Multi-technology aggregation architecture for long term evolution communication system

Abstract

To provide a method and a system that allow for the transmission and reception of data over a wider bandwidth.SOLUTION: In a wireless communication system, a first base station transmits first downlink data to user equipment using a first downlink frequency and receives first uplink data from the user equipment using a first uplink frequency, and a second base station transmits second downlink data to the user equipment using a second downlink frequency and receives second uplink data from the user equipment using the first uplink frequency.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS. This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 455,327 to Lee, filed February 6, 2017, and entitled "Multi-Technology Aggregation Architecture for Long Term Evolution Communication Systems," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] In some embodiments, the present subject matter relates to telecommunications systems, and more particularly to multi-technology aggregation architectures for Long Term Evolution communication systems, where the wireless communication systems may include Long Term Evolution systems and 5G New Radio ("NR") communication systems. [Background technology]

[0003] In today's world, cellular networks provide on-demand communication capabilities to individuals and businesses. Typically, cellular networks are wireless networks that can be distributed over a terrestrial area called a cell. Each such cell is served by at least one fixed transceiver called a cell site or base station. Each cell can use a different set of frequencies from neighboring cells to avoid interference within each cell and provide improved service. When multiple cells are connected to each other, they provide wireless coverage over a wide geographic area, allowing numerous mobile phones and / or other wireless devices or portable transceivers to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and phones anywhere in the network. Such communication is achieved through base stations, even if the portable transceivers move through multiple cells during transmission. Major wireless communication providers deploy such cell sites throughout the world, thus enabling multiple phones and multiple mobile computing devices to connect to the public switched telephone network and the public Internet.

[0004] A mobile phone is a portable telephone capable of receiving and / or making telephone and / or data calls via a cell site or transmission tower using radio waves that transmit signals to and from the mobile phone. From the perspective of many mobile phone users, current mobile phone networks offer limited and shared resources. In that regard, multiple cell sites and handsets use changing frequencies and lower-power transmitters, allowing multiple callers to use the network simultaneously with less interference. The range of a cell site may depend on a particular geographic location and / or the number of potential users using the network. For example, in cities, cell sites may have a range of up to about half a mile, while in rural areas, the range may be as little as five miles. In some areas, users may receive signals from cell sites as far away as 25 miles.

[0005] The following are some examples of digital cellular technologies currently used by communication providers: Global System for Mobile Communications ("GSM"), General Packet Radio System ("GPRS"), cdmaOne, CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized ("EV-DO"), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution ("EDGE"), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System ("UMTS"), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications ("DECT"), Digital AMPS ("IS-136 / TDMA"), and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network ("iDEN"). Long Term Evolution, or 4G LTE, is a standard for high-speed wireless data communications for mobile phones and data terminals. 5G LTE standards are currently being developed. LTE is based on GSM / EDGE and UMTS / HSPA digital cellular technologies and uses a different air interface, along with core network improvements, to enable increased capacity and speeds. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Mobile devices are used to receive and transmit various types of data, such as voice data (e.g., phone calls), emails, text messages, internet browsing, video data (e.g., video, video calls, augmented reality / virtual reality, etc.), audio data (e.g., streaming songs), etc. Different types of data may require different transmission bandwidths. For example, to reproduce high-quality video on a mobile device with high quality may require a higher bandwidth compared to transmitting emails or text messages to the mobile device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In some embodiments, the present subject matter relates to a computer-implemented method that includes transmitting first downlink data to a user equipment using a first downlink frequency, receiving first uplink data from the user equipment using a first uplink frequency, transmitting second downlink data to the user equipment using a second downlink frequency, and receiving the second uplink data using the first uplink frequency.

[0008] In some embodiments, the present subject matter may include one or more of the following optional features: the first downlink data may be transmitted using a first base station of the wireless communication system, and the first uplink data may be received using the first base station. Similarly, the second downlink data may be transmitted from a second base station of the wireless communication system, and the second uplink data may be transmitted from the second base station to the first base station.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first and second base stations may include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, or any combination thereof. At least one of the first and second base stations may include at least one of a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, or any combination thereof. The first and second base stations may operate in at least one of a long-term evolution communication system and a new wireless communication system.

[0010] In some embodiments, at least one of the first and second base stations may be communicatively coupled to at least one centralization unit configured to provide at least packet data convergence protocol control information to at least one of the first and second base stations, and at least one of the first and second uplink data may include user control information.

[0011] In some embodiments, the method may include generating, with a centralized unit, a packet data convergence protocol packet data unit based on information provided by at least one of the first and second base stations, and transmitting the generated packet data unit to at least one of the first and second base stations. The method may also include independently generating scheduling information by the first and second base stations, and sharing the generated scheduling information between the first and second base stations.

[0012] Non-transitory computer program products (i.e., physically implemented computer program products) that store instructions that, when executed by one or more data processors of one or more computing systems, cause the one or more data processors to perform the operations described herein are also described. Similarly, computer systems that include one or more data processors and memory coupled to the one or more data processors are also described. The memory may temporarily or permanently store instructions that cause at least one processor to perform one or more of the operations described herein. Additionally, methods may be implemented by one or more data processors within a single computing system or distributed among two or more computing systems. Such computing systems may include: (1) through one or more connections, including, but not limited to, connections over a network (e.g., the Internet, a wireless wide area network, a local area network, a wide area network, a wired network, etc.); or (2) through a direct connection between one or more of the computing systems The devices may be connected and capable of exchanging data and / or commands or other instructions.

[0013] The details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the description, aid in explaining some of the concepts related to the disclosed embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1a] Diagram showing an example of a conventional Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system [Figure 1b] FIG. 1b illustrates further details of the example LTE system shown in FIG. 1a. [Figure 1c] Figure 1b shows additional details of the evolved packet core of the example LTE system shown in Figure 1a. [Figure 1d] FIG. 1a illustrates an example of an evolved NodeB for the example LTE system shown in FIG. 1a. [Figure 2] Figure 1a-d shows further details of the evolved NodeB. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an intelligent long-term evolution radio access network, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an intelligent long-term evolution radio access network implementing carrier aggregation features, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 5] Diagram showing an example of a communications system that can implement 5G technology and provide users with access to higher frequency bands. [Figure 6] Diagram showing existing long-term evolution communications networks [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a long-term evolution communication network, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a multi-technology aggregation system, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 10]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system in which a centralized high baseband unit (“BBU”) architecture can be implemented. [Figure 12] Diagram showing an example of LTE-NR internetworking architecture [Figure 13] FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture capable of implementing the Xx interface between an LTE eNodeB and an NR gNodeB. [Figure 14a] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a multi-technology aggregation centralized virtualized RAN architecture, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 14b] FIG. 14b illustrates an example of a process that may be performed by the system shown in FIG. 14a, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a multi-technology aggregation flow control architecture, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a flow control algorithm that may be performed by the architecture shown in FIG. 15, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 17] FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a flow control algorithm that may be performed by the architecture shown in FIG. 15, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a multi-technology aggregation load balancing process, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. [Figure 20] FIG. 1 illustrates an example method according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The present subject matter can provide systems and methods that can be implemented in multi-technology aggregation wireless communication systems. Such systems can include long-term evolution wireless communication systems and / or new wireless communication systems. One or more aspects of the present subject matter can be incorporated into transmitter and / or receiver components of a base station in such communication systems. Examples of long-term evolution communication systems are described below.

[0017] I. Long Term Evolution Communication Systems. 1a-1c and 2 illustrate an example of a conventional Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system 100 along with its various components. The LTE system, or 4G LTE, as it is commercially known, is governed by a standard for high-speed data wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals. The standard is based on GSM / EDGE ("Global System for Mobile communications" / "Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution") in addition to UMTS / HSPA ("Universal Mobile Telecommunications System" / "High Speed ​​Packet Access") network technology. The standard was developed by 3GPP ("3rd Generation Partnership Project").

