Apparatus for Controlling Spectrum Exploitation Utilising Overlapping Channel Bandwidths

• US 20120039268A1
• Filed: 02/09/2009
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Rössel, Sabine, Häkkinen, Hannu Tapio
• Application Number:
  US13/148,415
• Publication Number:
  US 20120039268A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/001 the frequencies being arranged in component carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference

Abstract

An apparatus for controlling spectrum exploitation utilising overlapping channel bandwidths comprises a carrier utilization element configured to utilize a combination of pre-configured channel bandwidths for wireless communication within an available frequency spectrum, wherein the combination includes overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a carrier utilization element configured to utilize a combination of pre-configured channel bandwidths for wireless communication within an available frequency spectrum, wherein the combination includes overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein carriers corresponding to the overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths comprise a time offset.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a downlink scheduler element configured to avoid allocation of a downlink data channel in a region of overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein outer guard bands for the available frequency spectrum in which no channels are to be allocated are provided by virtual guard bands of the pre-configured channel bandwidths.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the downlink scheduler element is further configured to send cell-specific downlink reference symbols of both of the carriers corresponding to pair-wise overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths in the region of overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths.

6. The apparatus according claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured as a user equipment component and wherein the carrier utilization element is further configured to utilize the overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths at the same time.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured as a base station and wherein the carrier utilization element is further configured to schedule the overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths for use at the same time.

8. A method, comprising:

utilizing a combination of pre-configured channel bandwidths for wireless communication by a carrier utilization element within an available frequency spectrum, wherein the combination includes overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein carriers corresponding to the overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths comprise a time offset.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

avoiding allocation of a downlink data channel in a region of overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths by a downlink scheduler element.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein outer guard bands for the available frequency spectrum in which no channels are to be allocated are provided by virtual guard bands of the pre-configured channel bandwidths.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising sending cell-specific downlink reference symbols of both of the carriers corresponding to pair-wise overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths in the region of overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths by the downlink scheduler element.

13. The method according claim 8, further comprising utilizing the overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths at the same time by a user equipment component.

14. The method according to claim 8, further comprising scheduling the overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths for use at the same time by a base station.

15. A computer program product embodied on a computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on a computer, perform:

utilizing a combination of pre-configured channel bandwidths for wireless communication by a carrier utilization element within an available frequency spectrum, wherein the combination includes overlapping pre-configured channel bandwidths.

16. A system, comprising:

one or more power amplifier configured to provide at least two carrier having overlapping channel bandwidths; and

a cellular wireless communication network controller configured to provide an air interface communication protocol over a range covered by the overlapping channel bandwidth.

17. The system according to claim 16, further comprising:

a deployment element configured to deploy one of a set of combinations of pre-configured channel bandwidths, in which for each combination the carrier center frequency of each pre-configured channel bandwidth comprises the same distance to a lower edge of an available frequency spectrum, for a specific cell of the cellular network, and to deploy another one of the set of combinations for a cell neighboring to said specific cell.