Control information for uplink transmissions on periodic resources

Abstract

The disclosure relates to transmissions from a communication device in a wireless communication network to infrastructure equipment using multiple periodically occurring instances of uplink resources. Control information is transmitted for a particular instance of uplink resources based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition comprises: uplink data to be transmitted in a specific instance of the uplink resource is a start or an end of uplink data to be transmitted, an amount of uplink data to be transmitted in the specific instance of the uplink resource being different from an amount of uplink data to be transmitted in a previous instance of the uplink resource, and the modulation and coding scheme for encoding uplink data to be transmitted in a particular instance of the uplink resource is different from the modulation and coding scheme for encoding uplink data to be transmitted in a previous instance of the uplink resource.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication devices, infrastructure equipment and methods for more efficient operation of communication devices in a wireless communication network.

[0002] This application claims the Paris Convention priority of European patent application No. EP22180840.5 filed on June 23, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] The "background technology" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the presently named inventors, within the scope described in this background technology section and in aspects of the description that may not be prior art at the time of filing, is neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art with respect to the present invention.

[0004] Previous generation mobile telecommunication systems (such as those based on the UMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architectures defined by 3GPP) are able to support a wider range of services beyond the simple voice and messaging services provided by previous generations of mobile telecommunication systems. For example, with the improved radio interface and enhanced data rates provided by LTE systems, users are able to enjoy high data rate applications such as mobile video streaming and mobile video conferencing that were previously only available via fixed line data connections. Therefore, there is a strong demand for the deployment of such networks, and it is expected that the coverage areas of these networks (i.e., the geographic locations where the networks can be accessed) will continue to grow rapidly.

[0005] Current and future wireless communication networks are expected to routinely and efficiently support communications with an ever-increasing range of devices associated with a wider range of data traffic profiles and types than existing systems are optimized to support. For example, it is expected that future wireless communication networks will be expected to efficiently support communications with devices including reduced complexity devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, high-resolution video displays, virtual reality headsets, extended reality (XR), etc. Some of these different types of devices may be deployed in very large numbers, such as low-complexity devices used to support the "Internet of Things", and may generally be associated with the transmission of relatively small amounts of data with relatively high latency tolerance. Other types of devices, such as those supporting high-definition video streaming, may be associated with the transmission of relatively large amounts of data with relatively low latency tolerance. Other types of devices, such as those used for autonomous vehicle communications and for other critical applications, may be characterized in that data should be transmitted over a network with low latency and high reliability. A single device type may also be associated with different traffic profiles / characteristics depending on the application it is running. For example, different considerations may be made for efficiently supporting data exchange with a smartphone when the smartphone is running a video streaming application (high downlink data) compared to when the smartphone is running an Internet browsing application (sporadic uplink and downlink data) or used by emergency responders for voice communications in an emergency scenario (data subject to strict reliability and latency requirements).

[0006] In view of this, it is expected that current wireless communication networks (such as those that may be referred to as 5G or New Radio (NR) systems / new radio access technology (RAT) systems or indeed future 6G wireless communications) will need to efficiently support connections for a wide range of devices associated with different applications and different characteristic data service profiles and requirements.

[0007] One example of a new service is called an Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) service, which, as the name suggests, requires data units or packets to be transmitted with high reliability and low communication latency. Another example of a new service is Extended Reality (XR), which can be provided by various user devices (such as wearable devices). XR combines the real world and the virtual environment, incorporating aspects such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR), and therefore requires high quality and minimized interaction latency. Therefore, services such as URLLC and XR are challenging examples for both LTE-type communication systems and 5G / NR communication systems, as well as future generations of communication systems.

[0008] The increasing use of different types of network infrastructure equipment and terminal devices associated with different traffic profiles has created new challenges to be addressed for efficiently handling communications in wireless communication systems. Summary of the invention

[0009] The present disclosure may help solve or alleviate at least some of the problems discussed above.

[0010] Some embodiments of the present technology may provide a communication device for operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising: a transceiver configured to send a signal to and / or receive a signal from an infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data; a controller configured to control the transceiver; and a memory storing instructions. Execution of these instructions causes the communication device to: determine that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network; determine a plurality of periodically occurring uplink resource instances of the wireless access interface in which the uplink data is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources; determine control information related to the uplink data independently of the wireless communication network; and send the determined control information for a particular instance of the instances of the uplink resources to the wireless communication network if a predetermined condition is met. Here, the predetermined condition is at least one of the following: the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, the amount of the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data sent in the previous instance of the uplink resource, and the modulation and coding scheme for encoding the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the modulation and coding scheme used to encode the uplink data sent in the previous instance of the uplink resource. It also causes the communication device to send the uplink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource in each of the multiple instances of the uplink resource.

[0011] Other embodiments of the present technology may provide a method for operating a first communication device, which is configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from a first infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network; determining multiple periodically occurring uplink resource instances of the wireless access interface in which the uplink data will be sent, the uplink resources including at least data resources; independently of the wireless communication network, determining control information related to the uplink data; sending the determined control information for a specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network; sending the uplink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource of the specific instance of the uplink resource; receiving a feedback indication from a second infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second infrastructure device exceeds a predetermined threshold; and in response to receiving the feedback indication, adjusting the sending of the uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network.

[0012] Embodiments of the present technology, in addition to communication devices, also relate to infrastructure equipment, methods for operating communication devices and infrastructure equipment, circuits for communication devices and infrastructure equipment, wireless communication systems, computer programs, and computer-readable storage media, which can allow more efficient use of radio resources by communication devices operating in a wireless communication network.

[0013] Accordingly aspects and features of the disclosure are defined in the appended claims.

[0014] It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and not restrictive of the present technology.The described embodiments, together with further advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] A more complete understanding of the present disclosure and many of its attendant advantages will be readily appreciated as they become better appreciated by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

[0016] Figure 1 schematically represents some aspects of an LTE-type wireless telecommunications system that may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2 schematically represents some aspects of a new radio access technology (RAT) wireless telecommunications system that may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of exemplary infrastructure equipment and communications devices that may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 It shows how to allocate separate spatial layer resources to different UEs;

[0020] Figure 5 It shows how to allocate separate frequency domain resources to different UEs;

[0021] Figure 6 It shows how to allocate separate time domain resources to different UEs;

[0022] Figure 7 An example of pre-allocated dedicated resources including separate control resources and data resources for UE-based scheduling is shown;

[0023] Figure 8 A partially schematic partial message flow diagram representation of a wireless communication system including a communication apparatus and infrastructure equipment according to an embodiment of the present technology is shown;

[0024] Fig. 9 A flow chart is shown, which illustrates a process of communication in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present technology;

[0025] Fig.10 An example of including control information in communications with infrastructure equipment when certain predetermined conditions are met according to an embodiment of the present technology is shown;

[0026] Fig.11 shows an example of physical resource blocks used by a communication device to transmit data to infrastructure equipment, illustrating the use of frequency hopping, according to an embodiment of the present technology;

[0027] Fig.12 A partially schematic, partial message flow diagram representation of a wireless communication system including a communication apparatus and infrastructure equipment according to an embodiment of the present technology is shown; and

[0028] Fig.13A and Fig. 13B A flow chart is shown, which illustrates the process of communication in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Long Term Evolution Advanced Radio Access Technology (4G)

[0030] Figure 1A schematic diagram is provided showing some basic functions of a mobile telecommunication network / system 6 which typically operates according to LTE principles, but which may also support other radio access technologies, and which may be suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure as described herein. Figure 1 Certain aspects of the various elements of the telecommunications network and their corresponding modes of operation are well known and defined in the relevant standards managed by the 3GPP (RTM) body and are also described in a number of books on the subject (e.g., Holma H. ​​and Toskala A [1]). It will be understood that operational aspects of the telecommunications network discussed herein that are not specifically described (e.g., with respect to specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between the different elements) may be implemented in accordance with any known technique (e.g., in accordance with the relevant standards and known proposed modifications and additions to the relevant standards).

[0031] The network 6 comprises a plurality of base stations 1 connected to a core network 2. Each base station provides a coverage area 3 (ie a cell) within which data can be communicated to and from a communication device 4. Figure 1 Each base station 1 is shown as a single entity in the figure, but those skilled in the art will understand that some functions of a base station may be performed by different interconnected elements, such as an antenna (or multiple antennas), a remote radio head, amplifiers, etc. One or more base stations may together form a radio access network.

[0032] Data is sent from the base station 1 to the communication device 4 within its corresponding coverage area 3 via a radio downlink. Data is sent from the communication device 4 to the base station 1 via a radio uplink. The core network 2 routes data to and from the communication device 4 via the corresponding base station 1, and provides functions such as authentication, mobility management, billing, etc. The terminal device may also be referred to as a mobile station, user equipment (UE), user terminal, mobile radio, communication device, etc. The services provided by the core network 2 may include connection to the Internet or to an external telephone service. The core network 2 may also track the location of the communication device 4 so that it can efficiently contact (i.e., page) the communication device 4 to send downlink data to the communication device 4.

[0033] Base stations, as examples of network infrastructure equipment, may also be referred to as transceiver stations, Node Bs, eNode Bs, eNBs, gNode Bs, gNBs, etc. In this regard, different terms are often associated with different generations of wireless telecommunication systems for elements that provide broadly comparable functionality. However, certain embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented equally in different generations of wireless telecommunication systems, and for simplicity, certain terms may be used regardless of the underlying network architecture. That is, the use of a particular term with respect to certain exemplary implementations is not intended to indicate that such implementations are limited to only a certain generation of networks that may be most associated with that particular term.

[0034] New Radio Access Technology (5G)

[0035] Figure 2 An exemplary configuration of a wireless communication network using some terminology proposed for and used in NR and 5G is shown. Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRPs) 10 are connected to distributed control units (DUs) 41, 42 via connection interfaces represented by lines 16. Each of the TRPs 10 is arranged to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface within a radio frequency bandwidth available to the wireless communication network. Thus, each of the TRPs 10 forms a cell of the wireless communication network as represented by a circle 12 within a range for performing radio communications via the wireless access interface. Thus, a wireless communication device 14 within a radio communication range provided by the cell 12 can transmit and receive signals to and from the TRP 10 via the wireless access interface. Each of the distributed units 41, 42 is connected to a central unit (CU) 40 (which may be referred to as a control node) via an interface 46. The central unit 40 is then connected to a core network 20, which may contain all other functions required to transmit data for transmission to and from the wireless communication devices, and the core network 20 may be connected to other networks 30.

[0036] Figure 2 The elements of the radio access network shown in FIG. 1 may be used in the same manner as described with respect to FIG. Figure 1 The corresponding elements of the LTE network described in the examples operate in a similar manner. It will be appreciated that Figure 2 The operational aspects of the telecommunications network shown in and operational aspects of other networks not specifically described discussed herein according to embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., with respect to specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between different elements) may be implemented according to any known technology (e.g., according to currently used methods for implementing such operational aspects of wireless telecommunications systems, e.g., according to relevant standards).

[0037] Figure 2The TRP 10 of the new RAT network may partially have functionality corresponding to a base station or eNode B of an LTE network. Similarly, the communication device 14 may have functionality corresponding to a UE device 4 known for operating with an LTE network. It will therefore be understood that operational aspects of the new RAT network (e.g., with respect to specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between different elements) may differ from those operational aspects known from LTE or other known mobile telecommunication standards. However, it will also be understood that each of the core network components, base stations, and communication devices of the new RAT network will be functionally similar to the core network components, base stations, and communication devices of the LTE wireless communication network, respectively.

[0038] In terms of broad top-level functionality, connecting to Figure 2 The core network 20 of the new RAT telecommunication system shown can be broadly considered to be similar to Figure 1 The core network 2 shown corresponds to the core network 2, and the corresponding central unit 40 and its associated distributed unit / TRP 10 can be broadly considered to provide Figure 1 The term network infrastructure equipment / access node may be used to encompass these elements and more conventional base station type elements of wireless telecommunication systems. Depending on the application at hand, the responsibility for scheduling transmissions scheduled over the radio interface between the corresponding distributed units and the communication device may lie with the control node / central unit and / or the distributed unit / TRP. The communication device 14 is Figure 2 1 is represented as being located within the coverage area of ​​the first communication cell 12. The communication device 14 can therefore exchange signaling with the first central unit 40 in the first communication cell 12 via one of the distributed units / TRPs 10 associated with the first communication cell 12.

[0039] You will also understand that Figure 2 It only represents one example of the proposed architecture for a telecommunication system based on a new RAT, in which the method according to the principles described herein may be employed, and in terms of wireless telecommunication systems having a different architecture, the functionalities disclosed herein may also be applied.