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1A, the system 100 may include an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network 102 ("EUTRAN"), an evolved packet core 108 ("EPC"), and a packet data network 101 ("PDN"). The EUTRAN 102 and EPC 108 provide communication between user equipment 104 and the PDN 101. The EUTRAN 102 may include multiple "evolved NodeBs" ("eNodeBs," "enodeb," or "eNBs") or base stations 106a-106c (as shown in FIG. 1b) that provide communication capabilities to multiple user equipment 104a-104c. The user equipment 104 may be a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), a server, a data terminal, and / or any type of user equipment, and / or any combination thereof. The user equipment 104 may connect to the EPC 108 and subsequently to the PDN 101 via any eNodeB 106. Typically, the user equipment 104 may connect to the nearest eNoteB 106. In the LTE system 100, the EUTRAN 102 and the EPC 108 cooperate to provide connectivity, mobility, and services to the user equipment 104.

[0019] Figure 1b illustrates further details of the network 100 of Figure 1a. As mentioned above, the EUTRAN 102 includes multiple eNodeBs 106, also known as cell sites. The eNodeBs 106 provide radio functionality and perform key control functions, including air link resource scheduling or radio resource management, active mode mobility or handover, and service admission control. The eNodeBs 106 are responsible for selecting a mobility management entity (such as the MME shown in Figure 1c) to serve the user equipment 104 and for protocol functions such as header compression and encryption. The eNodeBs 106 that make up the EUTRAN 102 cooperate with each other for radio resource management and handover.

[0020] Communication between the user equipment 104 and the eNodeB 106 occurs over an air interface 122 (also known as the "LTE-Uu" interface). As shown in FIG. 1b, the air interface 122 provides communication between the user equipment 104b and the eNodeB 106. The air interface 122 uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access ("OFDMA") and a variant of OFDMA, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access ("SC-FDMA"), on the downlink and uplink, respectively. OFDMA allows the use of multiple known antenna technologies, such as multiple-input multiple-output ("MIMO").

[0021] The air interface 122 uses various protocols, including radio resource control ("RRC") for signaling between the user equipment 104 and the eNodeB 106, and non-access stratum ("NAS") for signaling between the user equipment 104 and the MME (as shown in FIG. 1c). In addition to signaling, user traffic is carried between the user equipment 104 and the eNodeB 106. Both signaling and traffic within the system 100 are carried over physical layer ("PHY") channels.

[0022] Multiple eNodeBs 106 can interconnect with each other using X2 interfaces 130a-130c. As shown in FIG. 1a, the X2 interface 130a provides interconnection between the eNodeBs 106a and 106b, the X2 interface 130b provides interconnection between the eNodeBs 106a and 106b, and the X2 interface 130c provides interconnection between the eNodeBs 106b and 106c. The X2 interfaces are established between two eNodeBs 106 and can provide for the exchange of signals. The signal exchange can include load-related information, interference-related information, and handover-related information. The eNodeBs 106 communicate with the evolved packet core 108 via S1 interfaces 124a-124c. The S1 interface 124 can be divided into two interfaces: the control plane (denoted in FIG. 1c by control plane interface (S1-MME interface) 128) and the user plane (denoted in FIG. 1c by user plane interface (S1-U interface) 125).

[0023] The EPC 108 establishes and enforces quality of service ("QoS") for user services and allows the user equipment 104 to maintain a consistent Internet Protocol ("IP") address while moving. It should be noted that each node in the network 100 has its own IP address. The EPC 108 is designed to work with legacy wireless networks. The EPC 108 is also designed to separate the control plane (i.e., signaling) and the user plane (i.e., traffic) in the core network architecture. This increases implementation flexibility and allows for independent scalability of control and user data functions.

[0024] The EPC 108 architecture is dedicated to packet data and is shown in more detail in Figure 1c. The EPC 108 includes a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 110, a PDN Gateway (P-GW) 112, a Mobility Management Entity ("MME") 114, a Home Subscriber Server ("HSS") 116 (a database of subscribers for the EPC 108), and a Policy Control and Charging Rules Function ("PCRF") 118. Some of these (such as the S-GW, P-GW, MME, and HSS) may often be combined into multiple nodes according to manufacturer implementations.

[0025] The S-GW 110 functions as an IP packet data router and is the user equipment's bearer path anchor in the EPC 108. Thus, when a user equipment moves from one eNodeB 106 to another eNodeB 106 during mobility operation, the S-GW 110 remains the same and the bearer path to the EUTRAN 102 is switched to communicate with the new eNodeB 106 serving the user equipment 104. When the user equipment 104 moves to the domain of a different S-GW 110, the MME 114 forwards all of the user equipment's bearer paths to the new S-GW. The S-GW 110 establishes bearer paths for the user equipment to one or more P-GWs 112. When downstream data is received for a user equipment in a standby state, the S-GW 110 buffers the downstream packets and requests the MME 114 to find and re-establish a bearer path to and through the EUTRAN 102.

[0026] The P-GW 112 is the gateway between the EPC 108 (and user equipment 104 and EUTRAN 102) and the PDN 101 (shown in Figure 1a). The P-GW 112 acts as a router for user traffic and performs functions on behalf of the user equipment. These functions include assigning an IP address to the user equipment, packet filtering of downstream user traffic to ensure it is placed on the appropriate bearer path, and performing downstream QoS including data rate enforcement. Depending on the services a subscriber is using, there may be multiple user data bearer paths between the user equipment 104 and the P-GW 112. A subscriber may use services on PDNs provided by different P-GWs. In this case, the user equipment has at least one bearer path established to each P-GW 112. During a handover of a user equipment from one eNodeB to another, if the S-GW 110 is also changing, the bearer path from the P-GW is switched to the new S-GW.

[0027] The MME 114 manages the user equipment 104 within the EPC 108. Management includes managing authentication, maintaining the context of authenticated user equipment 104, establishing a data bearer path in the network for user traffic, and tracking the location of idle mobile handsets that have not detached from the network. When a user equipment 104 needs to reconnect to the access network to receive downstream data, the MME 114 initiates paging to identify the user equipment's location and requests that it find and re-establish a bearer path to and through the EUTRAN 102. The MME 114 for a particular user equipment 104 is selected by the eNodeB 106 through which the user equipment 104 initiates system access. The MME is typically part of a collection of MMEs within the EPC 108 for load sharing and redundancy purposes. In establishing a user's data bearer path, the MME 114 is responsible for selecting the P-GW 112 and S-GW 110, which constitute the termination point of the data path through the EPC 108.

[0028] The PCRF 118 is responsible for policy control decision-making as well as controlling the flow-based charging functionality in the Policy Control Enforcement Function ("PCEF") residing in the P-GW 110. The PCRF 118 determines how a particular data flow is treated in the PCEF and provides QoS authorization (QoS Class Identifier ("QCI") and bit rate) to ensure this is in accordance with the user's subscription profile.

[0029] As mentioned above, IP services 119 are provided by PDN 101 (as shown in FIG. 1a).

[0030] II. eNodeB. 1d shows an example configuration of an eNodeB 106. The eNodeB 106 may include at least one remote radio head ("RRH") 132 (typically, there may be three RRHs 132) and one baseband unit ("BBU") 134. The RRH 132 may be connected to an antenna 136. The RRH 132 and BBU 134 may be connected using an optical interface that conforms to the Common Public Radio Interface ("CPRI") 142 standard specification. The operation of the eNodeB 106 may be characterized using the following standard parameters (and specifications): Radio frequency band (Band 4, Band 9, Band 17) Bandwidth (5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, 20MHz) Access method (downlink: OFDMA, uplink: SC-OFDMA) Antenna technology (downlink: 2x2 MIMO, uplink: 1x2 single-input multiple-output ("SIMO")) Number of sectors (maximum 6) Maximum transmission power (60W) Maximum transmission speed (downlink: 150Mb / s, uplink: 50Mb / s) S1 / X2 interface (1000Base-SX, 1000Base-T) Mobile environment (350km / h) The BBU 134 may be responsible for digital baseband signal processing, S1 line termination, X2 line termination, call processing, and supervisory control processing. IP packets received from the EPC 108 (not shown in FIG. 1d) may be modulated into digital baseband signals and transmitted to the RRH 132. Conversely, digital baseband signals received from the RRH 132 may be demodulated into IP packets for transmission to the EPC 108.

