base station using the first air interface resource and the second RAT. To illustrate, as Figure 5 As described at 545, the UE 110 transmits an uplink communication to the base station 502 using the first PUCCH resource and the second RAT.

[0087] Figure 8 FIG. illustrates an example method 800 for performing enhanced uplink spectrum sharing, such as sharing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource statically allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) with a second cell using a second RAT implemented by a second base station. In some implementations, the operations of method 800 are performed by a base station, such as Figure 1 the base station 120 of FIG. Figure 5 the base station 501 of FIG.

[0088] At 805, the first base station communicates an air interface resource configuration of an air interface resource allocated to a first cell using a first RAT to a second base station. For example, as Figure 5 As described at 515, the base station 501 communicates the first PUCCH resource configuration to the base station 502. In aspects, the first cell / coverage area at least partially overlaps with the second cell / coverage area. At times, the base station 502 and the base station 501 include co-located elements (e.g., baseband units, baseband processors).

[0089] At 810, the first base station detects low utilization of the air interface resource. To illustrate, as Figure 5 As described at 525, the base station 501 detects one or more conditions indicating low utilization of the PUCCH resource, such as a lack of downlink communications on the PDSCH.

[0090] At 815, the first base station communicates a low utilization indication to the second base station to direct the second base station to utilize the air interface resource. For example, as Figure 5 As described at 530, the base station 501 communicates the low utilization indication to the base station 502.

[0091] The order in which the method blocks of methods 600, 700, and 800 are described is not intended to be limiting and any number of the described method blocks can be skipped or combined in any order to implement a method or alternative methods. Generally, any of the components, modules, methods, and operations described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods can be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is local and / or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations can include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Alternatively or additionally, any of the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components, such as and without limitation, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip (SoCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and the like.

[0092] Although techniques and apparatuses for enhanced uplink spectrum sharing have been described in language specific to features and / or methods, it is to be understood that the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of enhanced uplink spectrum sharing.

[0093] In the following, several examples are described:

[0094] Example 1 : A method performed by a second base station for sharing a physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resource allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology, RAT, with a second cell using a second RAT (and implemented by the second base station), the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment, UE, a second PUCCH resource configuration for a second PUCCH resource allocated to the second cell using the second RAT; receiving, from a first base station, a first PUCCH resource configuration for a first PUCCH resource allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first PUCCH resource being different from the second PUCCH resource, the first cell at least partially overlapping with the second cell; transmitting, to the UE, the first PUCCH resource configuration; receiving a low utilization indication of the first PUCCH resource; and, based on receiving the low utilization indication, instructing the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource for transmitting uplink communications to the second base station using the second RAT.

[0095] Example 2: The method of example 1, further comprising: receiving a first uplink communication from the UE using the first PUCCH resource and the second RAT.

[0096] Example 3: The method of example 2, wherein receiving the first uplink communication further comprises: receiving control plane information from the UE; or receiving user plane data from the UE.

[0097] Example 4: The method of any one of examples 2 and 3, wherein receiving the first uplink communication further comprises: receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) to a downlink communication transmitted by the base station to the UE using the second RAT as the control plane information.

[0098] Example 5: The method of any one of examples 2 to 4, further comprising: receiving a second uplink communication from the UE using a second PUCCH resource and the second RAT.

[0099] Example 6: The method of any one of examples 1 to 5, wherein transmitting the second PUCCH resource configuration further comprises transmitting at least one of: a start time to begin using the first PUCCH resource; or a stop time to terminate using the first PUCCH resource.

[0100] Example 7: The method of any one of examples 1 to 6, wherein receiving the low utilization indication for the first PUCCH resource further comprises: receiving a toggle field indicating availability of the first PUCCH resource.

[0101] Example 8: The method of any one of examples 1 to 7, wherein the first base station and the second base station are co-located.

[0102] Example 9: The method of any one of examples 1 to 8, wherein receiving the low utilization indication further comprises: receiving the low utilization indication from the second base station.

[0103] Example 10: The method of any one of examples 1 to 9, wherein receiving the first PUCCH resource configuration further comprises: receiving the first PUCCH resource configuration from the first base station using an Xn interface.