[0040] Thus, certain embodiments of the present disclosure as discussed herein may be implemented according to a variety of different architectures, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2) are implemented in a wireless telecommunications system / network. It will therefore be appreciated that the particular wireless telecommunications architecture in any given implementation is not particularly important to the principles described herein. In this regard, certain embodiments of the present disclosure may generally be described in the context of communications between network infrastructure equipment / access nodes and communication devices, wherein the particular nature of the network infrastructure equipment / access nodes and the communication devices will depend on the network infrastructure used for the implementation at hand. For example, in some scenarios, the network infrastructure equipment / access nodes may include a base station (such as, for example, Figure 1 The LTE type base station 1 shown in FIG. 1 is adapted to provide the functionality according to the principles described herein, while in other examples, the network infrastructure equipment may include Figure 2 A control unit / control node 40 and / or TRP 10 of the type shown in FIG. 1 is adapted to provide functionality according to the principles described herein.

[0041] Figure 3 Provided Figure 2 A more detailed schematic diagram of some of the components of the network shown in . Figure 3 As a simplified representation, Figure 2 The TRP 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a wireless transmitter 30, a wireless receiver 32, and a controller or control processor 34 that is operable to control the transmitter 30 and the wireless receiver 32 to send and receive radio signals to one or more UEs 14 within a cell 12 formed by the TRP 10. Figure 3 As shown, the exemplary UE 14 is shown to include a corresponding transmitter 49, a receiver 48 and a controller 44, which is configured to control the transmitter 49 and the receiver 48 to send signals representing uplink data to the wireless communication network via the wireless access interface formed by the TRP 10, and to receive downlink data as signals sent by the transmitter 30 and received by the receiver 48 according to normal operation.

[0042] The transmitters 30, 49 and the receivers 32, 48 (as well as other transmitters, receivers, and transceivers described with respect to the examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may include radio frequency filters and amplifiers as well as signal processing components and devices to transmit and receive radio signals in accordance with, for example, the 5G / NR standard. The controllers 34, 44 (as well as other controllers described with respect to the examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may be, for example, a microprocessor, a CPU, or a dedicated chipset configured to execute instructions stored on a computer-readable medium such as a non-volatile memory. The processing steps described herein may be performed, for example, by a microprocessor in combination with a random access memory, the microprocessor operating in accordance with instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. For ease of presentation, in Figure 3The transmitter, receiver and controller are schematically shown as separate elements in the Figure. However, it will be understood that the functionality of these elements may be provided in a variety of different ways, such as using one or more appropriately programmed programmable computers, or one or more appropriately configured application specific integrated circuits / circuits / chips / chip sets. It will be understood that the infrastructure equipment / TRP / base station and UE / communication device will typically include various other elements associated with their operating functions.

[0043] like Figure 3 As shown, the TRP 10 also includes a network interface 50 that is connected to the DU 42 via the physical interface 16. Thus, the network interface 50 provides a communication link for data and signaling traffic from the TRP 10 via the DU 42 and the CU 40 to the core network 20.

[0044] The interface 46 between the DU 42 and the CU 40 is referred to as the F1 interface, which can be a physical interface or a logical interface. The F1 interface 46 between the CU and the DU can operate according to the specifications 3GPP TS 38.470 and 3GPP TS 38.473, and can be formed by optical fiber or other wired or wireless high-bandwidth connections. In one example, the connection 16 from the TRP 10 to the DU 42 is via optical fiber. The connection between the TRP 10 and the core network 20 can generally be referred to as a backhaul, which includes the interface 16 from the network interface 50 of the TRP 10 to the DU 42 and the F1 interface 46 from the DU 42 to the CU 40.

[0045] URLLC and eURLLC

[0046] Systems incorporating NR technology are expected to support different services (or service types), which may be characterized by different requirements for latency, data rate and / or reliability. For example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services are characterized by high capacity, requiring support for up to 20 Gb / s. Ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) services require a single transmission of a 32-byte packet from the radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU entry point of the radio interface to the radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU exit point within 1 ms, with a reliability of 1-10. -5 (99.999%) or higher (99.9999%)[2].

[0047] Massive machine type communication (mMTC) is another example of a service that can be supported by NR-based communication networks. In addition, the system is expected to support further enhancements related to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to support services with new requirements for high availability, high reliability, low latency, and in some cases high precision positioning.

[0048] Enhanced URLLC (eURLLC) [3] specifies features that require high reliability and low latency, such as factory automation, transportation industry, power distribution, etc. in 5G systems. eURLLC is further enhanced to IIoT-URLLC [4], one of the goals of which is to enhance the UE feedback of hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions.

[0049] Future 6G wireless communications

[0050] As mentioned above, several generations of mobile communications have been standardized worldwide so far, with each generation taking about ten years to develop and introduce another new generation of communications. For example, several generations of mobile communications have moved from Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) (2G) to Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) (3G), from WCDMA (3G) to LTE (4G), and in recent years from LTE (4G) to NR (5G).

[0051] The latest generation of mobile communications is 5G, as mentioned above Figure 2 and Figure 3 As discussed in the exemplary configurations of NR, a number of additional features have been added in different releases to provide new services and capabilities. Such services include eMBB, IIoT, and URLLC as discussed above, but also include services such as 2-step random access (RACH), unlicensed NR (NR-U), cross-link interference (CLI) handling for time division duplex (TDD), positioning, small data transmission (SDT), multicast and broadcast service (MBS), reduced capability UE, vehicular communication (V2X), integrated access and backhaul (IAB), UE energy saving, non-terrestrial network (NTN), NR operation up to 71 GHz, IoT over NTN, non-public network (NPN), and radio access network (RAN) slicing.

[0052] However, as with every decade, a new generation (e.g., 6G) is expected to be developed and deployed in the near future (around 2030) and is expected to offer new services and capabilities that the current 5G cannot provide.

[0053] One of the research areas for future mobile communication networks is uplink (UL) scheduling enhancement, which is expected to be required due to the increase in the number of services that require low-latency communication and high reliability, as well as high-throughput UL data transmission from terminals, such as tactile Internet, audio-video live production, and extended reality (XR). Essentially, it is proposed that the mobile terminal should be able to schedule unrestricted UL resources as soon as data arrives in its buffer for transmission, taking into account link adaptation parameters, so that the transmission is guaranteed to be successful to a large extent.

[0054] A typical use case (e.g., for broadcast television production) is a camera that uses a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) / Internet Protocol (IP) protocol stack to transmit a video stream. In Layer 2 (L2) of this protocol stack, the Radio Link Control Unacknowledged Mode (RLC-UM) mode will be configured for UDP. Thus, dedicated (and possibly regular) resources can be configured by the network using techniques such as periodic UL grants or configuration grants. Such techniques have already been developed and are available for use.

[0055] As an example scenario, there may be a video algorithm that requires the camera not to transmit any uplink video frames if the view does not change. But as soon as the view changes, the video codec will have data in the L2 buffer. If relying on traditional techniques, the camera / UE must request UL resources before transmitting on the uplink. This may involve additional signaling and latency, which is not good for live production.

[0056] In this case, the UE must wait for a UL timeslot to send a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), which includes a scheduling request (SR), and then must wait again for the network to receive the SR, allocate resources for the UE, and indicate the resource allocation within the downlink control information (DCI) carried by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In addition, the network does not necessarily know how much data is in the UE's buffer, and can therefore only schedule limited data for the UE until the UE sends a buffer status report (BSR) via, for example, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and must wait again to schedule a larger amount of data based on the BSR.

[0057] Further aspects of UL scheduling may be found in the co-pending European patent application published as EP3837895 [5], the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0058] Link Adaptation in Existing Mobile Communication Networks

[0059] The lower layers (MAC and physical layers) of mobile communication systems are designed to create radio waveforms for transmitting data between a transmitter and a receiver given some expected radio propagation conditions between the communicating gNB and the UE. In traditional link layer designs, these layers are designed to allow the radio communication system to cope with a given degree of radio propagation impairments. The success of mobile communication systems over the past few decades is largely due to the adoption of link adaptation, which helps maximize throughput. In mobile communication systems such as 3G, 4G, and 5G, the link layer design has many choices of forward error correction (FEC) code rates, modulation constellations, waveform types, and transmission power levels. These can be selected jointly as a set of transmission parameters. Each set can be considered as a parameterization for generating a transmission signal that results from making a joint selection of that set. A given set is expected to generate a waveform or signal for transmission that is different from what another set would generate. Therefore, a particular set of transmission parameters can be intentionally selected, which is expected to generate a transmission signal that is somewhat more suitable for a set of prevailing radio channel propagation conditions than another set.

[0060] This method of designing the link layer is quite lengthy and laborious because it is difficult to intentionally determine a set of choices for all configuration parameters. This is first and foremost because the process of selecting between specific communication signal processing techniques such as FEC coding schemes (e.g., low-density parity check (LDPC) codes, Turbo codes, or Polar codes) is not easy. Secondly, this is because even after a specific communication signal processing technique has been selected, it is also a cumbersome process to decide a set of possible configurations that must be designed and standardized for the selected technique. As an example, if we only consider FEC, the radio communication system designer may have to first select an FEC scheme (LDPC code, Turbo code, or Polar code, etc.), and then after selecting the FEC scheme, it will be necessary to decide what block size and code rate to support, etc., and then proceed to a similar process of modulation constellations, etc.

[0061] Assuming that a radio communication system has been designed, such system design has already chosen a coding scheme. In addition, it supports a designed number of possible codeword block sizes, a designed number of code rates for each block size, a designed number of modulation constellations, etc. Link adaptation allows the UE and gNB to work together to automatically determine:

[0062] 1. The prevailing radio propagation conditions that will affect the data being transmitted; and

[0063] 2. The most appropriate set of link layer configuration parameters to be used (block size, code rate, modulation constellation, etc.) in order to maximize the throughput of transmitted data and / or transmission resource utilization within the target reliability and / or latency under the prevailing radio propagation conditions.

[0064] This selection of an appropriate set of link layer configuration parameters is also not easy, as it presents a somewhat multi-dimensional problem, where the decision depends on, among other things, the given transport block size and the prevailing radio propagation channel conditions. Link adaptation in 4G and 5G systems is limited to selecting a configuration from a set of design choices. For link adaptation in the downlink (DL), the UE measures channel quality parameters on the reception of reference signals sent by the BS. The channel quality is then signaled to the BS as a channel quality indicator (CQI), which can be narrowband or wideband, depending on the bandwidth of the reference signal used for its measurement. Based on this CQI report from the UE, the BS can adjust its DL transmissions to maximize throughput. Similarly, for the UL, the BS measures channel quality parameters on the reception of the sounding reference signal (SRS) sent by the UE, and uses the results of these measurements to instruct the UE how to adjust the UL transmission to maximize throughput. In 4G and 5G systems, since the FEC type for the data channel is fixed, link adaptation only involves selecting from a set of possible FEC code rates and modulation constellations, i.e., modulation and coding schemes (MCS). Transmit power can also be considered an aspect of link adaptation, but is typically not adjusted per transport block.

[0065] Traditional Scheduling Methods in NR (5G)

[0066] In cellular wireless communications, the channel between a mobile terminal and a base station typically experiences rapid and significant variations that affect the quality of the received signal. In small-scale variations, the channel experiences frequency selective fading, which results in rapid and random variations in channel attenuation. In large-scale variations, there is shadowing that affects the average received signal strength, as well as distance-dependent path loss. In addition, there is interference caused by transmissions from nearby cells and terminals that distorts the signal at the receiver side.

[0067] In fact, the core of mitigating and exploiting the variation of channel conditions is the scheduling mechanism that implements link adaptation algorithms, such as adaptive modulation and coding scheme (AMCS), dynamic power control and channel-dependent scheduling.

[0068] In NR, the downlink and uplink multi-user scheduler is located at the base station (gNB), where, in principle, the scheduler allocates resources to the user with the best channel conditions in a given instance in both UL and DL, while also considering fairness among users. There are two types of scheduling mechanisms, and these are called dynamic scheduling (or dynamic grant) and semi-persistent scheduling (or configured grant).

[0069] In dynamic multi-user scheduling for downlink transmission, based on the instantaneous channel conditions of the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) derived from the downlink Reference Signal (RS) fed back by the terminal to the gNB at regular time intervals, the scheduler located at the gNB decides the best modulation and coding scheme (MCS), the best "available" frequency resources (physical resource blocks (PRBs)) and sufficient power for the downlink data transmission of some users at a given subframe / time slot after receiving the CQI. The downlink scheduling decision, called scheduling assignment, is carried by the Downlink Control Information (DCI), which is sent in the downlink to the scheduled users.

[0070] Similarly, for dynamic multi-user scheduling for uplink transmission, based on the instantaneous channel conditions of the terminal sending channel SRS to the gNB at regular time intervals, the scheduler located at the gNB decides the best modulation and coding scheme, best frequency resources (PRBs) for uplink data transmission from some users at a given subframe / time slot after deriving the CQI based on the last received SRS. The uplink scheduling decision, also known as scheduling assignment, is carried by DCI, which is sent in the downlink to the scheduled users.

[0071] However, with semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), resources are semi-statically pre-configured (e.g., via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) with a certain periodicity that is aligned with the data arrival rate of a particular service. There is an SPS for the downlink, called DL SPS, and an SPS for the uplink, called Configuration Grant (CG).