[0031] The RRH 132 can transmit and receive wireless signals using an antenna 136. The RRH 132 can convert (using a converter (“CONV”) 140) a digital baseband signal from the BBU 134 to a radio frequency (“RF”) signal and power amplify (using an amplifier (“AMP”) 138) for transmission to the user equipment 104 (not shown in FIG. 1d). Conversely, an RF signal received from the user equipment 104 is amplified (using AMP 138) and converted (using CONV 140) to a digital baseband signal for transmission to the BBU 134.

[0032] Figure 2 shows additional details of an example eNodeB 106. The eNodeB 106 includes multiple layers: LTE Layer 1 (202), LTE Layer 2 (204), and LTE Layer 3 (206). LTE Layer 1 includes the physical layer ("PHY"). LTE Layer 2 includes medium access control ("MAC"), radio link control ("RLC"), and packet data convergence protocol ("PDCP"). LTE Layer 3 includes various functions and protocols, including radio resource control ("RRC"), dynamic resource allocation, eNodeB measurement configuration and provisioning, radio admission control, connection mobility control, and radio resource management ("RRM"). The RLC protocol is an automatic repeat request ("ARQ") fragmentation protocol used over the cellular air interface. The RRC protocol handles LTE Layer 3 control plane signaling between user equipment and the EUTRAN. The RRC includes functions for connection establishment and release, system information broadcast, radio bearer establishment / reconfiguration and release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release, and outer loop power control. The PDCP performs IP header compression and decompression, user data transfer, and radio bearer sequence number maintenance. The BBU 134 shown in FIG. 1d may include LTE layers L1-L3.

[0033] One of the primary functions of the eNodeB 106 is radio resource management, which includes scheduling of both uplink and downlink air interface resources for the user equipment 104, control of bearer resources, and admission control. As an agent of the EPC 108, the eNodeB 106 is responsible for forwarding paging messages used to locate a mobile phone when it is idle. The eNodeB 106 also communicates common control channel information over the air, performs header compression, encryption and decryption of over-the-air transmitted user data, and establishes handover reporting and trigger criteria. As mentioned above, the eNodeB 106 can cooperate with other eNodeBs 106 over the X2 interface for handover and interference management purposes. The eNodeB 106 selects an MME from a group of MMEs so that the load can be shared by multiple MMEs to avoid congestion.

[0034] III. Intelligent LTE Radio Access Network. FIG. 3 illustrates an example system 300, according to some embodiments of the present subject matter. The system 300 may be implemented as a Centralized Cloud Radio Access Network (“C-RAN”) or a Virtual Radio Access Network (“V-RAN”). The system 300 may include at least one intelligent remote radio head (“iRRH”) unit 302 and one intelligent baseband unit (“iBBU”) 304. The iRRH 302 and iBBU 304 may be connected using Ethernet fronthaul (“FH”) communications 306, and the iBBU 304 may be connected to the EPC 108 using backhaul (“BH”) communications 308. User equipment 104 (not shown in FIG. 3) may communicate with the iRRH 302.

[0035] In some embodiments, the iRRH 302 may include a power amplifier (“PA”) module 312, a radio frequency (“RF”) module 314, an LTE layer L1 (or physical layer) 316, and an LTE layer L2 portion 318. The LTE layer L2 portion 318 may include a MAC layer and may further include some functions / protocols related to RLC and PDCP, as described below. The iBBU 304 may be a centralized unit, may communicate with multiple iRRHs, may include an LTE layer L3 (322) (e.g., RRC, RRM, etc.), and may also include an LTE layer L2 portion 320. Like portion 318, portion 320 may include various functions / protocols related to PDCP. Thus, the system 300 may be configured to split the functions / protocols related to PDCP between the iRRH 302 and the iBBU 304.

[0036] The system (e.g., LTE communications) 300 may implement carrier aggregation ("CA") and cooperative multipoint ("CoMP") transmission features. The CA and CoMP features are described in the 3GPP standards for 4G LTE Advanced, Releases 10 and 11, respectively. Both features are designed to improve data throughput rates and are designed to work with 4G LTE Advanced. The following is a brief summary of each of these features.

[0037] A. Carrier aggregation. CA, or channel aggregation, enables the combined use of multiple LTE carriers to deliver the high data rates required for 4G LTE Advanced. These channels, or carriers, may reside in contiguous elements of the spectrum or in different bands. Carriers can be aggregated using contiguous intraband carrier aggregation, discontinuous intraband carrier aggregation, and interband discontinuous carrier aggregation. In contiguous intraband carrier aggregation, the carriers are adjacent to each other, and the aggregated channel is viewed by the user equipment from a radio frequency ("RF") perspective as a single enlarged channel (typically, more transceivers are required if the channels are not adjacent). Discontinuous intraband carrier aggregation typically requires two transceivers, and the multi-carrier signal is not treated as a single signal. Interband discontinuous carrier aggregation requires multiple transceivers within a single user equipment, which can impact cost, performance, and power. Additionally, this aggregation technique requires the reduction of intermodulation and cross-modulation from the two transceivers. When carriers are aggregated, each carrier may be referred to as a component carrier. There are two categories of component carriers: primary component carriers (i.e., the main carrier in any group, for which there is a primary downlink carrier and an associated uplink primary component carrier) and secondary component carriers (for which there are one or more secondary component carriers). The association between a downlink primary component carrier and a corresponding uplink primary component carrier is cell-specific.

[0038] When LTE carrier aggregation is used, it is necessary to be able to schedule data across carriers and to inform terminals of the DCI rates of different component carriers. Cross-carrier scheduling can be achieved individually for each component carrier or for each user equipment via RRC signaling. When cross-carrier scheduling is not configured, downlink scheduling assignments can be achieved on a carrier-by-carrier basis. For the uplink, assignments can be made between one downlink component carrier and one uplink component carrier. When cross-carrier scheduling is active, the Physical Downlink Shared Channel ("PDSCH") in the downlink or the Physical Uplink Shared Channel ("PUSCH") in the uplink is transmitted on the associated component carrier other than the Physical Downlink Control Channel ("PDCCH"). A carrier indicator in the PDCCH provides information about the component carrier used for the PDSCH or PUSCH. The PDSCH is the main data bearing channel dynamically assigned to a user and carries data in transport blocks ("TBs") corresponding to MAC packet data units ("PDUs"). The PDSCH is passed from the MAC layer to the PHY layer once every Transmission Time Interval ("TTI") (i.e., 1 ms). The PDCCH is a channel that carries user equipment resource allocations contained in downlink control information ("DCI") messages.

[0039] There are five deployment scenarios for CA. In the first scenario, cells (e.g., F1 and F2 cells) can be co-located and overlaid, providing approximately the same coverage. Both layers provide sufficient coverage, and mobility is supported on both layers. In the second scenario, cells F1 and F2 can be co-located and overlaid, but the F2 cell has smaller coverage due to a larger path loss. Here, only the F1 cell provides sufficient coverage, and the F2 cell is used to improve throughput. Here, mobility is performed based on the coverage of the F1 cell. In the third scenario, F1 and F2 cells are co-located and overlaid, but the F2 cell has smaller coverage due to a larger path loss. Here, only the F1 cell provides sufficient coverage, and the F2 cell is used to improve throughput. Here, mobility is based on the coverage of the F1 cell. In the fourth scenario, the F1 cell provides macro coverage and the remote radio heads of the F2 cell are used to improve throughput in hot spots. In the fifth scenario, which is similar to the second scenario, frequency selective repeaters are deployed to extend coverage to one of the carrier frequencies. It is assumed that where coverage overlaps, the F1 and F2 cells of the same eNodeB may be aggregated.