[0104] Example 11: The method of any one of examples 1 to 10, wherein the first PUCCH resource configuration specifies a different frequency partitioning than the second PUCCH resource configuration.

[0105] Example 12: The method of any one of examples 1 to 11, wherein the first PUCCH resource configuration indicates at least one of: a resource block allocation; a PUCCH region; a reference signal structure; or a coding scheme.

[0106] Example 13: The method of any of examples 1 to 12, wherein instructing the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource further comprises: instructing the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource using a radio resource control (RRC) message; instructing the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource using a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE); or instructing the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource using layer 1 signaling.

[0107] Example 14: The method of any of examples 1 to 13, wherein instructing the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource further comprises: instructing the UE to utilize the first PUCCH resource when the UE operates in a standalone mode.

[0108] Example 15: A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for sharing resources of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) with a second cell using a second RAT implemented by a base station, the method comprising: receiving, from the base station, a second PUCCH resource configuration for a second PUCCH resource allocated to the second cell using the second RAT; receiving, from the base station, a first PUCCH resource configuration for a first PUCCH resource allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first PUCCH resource being different from the second PUCCH resource, the first cell at least partially overlapping with the second cell; receiving, from the base station, an indication to utilize the first PUCCH resource for uplink communications to the base station using the second RAT; and transmitting, to the base station, a first uplink communication using the first PUCCH resource and the second RAT.

[0109] Example 16: The method of example 15, wherein receiving the indication to utilize the first PUCCH resource further comprises at least one of: receiving a start time to begin utilizing the first PUCCH resource; and receiving a stop time to terminate utilizing the first PUCCH resource; or receiving a toggle field indicating availability of the first PUCCH resource.

[0110] Example 17: The method of example 15 or example 16, wherein transmitting the first uplink communication comprises: transmitting control plane information using the first PUCCH resource and the second RAT.

[0111] Example 18: The method of example 17, wherein transmitting the control plane information for the second RAT using the first PUCCH resource further comprises: transmitting an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) for a downlink communication received from the base station and using the second RAT.

[0112] Example 19: The method of any of examples 15 to 18, wherein the first PUCCH resource configuration indicates a different frequency partitioning than the second PUCCH resource configuration.

[0113] Example 20: The method of any of examples 15 through 19, wherein the first PUCCH resource configuration indicates at least one of: a resource block allocation; a PUCCH region; a reference signal structure; or a coding scheme.

[0114] Example 21 : The method of any of examples 15 through 20, wherein receiving the indication to utilize the first PUCCH resource further comprises: receiving the indication in a radio resource control (RRC) message; receiving the indication in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE); or receiving the indication in layer 1 signaling.

[0115] Example 22: The method of any of examples 15 through 21, wherein transmitting the first uplink communication further comprises: transmitting the first uplink communication while operating in a standalone mode.

[0116] Example 23: The method of any of examples 15 through 22, wherein transmitting the first uplink communication further comprises: encoding the first uplink communication using identity information associated with the base station.

[0117] Example 24: The method of any of examples 15 through 23, further comprising: transmitting a second uplink communication to the base station using a second PUCCH resource and a second RAT.

[0118] Example 25: A method performed by a first base station for sharing air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) implemented by the first base station with a second cell using a second RAT implemented by a second base station, the method comprising: transmitting, to the second base station, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource configuration of a PUCCH resource allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first cell at least partially overlapping with the second cell; detecting low utilization of the PUCCH resource; and based on detecting the low utilization, transmitting, to the second base station, a low utilization indication.

[0119] Example 26: The method of example 25, wherein transmitting the low utilization indication further comprises: transmitting a start time to begin using the PUCCH resource; or transmitting a switch field indicating the PUCCH resource is available.

[0120] Example 27: The method of example 25 or example 26, further comprising transmitting, after transmitting the low utilization indication, one of: a stop time to terminate using the PUCCH resource; or a switch field indicating the PUCCH resource is not available.

[0121] Example 28: The method of example 27, further comprising: after the stop time, receiving an uplink communication on the PUCCH resource using the first RAT, the uplink communication directed to the first base station.