[0072] CG resources are mainly used to deliver multiple service classes from terminals in a timely manner, where such service classes have low data rates and some periodicity, as specified by URLLC / IIoT in NR Rel-16 / 17. Some examples of different service classes include industrial automation (factory of the future), energy power distribution and intelligent transmission systems, and voice.

[0073] Problems with Traditional Height Methods

[0074] As mentioned above, CG resources are mainly used for services with low data rates and some periodicity, as specified in URLLC / IIoT in NR Rel-16 / 17. However, for services with high data rates and requiring low latency, larger resources will be required. In this case, the UE can be pre-configured with dedicated larger resources for such uplink data transmission. These resources can be allocated by one of the following methods (or by a combination of these methods):

[0075] • Spatial domain allocation:In this method, the gNB pre-allocates specific spatial layers to the UE, where different UEs are assigned to different spatial layers in a bandwidth part (BWP), similar to Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO). This means that the UE has pre-allocated resources in the spatial domain for both control and data. Therefore, when the UE has data to send, the UE uses the resources in the spatial layers reserved for it. During a given transmission time interval, the spatial domain resources can be configured for the full set or a subset of the BWP resources. Figure 4 As shown in the example in, in the time slot, the first UE may be allocated the first spatial layer 61a, the second UE may be allocated the second spatial layer 62a, the third UE may be allocated the third spatial layer 63a, and the fourth UE may be allocated the fourth spatial layer 64a;

[0076] • Frequency domain allocation: Similarly, for spatial domain resources, dedicated frequency domain resources can be pre-allocated to UEs, where different UEs are allocated different frequency resources in the system bandwidth or BWP during a given transmission time interval. Thus, when data arrives at the UE's buffer, the UE uses the frequency resources allocated to it. Figure 5 As shown in the example in , the first UE may be allocated a first frequency resource set 61b (i.e., frequency range f0-f1), the second UE may be allocated a second frequency resource set 62b (i.e., frequency range f1-f2), the third UE may be allocated a third frequency resource set 63b (i.e., frequency range f2-f3), and the fourth UE may be allocated a fourth frequency resource set 64b (i.e., frequency range f3-f4); and

[0077] • Time domain allocation: Similarly, for both spatial domain resources and frequency domain resources, dedicated time domain resources may be pre-allocated for UEs, wherein different UEs are allocated different time resources (e.g., different sub-slots or time slots) in a component carrier or BWP. Figure 6 As shown in the example, the first UE can be allocated a first time resource set 61c (i.e., time range t0-t1), the second UE2 can be allocated a second time resource set 62c (i.e., time range t1-t2), the third UE can be allocated a third time resource set 63c (i.e., time range t2-t3), and the fourth UE can be allocated a fourth time resource set 64c (i.e., time range t3-t4).

[0078] The first problem with using pre-configured dedicated resources for uplink data transmission is that the resources are always pre-reserved, regardless of whether the UE actually has data to transmit. Even if the UE is able to release these pre-configured resources after completing its UL data transmission, the concern is that the signaling and commands for reallocating / reactivating the resources will come from the network, which may cause some intolerable delays for various services that require, for example, high-capacity URLLC on the uplink, and will also involve signaling from the UE to request resources via a scheduling request (SR) or initiating a RACH procedure, or will involve configuring resources for idle periods (i.e., periods during which no transmission is scheduled for the UE, but from which the UE can wake up immediately if necessary).

[0079] The second problem with pre-configured resources is that the UE may not have full control over the link adaptation parameters (such as frequency domain scheduling) to select the best frequency resource (PRB) among BWP, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), etc. Since the UE, after sending its measurements and / or SRS to the network, has to wait for the network to determine and signal such link adaptation parameters to the UE, this both introduces latency and means that the most appropriate parameters may not be selected since channel conditions may have changed between the time the UE performs measurements and / or sends SRS and the time the UE receives the link adaptation parameters from the gNB.

[0080] A third problem with pre-configured resources is that each time a UE has data to send, it may have to use all resources, since the gNB and the UE must each know the allocated resources. This may mean that the UE has to add padding bits in order to fill the remaining resources. This is clearly undesirable, as it unnecessarily increases the UE's transmit power consumption and also generates interference to other UEs located in the same cell or in neighboring cells.

[0081] Therefore, future mobile communication networks (such as 5G enhanced and 6G) ​​will require some enhancements for UL scheduling. A set of requirements for such enhanced UL scheduling can be envisioned as follows:

[0082] ■ Immediate transmission of UL data to reduce latency, such as for applications that require high-capacity UL data with low latency;

[0083] ■Select appropriate link adaptation parameters, such as optimal frequency resources (PRB), MCS, power, etc.;

[0084] ■Flexible resource allocation schemes, such as frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) and / or time domain resource allocation (TDRA);

[0085] ■ An efficient way to dynamically identify UEs and their resource allocation at the gNB receiver; and

[0086] ■ Improve the spectral efficiency of a cell so that when a UE does not use its allocated resources, another UE can in principle use such resources.

[0087] A solution to support UE-based scheduling according to such requirements is provided in [5], where a UE is pre-allocated dedicated uplink resources for UL control and data transmission, where these resources include UE-specific control resources and associated data resources. Figure 7 An example of such separate control resources 71 and data resources 72 within pre-allocated dedicated resources for a UE as described in [5] is shown.

[0088] Here, the UE controls its own scheduling decision (or allocation) for its UL data transmission, which will be constrained within the pre-allocated dedicated resources. UE-specific control resources 71 are always available for scheduling UL data on a specific BWP. Thus, the solution addresses the above requirements, including ensuring immediate UL data transmission, providing appropriate link adaptation and flexible resource allocation schemes, providing an efficient method of identifying UEs, and improving the spectral efficiency of the cell. Figure 7 As described in [5], if the gNB decodes the PUCCH 73 received in the control resources 71 but does not decode the PUSCH 74 received in the data resources 72, the gNB shall send a negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the UE. Otherwise, the gNB shall send a positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the UE indicating successful decoding of the PUSCH.

[0089] Such solutions allow the UE to minimize latency when there is data to be transmitted relative to conventional scheduling methods, since it does not have to wait to receive an uplink grant from the network (and does not need to transmit a BSR, e.g. in order to receive a grant large enough to transmit all the data in its buffer). Some such solutions are described in co-pending European patent application No. EP21204071.1 [6], the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The concept of UE-based scheduling in [6] makes use of configured grant (CG) resources, and such CG resources may include both a control portion (e.g. for uplink control information (UCI) or other control information) and a data portion. Here, as described in [6], the control portion may be embedded in the CG PUSCH, or may be carried separately on the PUCCH, while the data portion is transmitted on the CG PUSCH. However, one problem with such solutions is that since the control information (UCI) is always included in each CG resource instance for scheduling the UL data to be transmitted in that instance, the transmission of the control portion in each CG resource instance introduces a constant overhead to the uplink transmission, thereby reducing the overall efficiency, which may be a particular problem for delay-sensitive services such as URLLC and XR, as described above.

[0090] Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure seek to address the above-mentioned problem of control information overhead associated with UE-based scheduling and provide a solution.

[0091] Dynamic Adaptation of CG Resource Allocation

[0092] Essentially, embodiments of the present technology involve the UE determining and sending control information to infrastructure equipment only when certain predefined conditions are met. In an exemplary embodiment, when these conditions are not met, the UE may determine that the control information does not need to be sent, and the uplink resources required for the control information may be reused for uplink transmission of other data. Thus, on average, across multiple uplink transmission occasions, the overhead associated with uplink transmissions may be reduced, and the throughput of data may be increased.

[0093] Figure 8A partially schematic partial message flow diagram representation of a first wireless communication system including a communication device 81 and an infrastructure device 82 according to at least some embodiments of the present technology is shown. The communication device 81 is configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from a wireless communication network, for example, to and from the infrastructure device 82. Specifically, the communication device 81 may be configured to send data to and / or receive data from the wireless communication network (for example, to and / or from the infrastructure device 82) via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network (for example, a Uu interface between the communication device 81 and a radio access network (RAN) including the infrastructure device 82). The communication device 81 and the infrastructure device 82 each include a transceiver (or transceiver circuit) 81.1, 82.1, a controller (or controller circuit) 81.2, 82.2, a memory (not shown), and may include additional elements not described herein. Each of the controllers 81.2, 82.2 may be, for example, a microprocessor, a CPU, or a dedicated chipset, etc.

[0094] like Figure 8 As shown in the example of , the transceiver circuit 81.1 and the controller circuit 81.2 of the communication device 81 are configured to combine to: determine 83 that the communication device 81 has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network (e.g., to the infrastructure equipment 82); independently of the wireless communication network (e.g., without receiving any instructions or scheduling information from the infrastructure equipment 82); determine 84 instances of a plurality of periodically occurring uplink resources of the wireless access interface in which the uplink data is to be sent (e.g., pre-configured uplink resources, such as configured grant (CG) resources), wherein the instances of the uplink resources each comprising at least data resources; determining 85 control information relating to uplink data, again independently of the wireless communication network (without receiving any instructions, control information or parameters from the infrastructure device 82); sending 86 the determined control information relating to uplink data to the wireless communication network (e.g., to the infrastructure device 82) when certain predetermined conditions are met; and sending 87 uplink data to the wireless communication network (e.g., to the infrastructure device 82), wherein some portions of the data are sent in each of the instances of uplink resources that the communication device has scheduled for transmission of uplink data.

[0095] Here, in at least some embodiments, the predetermined condition may be one or more of the following: the uplink data to be sent in a specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, the amount of uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data sent in a previous instance of uplink data transmission, and the modulation and coding scheme for encoding the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the modulation and coding scheme used to encode the uplink data in the previous instance of uplink data transmission.

[0096] It will be clear to those skilled in the art that Figure 8 Certain details of the present disclosure are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, and determination steps 83 to 85 may be performed in a different order, or transmission steps 86 to 87 may be performed in a different order, or other steps not discussed above may be inserted into the process, such as sending control information to neighboring cells to allow neighboring cells to monitor interference to transmissions in these cells through the above-mentioned uplink transmissions.

[0097] Fig. 9 A flow chart is shown, which illustrates an exemplary process of communication in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present technology. Fig. 9 The process shown is to operate a communication device (e.g., Figure 8 The communication device 81 shown in the example of the method is configured to send signals to a wireless communication network and / or receive signals from a wireless communication network (for example, to an infrastructure device of the wireless communication network (for example, Figure 8 The infrastructure equipment 82 shown in the example of FIG. 8A sends a signal to or receives a signal from the infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network), and the communication device operates according to a scheduling mode based on the communication device to send uplink data.

[0098] The method begins at step S1. The method comprises: in step S2, determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network. In step S3, the process comprises: independently of the wireless communication network, determining a plurality of periodically occurring instances of uplink resources of a wireless access interface in which the uplink data is to be sent, wherein each of the instances of the uplink resources comprises at least data resources. In step S4, the method comprises: determining control information related to the uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network. In step S5, the method comprises: when certain predetermined conditions (e.g., regarding Figure 8The process comprises: sending the uplink data to the wireless communication network in at least one of the instances of the uplink resource, wherein some parts of the data are sent in each of the instances of the uplink resource that the communication device has scheduled for transmission of the uplink data. The process ends in step S7.

[0099] It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the above process is not limiting, and in fact, elements not described above may be included in the process without changing its basic characteristics, or the above elements may be combined into a single step, such as transmitting both control information and uplink data in a single step of the process, or the steps of the process may occur in an order different from that described above. For example, determining steps S2-4 may occur in any order, or the transmission step may occur in an order opposite to that described above. These adjustments to the above process are presented as examples to illustrate adjustments that may be made to the process by those skilled in the art without departing from the disclosed invention.

[0100] The UE-based scheduling includes a control part / control information (such as uplink control information (UCI)) and a data part. The control part can be embedded in the configured grant resources carried by the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, or it can be carried separately in the physical uplink control channel PUCCH. As those skilled in the art will know, the scheduled data part is usually carried on PUSCH.

[0101] In conventional systems, control information always accompanies data transmission, that is, whenever the UE sends a signal representing uplink data in the data section to the infrastructure equipment, the UE also sends control information to the infrastructure equipment via PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0102] However, the transmission of control information represents a constant overhead for transmission and occupies a constant portion of the uplink resources, where uplink signals representing data cannot be transmitted. Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to reduce this constant overhead so that a larger amount of data can be transmitted to the infrastructure equipment using the same physical resource blocks. Exemplary embodiments of the present proposal are directed to certain conditions under which control information can be transmitted.