[0040] B. Coordinated multipoint transmission. As mentioned above, the CoMP transmission feature is used to transmit / receive data to / from user equipment from several points, ensuring improved performance even at the edge of the cell. CoMP enables dynamic coordination of transmission and reception at various different base stations, improving overall user quality and network utilization. CoMP requires close communication between multiple geographically separated eNodeBs to provide coordinated scheduling and joint processing of transmitted and received signals. This allows user equipment at the edge of the cell to be served by more than one eNodeB for improved signal transmission and reception and increased throughput.

[0041] There are four deployment scenarios for CoMP. The first scenario involves a homogeneous network with intra-site CoMP. The second scenario also involves a homogeneous network, but with higher transmit power RRHs. The third scenario involves a heterogeneous network with low power RRHs within macro cell coverage, where the transmit / receive points created by the RRHs have different cell identities as the macro cell. The fourth scenario involves a heterogeneous network with low power RRHs within macro cell coverage.

[0042] Joint reception and processing, as well as coordinated scheduling, can be achieved with uplink CoMP. The joint reception and processing format uses antennas at different sites and coordinates between different base stations to form a virtual antenna array. Signals received by the base stations are combined and processed to generate a final output signal. The joint reception and processing format reduces errors when receiving low-strength signals or signals masked by interference. The coordinated scheduling format coordinates scheduling decisions among multiple base stations to reduce or minimize interference. This format allows for reduced backhaul load because only scheduling data is transmitted between different cooperating base stations.

[0043] C. Ethernet-based fronthaul in intelligent LTE RAN. FIG. 4 illustrates an example system 400 according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. An example system 400 is disclosed in commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 179,421, entitled "Long Term Evolution Radio Access Network," filed December 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The system 400 may be configured to implement 4G LTE-Advanced functionality, including carrier aggregation capabilities. The system 400 may include an intelligent baseband unit ("iBBU") 402, a primary cell ("PCell") intelligent remote radio head 404, and one or more secondary cell ("SCell") intelligent remote radio heads 406. In LTE CA, the PCell is the serving cell that has an RRC connection with the UE radio access network. The PCell can only be changed by successfully performing a handover procedure. The SCell is a secondary cell that can be added / removed from the list of configured cells when the UE moves in and out of the coverage area. The configuration of the SCell is done by the RRC based on a mobility measurement event triggered by the UE and sent to the RRC.

[0044] 4, each iRRH 404, 406 includes both LTE Layer 1 (i.e., the PHY layer) and LTE Layer 2 (i.e., MAC, PDCP, RLC), and, similar to the iBBU 402, has LTE Layer 2 (i.e., MAC, PDCP, RLC) separated within itself. The iRRH 404 may include a PHY layer 412, a MAC layer 414, a scheduler PCell component 416, a master RLC component 418, an RLC status component 420, a PDCP security component 422, and a BSR component 424. Similarly, the iRRH 406 may include a PHY layer 411, a MAC layer 413, a scheduler SCell component 415, a slave RLC component 419, an RLC status component 421, a PDCP security component 423, and a BSR component 425. The iBBU 402 may include a buffer management component 432 , a PDCP-SN component 434 , a PDCP-RoHC component 436 , a VAS component 438 , an RRC component 440 , and a GTP component 442 .

[0045] The buffer management component 432 can implement the use of buffer occupancy reports, received from the iRRH, to control the flow of user data to the PCell and / or SCell, enabling sequential delivery of data to the user equipment. The PDCP-SN component 434 can perform sequence numbering of PDCP service data units ("PDCPSDUs"). The PDCP Robust Header Compression ("PDCP-RoHC") component 436 can perform IP header compression for Voice over LTE service flows. The Value Added Services ("VAS") component 438 can provide application intelligence to the eNodeB by performing shallow and deep packet inspection of data flows. This component can determine how a particular data flow is handled. Shallow packet inspection ("SPI") can be performed by inspecting one or more headers of a data packet to determine information associated with the data packet. For example, shallow packet inspection can inspect the IP header of a data packet to identify the source IP address of the data packet. In some embodiments, based on the results of shallow packet inspection, deep packet inspection ("DPI") can be performed by examining other layers of the data packet. In some embodiments, the payload of the data packet can be inspected to determine which resource blocks to allocate to the data packet.

[0046] The iRRHs 404 and 406 may be connected to each other via an inter-iRRH interface, which may be a direct connection 452 or a connection that can be shared with a fronthaul connection 458. The iRRHs 404 may communicate with the iBBU 402 using the fronthaul (“FH”) connection 458, and the iRRHs 406 may communicate with the iBBU using the FH connection 464.

[0047] In some embodiments, the iBBU 402 can provide centralized remote radio resource control ("RRC") using an RRC component 440, thereby eliminating the need for long-delay inter-RRC coordination and providing the ability to configure LTE Layer 2 at the iRRHs 404, 406. This functionality can be implemented as part of a coordinated multipoint transmission functionality, as described below.

[0048] As shown in Figure 4, the PDCP protocol-related functions can be split between the iBBU 402, iRRH 404, and iRRH 406. The PDCP-RPHC 436 (ROHC refers to the Robust Header Compression Protocol used to compress packets) and PDCP-SN 434 (SN refers to the sequence number), as well as the buffer management component 432 in the iBBU 402, are referred to as the PDCP-upper, while the PDCP-security 422 and 423 in the iRRHs 404 and 406 are referred to as the PDCP-lower. By having the PDCP-upper in the iBBU 402 and the PDCP-lower in the iRRHs 404 and 406, the PDCP functions are centralized, with the iBBU 402 handling the ROHC and sequence numbering functions and the iRRH handling the encryption functions (referring to known PDPC technology). In some embodiments, the PDCP-upper in the iBBU 402 can also handle the coordination of data flow to the scheduler in the iRRH.

[0049] Additionally, the PDCP-upper and PDCP-lower may be used to provide flow control between the iBBU 402 and the iRRH 406. The flow control depends on the estimated data rate of the bearer. For example, in the downlink 462, the PDCP-upper may transmit compressed and numbered packets to the PCell iRRH 404 and SCell iRRH 406 depending on the buffer occupancy level and the estimated data rate from the reports provided by the PDCP-lower. In some embodiments, the PDCP-lower may generate a report of the buffer occupancy level. This report may be generated periodically, on demand, automatically, manually, and / or at any time interval. Based on this report, the PDCP-upper may estimate the buffer drain rate based on consecutive buffer occupancy reports (e.g., two reports), the time elapsed between the reports, and any additional data sent to the buffer between the reports.

[0050] The iBBU 402 may include a buffer management function 432 to support in-order delivery of PDCP packet data units ("PDCPPDUs") and support a value-added service ("VAS") multi-queue implementation for the default bearer. The buffer management function 432 may detect buffer stalls in the SCell 406 and trigger redirection of stalled PDCPPDU packets to the PCell 404. The PDCP-Lower may detect stale packets and discard them. In-sequence delivery of PDCPPDUs may refer to requirements for data flows transmitted in RLC acknowledged and unacknowledged modes. A VAS multi-queue implementation allows prioritization of data flows within the default bearer. In some embodiments, buffer stall detection is based on an estimated buffer drain rate, which may be derived from buffer occupancy reports received from the PDCP-Lower.

[0051] In some embodiments, to perform packet redirection, the PDCP-upper can tag each packet data unit with time-to-live information (which indicates the time until the data packet expires). The PDCP-lower can then delete the packet from its buffer when the packet's time-to-live timer expires and notify the PDCP-upper of the deleted packet number. The PDCP-upper can decide whether to retransmit the deleted packet to the same PDCP-lower or redirect the deleted packet to the PDCP-lower of another iRRH. Packet discarding can be performed in the PCell and / or SCell, and packets can be redirected to the PCell and / or SCell.