[0122] Example 29: The method of any of examples 25 to 28, wherein detecting low utilization of the PUCCH resource further comprises determining that an expected number of transmissions using the PUCCH resource is below a threshold.

[0123] Example 30: The method of example 29, wherein detecting low utilization of the PUCCH resource further comprises determining that an expected number of acknowledgement / negative-acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) using the PUCCH resource.

[0124] Example 31 : A method performed by a base station for sharing air interface resources allocated to a second cell using a second radio access technology (RAT) with a first cell using a first RAT implemented by the base station, the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a first air interface resource configuration of first air interface resources allocated to a first cell using the first RAT (and implemented by the base station); receiving a second air interface resource configuration of second air interface resources allocated to a second cell using the second RAT, the second air interface resources being different from the first air interface resources, the second cell at least partially overlapping the first cell; transmitting, to the UE, the second air interface resource configuration; receiving an indication of low utilization of the second air interface resources; based on receiving the indication of low utilization, directing the UE to utilize the second air interface resources for transmitting communications to the base station using the first RAT.

[0125] Example 32: The method of example 31, wherein the first air interface resource configuration of the first air interface resources is a first physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) air interface resource configuration of first PUCCH resources, and wherein the second air interface resource configuration of the second air interface resources is a second PUCCH resource configuration of second PUCCH resources.

[0126] Example 33: A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for sharing air interface resources allocated to a second cell using a second radio access technology (RAT) with a first cell using a first RAT implemented by a base station, the method comprising: receiving, from the base station, a first air interface resource configuration of first air interface resources allocated to a first cell using the first RAT; receiving, from the base station, a second air interface resource configuration of second air interface resources allocated to a second cell using the second RAT, the second air interface resources being different from the first air interface resources, the second cell at least partially overlapping the first cell; receiving, from the base station, an indication to utilize the second air interface resources for communicating with the base station using the first RAT; and transmitting, to the base station, signals utilizing the second air interface resources and the first RAT.

[0127] Example 34: The method of example 33, wherein the first air interface resource configuration for the first air interface resource is a first physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, air interface resource configuration for a first PUCCH resource, and wherein the second air interface resource configuration for the second air interface resource is a second PUCCH resource configuration for a second PUCCH resource.

[0128] Example 35: The method of any of examples 2-5, further comprising: directing the UE to transmit an uplink data channel communication on the first PUCCH time-frequency resource.

[0129] Example 36: The method of example 35, further comprising: receiving the uplink data channel communication from the UE on the first PUCCH time-frequency resource.

[0130] Example 37: The method of example 15, further comprising: receiving a direction to use the first PUCCH resource or the second PUCCH resource for an uplink data channel.

[0131] Example 38: The method of example 37, further comprising: transmitting an uplink data channel communication using the first PUCCH time-frequency resource or the second PUCCH time-frequency resource.

[0132] Example 39: A method performed by a second base station for sharing air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology, RAT, with a second cell using a second RAT (and implemented by the second base station), the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment, UE, a second air interface resource configuration for a second air interface resource allocated to the second cell using the second RAT; receiving, from a first base station, a first air interface resource configuration for a first air interface resource allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first air interface resource configuration being different from the second air interface resource configuration, and the first cell at least partially overlapping the second cell; transmitting, to the UE, the first air interface resource configuration; receiving a low utilization indication of the first air interface resource; based on receiving the low utilization indication, directing the UE to utilize the first air interface resource to transmit an uplink communication to the second base station using the second RAT; and receiving the first uplink communication from the UE using the first air interface resource and the second RAT.

[0133] Example 40: The method of example 39, wherein the first air interface resource configuration for the first air interface resource is a first physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, air interface resource configuration for a first PUCCH resource, and wherein the second air interface resource configuration for the second air interface resource is a second PUCCH resource configuration for a second PUCCH resource.

[0134] Example 41 : The method of example 39 or example 40, further comprising receiving a second uplink communication from the UE using the second air interface resource and the second RAT.

[0135] Example 42: The method of any of examples 39 to 41, wherein receiving the first uplink communication further comprises receiving control plane information from the UE; or receiving user plane data from the UE.

