Transmission of data for multimedia broadcast/multicast services

• US 7,636,337 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2002
• Issued: 12/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Leppisaari, Arto, Jokinen, Harri, Parantainen, Janne
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Jayanti K
• Assistant Examiner(s): SOL, ANTHONY M
• Application Number:
  US10/157,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20030223394A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,765 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for transmitting data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) from a radio access network of a cellular communication network via a radio interface to mobile terminals located in a radio cell supplied by said radio access network. The radio access network transmits paging messages on a common control channel. It is proposed that a dedicated channel is employed for transmitting the MBMS data, which dedicated channel is allocated in a way that the mobile terminals are able to receive simultaneously paging messages and the MBMS data. The invention relates equally to a corresponding network entity, mobile terminal and communication system.

Claims

1. Method comprising

transmitting paging messages in at least one common control channel defined in a frame structure employed in a radio cell, wherein in said frame structure each frame is composed of a plurality of time slots;

transmitting data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service in a dedicated channel, separate from the common control channel and defined in said frame structure, wherein said dedicated channel is allocated such that mobile terminals located in said radio cell are capable of receiving paging messages and said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data simultaneously via a radio interface; and

allocating a broadcast control channel employed in said radio cell, and said common control channel comprising paging messages, to a same time slot in different frames or within a single frame.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is allocated at least to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and wherein said dedicated channel is placed on a carrier employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is allocated at least to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel, and wherein said dedicated channel is placed on a carrier employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is allocated at least to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and wherein said dedicated channel is placed on a channel with the same frequency hopping parameters as used in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is allocated at least to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel, and wherein said dedicated channel is placed on a channel with the same frequency hopping parameters as used in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is placed on a carrier employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and wherein the number of time slots in a sequence of consecutive time slots, comprising a time slot associated to said common control channel employed for transmitting paging messages and a time slot associated to said dedicated channel is at the most equal to the number of time slots of which reception is supported by said mobile terminals for downlink transmissions from said radio access network.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is allocated at least to a time slot adjacent to a time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel and all common control channels employed in said radio cell are allocated to adjacent time slots.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein the number of time slots to which common control channels and said dedicated multimedia broadcast/multicast service channel are allocated in said radio cell is at the most equal to the number of time slots supported by the mobile terminals in said cell for reception of downlink transmissions from said radio access network to said mobile terminals.

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is allocated in addition to at least one time slot to which a common control channel is allocated in said radio cell, during periods in which said at least one time slot is not required for said common control channel.

11. Method according to claim 1, wherein said dedicated channel is placed on a channel with the same frequency hopping parameters as used in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and wherein the number of time slots in a sequence of consecutive time slots comprising a time slot associated to said common control channel employed for transmitting paging messages and a time slot associated to said dedicated channel is at the most equal to the number of time slots of which reception is supported by said mobile terminals for downlink transmissions from said radio access network.

12. Method according to claim 1, wherein in said frame structure predetermined numbers of frames constitute a respective block, wherein said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data is transmitted on said dedicated channel in blocks which are different from blocks in which paging messages are transmitted on said common control channel.

13. Method according to claim 1, wherein multimedia broadcast/multicast service data transmitted on said dedicated channel is allowed to be lost during transmission in said radio cell and to be received later on by said mobile terminals during a repetition of the transmission of said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data on said dedicated channel.

14. Method according to claim 1, wherein said paging messages are transmitted in addition on said dedicated channel.

15. Method according to claim 1, wherein in case a paging message will be provided on said common control channel, an information that a paging message will be provided is transmitted in addition on said dedicated channel.

16. Apparatus comprising a transmitting component

configured to transmit via a radio interface paging messages on a common control channel defined in a frame structure, wherein in said frame structure each frame is composed of a plurality of time slots, and

configured to transmit via said radio interface data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service on a dedicated channel, separate from the common control channel and defined in said frame structure, wherein said paging messages and said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data are transmitted such that they can be received simultaneously by mobile stations which are capable of receiving multimedia broadcast/multicast service data and which are located in a radio cell supplied by said network entity;

and

configured to allocate a broadcast control channel employed in said radio cell, and said common control channel comprising paging messages, to a same time slot in different frames or within a single frame.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to allocate a dedicated channel at least to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and to place said dedicated channel on a carrier employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages.

18. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to allocate said dedicated channel at least to a time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel employed in said radio cell, and to place said dedicated channel on a carrier employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel.

19. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to allocate said dedicated channel at least to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and to place said dedicated channel on a channel with the same frequency hopping parameters as used in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages.

20. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to allocate said dedicated channel at least to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel employed in said radio cell, and to place said dedicated channel on a channel with the same frequency hopping parameters as used in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages and for said broadcast control channel.

21. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said dedicated channel is placed on a carrier employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and wherein the number of time slots in a sequence of consecutive time slots comprising a time slot associated to said common control channel employed for transmitting paging messages and a time slot associated to said dedicated channel is at the most equal to the number of time slots of which reception is supported by said mobile terminals for downlink transmissions from said radio access network.

22. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to allocate said dedicated channel at least to a time slot adjacent to said time slot employed in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages.

23. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to allocate said dedicated channel and all common control channels employed in said radio cell to adjacent time slots.

24. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the number of time slots to which common control channels and said dedicated multimedia broadcast/multicast service channel are allocated in said radio cell is at the most equal to the number of time slots supported by the mobile terminals in said cell for reception of downlink transmissions from said radio access network to said mobile terminals.

25. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to allocate said dedicated channel in addition to at least one time slot to which a common control channel is allocated in said radio cell, during periods in which said at least one time slot is not required for said common control channel.

26. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to place said dedicated channel on a channel with the same frequency hopping parameters as used in said radio cell for said common control channel comprising paging messages, and wherein the number of time slots in a sequence of consecutive time slots comprising a time slot associated to said common control channel employed for transmitting paging messages and a time slot associated to said dedicated channel is at the most equal to the number of time slots of which reception is supported by said mobile terminals for downlink transmissions from said radio access network.

27. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein in said frame structure predetermined numbers of frames constitute a respective block, and wherein said transmitting component is configured to transmit said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data on said dedicated channel in blocks which are different from blocks in which paging messages are transmitted on said common control channel.

28. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein multimedia broadcast/multicast service data transmitted on said dedicated channel is allowed to be lost during transmission in said radio cell and to be received later on by said mobile terminals during a repetition of the transmission of said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data on said dedicated channel.

29. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to transmit said paging messages in addition on said dedicated channel.

30. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said transmitting component is configured to transmit an information that a paging message will be provided in addition on said dedicated channel, in case a paging message will be provided on said common control channel.

31. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said apparatus is a network element.

32. Network entity comprising an apparatus according to claim 16.

33. Apparatus comprising a receiving component configured to receive via a radio interface simultaneously paging messages transmitted by a radio access network on a common control channel defined in a frame structure and data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service transmitted by a radio access network of a cellular communication network on a dedicated channel, separate from the common control channel and defined in said frame structure, configured to support reception of downlink transmissions from said radio access network on at least one time slot, and configured to monitor on said at least one time slot, reception of a broadcast control channel and of said common control channel comprising paging messages, said broadcast control channel and said common control channel being allocated to a same time slot in different frames or within a single frame.

34. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said receiving component is configured to support reception of downlink transmissions from said radio access network on at least two time slots, and to monitor two adjacent time slots to which said common control channel comprising paging messages and said dedicated channel are allocated.

35. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein multimedia broadcast/multicast service data transmitted on said dedicated channel is allowed to be lost during transmission in said radio cell and to be received later on by said mobile terminals during a repetition of the transmission of said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data on said dedicated channel.

36. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said apparatus is a mobile terminal.

37. Communication system comprising

a network entity of a cellular communication network with a transmitting component configured to transmit via a radio interface paging messages on a common control channel defined in a frame structure, wherein in said frame structure each frame is composed of a plurality of time slots, configured to transmit via said radio interface data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service on a dedicated channel, separate from the common control channel and defined in said frame structure, wherein said paging messages and said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data are transmitted such that they can be received simultaneously by mobile stations which are capable of receiving multimedia broadcast/multicast service data and which are located in a radio cell supplied by said network entity, and configured to allocate a broadcast control channel employed in said radio cell, and said common control channel comprising paging messages, to a same time slot in different frames or within a single frame;

and

a mobile terminal with a receiving component configured to receive via a radio interface simultaneously paging messages transmitted by said radio access network on a common control channel and data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service transmitted by a radio access network on a dedicated channel.

38. Apparatus comprising

means for transmitting via a radio interface paging messages on a common control channel defined in a frame structure, wherein in said frame structure each frame is composed of a plurality of time slots,

means for transmitting via said radio interface data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service on a dedicated channel, separate from the common control channel and defined in said frame structure, wherein said paging messages and said multimedia broadcast/multicast service data are transmitted such that they can be received simultaneously by mobile stations which are capable of receiving multimedia broadcast/multicast service data and which are located in a radio cell supplied by said network entity, and

means for allocating a broadcast control channel employed in said radio cell, and said common control channel comprising paging messages, to a same time slot in different frames or within a single frame.

39. Apparatus comprising

means for receiving via a radio interface simultaneously paging messages transmitted by a radio access network on a common control channel defined in a frame structure and data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service transmitted by a radio access network on a dedicated channel, separate from the common control channel and defined in said frame structure, wherein in said frame structure each frame is composed of a plurality of time slots;

and

means for monitoring on at least one time slot reception of a broadcast control channel and of a common control channel comprising paging messages, said broadcast control channel and said common control channel being allocated to a same time slot in different frames or within a single frame.

40. Method according to claim 39 comprising:

monitoring at least two adjacent time slots to which said common control channel comprising paging messages and said dedicated channel are allocated.

41. Method comprising at a mobile terminal:

receiving via a radio interface simultaneously paging messages transmitted by a radio access network on a common control channel defined in a frame structure and data for a multimedia broadcast/multicast service transmitted by a radio access network on a dedicated channel, separate from the common control channel and defined in said frame structure, wherein in said frame structure each frame is composed of a plurality of time slots; and

monitoring on at least one time slot reception of a broadcast control channel and of a common control channel comprising paging messages, said broadcast control channel and said common control channel being allocated to a same time slot in different frames or within a single frame.