[0052] In some embodiments, RLC protocol processing can be split between the iRRH 404 and the iRRH 406, where the iRRH 404 can include a master RLC component 418 and the iRRH 406 can include a slave RLC component 419. The master RLC component 418 can assign RLCPDU sequence numbers to the slave RLC component 419, thereby centralizing the RLCPDU sequence numbering process. In the present subject system, each RLC entity can maintain a list of unacknowledged PDUs that it has transmitted, thereby processing the ARQ procedure only for those unacknowledged PDUs that it has transmitted. This is because an RLC entity may not be aware of other PDUs that may be transmitted by other entities or may not have the original data to process retransmissions of unacknowledged PDUs. In some embodiments, RLCARQ status PDUs can be transmitted from the user equipment at a rate of only tens of milliseconds and can be shared between the two RLC entities across the iRRH interface, i.e., via the direct connection 452 and / or a connection shared with the fronthaul 458. In some embodiments, the above-described iRRH-to-iRRH interface may utilize the industry standard Stream Control Transport Protocol ("SCTP") over IP. Application layer information exchange may be based on an inter-process communication protocol.

[0053] The channel state information ("CSI"), acknowledgement / de-acknowledgement ("ACK / NACK") signaling, precoding matrix indicator ("PMI"), and rank indicator ("RI") received by the PCell iRRH 404 may be forwarded over the iRRH interface 452 for sharing with the SCell scheduler 415 via a fronthaul or direct Gigabit Ethernet ("GE") connection. This information is made available to the SCell scheduler in the same subframe as it was transmitted so as not to affect the 8 ms target H-ARQRTT.

[0054] In some embodiments, the inter-iRRH interface 452 can be used by the SCell iRRH 406 to inform the PCell iRRH 404 on which PUCCH resources to expect the arrival of H-ARQACK / NACK feedback for packets transmitted by the SCell (the allocation of PUCCH resources is defined in the 3GPP standards for 4G LTE). As a non-limiting example, the scheduler can be designed to determine which user equipment to schedule 2 milliseconds before the data is transmitted over the air. The H-ARQACK / NACK can be transmitted from the user equipment 4 ms after receiving the data. Thus, the one-way delay of the inter-iRRH interface 452 should not be greater than, for example, 4 milliseconds, so that the PCell iRRH 404 is informed of the use of RUCCH resources before the downlink H-ARQACK / NACK information arrives from the user equipment. As can be appreciated, the above is provided as an illustrative and non-limiting example of the system of the current subject matter. Furthermore, it should be understood that the systems of the present subject matter are not limited to particular data scheduling parameters and / or particular delays for transmission of data, but may be designed with any scheduling, delay, and / or other parameters.

[0055] In some embodiments, the inter-iRRH transport 456 may be shared with the fronthaul and switched over to a direct physical connection 452 between the iBBU 402 and / or iRRHs 404, 406 using a Gigabit Ethernet interface. When the inter-iRRH interface is configured as a switched connection 456 over the fronthaul, for example, when the iBBU 402 and iRRHs 404 and / or 406 are collocated and / or collocated, and / or when based on LOS wireless transport such as MW, mmWave, FSO, etc., when the iRRHs are geographically separated, etc.

[0056] IV.New Wireless Multi-Technology Aggregation Communication Networks. In some embodiments, the current subject matter relates to 5G New Radio ("NR") communications systems. 5G NR is a proposed next-generation telecommunications standard beyond the current 4G / IMT-Advanced standard. 5G networks are planned to offer higher capacity than current 4G, allowing more mobile broadband users per area unit and consuming more or unlimited data amounts in gigabytes per month and per user. This will enable users to stream high-resolution media for hours using their mobile devices, even when not on a Wi-Fi network. 5G networks are planned to have improved device-to-device communication support, lower cost than 4G equipment, lower latency, lower battery consumption, etc. Such networks are projected to have data rates of tens of megabits per second for many users, 100 Mb / s for large metropolitan areas, 1 Gb / s for simultaneous users within a limited area (such as an office floor), many simultaneous connections for wireless sensor networks, improved spectral efficiency, improved coverage, improved signaling efficiency, and reduced latency of 1-10 milliseconds compared to existing systems.

[0057] 5 illustrates an example of a communication system 500 that can implement 5G technology and provide users with access to higher frequency bands (e.g., above 10 GHz). The system 500 can include a macro cell 502 and small cells 504 and 506.

[0058] The mobile device 508 can be configured to communicate with one or more of the small cells 504, 506. The system 500 enables control plane (C-plane) and user plane (U-plane) division between the macro cell 502 and the small cells 504, 506, where the C-plane and U-plane utilize different frequency bands. In particular, the small cells 502, 504 can be configured to utilize higher frequency bands when communicating with the mobile device 508. The macro cell 502 can utilize existing cellular bands for C-plane communications. The mobile device 508 can be communicatively coupled via the U-plane 512, and the small cells (e.g., small cell 506) can provide higher data rates and more flexible, cost-effective, and energy-efficient operation. The macro cell 502 can maintain good connectivity and mobility via the C-plane 510. Furthermore, in some locations, the LTE PUCCH and the NR PUCCH can be transmitted on the same frequency.

[0059] FIG. 6 illustrates an existing long-term evolution communications network 600. The network 600 includes elements similar to those shown and described above with respect to FIGS. 1a-1d. As shown in FIG. 6, the system 600 may include an evolved packet core (“EPC”) 602 communicatively coupled to a radio access network (“cRAN”) 604. The cRAN 604 is communicatively coupled to one or more master eNodeBs (“MeNBs”) 606. As mentioned above, the system 600 may implement carrier aggregation (“CA”) techniques to provide communication capabilities to user equipment communicating with the system 600.

[0060] The MeNB 606 may be communicatively coupled 614 (using dual connectivity technology ("DC")) to one or more serving eNodeBs ("SeNBs") 608. The MeNB 606 may also include various networking components, including PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY layers. RF components 612 may be coupled to the MeNB 606 using a CPRI interface. The SeNB 608 may include corresponding components that may enable communication with the MeNB 606 and / or any other third-party eNodeBs 610 that may be communicatively coupled to the system 600. The RF components 612 may be integrated into the SeNB 608. The eNodeBs may provide services ("services") 616 to their network users, as discussed above.

[0061] 7 illustrates an example of a Long Term Evolution communication network 700. In contrast to network 600, the PDCP component 718 may be removed from the MeNB 706 and instead incorporated into the radio access network ("cRAN") 704. Furthermore, the RF component 712 may be incorporated into the MeNB 706. In a multi-technology aggregation communication system that may include LTE and NR functionality, the iRRH component is replaced with a dBBU component, the iBBU component is replaced with a cBBU component, and communication between the dBBU and the cBBU occurs over a midhaul link (in an LTE system, a fronthaul link is used for communication between the iRRH and the iBBU). Additionally, all dBBU components are communicatively coupled to the cBBU.

[0062] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a multi-technology aggregation system 800 according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. Currently, multi-technology aggregation based on the LTE Dual Connectivity ("DC") architecture is supported. The multi-technology aggregation system can support LTE UL and new radio uplink ("NR UL") transmissions on the same carrier frequency for reliable uplink ("UL") operation. For uplink multiplexing purposes, multicast broadcast single frequency network ("MBSFN") subframes and / or minislots and / or simultaneous transmissions on the same frequency may be implemented. However, this may require two uplinks.

[0063] In some embodiments, to address the shortcomings of conventional systems, a system 800 can provide a multi-technology aggregation architecture and interface for centralized and distributed RAN implementations that enables transmission of new radio (NR) uplink control information (“UCI”) while reusing the LTE PUCCH. Additionally, UCI can be transmitted over the PUCCH when LTE UL data is present. As shown in FIG. 8, the system 800 can include an LTE base station (e.g., eNodeB) 802, an NR base station (e.g., gNodeB) 804, and an LTE base station (e.g., eNodeB) 806. The eNodeB 806 can be the same as the eNodeB 802. The eNodeB 802 and the gNodeB 804 can be used for downlink transmissions to one or more user equipment (CCTV, virtual reality devices, smartphones, mobile phones, etc.). The eNodeB 802 can transmit PDCCH, PDSCH data on the downlink and can have a transmission rate of up to approximately 1 Gb / s. The gNodeB 804 can transmit NR-PDCCH, NR-PDSCH data on the downlink and can have a transmission rate greater than 1 Gb / s (e.g., up to 5 Gb / s or higher). The nodes 802 and 804 can be communicatively coupled using a multi-technology aggregation network. The eNodeB 806 (which may be the same as or different from the eNodeB 802) can be used for transmitting uplink data. User equipment can transmit PUCCH and PUSCH along with other uplink data to the eNodeB 806.