[0136] Example 43: The method of any of examples 39 to 42, wherein receiving the first uplink communication further comprises receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) to a downlink communication transmitted by the second base station to the UE using the second RAT as the control plane information.

[0137] Example 44: The method of any of examples 39 to 43, wherein transmitting the second air interface resource configuration further comprises transmitting at least one of: a start time to begin using the first air interface resource; or a stop time to terminate using the first air interface resource.

[0138] Example 45: The method of any of examples 39 to 44, wherein receiving the low utilization indication for the first PUCCH resource further comprises receiving a toggle field indicating availability of the first PUCCH resource.

[0139] Example 46: The method of any of examples 39 to 45, wherein receiving the low utilization indication further comprises receiving the low utilization indication from the second base station.

[0140] Example 47: The method of any of examples 39 to 46, wherein the first air interface resource configuration specifies one or more different air interface resource configuration parameters compared to the second air interface resource configuration, the one or more different air interface resource configuration parameters comprising one or more of: a frequency partitioning; a resource block allocation; a PUCCH region; a reference signal structure; or a coding scheme.

[0141] Example 48: A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for sharing air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology (RAT) with a second cell using a second RAT implemented by a base station, the method comprising: receiving, from the base station, a second air interface resource configuration for second air interface resources allocated to the second cell using the second RAT; receiving, from the base station, a first air interface resource configuration for first air interface resources allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first air interface resource configuration being different from the second air interface resource configuration, and the first cell at least partially overlapping the second cell; receiving, from the base station, an indication to utilize the first air interface resources for uplink communications to the base station using the second RAT; and transmitting, to the base station, a first uplink communication using the first air interface resources and the second RAT.

[0142] Example 49: The method of example 48, wherein the first air interface resource configuration for the first air interface resources is a first physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) air interface resource configuration for first PUCCH resources, and wherein the second air interface resource configuration for the second air interface resources is a second PUCCH resource configuration for second PUCCH resources.

[0143] Example 50: The method of example 48 or example 49, further comprising: transmitting, to the base station, a second uplink communication using the second air interface resources and the second RAT.

[0144] Example 51 : The method of any of examples 48 to 50, wherein receiving the indication to utilize the first PUCCH resources further comprises at least one of: receiving a start time to begin using the first PUCCH resources; receiving a stop time to terminate using the first PUCCH resources; or receiving a toggle field indicating availability of the first PUCCH resources.

[0145] Example 52: The method of any of examples 48 to 51, wherein transmitting the first uplink communication comprises: transmitting control plane information using the first PUCCH resources and the second RAT.

[0146] Example 53: The method of any of examples 48 to 52, wherein transmitting the first uplink communication further comprises: encoding the first uplink communication using identity information associated with the base station.

[0147] Example 54: A method performed by a first base station for sharing air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first radio access technology, RAT, implemented by the first base station, with a second cell using a second RAT implemented by a second base station, the method comprising: transmitting, to the second base station, an air interface resource configuration of air interface resources allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first cell at least partially overlapping the second cell; detecting low utilization of the air interface resources; and based on detecting the low utilization, transmitting, to the second base station, a low utilization indication.

[0148] Example 55: The method of example 54, wherein the air interface resource configuration of air interface resources is a first physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, resource configuration of first PUCCH resources.

[0149] Example 56: A base station comprising: a processor; and a computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by the processor, direct the base station to perform the method of any of examples 1-14, 25-32, 35, 36, 39-47, 54, and 55.

[0150] Example 57: A user equipment comprising: a processor; and a computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by the processor, direct the user equipment to perform the method of any of examples 15-24, 33, 34, 37, 38, and 48-53.

[0151] Example 58: A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by a processor, perform a method to be performed as recited by any of examples 1-53.