[0103] In an exemplary embodiment, if the UE has a large amount of data to be sent to the network, and if multiple channel parameters related to the channel used to send uplink data do not change between instances of uplink transmission, it is obvious that the UE can continuously send data via the PUSCH on the CG resources. By taking advantage of this, when the UE sends uplink data to the network, the UE can avoid sending control information for multiple of these instances of uplink resources, and in this way the control overhead for transmission can be reduced. In other words, and in accordance with an example of the present technology, the UE can send control information related to an uplink transmission instance only at the beginning of the data to be sent to the network, at the end of the data to be sent to the network, when the resource allocation changes (i.e., the size of the amount of data to be sent in a particular uplink transmission instance), or when details related to the channel used to send uplink data to the network (such as the modulation and coding scheme used) change.

[0104] In order for the network to know the scheduling parameters related to the uplink transmission (e.g. frequency domain resource allocation, time domain resource allocation, modulation and coding scheme or transport block size) at the start of data transmission, the UE has to send control information together with the data part. Therefore, the start of an uplink transmission is an example of an instance in which the UE may transmit control information in addition to the data part of the transmission.

[0105] Another example of an instance where the UE can send control information to the network in addition to data is when the resource allocation (i.e. data size) for the UE changes, so that the network is informed of how large a physical resource block needs to be decoded. This is particularly important because XR, as well as many other future wireless communication applications, have variable data packet sizes.

[0106] Another example of an instance where the UE may need to notify the network is when the channel information of the channel used to carry signals between the UE and the network changes. One of the disadvantages of conventional CG is that it does not react to changes in channel conditions due to relative motion of the UE and the infrastructure equipment to which it sends signals, the location of the UE, or the presence of obstructions between the UE and the infrastructure equipment, resulting in suboptimal performance of the communication in terms of capacity. Therefore, dynamically updating the MCS when the channel changes significantly can increase the capacity of the system.

[0107] In the example where the communication link between the UE and the infrastructure equipment is based on a time division duplex TDD approach, this is possible because the UE already has channel knowledge due to channel reciprocity. In an alternative approach employing FDD, the network may inform the UE of the MCS, CQI or channel information related to the channel periodically or aperiodically. Another way in which the UE may trigger a network monitored MCS or channel change is by monitoring feedback, such as a HARQ-ACK sent by the network to the UE, which is related to a number of UL transmissions prior to the current communication instance between the UE and the infrastructure equipment (outer loop link adaptation).

[0108] A final example of when the UE may send control information other than the data portion to the network is when a particular instance of an uplink transmission is the final instance of an uplink transmission of a particular set of data to be transmitted. This is to inform the network that the UE does not require the resources temporarily scheduled for it.

[0109] Fig.10 Exemplary embodiments of the present technology are shown, which will be described in more detail below. Fig.10 A representation of a UE sending data to a network according to the present technique is given. The UE is scheduled using CG resources in even resources, with a period of every second time slot - n, n+2, n+4, n+6, etc. - such as Fig.10 1001. Between these configured resources are multiple resources that are not configured for uplink data transmission from the UE to the network, as shown in white squares 1002. Data transmission is indicated by black vertical arrows 803, whose size indicates the amount of data to be sent from the UE to the network. For example, a large arrow 1004 indicates that the amount of data to be sent from the UE to the network is larger than the small arrow 1003.

[0110] At time slot n, the UE begins sending control information and a data portion, in this example, the control information notifies the network about the resource allocation for the PUSCH that the UE is using to send to the network. The UE continues to send only the data portion in subsequent time slots, where the transmissions in subsequent time slots use the same parameters as the time slot indicating the start of the transmission. However, at time slot n+6 1005, the UE determines that it has additional data to be sent to the network to maintain the throughput and / or latency of the data. Therefore, the UE allocates more resources for the uplink transmission of the data and includes a new resource allocation containing more resources in the control information. The control information is sent to the network because in the example where the data resource size changes from time slot n+4 801 to time slot n+6 1005, the predetermined condition for the UE to send the control information is met. Therefore, the UE sends both the control information and the data portion to the network in time slot n+6 1005. In an alternative embodiment, the UE may send control information to the network to implement in the next time slot, for example, control information may be sent in the transmission in time slot n+4 1001 so that the network prepares a larger data resource allocation for the transmission in time slot n+6 1005. The UE continues to send only the data portion to the network in subsequent resources with the same parameters as the last control transmission (time slots n+8 and n+10, unmarked).

[0111] However, at time slot n+12 1006, the UE determines that one or more certain parameters related to the channel have changed. For example, the UE may have received a NACK from the network in response to a previous transmission instance, the network may have informed the UE of a change in the channel, such as a reduction in the SNR corresponding to the channel or other appropriate parameters related to the channel, or the UE may determine the change in certain parameters via channel reciprocity and measurements made on downlink communications. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing is provided as an exemplary method by which the UE may determine a channel change and is not intended to be limiting. Other suitable methods by which the UE may determine this may be contemplated and implemented in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0112] In response to determining this change in one or more parameters related to the channel, the UE may determine that it must update the modulation and coding scheme that the UE uses for uplink transmissions. Alternatively, the UE may make other changes to improve signal reception at the network side. In view of this determination, the UE then changes the MCS employed and includes both the data portion and control information in the uplink transmission, wherein the control information includes updated details related to the MCS used by the UE, in particular details that allow the network to successfully decode signals sent by the UE to the infrastructure equipment. As described above, in subsequent time slots n+14 and n+16 1007, the UE only sends the data portion because the control information used for these time slots is the same as the control information used for time slot n+12 1006.

[0113] At time slot n+18 1008, the UE determines that there are sufficient resources in time slot n+18 1008 to send the remaining data to be sent to the network. In other words, the UE determines that the data transmission in time slot n+18 1008 will be the final data transmission of the group of data, and the data to be sent in time slot n+18 1008 is the last data. In response, the UE notifies the network that the data sent in time slot n+18 1008 is the last data or the final data. In some exemplary embodiments, the notification to the network may be accomplished by including an indication that the data to be sent is the last data in the control information, and by the UE including the control information along with the data portion in the transmission to the network. In other exemplary embodiments, the UE may signal this in the second-to-last uplink resource (such as in this exemplary time slot n+16 1007) so that the network is notified before receiving the final transmission. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the UE may indicate to the network that the transmission is final by not sending control information or data part to the network in the next periodic uplink resource, or by skipping uplink resources, and therefore the infrastructure equipment does not detect DMRS. This allows the network to schedule resources to another communication device or devices if needed, and since the UE has no data to send to the network, no interference is expected.

[0114] This is the case in time slots n+20 and n+22 1009, where Fig.10 The outline of the box in the figure is changed to a dotted line to Fig.10 The key in indicates that there is no data available for transmission. Therefore, the UE does not transmit on these time slots, and the network may choose to schedule them to another communication device to perform uplink communication to the network.

[0115] In time slot n+24 1010, the UE has data to send to the network. Therefore, it follows the same process as described above. In particular, and with reference to the specific instance of the transmission in time slot n+24 1010, the transmission is the first transmission to the network, in other words, the beginning of sending data to the network, and therefore the UE determines that it must include both the data portion and the control information related to the data portion of the uplink transmission in the transmission. Therefore, the UE sends control information to the network to allow the network to decode the uplink transmission and follows a similar process as described above.

[0116] In one embodiment, if the amount of data is only sufficient for a single data transmission instance, the UE may include in the control information an indication that the transmission is the first transmission associated with the data, and an indication that the transmission is the final transmission associated with the data in the control information. The UE transmits the control information in addition to the data portion, and transmits the data portion in accordance with the control information transmitted to the network.

[0117] In another embodiment, if the amount of data is only sufficient for a single data transmission instance, the UE may include in the control information an indication that the transmission is the final transmission associated with the data, and may not include an indication that the transmission is the first transmission associated with the data in the control information. In this way, the network may be able to infer from the transmission that the data is the first transmission associated with the data, and may reduce the corresponding communication overhead.

[0118] At each uplink resource instance, the network (and specifically the infrastructure equipment) monitors the interface and checks if control information is present when a transmission is received. If control information is present, the network processes the data portion of the transmission in accordance with the control information. If control information is not present, the network assumes that the control information has not changed since the previous instance of uplink communication and processes the transmission in accordance with the control information from the previous instance of uplink communication. The network may generate a negative acknowledgement if it cannot decode a transmission on the PUSCH based on the last received control information and if it does not receive an indication that it has received the end of data to be sent to it (i.e., a "final data" indication).

[0119] The advantage of this is that the control overhead is significantly reduced, allowing larger data transmissions and increasing the capacity of the system without changing the PRBs used by the system. Another advantage is that for XR applications, only one CG resource with true periodicity is sufficient, as the size of the resource allocation and many of its other parameters can be updated dynamically. This replaces the traditional configuration, where multiple different sets of transmission resources and parameters are needed to handle the adaptation of the configuration and parameters, consuming many resources.

[0120] Dynamic Adaptation of CG Transmission Parameters

[0121] There are a number of transmission parameters that can be adjusted on the fly by the UE via control information sent to the network for the CG PUSCH. For example, these transmission parameters can be changed based on channel conditions as indicated by channel parameters or based on other impairments.

[0122] In the example of TDD communication, the first transmission parameter that can be adjusted is the configuration of the symbol. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, for TDD communication, the slot format is the arrangement of OFDM symbols in a slot, where each OFDM symbol (hereinafter also referred to as a "symbol") can be configured as downlink (DL), uplink (UE) or flexible (FL). In the traditional configuration, the UE receives control information and / or data only in the DL symbol and sends control information and / or data to the network only in the UL symbol of the slot. The network is able to determine whether the FL symbol should be used for uplink or downlink communication, and indicates the change in the slot format to the UE from the infrastructure equipment. In this way, the FL symbol can be indicated for use in DL or UL in the same slot.

[0123] However, currently, if the UE has more data to send to the network in the uplink direction, the UE cannot determine to change the configuration of the symbol designated as FL to UL, and must wait for the network to change the slot format. It is suggested here that the UE can include an indication of the change of the slot format for the slot in its control information, so that when the UE determines that it is beneficial to change the FL symbol to a UL symbol, the UE can indicate the change. The change may apply only to the current slot, or it may also apply to future slots of the radio frame. The indication can be carried in the uplink channel indication UCI, or carried via the PUCCH channel.

[0124] Another transmission parameter that the UE can include in the control information is related to frequency hopping. In traditional systems such as NR, frequency hopping is configured and enabled by the network and / or infrastructure equipment, and as with the slot format discussed above, the UE must follow commands from the network regarding this. Therefore, the UE cannot determine whether frequency hopping is used for PUSCH transmissions.

[0125] As discussed above, according to exemplary embodiments of the present technology, the UE is able to determine the transmission parameters that it communicates with the network via the CG PUSCH, and thus the UE can autonomously enable or disable frequency hopping for each transmission. Fig.11 An example of this situation is depicted.

[0126] Fig.11A graphical representation of uplink resources used by a UE to transmit to the network is provided, with uplink resources 1101 used by the UE shown in a darker color than transmission resources 1102 not used by the UE. These are shown graphically with frequency as the vertical axis 1103 and time measured in a time slot as the horizontal axis 1104. In the second half 1110 of time slot n and the second half 1111 of time slot n+1, the UE employs frequency hopping due to poor channel conditions and / or interference, where the PUSCH resources are divided into two hops; a lower part and an upper part. In this case, a transport block (TB) is mapped to two parts of the resource, although they are separated in the frequency domain. The frequency hopping offset is determined by the UE. Subsequently, the UE continues to enable and apply frequency hopping in time slot n+1. However, in time slots n+2 and n+3, the UE disables frequency hopping due to better channel conditions, less interference, or other details as determined by the UE. In order to inform the network of parameters related to frequency hopping employed by the UE, the UE may include a flag bit in the control information that provides an indication of whether the UE enables or disables frequency hopping. If necessary, the UE may also include in the control information an indication of a frequency hopping offset, an indication of the number of frequency hopping instances, and an indication of which instance of the uplink resource the frequency hopping is applied to. As described above, these indications and parameters related to frequency hopping included in the control information may be sent in the UCI or via the PUCCH.

[0127] Another parameter that the UE can control to improve the transmission and reception of signals at the infrastructure equipment is the waveform used for the PUSCH. As those skilled in the art will know, NR supports two waveforms in the uplink: cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing CP-OFDM and discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing DFT-s-OFDM. In contrast, CP-OFDM has increased throughput and capacity, and DFT-s-OFDM provides improved UL coverage when the UE is located at the edge of the cell. Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present technology, it is disclosed herein that the UE can autonomously select, i.e., independently of the network, which of the two supported waveforms to use. An indication of the preferred waveform is included by the UE in the control information and sent to the infrastructure equipment through the UCI or via the PUCCH channel.

[0128] Another parameter that may be independently controlled by the UE is the DMRS configuration type. NR supports two types of DMRS modes, referred to as Type 1 and Type 2. DMRS configuration type 1 has a higher density of DMRS resources in terms of the number of resource elements included in the DMRS, and provides a more reliable connection when the UE experiences poor channel conditions or has high-speed mobility. In contrast, DMRS type 2 has a lower density of DMRS resources (a smaller number of DMRS resources) and therefore reduced overhead, which is advantageous in good channel conditions where signal transmission between the UE and infrastructure equipment is reliable. Since channel conditions change on the fly, the present disclosure allows the UE to dynamically select a DMRS configuration type; an indication of the selection is included in the UCI or PUCCH channel to be sent to the network.