[0064] FIG. 9 illustrates an example communication system 900 in accordance with some embodiments of the present subject matter. The system 900 may include a base station (e.g., eNodeB) 902 and an NR base station (e.g., gNodeB) 904. The base station 902 can provide coverage for an area within which the base station 904 can be located. The base station 904 can provide peak throughput of several Gb / s in a small area. The base station 904 can generate user equipment-specific signals / beams that can provide high areal spectral efficiency. Some user equipment at the NR cell edge (i.e., the cell edge of the area covered by the base station 904) may experience degraded radio conditions, causing frequent handovers and poor control channel reception performance.

[0065] FIG. 10 illustrates an example communication system 1000 according to some embodiments of the present subject matter. The system 1000 may be similar to the system 900 illustrated in FIG. 9 and may include a base station (e.g., eNodeB) 1002 and an NR base station (e.g., gNodeB) 1004. Again, the base station 1002 may provide coverage for a coverage area. The base station 1004 may be located in the cell area of ​​the base station 1002. The base station 1002 may function as a mobility anchor and provide downlink (PDCCH, PDSCH) and uplink (PUCCH, PUSCH) transmissions to user equipment in its cell area. Additionally, the base station 1002 may receive uplink control information from the base station 1002, which may be transmitted to the base station 1002 on its uplink (PUCCH).

[0066] In some embodiments, the base station 1004 may be used only for downlink transmissions (capacity / throughput). The base station 1004 may implement active antenna system ("AAS") and beamforming ("BF") tracking algorithms and transmit to user equipment within its coverage area. Beamforming may be used for transmitting downlink NR-PDCCH and NR-PDSCH information / data. The base station 1004 may generate transmit beams on-demand based on capacity needs and / or other parameters. The base station 1004 may also perform various advanced multi-site processing functions.

[0067] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a communication system 1100 that can implement a centralized high baseband unit ("BBU") architecture. The system 1100 may include a higher BBU ("H-BBU") component 1102 and lower BBU ("L-BBU") components 1104-1108. The H-BBU component 1102 may include RRC, flow control, VAS, and PDCP functions. The L-BBU components 1104-1108 may include RCL / MAC, PHY, and RF layer / components. The L-BBU components 1104 and 1106 may be configured as LTE components, and the L-BBU component 1108 may be configured as an NR component. Information from the eNodeB and gNodeB (i.e., the respective L-BBU components) may be transmitted to the H-BBU component 1102. This may be accomplished using an Xx-C (control) interface and an Xx-U interface.

[0068] In some embodiments, downlink scheduling may be performed as follows: The eNodeB may send uplink control information ("UCI") to the gNodeB, which may include downlink ACK / NACK, channel state information ("CSI"), precoding matrix indicator ("PMI"), and rank indicator ("RI"). The gNodeB may send downlink control information ("DCI") to the eNodeB, which may include modulation coding scheme ("MCS") and resource indication value ("RIV"). As part of the flow control of the system 1100, buffer status information (eNodeB / gNodeB), average throughput (eNodeB / gNodeB), cell loading (eNodeB / gNodeB), and channel quality (eNodeB / gNodeB) may be provided. For gNodeB activation / deactivation purposes, reference signal received power ("RSRP") and reference signal received quality ("RSRQ") (eNodeB / gNodeB) may be used along with the activation / deactivation information. The eNodeB / gNodeB may also configure discontinuous reception parameters (“DRX”) through configuration of various RRC parameters. Additionally, gNodeB radio resource configuration and measurements, and mobility control information may also be utilized by the system 1100.

[0069] Figure 12 illustrates an example of an LTE-NR internetworking architecture 1200. As shown in Figure 12, an LTE eNodeB 1202 may be communicatively coupled to an MME 1204 of the EPC via an S1-MME interface 1201 and to a gNodeB 1206 via an Xx-C interface 1203. Additionally, the LTE eNodeB 1202 may be communicatively coupled to an S-GW 1208 of the EPC via an S1-U interface 1205 and to a gNodeB 1206 via an Xx-U interface 1207. The gNodeB 1206 may be communicatively coupled to the S-GW 1208 using an S1-U interface 1209. In particular, a PDCP component 1211 of the LTE eNodeB 1202 may be communicatively coupled to a new radio (NR) RLC component 1213 of the gNodeB 1206 via an Xx interface 1215.

[0070] FIG. 13 illustrates an example architecture 1300 capable of implementing an Xx interface 1301 between an LTE eNodeB 1302 and an NR gNodeB 1304. The Xx interface 1301 may include a control interface (Xx-C) and a user interface (Xx-u). In some embodiments, downscheduling may be performed by the eNodeB 1302 sending uplink control information ("UCI") to the gNodeB, where the uplink control information may include a downlink ACK / NACK, channel state information ("CSI"), a precoding matrix indicator ("PMI"), and a rank indicator ("RI"). The gNodeB may send downlink control information ("DCI") to the gNodeB, where the downlink control information may include a modulation coding scheme ("MCS") and a resource indication value ("RIV"). Flow control may provide buffer status information (eNodeB / gNodeB), average throughput (eNodeB / gNodeB), cell load (eNodeB / gNodeB), and channel quality (eNodeB / gNodeB). Reference signal received power ("RSRP") and reference signal received quality ("RSRQ") (eNodeB / gNodeB) may be provided along with various activation / deactivation information to activate / deactivate a gNodeB. The eNodeB / gNodeB may also configure discontinuous reception parameters ("DRX"). Mobility control information may also be used in the system 1300 in conjunction with gNodeB radio resource configuration.

[0071] 14a illustrates a multi-technology aggregation centralized virtualized RAN architecture 1400 according to some embodiments of the present subject matter. The architecture 1400 may include a centralized unit 1402, a master eNodeB ("MeNB") unit 1404, and a gNodeB ("gNB") unit 1406. The centralized unit 1402 may include at least the following components: RRC, GPRS Tunneling Protocol ("GTP"), VAS, PDCP-RoHC, PDCP-SN, PDCP security, and flow control. The MeNB unit 1404 may be communicatively coupled to the centralized unit 1402 via a midhaul (which may include a backhaul link from a small cell to a master cell or from a lower BBU to a higher BBU). The MeNB unit 1404 may include at least the following components: BSR, RLC (with ARQ), scheduler MeNB, and MAC / PHY layer (with H-ARQ). The gNB unit 1406 may be communicatively coupled to the MeNB unit 1404 using an Xx (direct) interface. The gNB unit 1406 may include at least the following components: BSR, RLC (with ARQ), scheduler gNB, and MAC / PHY layer (with H-ARQ).

[0072] In some embodiments, the RRC component of the centralized unit 1402 can be used to add / drop cells (e.g., gNB, eNodeB, etc.). A PDCP component can be used to secure the U-plane. A flow control component in the centralized unit 1402 can provide buffer status management and RSRP / RSRQ updates for activation / deactivation of the gNB unit 1406 and DRX configuration. The gNB unit 1406 can generate adaptive RLC service data units ("SDUs") using a signal-to-noise ratio ("SNR"). The scheduler gNB component of unit 1406 can communicate with the scheduler MeNB component of unit 1404 via an Xx interface. The schedulers can share various scheduling information, CSI, PMI, RI, HARQ feedback information, and / or other information.