Claims

1. A method performed by a second base station for sharing first air interface resources allocated to a first cell with a second cell, the first cell using a first RAT (radio access technology) and implemented by a first base station, the second cell using a second RAT and implemented by the second base station, the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a second air interface resource configuration for second air interface resources allocated to the second cell using the second RAT; receiving, from the first base station, a first air interface resource configuration for the first air interface resources allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first air interface resource configuration being different from the second air interface resource configuration, and the first cell at least partially overlapping with the second cell; transmitting, to the UE, the first air interface resource configuration; receiving, from the first base station, a low utilization indication for the first air interface resources; based on receiving the low utilization indication, directing the UE to utilize the first air interface resources for transmitting uplink communications to the second base station using the second RAT; and receiving, from the UE, first uplink communications using the first air interface resources and the second RAT.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the first air interface resource configuration for the first air interface resources is a first PUCCH (physical uplink control channel) resource configuration for first PUCCH air interface resources, and wherein the second air interface resource configuration for the second air interface resources is a second PUCCH resource configuration for second PUCCH resources.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, second uplink communications using the second air interface resources and the second RAT.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, receiving the first uplink communications further comprises: receiving control plane information from the UE; or receiving user plane data from the UE.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, receiving the first uplink communications further comprises: receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) for a downlink communication transmitted by the second base station to the UE using the second RAT as control plane information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, transmitting the second air interface resource configuration comprises: transmitting at least one of: a start time to begin using the first air interface resources; or a stop time to cease using the first air interface resources.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein, receiving the low utilization indication for the first PUCCH resources further comprises: receiving a toggle field indicating availability of the first PUCCH resources.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, transmitting the first air interface resource configuration to the UE comprises: directing the UE to refrain from using the first air interface resources until receiving a notification from the second base station.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, the first air interface resource configuration specifies one or more first air interface resource configuration parameters that are different from one or more second air interface resource configuration parameters specified in the second air interface resource configuration, the one or more first air interface resource configuration parameters comprising one or more of: a frequency partition; a resource block allocation; a PUCCH region; a reference signal structure; or a coding scheme.

10. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for communicating via a second cell using first air interface resources allocated to a first cell, the first cell using a first RAT (radio access technology) and implemented by a first base station, the second cell using a second RAT and implemented by a second base station, the method comprising: receiving, from the second base station, a second air interface resource configuration of second air interface resources allocated to the second cell using the second RAT; receiving, from the second base station, a first air interface resource configuration of first air interface resources allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first air interface resource configuration being different from the second air interface resource configuration, and the first cell at least partially overlapping the second cell; receiving, from the second base station, an indication to utilize the first air interface resources for uplink communications to the second base station using the second RAT; and transmitting, to the second base station, first uplink communications using the first air interface resources and the second RAT.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, the first air interface resource configuration of the first air interface resources is a first PUCCH (physical uplink control channel) resource configuration of first PUCCH air interface resources, and wherein the second air interface resource configuration of the second air interface resources is a second PUCCH resource configuration of second PUCCH resources.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: transmitting, to the second base station, second uplink communications using the second air interface resources and the second RAT.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein, receiving the indication further comprises at least one of: receiving a start time to begin using the first PUCCH resources; receiving a stop time to terminate use of the first PUCCH resources; or receiving a toggle field indicating availability of the first PUCCH resources.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein, transmitting the first uplink communications comprises: transmitting control plane information using the first PUCCH resources and the second RAT.

15. The method of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein, transmitting the first uplink communications further comprises: encoding the first uplink communications using identity information associated with the second base station.

16. A method performed by a first base station for sharing air interface resources allocated to a first cell using a first RAT (radio access technology) implemented by the first base station with a second cell using a second RAT implemented by a second base station, the method comprising: communicating, to the second base station, an air interface resource configuration of the air interface resources allocated to the first cell using the first RAT, the first cell at least partially overlapping the second cell; detecting low utilization of the air interface resources; and based on detecting the low utilization, communicating, to the second base station, a low utilization indication.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, the air interface resource configuration of the air interface resources is a first PUCCH (physical uplink control channel) resource configuration of first PUCCH air interface resources.

18. A base station comprising: a processor; and a memory. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by the processor, direct the base station to perform the method of any one of claims 1-9, 16, and 17.

19. A user equipment comprising: a processor; and a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by the processor, direct the user equipment to perform the method of any one of claims 10-15.

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