[0129] Another parameter that the UE may decide to control is the DMRS length. In NR, single and double "OFDM symbol" DMRS configurations are supported. The purpose of the dual symbol configuration is to increase the multiplexing capacity of the antenna ports. In the case of a single symbol configuration, up to six antenna ports can be supported, while in a dual symbol configuration, up to 12 antenna ports can be supported. One of the benefits of a dual symbol configuration is that up to 12 UEs can be supported in MU-MIMO mode. To this end, the UE includes in the control information it sends to the network an indication of whether its transmission is a single DMRS length configuration or a double DMRS length configuration, for example by including a flag bit, wherein one setting of the flag bit indicates a single symbol configuration and another setting of the flag bit indicates a double symbol configuration.

[0130] Yet another parameter is the additional DMRS configuration of resources. In conventional systems, in order to improve channel estimation of the PUSCH at the infrastructure equipment, additional DMRS resources may be configured for the UE. While this provides performance gains from channel estimation when the UE is in poor channel conditions and / or high mobility, it also increases the DMRS overhead that needs to be transmitted, which may increase interference and use additional resources of the interface. Since channel conditions may change on the fly, it is important to reduce DMRS overhead when higher density DMRS is not required, and therefore the UE may include an indication related to additional DMRS resources in the control information sent to the network. The indication and the resources selected by the UE for transmitting the additional DMRS information may be determined dynamically by the UE and independently of the network. The indication may be related to the additional DMRS resources in the sense of indicating their presence, and / or may be related to the additional DMR resources in the sense of providing an indication of the location of the additional DMRS resources. The indication of the presence of additional DMRS may be included in the UCI or PUCCH channel.

[0131] Another parameter that the UE can control by providing an indication to the network about the PUSCH mapping type is the PUSCH mapping type adopted by the UE. As will be familiar to those skilled in the art, NR supports two types of PUSCH mapping schemes, commonly referred to as Type A and Type B. Type A is typically used for large data allocations, where the resource allocation in time can span all OFDM symbols in a slot, such as up to 14 symbols. In this case, the allocation always starts from the first symbol (index 0) in the case of all symbols, and the minimum allocation is 4 symbols. In this case, the DMRS is located in the 2nd or 3rd OFDM symbol of the slot. On the other hand, PUSCH mapping type B is intended for smaller allocations called mini-slots, where the resource allocation in time spans only a few OFDM symbols in a slot, such as 2, 4 or 7 symbols, however this is not restrictive and allocations of other lengths may be employed. In type B, the DMRS is located on the first symbol of the resource allocation, referred to as "front-loaded DMRS". As the name implies, the DMRS is located in the first slot of the PUSCH allocation in order to provide fast channel estimation or reduce decoding latency. The indication of PUSCH mapping type A or type B sent from the UE to the network may be included in the UCI or PUCCH channel.

[0132] An alternative parameter related to uplink communications that can be controlled by the UE is how to include control information in the PUSCH channel. For example, hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ-ACK, scheduling request SR, channel state information CSI (such as channel quality indicator CQI, precoding matrix indicator PMI or rank indicator RI) can be included in the PUSCH and multiplexed. The UE can determine whether the control information is included in the PUSCH so that the infrastructure equipment can detect and perform fast processing of the control information before decoding the data. In another embodiment, the UE can indicate to the network whether the PUSCH carries only control information and no data is available for transmission.

[0133] In a separate embodiment of the present technology, the UE may send an indication of the power level ratio between UCI and PUSCH data transmissions as part of the control information. That is, the UE may include some indication of the difference between the UCI transmission and the PUSCH transmission and the transmission power ratio in the control information, which the UE sends to the network as part of the uplink communication. The UE then sends the control information and data portion of the transmission to the network based on the power level ratio.

[0134] The UE may also control the number of multiple-input multiple-output MIMO layers used in PUSCH transmissions in a dynamic and autonomous manner; i.e., without input from the network. The UE may include an indication of the number of MIMO layers used in control information and send it to the network via the UCI or PUCCH channel, and the UE may then perform communications with the network in a manner consistent with the indication it sent to the network.

[0135] Fairness requests from neighboring cells

[0136] One of the challenges of heavy or high capacity uplink is the impact of interference on other cells. In other words, uplink transmission of data and control information may cause interference to other neighboring cells, especially if the amount of data transmitted on the uplink is large, as is the case with heavy uplink transmission. If the UE controls the uplink beam well at the transmission side (the beam steering from the UE to the infrastructure equipment is good or narrow), then the interference caused in other cells is limited and can generally be considered low.

[0137] Typically, due to the low number of antenna elements at the UE, this control at the UE is not possible and therefore the control achievable on the UE uplink beam is reduced. As a result, the beam from the UE to the infrastructure equipment is then typically quite wide and interference is seen. This is typically exacerbated if the beam from the UE can be moved and / or rotated in a flexible manner. In view of this, the following procedure provides a method and apparatus for addressing this problem and describes how a neighboring cell can initiate a fairness request when there is an unacceptable level of uplink interference for the UE's uplink transmission.

[0138] This will refer to the exemplary embodiment Fig.12 Give a description. Fig.12 The configuration of the communication connection device and its message flow are depicted; neither the configuration of the device nor the order and number of messages are limiting, as other elements of the device may be necessary for its function and other message flows may be implemented to achieve the same effect. Fig.12 Depicted is a communication device 121, an infrastructure equipment 122 serving the communication device 121, i.e. the infrastructure equipment 122 provides a connection for at least the communication device 121 within the cell provided by the infrastructure equipment 122, and a separate infrastructure equipment 123 providing connections associated with different cells. The communication device 121 is formed of at least a transceiver 121.1 and a controller 121.2. Likewise, the infrastructure equipment 122 and 123 are each formed of at least a transceiver 122.1 and 123.1 and a controller 122.2 and 123.2. Of course, other elements of these devices may be necessary for their operation, and those skilled in the art will appreciate the use of additional elements to implement these elements, such as a memory storing instructions, an input / output element, and a display.

[0139] In an exemplary first step 124, the communication device 121 determines that it has uplink data to send to the wireless communication network. The communication device 121 is connected to the wireless communication network via infrastructure equipment 122 that supports it.

[0140] In a further exemplary second step 125, the communication device 121 determines a number of uplink resources that the communication device can use to transmit the uplink data determined in the previous step 124 to the wireless communication network. These resources are considered as instances of uplink resources that occur periodically, and it should be understood that although the periodicity can indicate an infinite number (e.g., time slots per second), the communication device will only need a subset of these resources to transmit the uplink data it has to transmit. Therefore, it is envisaged that the communication device 121 will schedule transmissions for only a subset of the instances of uplink resources that occur periodically. The uplink resources contain at least data resources that can include uplink data, and may also contain control resources that can include control information.

[0141] Similarly, in a third step 126, the communication device 121 determines control information related to the determined uplink data. As described above, the control information may indicate a plurality of parameters about the uplink data, such as the PRB used to transmit the uplink data, the modulation and coding scheme used to encode the uplink data, or other such details. In a fourth step 127, the communication device 121 sends the control information related to the uplink data to the wireless network via the infrastructure equipment 122 serving the communication device 121.

[0142] In a fifth step 128, the communication device 121 sends the determined control information to the second infrastructure equipment 123. In this case, the communication device 121 is able to be connected to two cells / TRPs simultaneously, because the communication device 121 does not release its connection with the first infrastructure equipment 122 when transmitting to the second infrastructure equipment 123. In other words, the communication device 121 informs the neighboring cells that it has scheduled an uplink transmission for sending uplink data to the infrastructure equipment 122. This can be achieved in a number of ways, and Fig.12is an example of this situation. Another procedure may send control information from the communication device 121 to the infrastructure equipment 122, and then cause the infrastructure equipment 122 to send the control information to the second infrastructure equipment 123. In either case, and in other embodiments as will occur to those skilled in the art, the second infrastructure equipment 123 receives the control information and is informed of the uplink transmission being performed by the UE. The fifth step 128 may be optional, and instead, the first infrastructure equipment 122 may forward the control information as received from the communication device 121 in the third step 126 to the second infrastructure equipment 123. Within the control information, the communication device 121 may include location information related to the communication device 121, which the second infrastructure equipment 123 may use in a later step.

[0143] In a sixth step 129, the communication device 121 starts to transmit the uplink data it has determined should be transmitted to the infrastructure equipment 122, and uses the uplink resources determined for the transmission of the data. This transmission uses interface resources and inevitably causes a certain level of interference in neighboring cells.

[0144] In a seventh step 130, the second infrastructure equipment 123 monitors the interference measured in the cell it serves. It may do this by measuring the reception of signals from the communication device 121, or it may do this by measuring the impact on the transmissions (not shown) it exchanges with the communication devices in its cell (e.g., measuring the RSRP of these transmissions or other indicators of interference present in the interface). It compares this interference level to a predetermined interference threshold to determine whether the interference level caused by the uplink transmissions of the communication device 121 is unacceptable. In this step, the second infrastructure equipment may use location information associated with the communication device 121, or it may monitor interference without reference to the location of the communication device 121.

[0145] In an eighth step 131, the second infrastructure equipment 123 provides feedback to the communication device 121 regarding the interference level experienced in the neighboring cell. This feedback may be explicit, for example in the form of a fairness request, indicating that the interference level in the neighboring cell is unacceptable, or it may be implicit, in the form of no fairness request, meaning that the interference level experienced in the neighboring cell is acceptable. Furthermore, although Fig.12The feedback is described as a transmission from the second infrastructure equipment 123 to the communication device 121, and the second infrastructure equipment 123 can use the location information related to the communication device 121 to establish the transmission, but other methods of providing the transmission can be implemented by those skilled in the art. For example, the second infrastructure equipment 123 can indicate the feedback to the infrastructure equipment 122, and the infrastructure equipment 122 can then send the feedback to the communication device 121.

[0146] Finally, after receiving the feedback, the communication device 121 adjusts the transmission of uplink data to the infrastructure equipment 122. The adjustment may be a reduction in the transmission rate (increasing the periodicity of the uplink resources used by the communication device 121 to transmit to the infrastructure equipment 122), reducing the power provided to the transceiver for transmitting to the infrastructure equipment, or ceasing to transmit to the infrastructure equipment. Alternatively, if the feedback is that the interference level in the neighboring cell is acceptable, then adjusting the transmission to the infrastructure equipment may not correspond to the above actions to reduce interference in the neighboring cell. The adjustment may involve not changing the scheduling and power of the transmissions.

[0147] Fig.13A and Fig. 13B A flow chart is shown, which illustrates an exemplary process of communication in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present technology. Fig.13A and Fig. 13B The process shown is to operate a communication device such as Fig.12 An exemplary system of the present invention includes a communication device 121), the communication device being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from a wireless communication network (e.g., send signals to or receive signals from infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network), the communication device operating according to a scheduling mode based on the communication device to send uplink data.

[0148] The method starts in step S11. In step S12, the method includes: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network. In step S13, the process includes: independently of the wireless communication network line, determining multiple periodically occurring instances of uplink resources of the wireless access interface in which the uplink data will be sent, wherein each of the instances of the uplink resources includes at least data resources. In step S14, the method includes: determining control information related to the uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network. In step S15, the method includes: sending control information related to the uplink data to the wireless communication network. Then, in step S16, the process includes: sending control information related to the uplink data to the second infrastructure device, so that the second infrastructure device can monitor interference in adjacent cells caused by uplink data transmission. Then, in step S17, the method includes: sending uplink data to the wireless communication network in at least one of the instances of the uplink resources. Then, the process starts from Fig.13A Continue to Fig. 13B , where point A is Fig.13A and Fig. 13B is identical in both and indicates a continuation of the method.

[0149] Next, in Fig. 13B In the embodiment of the present invention, step S18 includes: the second infrastructure equipment that has received the control information from the communication device monitors interference from the uplink transmission of the communication device. As part of this monitoring, the second infrastructure equipment also compares the measured interference level with a predetermined interference threshold. Then, in step S19, the second infrastructure equipment explicitly or implicitly provides feedback to the communication device about the interference level and / or whether the predetermined threshold is exceeded, which may take the form of a fairness request. In step S20, in response to receiving the feedback (e.g., the fairness request), the communication device adjusts the transmission of uplink data to the wireless communication network. The process ends at step S21.

[0150] In other embodiments, the roles played by the communication device and the infrastructure equipment in the communication process may be reversed. In other words, in embodiments, the infrastructure equipment may be transmitting a downlink signal representing data to the communication device, and when certain predetermined conditions are met, such as a change in the resources, modulation and coding scheme used by the infrastructure equipment, or at the beginning or end of a transmission, it may provide control information related to the transmitted downlink signal to a neighboring cell, to name just four such examples. As indicated above, in uplink embodiments, other conditions may be contemplated, and other information may be included in the control information.