[0073] In some embodiments, the system 1400 can use frequency F1_DL for transmission of LTE downlink information for purposes of UCI multiplexing and transmission. For uplink LTE transmissions, frequency F1_DL can be used. For transmission of NR uplink control information, frequency F2 can be utilized. For example, the information can include NR downlink transmissions, NR CSI feedback estimated based on NR DL CSI RS, or DM RS measurements from the user equipment. These can include at least one of CQI, PMI, CQI, RI, and PMI in the form of angle of arrival ("AOA") and strength estimates from the RS. Additionally, NR uplink control information can include a scheduling request ("SR"). Additionally, NR UCI can be mapped to the LTE PUCCH and transmitted on frequency F1_UL.

[0074] FIG. 14b shows an example of a process 1410 that may be performed by the system 1400 of FIG. 14a. In step 1412, the centralized RRC component of the centralized unit 1402 may perform cell addition / drop. In step 1414, various PDCP components of the centralized unit 1402 may perform user plane anchoring. In step 1416, buffer status management and / or RSRP / RSRQ updates for enabling / disabling DRX configuration may be communicated between the centralized unit 1402 and the NR gNB 1406. In step 1416, adaptive RLC SDUs may be generated based on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) information by both the eNB 1404 and the gNB 1406. The schedulers of the eNB 1404 and the gNB 1406 (“scheduler MeNB” and “scheduler gNB”) may perform independent scheduling processes in step 1418. The Xx direct interface between the eNB 1404 and the gNB 1406 may then be used to share scheduling, CSI / PMI / RI, and / or HRQ feedback information.

[0075] 15 illustrates an example of a multi-technology aggregation flow control architecture 1500 according to some embodiments of the present subject matter. The architecture 1500 may include a centralized unit ("CU") 1502, an eNB unit 1504, and a gNB unit 1506. The unit 1502 may include at least a PDCP component and a multi-connectivity ("MC") traffic shaping function. The units 1504 and 1506 may include at least respective RLC, MAC, and PHY components / layers.

[0076] FIG. 16 illustrates an example flow control algorithm 1600 according to some embodiments of the current subject matter, and FIG. 17 illustrates an example flow control algorithm that may be performed by architecture 1500.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 16, an example flow control algorithm 1600 may be executed between PDCP and RLC in CU 1502 (e.g., shown in FIG. 15). During initialization during cell setup, a maximum RLC buffer size may be sent from RLC to PDCP. This may include a Qmin parameter, which may be a parameter of the traffic shaping function. RLC may send a data transfer request along with RLC buffer status information (e.g., RLC_buffer_drain_rate and avg_RLC_buffer_size). Upon receiving the data transfer request, the traffic shaping function of CU 1502 may determine the size of the PDCP PDU and forward the PDCP PDU to RLC. The traffic shaping function may be expressed as follows:

[0078] f(Qmax,Qmin,RLC_buffer_drain_rate,avg_RLC_buffer_size)

[0079] As shown in Figure 17, an example of flow control algorithm 1700 may be similar to flow control algorithm 1700. However, in this case, the traffic shaping function may estimate the required packet size based on the maximum / minimum RLC buffer size and packet round trip time. PDCP may then transmit the PDCP PDU to the RLC. In this case, the traffic shaping function may be expressed as follows:

[0080] f(Qmax,Qmin,RTT)

[0081] 18 illustrates an example of a multi-technology aggregation load balancing process 1800 that may be performed using an eNB 1802 and / or a gNB 1804, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. During process 1800, incoming data 1801 is received and processed by each RLC component (i.e., the respective RLC components of the eNB and gNB), which may send a data transfer request to the PDCP of the CU (e.g., unit 1502 shown in FIG. 15). One or more gNBs 1804 may also send their RLC buffer status 1820 information to the PDCP (which may also be provided to a traffic shaping function within the CU). One or more gNBs 1804 may also send their RLC buffer status 1821 information to the PDCP (which may also be provided to a traffic shaping function within the CU). Upon receiving a data transfer request, the traffic shaping function 1805 can segment the bearer into multiple packet data units ("PDUs") 1805 and send the data to the RLC of the eNB 1802 (RLC SDUs and segmented RLC PDUs 1811 for the P cell 1807) and the gNB 1804 (RLC SDUs and RLC PDUs 1813 for the S cell 1809). The channel aware MAC SDUs 1815, 1817 can provide resource allocation sizes to the RLC components within the respective eNB 1802 and gNB 1804.

[0082] In some embodiments, the present subject matter may include various information regarding the average buffer size and buffer occupancy rate in the distributed unit gNB (gNB-DU) for transmission of data related to a particular data radio bearer to user equipment. This information may be provided as part of the F1 user plane protocol service (F1 is a logical interface between the centralized unit gNB (gNB-CU) and the distributed gNB (gNB-DU)). The average buffer size of a data radio bearer may represent the average buffer size for the associated data radio bearer. This average buffer size may be reported by the gNB-DU to the gNB-CU as part of a feedback process for controlling downlink user data flow for the particular data radio bearer. The average buffer size may be averaged over the time between successive status reports. The average buffer occupancy rate may be reported in a number of RLC SDUs obtained by the MAC layer for the particular bearer between successive reports. As an example, the average buffer size of a data radio bearer may be reported in a 4-octet status report frame (e.g., 0...2 32 -1), and the average buffer occupancy rate is also a 4-octet status report frame (e.g., 0...2 32 The value of the parameter can be in the range of -1.

[0083] In some embodiments, the present subject matter may be configured to be implemented in a system 1900, such as that shown in FIG. 19 . System 1900 may include one or more of a processor 1910, a memory 1920, a storage device 1930, and an input / output device 1940. Each of the components 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 may be interconnected using a system bus 1950. Processor 1910 may be configured to process instructions for execution within system 600. In some embodiments, processor 1910 may be a single-threaded processor. In alternative embodiments, processor 1910 may be a multi-threaded processor. Processor 1910 may be further configured to process instructions stored in memory 1920 or storage device 1930, including sending and receiving information via input / output device 1940. Memory 1920 may store information within system 1900. In some embodiments, memory 1920 may be a computer-readable medium. Further, in some embodiments, memory 1920 may be a non-volatile memory unit. Storage device 1930 may be capable of providing mass storage for system 1900. In some embodiments, storage device 1930 may be a computer-readable medium. In alternative embodiments, storage device 1930 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, a tape device, non-volatile solid-state memory, or any other type of storage device. Input / output device 1940 may be configured to provide input / output operations to system 1900. In some embodiments, input / output device 1940 may include a keyboard and / or a pointing device. In alternative embodiments, input / output device 1940 may include a display unit for displaying a graphical user interface.

[0084] FIG. 20 illustrates an example method 2000, according to some embodiments of the current subject matter. In step 2002, a first base station (e.g., an LTE eNodeB) may transmit downlink data to a user equipment. The transmission may utilize a first downlink frequency. In step 2004, the first base station may receive uplink data from the user equipment using a first uplink frequency. In step 2006, a second base station (e.g., an NR gNodeB, etc.) may transmit downlink data to the user equipment. This transmission may utilize a second downlink frequency. In step 2008, the second base station may transmit uplink data to the first base station using the first uplink frequency.

[0085] In some embodiments, the present subject matter may include one or more of the following optional features: the first downlink data may be transmitted using a first base station of the wireless communication system, and the first uplink data may be received using the first base station. Similarly, the second downlink data may be transmitted from a second base station of the wireless communication system, and the second uplink data may be transmitted from the second base station to the first base station.

[0086] In some embodiments, the first and second base stations may include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, and any combination thereof. At least one of the first and second base stations may include at least one of a radio transmitter, a radio receiver, and any combination thereof. The first and second base stations may be base stations operating in at least one of a long-term evolution communication system and a new wireless communication system.

[0087] In some embodiments, at least one of the first and second base stations may be communicatively coupled to at least one centralizing unit configured to provide at least packet data convergence protocol control information to at least one of the first and second base stations. At least one of the first and second uplink data may include user control information.