[0151] Upon receiving the control information directly from the infrastructure device or via a second infrastructure device relay, the second communication device may monitor interference in the cell and may provide feedback to the infrastructure device regarding the interference level observed by the communication device. Again, the feedback may include a fairness request or an indication of the interference level, or whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold. Upon receiving the feedback from the communication device, the infrastructure device may adjust the transmission of the downlink signal.

[0152] In embodiments where the communication device communicates with a second infrastructure device, it may be configured to do so. This ability of the communication device to communicate with a second (i.e., non-serving) infrastructure device may be based on one or more of carrier aggregation / dual connectivity, dual active protocol stack DAPS switching, conditional switching (where the communication device knows the configuration of a second cell corresponding to the second infrastructure device), or L1 / L2 mobility (where the beam configuration of the second cell is known to the UE). In other exemplary embodiments, any communication between the communication device and the second infrastructure device may be conducted via the first infrastructure device, which may reduce the complexity of the communication device as it only needs to be able to communicate with the infrastructure device that serves it.

[0153] Those skilled in the art will understand that Fig.13A and Fig. 13B The method shown can be adjusted according to the implementation of the present technology. For example, other intermediate steps can be included in the method, or the steps can be performed in any logical order. Figure 8 The examples described with reference to the exemplary communication system shown in are used to describe embodiments of the present technology, but it should be clear to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present technology may be equally applied to other systems described herein.

[0154] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that such infrastructure equipment and / or communication devices as defined herein may be further defined according to the various arrangements and implementations discussed in the preceding paragraphs. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that such infrastructure equipment and communication devices as defined and described herein may form part of a communication system other than the communication system defined in the present disclosure.

[0155] The following numbered paragraphs provide additional exemplary aspects and features of the present technology:

[0156] [Paragraph 1]

[0157] A communication device for operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising:

[0158] a transceiver configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data,

[0159] a controller configured to control the transceiver, and

[0160] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the communication device to:

[0161] determining that the communication device has uplink data to send to the wireless communication network,

[0162] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0163] determining control information associated with uplink data independently of the wireless communication network,

[0164] sending the determined control information for a specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network if a predetermined condition is met, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the following: uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, the amount of uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data sent in a previous instance of the uplink resource, and a modulation and coding scheme used to encode the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the modulation and coding scheme used to encode the uplink data sent in the previous instance of the uplink resource, and

[0165] Uplink data is sent to the wireless communication network via the data resource in each of the plurality of instances of the uplink resource.

[0166] [Paragraph 2]

[0167] A communication device according to paragraph 1, wherein, if the data resources corresponding to a specific instance of the uplink resource are sufficient to send all the uplink data to be sent, the communication device includes in the control information an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent and an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent.

[0168] [Paragraph 3]

[0169] A communication device according to paragraph 1, wherein, if the data resources corresponding to a specific instance of the uplink resource are sufficient to send all the uplink data to be sent, the communication device includes in the control information an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, and does not include in the control information an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent.

[0170] [Paragraph 4]

[0171] A communication device according to paragraph 1, wherein, by causing the communication device to not send uplink data in the determined next instance of the uplink resource, it is implicitly indicated to the wireless communication network that the uplink data to be sent in a specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent.

[0172] [Paragraph 5]

[0173] A communication device according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the wireless access interface uses a time division duplex method of multiplexing signals, and

[0174] Wherein, when the instruction is executed by the controller, the communication device further causes:

[0175] determining at least one OFDM symbol configured by the wireless communication network as a flexible OFDM symbol,

[0176] determining that the communication device has more uplink data to send to the wireless communication network,

[0177] sending an indication to the wireless communication network as part of the control information to change the configuration of at least one OFDM symbol from a flexible OFDM symbol to an uplink OFDM symbol, and

[0178] At least one symbol representing uplink data is transmitted to a wireless communication network via at least one OFDM symbol.

[0179] [Paragraph 6]

[0180] A communications apparatus according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the communications apparatus sends at least one parameter related to frequency hopping to the wireless communications network as part of the control information, and sends the control information and uplink data to the wireless communications network based on the at least one parameter related to frequency hopping.

[0181] [Paragraph 7]

[0182] A communications apparatus according to paragraph 6, wherein the at least one parameter related to frequency hopping comprises at least one of a frequency hopping flag bit, an indication of a number of frequency hops, an indication of a frequency hopping offset, and an indication of which specific instance or instances of uplink resources the at least one parameter relates to.

[0183] [Paragraph 8]

[0184] A communications device according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the communications device sends an indication of the waveform to the wireless communications network as part of the control information, and the communications device sends control information and / or uplink data to the wireless communications network in accordance with the indication of the waveform.

[0185] [Paragraph 9]

[0186] The communication device of paragraph 8, wherein the indication of the waveform is an indication of one of a CP-OFDM waveform or a DFT-s-OFDM or SC-OFDM waveform.

[0187] [Paragraph 10]

[0188] A communication device according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the communication device sends an indication of a DMRS configuration to a wireless communication network as part of control information, the indication of the DMRS configuration includes an indication of a first DMRS configuration or an indication of a second DMRS configuration, and the communication device sends control information and uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication of the DMRS configuration.

[0189] [Paragraph 11]

[0190] A communications apparatus according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the communications apparatus sends an indication of the DMRS length to the wireless communications network as part of the control information, and the communications apparatus sends the control information and uplink data to the wireless communications network based on the indication of the DMRS length.

[0191] [Paragraph 12]

[0192] A communications apparatus according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the communications apparatus sends an indication relating to additional DMRS resources to the wireless communications network as part of the control information, and the communications apparatus sends the control information and uplink data to the wireless communications network in accordance with the indication of the additional DMRS resources.

[0193] [Paragraph 13]

[0194] A communications apparatus according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the communications apparatus sends an indication of a PUSCH mapping scheme to the wireless communications network as part of the control information, and wherein the communications apparatus sends control information and uplink data to the wireless communications network in accordance with the indication of the PUSCH mapping scheme.

[0195] [Paragraph 14]

[0196] A communication device according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the communication device sends an indication that the control information is included in a PUSCH channel as part of the control information to the wireless communication network, and the communication device sends the control information and uplink data to the wireless communication network based on the indication that the control information is included in the PUSCH channel.

[0197] [Paragraph 15]

[0198] A communication device according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the communication device sends an indication to the wireless communication network that the communication device only includes control information in a PUSCH channel as part of the control information, and the communication device sends control information to the wireless communication network based on the indication that the communication device only includes control information in the PUSCH channel.

[0199] [Paragraph 16]

[0200] A communication device according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the communication device sends an indication of a transmission power ratio between uplink control information UCI transmission and PUSCH transmission to a wireless communication network as part of control information, and the communication device sends control information and uplink data to the wireless communication network based on the indication of the transmission power ratio between uplink control information UCI transmission and PUSCH transmission.

[0201] [Paragraph 17]

[0202] A communications device according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the communications device sends an indication of the number of multiple-input multiple-output MIMO layers used for PUSCH transmission to a wireless communications network as part of control information, and wherein the communications device sends control information and / or uplink data to the wireless communications network based on the indication of the number of MIMO layers used for PUSCH transmission.

[0203] [Paragraph 18]

[0204] The communication device according to paragraph 1, wherein the instructions executed by the controller cause the communication device to further:

[0205] receiving from the wireless communication network an indication of at least one of: a coding scheme for encoding uplink data and / or control information to be sent to the wireless communication network, a channel quality indicator associated with a channel via which the uplink data and / or the control information is to be sent, or a change in a channel for sending the uplink data and / or the control information to the wireless communication network, and

[0206] Uplink data and / or control information is sent to the wireless communication network according to the instruction received from the wireless communication network.

[0207] [Paragraph 19]

[0208] A circuit for a communication device operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising:

[0209] transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data,

[0210] a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, and

[0211] A memory circuit stores instructions that, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the communication device to:

[0212] determining that the communication device has uplink data to send to the wireless communication network,

[0213] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0214] determining control information associated with uplink data independently of the wireless communication network,

[0215] sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource if a predetermined condition is met, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the following: uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, the amount of uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data sent in a previous instance of uplink data transmission, and a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data in the previous instance of uplink data transmission, and

[0216] Uplink data is sent to the wireless communication network via the data resource.

[0217] [Paragraph 20]

[0218] A method of operating a communication device, the communication device being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising:

[0219] determining that the communication device has uplink data to send to the wireless communication network,

[0220] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0221] determining control information associated with uplink data independently of the wireless communication network,

[0222] transmitting the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource if a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of: uplink data to be transmitted in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be transmitted, the uplink data to be transmitted in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be transmitted, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data transmitted in a previous instance of uplink data transmission, and a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data to be transmitted in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data in a previous instance of uplink data transmission, and

[0223] Uplink data is sent to the wireless communication network via the data resource.

[0224] [Paragraph 21]

[0225] An infrastructure device for operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising:

[0226] a transceiver configured to send a signal to a communication device in a wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from a communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data,

[0227] a controller configured to control the transceiver,

[0228] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the infrastructure device to:

[0229] receiving control information sent from a communication device in a specific instance of a periodically occurring uplink resource of a wireless access interface,

[0230] receiving uplink data transmitted from the communication device in a specific instance of the uplink resource, the specific instance of the uplink resource being a specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, or a specific instance of the uplink resource later than the specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information,

[0231] The uplink data transmitted from the communication device is decoded according to the control information received from the communication device.

[0232] [Paragraph 22]

[0233] The infrastructure equipment of paragraph 20, wherein the instructions executed by the controller cause the infrastructure equipment to further:

[0234] An indication of at least one of the following is sent to the communication device: a coding scheme used to encode the uplink data and / or the control information to be sent to the wireless communication network, a channel quality indicator related to the channel via which the uplink data and / or the control information is to be sent, or a change in the channel used to send the uplink data and / or the control information to the wireless communication network.

[0235] [Paragraph 23]

[0236] A circuit for infrastructure equipment operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment comprising:

[0237] A transceiver circuit configured to send a signal to a communication device in a wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from a communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data,

[0238] a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit,

[0239] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuitry, cause the infrastructure device to:

[0240] receiving control information sent from a communication device in a specific instance of a periodically occurring uplink resource of a wireless access interface,

[0241] receiving uplink data transmitted from the communication device in a specific instance of the uplink resource, the specific instance of the uplink resource being a specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, or a specific instance of the uplink resource later than the specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information,

[0242] The uplink data transmitted from the communication device is decoded according to the control information received from the communication device.

[0243] [Paragraph 24]

[0244] A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from a communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, the method comprising:

[0245] receiving control information sent from a communication device in a specific instance of a periodically occurring uplink resource of a wireless access interface,

[0246] receiving uplink data transmitted from the communication device in a specific instance of the uplink resource, the specific instance of the uplink resource being a specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, or a specific instance of the uplink resource later than the specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information,

[0247] The uplink data transmitted from the communication device is decoded according to the control information received from the communication device.

[0248] [Paragraph 25]

[0249] A wireless communication system comprises a communication device according to paragraph 1 and an infrastructure device according to paragraph 21 or 22.

[0250] [Paragraph 26]

[0251] A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to paragraph 20 or paragraph 24.

[0252] [Paragraph 27]

[0253] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to paragraph 26.

[0254] [Paragraph 28]

[0255] A method of operating a first communication device, the first communication device being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising:

[0256] determining that the communication device has uplink data to send to the wireless communication network,

[0257] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0258] determining control information associated with uplink data independently of the wireless communication network,

[0259] sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network,

[0260] sending uplink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource of the specific instance of the uplink resource,

[0261] receiving a feedback indication from a second infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second infrastructure equipment exceeds a predetermined threshold,

[0262] In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network is adjusted.

[0263] [Paragraph 29]

[0264] The method of paragraph 28, wherein the feedback indication is a fairness request.

[0265] [Paragraph 30]

[0266] A method according to paragraph 29, wherein the fairness request comprises a command instructing the communication device to adjust the transmission of uplink data and the determined control information in a predetermined manner.

[0267] [Paragraph 31]

[0268] A method according to paragraph 28 or 29, wherein adjusting the transmission of uplink data and the determined control information is performed independently of the wireless communication network.

[0269] [Paragraph 32]

[0270] A method according to any of paragraphs 28 to 31, wherein, before receiving the feedback indication from the second infrastructure equipment, the communication device sends the determined control information to the second infrastructure equipment.

[0271] [Paragraph 33]

[0272] A method according to any of paragraphs 28 to 31, wherein, before receiving the feedback indication from the second infrastructure equipment, the communication device sends the determined control information to the first infrastructure equipment for transmission from the first infrastructure equipment to the second infrastructure equipment.

[0273] [Paragraph 34]

[0274] A method according to any of paragraphs 28 to 33, wherein receiving the feedback indication from a second infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network comprises receiving a fairness request from the first infrastructure device, the fairness request having been sent from the second infrastructure device to the first infrastructure device.

[0275] [Paragraph 35]

[0276] A method according to any of paragraphs 28 to 34, wherein the communication device includes the location of the communication device in control information sent to the wireless communication network.

[0277] [Paragraph 36]

[0278] A method according to any one of paragraphs 28 to 35, wherein, in response to receiving the feedback indication, adjusting the transmission of the uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network includes at least one of the following: the communication device reduces the transmission rate sent by the communication device to the first infrastructure equipment, the communication device reduces the transmission power sent by the communication device to the first infrastructure equipment, or the communication device stops the transmission of the uplink data and / or the control information to the first infrastructure equipment.

[0279] [Paragraph 37]

[0280] A communication device for operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising:

[0281] a transceiver configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data,

[0282] a controller configured to control the transceiver, and

[0283] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the communication device to:

[0284] determining that the communication device has uplink data to send to the wireless communication network,

[0285] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0286] determining control information associated with uplink data independently of the wireless communication network,

[0287] sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network,

[0288] sending uplink data to a wireless communication network via a data resource,

[0289] receiving a feedback indication from a second infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second infrastructure equipment exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0290] In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network is adjusted.

[0291] [Paragraph 38]

[0292] A circuit for a communication device operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising:

[0293] transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data,

[0294] a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, and

[0295] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the communication device to:

[0296] determining that the communication device has uplink data to send to the wireless communication network,

[0297] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0298] determining control information associated with uplink data independently of the wireless communication network,

[0299] sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network,

[0300] sending uplink data to a wireless communication network via a data resource,

[0301] receiving a feedback indication from a second infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second infrastructure equipment exceeds a predetermined threshold,

[0302] In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network is adjusted.

[0303] [Paragraph 39]

[0304] A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment being configured to provide services to a cell comprising at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, the method comprising:

[0305] receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information related to the start of uplink transmission from a second communication device to a second infrastructure equipment, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment,

[0306] receiving at least one uplink transmission from at least one first communication device, or sending at least one downlink transmission to at least one first communication device,

[0307] monitoring interference between the uplink transmission from the second communication device to the second infrastructure equipment and the at least one uplink transmission from or to the at least one first communication device,

[0308] determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0309] If the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, a feedback indication is sent to the second communication device.

[0310] [Paragraph 40]

[0311] A method as in paragraph 39, wherein the control information received by the infrastructure equipment includes a location corresponding to the second communication device, and sending the fairness request to the second communication device comprises scheduling and sending the fairness request to the second communication device.

[0312] [Paragraph 41]

[0313] A method according to any of paragraphs 39 or 40, wherein sending the fairness request to the second communication device comprises sending the fairness request to a second infrastructure device, the second infrastructure device sending the fairness request to the second communication device.

[0314] [Paragraph 42]

[0315] An infrastructure device for operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising:

[0316] a transceiver configured to send a signal to at least one first communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data,

[0317] a controller configured to control the transceiver,

[0318] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the infrastructure device to:

[0319] receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information related to the start of uplink transmission from a second communication device to a second infrastructure equipment, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment,

[0320] receiving at least one uplink transmission from at least one first communication device, or sending at least one downlink transmission to at least one first communication device,

[0321] monitoring interference between the uplink transmission from the second communication device to the second infrastructure equipment and the at least one uplink transmission from or to the at least one first communication device,

[0322] determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0323] If the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, a feedback indication is sent to the second communication device or the second infrastructure equipment.

[0324] [Paragraph 43]

[0325] A circuit for infrastructure equipment operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment comprising:

[0326] A transceiver circuit configured to send a signal to and / or receive a signal from at least one first communication device in a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data,

[0327] a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit,

[0328] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuitry, cause the infrastructure device to:

[0329] receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information related to the start of uplink transmission from a second communication device to a second infrastructure equipment, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment,

[0330] receiving at least one uplink transmission from at least one first communication device, or sending at least one downlink transmission to at least one first communication device,

[0331] monitoring interference between the uplink transmission from the second communication device to the second infrastructure equipment and the at least one uplink transmission from or to the at least one first communication device,

[0332] determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0333] If the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, a feedback indication is sent to the second communication device or the second infrastructure equipment.

[0334] [Paragraph 44]

[0335] A wireless communication system comprises a communication device according to paragraph 37 and an infrastructure device according to paragraph 42.

[0336] [Paragraph 45]

[0337] A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to any of paragraphs 28 to 36 or paragraphs 39 to 41.

[0338] [Paragraph 46]

[0339] A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program according to paragraph 45.

[0340] [Paragraph 47]

[0341] A method of operating a first communication device, the first communication device being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising:

[0342] receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information related to the start of downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment,

[0343] receiving at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure device, or sending at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure device,

[0344] monitoring interference between the downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device and the at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure equipment or the at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure equipment,

[0345] determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0346] If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, and if the communication device is configured to communicate with the second infrastructure equipment, a feedback indication is sent to the second infrastructure equipment.

[0347] [Paragraph 48]

[0348] A communication device for operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising:

[0349] a transceiver configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data,

[0350] a controller configured to control the transceiver, and

[0351] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the communication device to:

[0352] receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information related to the start of downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment,

[0353] receiving at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure device, or sending at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure device,

[0354] monitoring interference between the downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device and the at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure equipment or the at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure equipment,

[0355] determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0356] If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, and if the communication device is configured to communicate with the second infrastructure equipment, a feedback indication is sent to the second infrastructure equipment.

[0357] [Paragraph 49]

[0358] A circuit for a communication device operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising:

[0359] transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data,

[0360] a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, and

[0361] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the communication device to:

[0362] receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information related to the start of downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment,

[0363] receiving at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure device, or sending at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure device,

[0364] monitoring interference between the downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device and the at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure equipment or the at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure equipment,

[0365] determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0366] If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, and if the communication device is configured to communicate with the second infrastructure equipment, a feedback indication is sent to the second infrastructure equipment.

[0367] [Paragraph 50]

[0368] A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment being configured to provide services to a cell comprising at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, the method comprising:

[0369] determining that the infrastructure equipment has downlink data to send to the communication device,

[0370] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of downlink resources on which the downlink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the downlink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0371] determining control information associated with downlink data,

[0372] sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the downlink resource to the communication device,

[0373] sending downlink data to a wireless communication network via a data resource,

[0374] receiving a feedback indication from a second communication device forming part of a wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second communication device exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0375] In response to receiving the feedback indication, the transmission of downlink data and the determined control information to the communication device is adjusted.

[0376] [Paragraph 51]

[0377] An infrastructure device for operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising:

[0378] a transceiver configured to send a signal to at least one first communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data,

[0379] a controller configured to control the transceiver,

[0380] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the infrastructure device to:

[0381] determining that the infrastructure equipment has downlink data to send to the communication device,

[0382] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of downlink resources on which the downlink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the downlink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0383] determining control information associated with downlink data,

[0384] sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the downlink resource to the communication device,

[0385] sending downlink data to a wireless communication network via a data resource,

[0386] receiving a feedback indication from a second communication device forming part of a wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second communication device exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0387] In response to receiving the feedback indication, the transmission of downlink data and the determined control information to the communication device is adjusted.

[0388] [Paragraph 52]

[0389] A circuit for infrastructure equipment operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment comprising:

[0390] A transceiver circuit configured to send a signal to and / or receive a signal from at least one first communication device in a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data,

[0391] a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit,

[0392] A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuitry, cause the infrastructure device to:

[0393] determining that the infrastructure equipment has downlink data to send to the communication device,

[0394] determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of downlink resources on which the downlink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the downlink resources comprising at least data resources,

[0395] determining control information associated with downlink data,

[0396] sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the downlink resource to the communication device, sending downlink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource,

[0397] receiving a feedback indication from a second communication device forming part of a wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second communication device exceeds a predetermined threshold, and

[0398] In response to receiving the feedback indication, the transmission of downlink data and the determined control information to the communication device is adjusted.

[0399] [Paragraph 53]

[0400] A wireless communication system comprises a communication device according to paragraph 48 and an infrastructure device according to paragraph 51.

[0401] [Paragraph 54]

[0402] A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to paragraph 47 or paragraph 50.

[0403] [Paragraph 55]

[0404] A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program according to paragraph 54.

[0405] It will be appreciated that for clarity, the above description has described embodiments with reference to different functional units, circuits and / or processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, circuits and / or processors may be used without departing from the embodiments.

[0406] The described embodiments can be implemented in any suitable form, including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. The described embodiments can be optionally implemented at least in part as computer software running on one or more data processors and / or digital signal processors. The elements and components of any embodiment can be implemented physically, functionally and logically in any suitable manner. In fact, the function can be implemented in a single unit, in multiple units or as a part of other functional units. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments can be implemented in a single unit, or can be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuits and / or processors.

[0407] Although the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with some embodiments, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. In addition, although features may appear to be described in conjunction with specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various features of the described embodiments may be combined in any manner suitable for implementing the present technology.

[0408] References

[0409] [1] Holma H. ​​and Toskala A, "LTE for UMTS OFDMA and SC-FDMA basedradio access", John Wiley and Sons, 2009.

[0410] [2] TR 38.913, “Study on Scenarios and Requirements for NextGeneration Access Technologies (Release 14)”, 3rd Generation Partnership Project, v14.3.0, August 2017.

[0411] [3] RP-190726, “Physical layer enhancements for NR ultra-reliable andlow latency communication (URLLC)”, Huawei, HiSilicon, RAN#83, March 2019.

[0412] [4] RP-201310, “Revised WID:Enhanced Industrial Internet of Things(loT) and ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC) support forNR,” Nokia, Nokia Shanghai Bell, RAN#88e, July 2020.

[0413] [5] European patent application with publication number EP3837895.

[0414] [6] European patent application number EP21204071.1.

[0415] [7] I-18-131, “NTN predictive uplink scheduling grant and initialparameter provision with RRC signaling or alternative method”.

[0416] [8] SYP346404, “UE-based Scheduling and link adaptation methods forUL data transmissions”.

[0417] [9] RP-213587, “Study on XR Enhancements for NR”, 3GPP TSG RANMeeting #94e, Dec 2021.

[0418]

[10] R1-2205056, “Capacity Enhancement Techniques for XR”, Qualcomm,RAN1#109-e.

Claims

1. A communication device for operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising: a transceiver configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data, a controller configured to control the transceiver, and A memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the controller, the communication device: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the uplink data independently of the wireless communication network, If a predetermined condition is met, the determined control information for a specific instance of the uplink resource is sent to the wireless communication network, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the following: the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, the amount of uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data sent in a previous instance of the uplink resource, and the modulation and coding scheme used to encode the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the modulation and coding scheme used to encode the uplink data sent in the previous instance of the uplink resource, and The uplink data is sent to the wireless communication network via the data resource in each of a plurality of instances of the uplink resource.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: If the data resources corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resources are sufficient for the transmission of all uplink data to be sent, the communication device includes in the control information: an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resources is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, and an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resources is the end of the uplink data to be sent.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: If the data resources corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resources are sufficient for the transmission of all uplink data to be sent, the communication device includes in the control information: an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resources is the end of the uplink data to be sent, and does not include in the control information: an indication that the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resources is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device implicitly indicates to the wireless communication network that the uplink data to be sent in a specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent by not sending the uplink data in the determined next instance of the uplink resource.

5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The wireless access interface uses a time division duplex method of multiplexing signals, and Wherein, when the instruction is executed by the controller, the communication device further causes: determining at least one OFDM symbol configured by the wireless communication network as a flexible OFDM symbol, determining that the communication device has more uplink data to send to the wireless communication network, sending an indication to the wireless communication network as part of the control information to change the configuration of the at least one OFDM symbol from the flexible OFDM symbol to an uplink OFDM symbol, and At least one symbol representing uplink data is sent to the wireless communication network via the at least one OFDM symbol.

6. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends at least one parameter related to frequency hopping to the wireless communication network as a part of the control information, and sends the control information and the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the at least one parameter related to frequency hopping.

7. The communication device according to claim 6, wherein: The at least one parameter related to frequency hopping comprises at least one of: a frequency hopping flag bit, an indication of a frequency hopping number, an indication of a frequency hopping offset, and an indication of which specific instance or instances of the uplink resources the at least one parameter is related to.

8. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication of a waveform to the wireless communication network as part of the control information, and the communication device sends the control information and / or the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication of the waveform.

9. The communication device according to claim 8, wherein: The indication of the waveform is an indication of a CP-OFDM waveform or one of a DFT-s-OFDM or SC-OFDM waveform.

10. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication of a DMRS configuration as part of the control information to the wireless communication network, the indication of the DMRS configuration includes an indication of a first DMRS configuration or an indication of a second DMRS configuration, and the communication device sends the control information and the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication of the DMRS configuration.

11. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication of a DMRS length to the wireless communication network as part of the control information, and the communication device sends the control information and the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication of the DMRS length.

12. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication related to additional DMRS resources to the wireless communication network as part of the control information, and the communication device sends the control information and the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication of the additional DMRS resources.

13. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication of a PUSCH mapping scheme to the wireless communication network as part of the control information, and the communication device sends the control information and the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication of the PUSCH mapping scheme.

14. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication that the control information is included in a PUSCH channel as part of the control information to the wireless communication network, and the communication device sends the control information and the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication that the control information is included in the PUSCH channel.

15. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication to the wireless communication network that the communication device only includes the control information in the PUSCH channel as part of the control information, and the communication device sends the control information to the wireless communication network according to the indication that the communication device only includes the control information in the PUSCH channel.

16. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication of a transmission power ratio between uplink control information UCI transmission and PUSCH transmission to the wireless communication network as part of the control information, and the communication device sends the control information and the uplink data to the wireless communication network according to the indication of the transmission power ratio between the uplink control information UCI transmission and PUSCH transmission.

17. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication device sends an indication of the number of multiple-input multiple-output MIMO layers used for PUSCH transmission to the wireless communication network as part of the control information, and the communication device sends the control information and / or the uplink data to the wireless communication network based on the indication of the number of MIMO layers used for PUSCH transmission.

18. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The instructions executed by the controller cause the communication device to further: receiving from the wireless communication network an indication of at least one of: a coding scheme for encoding uplink data and / or control information to be sent to the wireless communication network, a channel quality indicator associated with a channel via which the uplink data and / or the control information is to be sent, or a change in a channel for sending the uplink data and / or the control information to the wireless communication network, and The uplink data and / or the control information are sent to the wireless communication network according to the indication received from the wireless communication network.

19. A circuit for a communication device operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data, a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, and a memory circuit storing instructions which, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the communication device to: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the uplink data independently of the wireless communication network, If a predetermined condition is met, control information determined for the specific instance of the uplink resource is sent, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the following: uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, the amount of uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data sent in a previous instance of uplink data transmission, and a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data in the previous instance of uplink data transmission, and The uplink data is sent to the wireless communication network via the data resource.

20. A method of operating a communication device, the communication device being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the uplink data independently of the wireless communication network, If a predetermined condition is met, control information determined for the specific instance of the uplink resource is sent, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the following: uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the beginning of the uplink data to be sent, the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is the end of the uplink data to be sent, the amount of uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from the amount of uplink data sent in a previous instance of uplink data transmission, and a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data to be sent in the specific instance of the uplink resource is different from a coding scheme for encoding the uplink data in the previous instance of uplink data transmission, and The uplink data is sent to the wireless communication network via the data resource.

21. An infrastructure device for operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising: a transceiver configured to send a signal to a communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from the communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, wherein the signal represents data, a controller configured to control the transceiver, A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the infrastructure device to: receiving control information sent from the communication device in a particular instance of a periodically occurring uplink resource of the wireless access interface; receiving uplink data transmitted from the communication device in a specific instance of the uplink resource, the specific instance of the uplink resource being a specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, or a specific instance of the uplink resource later than the specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, The uplink data transmitted from the communication device is decoded according to the control information received from the communication device.

22. The infrastructure equipment of claim 21, wherein: The instructions executed by the controller cause the infrastructure device to further: An indication of at least one of the following is sent to the communication device: a coding scheme used to encode the uplink data and / or the control information to be sent to the wireless communication network, a channel quality indicator related to the channel via which the uplink data and / or the control information is to be sent, or a change in the channel used to send the uplink data and / or the control information to the wireless communication network.

23. A circuit for infrastructure equipment operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment comprising: a transceiver circuit configured to send a signal to a communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from the communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signal representing data, a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the infrastructure device to: receiving control information sent from the communication device in a specific instance of a periodically occurring uplink resource of the wireless access interface, receiving uplink data transmitted from the communication device in a specific instance of the uplink resource, the specific instance of the uplink resource being a specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, or a specific instance of the uplink resource later than the specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, The uplink data transmitted from the communication device is decoded according to the control information received from the communication device.

24. A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from a communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, the method comprising: receiving control information sent from the communication device in a specific instance of a periodically occurring uplink resource of the wireless access interface, receiving uplink data transmitted from the communication device in a specific instance of the uplink resource, the specific instance of the uplink resource being a specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, or a specific instance of the uplink resource later than the specific instance of the uplink resource corresponding to the specific instance of the uplink resource carrying the control information, The uplink data transmitted from the communication device is decoded according to the control information received from the communication device.

25. A wireless communication system comprising the communication apparatus according to claim 1 and the infrastructure equipment according to claim 21.

26. A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 20 or claim 24.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 26.

28. A method of operating a first communication device, the first communication device being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the uplink data independently of the wireless communication network, sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network, sending the uplink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource of the specific instance of the uplink resource, receiving a feedback indication from a second infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second infrastructure device exceeds a predetermined threshold, In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of the uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network is adjusted.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein: The feedback indication is a fairness request.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein: The fairness request includes a command instructing the communication device to adjust the transmission of the uplink data and the determined control information in a predetermined manner.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein: Adjusting the transmission of the uplink data and the determined control information is performed independently of the wireless communication network.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein: Prior to receiving the feedback indication from the second infrastructure equipment, the communication device sends the determined control information to the second infrastructure equipment.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein: Prior to receiving the feedback indication from the second infrastructure equipment, the communication apparatus sends the determined control information to the first infrastructure equipment for transmission from the first infrastructure equipment to the second infrastructure equipment.

34. The method of claim 28, wherein receiving a feedback indication from the second infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network comprises: A fairness request is received from the first infrastructure device, the fairness request being sent from the second infrastructure device to the first infrastructure device.

35. The method of claim 28, wherein: The communication device includes a location of the communication device in the control information sent to the wireless communication network.

36. The method of claim 28, wherein: In response to receiving the feedback indication, adjusting the transmission of the uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network includes at least one of the following: the communication device reduces the transmission rate sent by the communication device to the first infrastructure equipment, the communication device reduces the transmission power sent by the communication device to the first infrastructure equipment, or the communication device stops the transmission of the uplink data and / or the control information to the first infrastructure equipment.

37. A communication device for operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising: a transceiver configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data, a controller configured to control the transceiver, and A memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the controller, the communication device: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the uplink data independently of the wireless communication network, sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network, sending the uplink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource, receiving a feedback indication from a second infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second infrastructure device exceeds a predetermined threshold, and In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of the uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network is adjusted.

38. A circuit for a communication device operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data, a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, and A memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the communication device to: determining that the communication device has uplink data to be sent to the wireless communication network, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of uplink resources on which the uplink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the uplink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the uplink data independently of the wireless communication network, sending the determined control information for the specific instance of the uplink resource to the wireless communication network, sending the uplink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource, receiving a feedback indication from a second infrastructure device forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second infrastructure device exceeds a predetermined threshold, In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of the uplink data and the determined control information to the wireless communication network is adjusted.

39. A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment being configured to serve a cell containing at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, the method comprising: receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information relating to the start of an uplink transmission from a second communication device to a second infrastructure equipment, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment, receiving at least one uplink transmission from the at least one first communication device, or sending at least one downlink transmission to the at least one first communication device, monitoring interference between the uplink transmission from the second communication device to the second infrastructure equipment and the at least one uplink transmission from or to the at least one first communication device, determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, a feedback indication is sent to the second communication device.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein: The control information received by the infrastructure equipment includes a location corresponding to the second communication device, and sending the fairness request to the second communication device includes scheduling and sending the fairness request to the second communication device.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein: Sending the fairness request to the second communication device includes sending the fairness request to the second infrastructure device, the second infrastructure device sending the fairness request to the second communication device.

42. An infrastructure device for operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising: a transceiver configured to send a signal to at least one first communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from the at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, wherein the signal represents data, a controller configured to control the transceiver, A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the infrastructure device to: receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information relating to the start of an uplink transmission from a second communication device to a second infrastructure equipment, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment, receiving at least one uplink transmission from the at least one first communication device, or sending at least one downlink transmission to the at least one first communication device, monitoring interference between the uplink transmission from the second communication device to the second infrastructure equipment and the at least one uplink transmission from or to the at least one first communication device, determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, a feedback indication is sent to the second communication device or the second infrastructure equipment.

43. A circuit for infrastructure equipment operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment comprising: a transceiver circuit configured to send a signal to at least one first communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from the at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, wherein the signal represents data, a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the infrastructure device to: receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information relating to the start of an uplink transmission from a second communication device to a second infrastructure equipment, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment, receiving at least one uplink transmission from the at least one first communication device, or sending at least one downlink transmission to the at least one first communication device, monitoring interference between the uplink transmission from the second communication device to the second infrastructure equipment and the at least one uplink transmission from or to the at least one first communication device, determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, a feedback indication is sent to the second communication device or the second infrastructure equipment.

44. A wireless communication system comprising the communication apparatus according to claim 37 and the infrastructure equipment according to claim 42.

45. A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 28 or claim 39.

46. ​​A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 45.

47. A method of operating a first communication device, the first communication device being configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising: receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information relating to the start of downlink transmission from a second infrastructure equipment to a second communication device, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment, receiving at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure device or sending at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure device, monitoring interference between the downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device and the at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure equipment or the at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure equipment, determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, and if the communication apparatus is configured to communicate with the second infrastructure equipment, a feedback indication is sent to the second infrastructure equipment.

48. A communication device for operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising: a transceiver configured to send signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data, a controller configured to control the transceiver, and A memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the controller, the communication device: receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information relating to the start of downlink transmission from a second infrastructure equipment to a second communication device, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment, receiving at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure device or sending at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure device, monitoring interference between the downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device and the at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure equipment or the at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure equipment, determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, and if the communication apparatus is configured to communicate with the second infrastructure equipment, a feedback indication is sent to the second infrastructure equipment.

49. A circuit for a communication device operating in a wireless communication network, the communication device comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from first infrastructure equipment forming part of the wireless communication network via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, the signals representing data, a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, and A memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the communication device to: receiving, via the wireless access interface, control information relating to the start of downlink transmission from a second infrastructure equipment to a second communication device, the second communication device being located in a cell served by the second infrastructure equipment, receiving at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure device or sending at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure device, monitoring interference between the downlink transmission from the second infrastructure equipment to the second communication device and the at least one downlink transmission from the first infrastructure equipment or the at least one uplink transmission to the first infrastructure equipment, determining whether the interference exceeds a predetermined threshold, and If the interference exceeds the predetermined threshold, and if the communication apparatus is configured to communicate with the second infrastructure equipment, a feedback indication is sent to the second infrastructure equipment.

50. A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment being configured to serve a cell containing at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the infrastructure equipment, the method comprising: determining that the infrastructure equipment has downlink data to send to the communication device, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of downlink resources on which the downlink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the downlink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the downlink data, sending the determined control information for the specific instance of downlink resources to the communication device, sending the downlink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource, receiving a feedback indication from a second communication device forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second communication device exceeds a predetermined threshold, and In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of the downlink data and the determined control information to the communication device is adjusted.

51. An infrastructure device for operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising: a transceiver configured to send a signal to at least one first communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from the at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, wherein the signal represents data, a controller configured to control the transceiver, A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the infrastructure device to: determining that the infrastructure equipment has downlink data to send to the communication device, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of downlink resources on which the downlink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the downlink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the downlink data, sending the determined control information for the specific instance of downlink resources to the communication device, sending the downlink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource, receiving a feedback indication from a second communication device forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second communication device exceeds a predetermined threshold, and In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of the downlink data and the determined control information to the communication device is adjusted.

52. A circuit for infrastructure equipment operating in a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment comprising: a transceiver circuit configured to send a signal to at least one first communication device in the wireless communication network and / or receive a signal from the at least one first communication device via a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communication network, wherein the signal represents data, a controller circuit configured to control the transceiver circuit, a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the controller circuit, cause the infrastructure device to: determining that the infrastructure equipment has downlink data to send to the communication device, determining a plurality of periodic occurrence instances of downlink resources on which the downlink data of the wireless access interface is to be sent, the downlink resources comprising at least data resources, determining control information related to the downlink data, sending the determined control information for the specific instance of downlink resources to the communication device, sending the downlink data to the wireless communication network via the data resource, receiving a feedback indication from a second communication device forming part of the wireless communication network, the feedback indication indicating that interference measured in a cell corresponding to the second communication device exceeds a predetermined threshold, and In response to receiving the feedback indication, transmission of the downlink data and the determined control information to the communication device is adjusted.

53. A wireless communication system comprising the communication apparatus according to claim 48 and the infrastructure equipment according to claim 51.

54. A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 47 or claim 50.

55. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 54.

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