[0088] In some embodiments, the method 2000 may include generating, with a centralized unit, a packet data convergence protocol packet data unit based on information provided by at least one of the first and second base stations, and transmitting the generated packet data unit to at least one of the first and second base stations. The method may include generating scheduling information separately by the first and second base stations, and sharing the generated scheduling information between the first and second base stations.

[0089] The systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented in a variety of forms, including, for example, databases, digital electronic circuits, firmware, data processors such as computers incorporating software, and the like. Furthermore, the above-mentioned features and other aspects and concepts of embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in a variety of environments. These environments and associated applications may be specially constructed to perform various processes and operations according to the disclosed embodiments, or they may comprise general-purpose computers or computing platforms selectively enabled or reconfigured by code to provide the required functionality. The processes disclosed herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or other apparatus, but may be implemented by any suitable combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings of the disclosed embodiments. It may also be convenient to construct specialized apparatus or systems to perform the required methods and techniques.

[0090] The systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, such as a machine-readable storage medium or a propagated signal, for execution by or to control the operation of a data processing apparatus, such as a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. The computer program may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and may be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. The computer program may be deployed on one computer, on multiple computers at a single site, or on multiple computers distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communications network.

[0091] As used herein, the term "user" may refer to any entity, including a person or a computer.

[0092] Although in some cases, ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," etc. may be associated with a certain order, as used herein, ordinal numbers do not necessarily imply a certain order. For example, ordinal numbers may be used only to distinguish one object from another object, e.g., to distinguish a first event from a second event, and do not necessarily imply a chronological order or a fixed reference system (e.g., a first event in one paragraph of a specification may be different from a first event in another paragraph of the specification).

[0093] The above description is intended to illustrate, but not to limit, the scope of protection of the invention as defined in the following claims. Other embodiments are within the scope of protection of the following claims.

[0094] These computer programs, also referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or code, contain machine instructions for a programmable processor and may be implemented in high-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming languages, and / or assembly / machine languages. As used herein, a "machine-readable medium" includes a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal, and refers to any program product, apparatus, and / or device, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, memory, programmable logic device (PLD), etc. The term "machine-readable signal" refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor. A machine-readable medium may store these machine instructions non-transitorily, such as in a non-transitory solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive, or any equivalent storage medium. Alternatively or additionally, a machine-readable medium may store these machine instructions in a transitory manner, such as in a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0095] To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter described herein may be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor or a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, for displaying information to a user, and a keyboard and a pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may also be used to provide for interaction with a user. For example, feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback, and input from the user may be received in any form, including, but not limited to, acoustic input, voice input, or tactile input.

[0096] The subject matter described herein is (1) includes a back-end component, such as one or more data servers; or (2) includes middleware components, such as one or more application servers; or (3) includes a front-end component, such as one or more client computers having a graphical user interface or web browser through which a user can interact with an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; or (4) Any combination of these back-end components, middleware components, or front-end components It may be implemented on a computing system. The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as a communication network, including, but not limited to, a local area network ("LAN"), a wide area network ("WAN"), the Internet, etc.

[0097] A computing system may include clients and servers. Generally, but not exclusively, clients and servers interact remotely from each other, typically through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

[0098] The embodiments described in the above description do not represent all embodiments of the subject matter described herein. Rather, these embodiments are merely some examples of aspects related to the described subject matter. While several variations have been described above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, in addition to the features and / or variations described herein, further features and / or variations may be provided, such as various combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features and / or combinations and subcombinations of several additional features disclosed above. In addition, the logic flow depicted in the accompanying figures and / or described herein does not necessarily require the particular order depicted to achieve a preferred result. Other embodiments may fall within the scope of protection of the following claims.

Claims

1. transmitting first downlink data to a user equipment using a first downlink frequency; receiving first uplink data from the user equipment using a first uplink frequency; transmitting second downlink data to the user equipment using a second downlink frequency; receiving second uplink data using the first uplink frequency; Computer-implemented methods.

2. the first downlink data is transmitted using a first base station in a wireless communication system; the first uplink data is received using the first base station. The method of claim 1.

3. the second downlink data is transmitted from a second base station in the wireless communication system; the first uplink data is transmitted from the second base station to the first base station; The method of claim 2.

4. the first and second base stations include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, and any combination thereof; The method of claim 3.

5. at least one of the first base station and the second base station includes at least one of a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and any combination thereof; The method of claim 4.

6. the first and second base stations operate in at least one of a long term evolution communication system and a new wireless communication system; The method of claim 5.

7. the first and second base stations are communicatively coupled to at least one centralization unit configured to provide at least packet data convergence protocol control information to the first base station and the second base station; The method of claim 3.

8. At least one of the first and second uplink data includes user control information. The method of claim 7.

9. generating, with a centralization unit, a packet data convergence protocol packet data unit based on the information provided by at least one of the first and second base stations; transmitting the generated packet data unit to at least one of the first and second base stations. The method of claim 8.

10. independently generating scheduling information by the first and second base stations; and sharing the generated scheduling information among the first and second base stations.

10. The method of claim 9.

11. at least one programmable processor; 1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to: transmitting first downlink data to a user equipment using a first downlink frequency; receiving first uplink data from the user equipment using a first uplink frequency; transmitting second downlink data to the user equipment using a second downlink frequency; receiving the second uplink data using the first uplink frequency. system.

12. the first downlink data is transmitted using a first base station in a wireless communication system; the first uplink data is received using the first base station. The system of claim 11.

13. the second downlink data is transmitted from a second base station in the wireless communication system; the second uplink data is transmitted from the second base station to the first base station. The system of claim 12.

14. the first and second base stations include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, and any base station thereof; The system of claim 13.

15. at least one of the first base station and the second base station includes at least one of a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and any combination thereof; The system of claim 14.

16. the first and second base stations operate in at least one of a long term evolution communication system and a new wireless communication system; The system of claim 15.

17. at least one of the first and second base stations is communicatively coupled to at least one centralization unit configured to provide at least packet data convergence protocol control information to at least one of the first base station and the second base station; The system of claim 13.

18. At least one of the first and second uplink data includes user control information.

20. The system of claim 17.

19. The operation is generating, with the centralization unit, a packet data convergence protocol packet data unit based on the information provided by at least one of the first base station and the second base station; transmitting the generated packet data unit to at least one of the first and second base stations.

20. The system of claim 18.

20. The operation is independently generating scheduling information by the first and second base stations; and sharing the generated scheduling information among the first and second base stations.

20. The system of claim 19.

21. 1. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to: transmitting first downlink data to a user equipment using a first downlink frequency; receiving first uplink data from the user equipment using a first uplink frequency; transmitting second downlink data to the user equipment using a second downlink frequency; receiving the second uplink data using the first uplink frequency. Computer program products.

22. the first downlink data is transmitted using a first base station in a wireless communication system; the first uplink data is received using the first base station.

22. A computer program product according to claim 21.

23. the second downlink data is transmitted from a second base station in the wireless communication system; the second uplink data is transmitted from the second base station to the first base station.

23. A computer program product according to claim 22.

24. the first and second base stations include at least one of an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, and any base station thereof; 24. A computer program product according to claim 23.

25. at least one of the first base station and the second base station includes at least one of a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and any combination thereof; 25. A computer program product according to claim 24.

26. the first and second base stations operate in at least one of a long term evolution communication system and a new wireless communication system; 26. A computer program product according to claim 25.

27. at least one of the first and second base stations is communicatively coupled to at least one centralization unit configured to provide at least packet data convergence protocol control information to at least one of the first base station and the second base station; 24. A computer program product according to claim 23.

28. At least one of the first and second uplink data includes user control information.

28. A computer program product according to claim 27.

29. The operation is generating, with the centralization unit, a packet data convergence protocol packet data unit based on the information provided by at least one of the first base station and the second base station; transmitting the generated packet data unit to at least one of the first and second base stations.

29. A computer program product according to claim 28.

30. The operation is independently generating scheduling information by the first and second base stations; and sharing the generated scheduling information among the first and second base stations.

30. A computer program product according to claim 29.

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