Extending eMBMS session in LTE eMBMS

• US 9,131,350 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2012
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Balasubramanian, Srinivasan, Lee, Kuo-Chun, Shauh, Jack S., Maheshwari, Shailesh, Ketchum, John Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Dang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aung, Sai
• Application Number:
  US13/730,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20140185455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 370/312, 370/335, 370/355, 455/436
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0007 for multicast or broadcast services, e.g. MBMS multicast or broadcast application services H04W4/06; resource management for broadcast services H04W72/30; connection management for selective distribution or broadcast H04W76/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus receives an MBMS service from a first cell in a first MBSFN area while in an RRC idle mode. The apparatus reselects to a second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the second cell. The second cell is a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area. The apparatus continues to receive the MBMS service directly from the first cell while receiving paging signals from the second cell.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) service from a first cell in a first multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode;

reselecting to a second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the second cell;

determining whether the second cell is a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area by determining whether a system information block 13 (SIB13) is acquired from the second cell, wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is acquired from the second cell then it is determined that the second cell is the MBSFN cell in the second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area, and wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is not acquired from the second cell then it is determined that the second cell is the non-MBSFN cell; and

continuing to receive the MBMS service directly from the first cell while receiving paging signals from the second cell.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring system information blocks (SIBs) from the second cell.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising continuing to receive the MBMS service from the first cell upon determining that the SIB13 is not acquired from the second cell.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

acquiring a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the second cell upon determining the SIB13 is acquired from the second cell; and

determining whether the MBMS service is provided by the second cell based on the acquired MCCH.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising continuing to receive the MBMS service from the first cell upon determining that the MBMS service is not provided by the second cell.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising switching from receiving the MBMS service from the first cell to receiving the MBMS service from the second cell upon determining that the MBMS service is provided by the second cell.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring only at least one of multicast channel (Mal) scheduling information (MSI) or a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the first cell while receiving the MBMS service from the first cell.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising refraining from switching to receive a different MBMS service from the first cell when information for the different MBMS service was not previously received from the first cell.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least one of whether data is being lost from the MBMS service from the first cell or a signal quality of the MBMS service from the first cell; and

stopping a reception of the MBMS service when at least one of lost data are greater than a first threshold or the signal quality is less than a second threshold.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reselecting to a third cell in the first MBSFN area from the second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the third cell; and

continuing to receive the MBMS service directly from the third cell while receiving paging signals from the third cell.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a configuration for a priority setting indicating a priority between receiving the MBMS service from the first cell and receiving a unicast service from the second cell;

receiving a message indicating a unicast service availability from the second cell; and

determining whether to receive the unicast service or the MBMS service based on the configuration for the priority setting.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

stopping the reception of the MBMS service and receiving the unicast service when the configuration indicates a higher priority for the unicast service than the MBMS service; and

continuing to receive the MBMS service and refraining from receiving the unicast service when the configuration indicates a higher priority for the MBMS service than the unicast service.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a message indicating a unicast service availability from the second cell; and

inquiring from a user whether to receive the unicast service or to continue receiving the MBMS service.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

stopping the reception of the MBMS service and receiving the unicast service when the user indicates a desire to receive the unicast service; and

continuing to receive the MBMS service and refraining from receiving the unicast service when the user indicates a desire to continue receiving the MBMS service.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reselecting to a third cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the third cell, the third cell being a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a third MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area; and

continuing to receive the MBMS service directly from one or more cells in the first MBSFN area while receiving paging signals from the third cell.

16. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) service from a first cell in a first multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode;

means for reselecting to a second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the second cell;

means for determining whether the second cell is a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area by determining whether a system information block 13 (SIB13) is acquired from the second cell, wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is acquired from the second cell then it is determined that the second cell is the MBSFN cell in the second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area, and wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is not acquired from the second cell then it is determine that the second cell is the non-MBSFN cell; and

means for continuing to receive the MBMS service directly from the first cell while receiving paging signals from the second cell.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for acquiring system information blocks (SIBs) from the second cell.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising means for continuing to receive the MBMS service from the first cell upon determining that the SIB13 is not acquired from the second cell.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for acquiring a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the second cell upon determining the SIB13 is acquired from the second cell; and

means for determining whether the MBMS service is provided by the second cell based on the acquired MCCH.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for continuing to receive the MBMS service from the first cell upon determining that the MBMS service is not provided by the second cell.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for switching from receiving the MBMS service from the first cell to receiving the MBMS service from the second cell upon determining that the MBMS service is provided by the second cell.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for monitoring only at least one of multicast channel (MCH) scheduling information (MSI) or a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the first cell while receiving the MBMS service from the first cell.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for refraining from switching to receive a different MBMS service from the first cell when information for the different MBMS service was not previously received from the first cell.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for determining at least one of whether data is being lost from the MBMS service from the first cell or a signal quality of the MBMS service from the first cell; and

means for stopping a reception of the MBMS service when at least one of lost data are greater than a first threshold or the signal quality is less than a second threshold.

25. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for reselecting to a third cell in the first MBSFN area from the second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the third cell; and

means for continuing to receive the MBMS service directly from the third cell while receiving paging signals from the third cell.

26. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for receiving a configuration for a priority setting indicating a priority between receiving the MBMS service from the first cell and receiving a unicast service from the second cell;

means for receiving a message indicating a unicast service availability′

from it e second cell; and

means for determining whether to receive the unicast service or the MBMS service based on the configuration for the priority setting.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

means for stopping the reception of the MBMS service and receiving the unicast service when the configuration indicates a higher priority for the unicast service than the MBMS service; and

means for continuing to receive the MBMS service and refraining from receiving the unicast service when the configuration indicates a higher priority for the MBMS service than the unicast service.

28. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for receiving a message indicating a unicast service availability from the second cell; and

means for inquiring from a whether to receive the unicast service or to continue receiving the MBMS service.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising:

means for stopping the reception of the MBMS service and receiving the unicast service when the user indicates a desire to receive the unicast service; and

means for continuing to receive the MBMS service and refraining from receiving the unicast service when the user indicates a desire to continue receiving the MBMS service.

30. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for reselecting to a third cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the third cell, the third cell being a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a third MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area; and

means for continuing to receive the MBMS service directly from one or more cells in the first MBSFN area while receiving paging signals from the third cell.

31. An apparatus of wireless communication, comprising:

a processing system configured to;

receive a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) service from a first cell in a first multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode;

reselect to a second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the second cell;

determine whether the second cell is a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area by determining whether a system information block 13 (SIB13) is acquired from the second cell, wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is acquired from the second cell then it is determined that the second cell is the MBSFN cell in the second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area, and wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is not acquired from the second cell then it is determined that the second cell is the non-MBSFN cell; and

continue to receive the MBMS service directly from the first cell while receiving paging signals from the second cell.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to acquire system information blocks (SIBs) from the second cell.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the processing system is further configured to continue receiving the MBMS service from the first cell upon determining that the SIB13 is not acquired from the second cell.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

acquire a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the second cell upon determining the SIB13 is acquired from the second cell; and

determine whether the MBMS service is provided by the second cell based on the acquired MCCH.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the processing system is further configured to continue receiving the MBMS service from the first cell upon determining that the MBMS service is not provided by the second cell.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the processing system is further configured to switch from receiving the MBMS service from the first cell to receiving the MBMS service from the second cell upon determining that the MBMS service is provided by the second cell.

37. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to monitor only at least one of multicast channel (MCH) scheduling information (MSI) or a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the first cell while receiving the MBMS service from the first cell.

38. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to refrain from switching to receive a different MBMS service from the first cell when information for the different MBMS service was not previously received from the first cell.

39. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

determine at least one of whether data is being lost from the MBMS service from the first cell or a signal quality of the MBMS service from the first cell; and

stop a reception of the MBMS service when at least one of lost data are greater than a first threshold or the signal quality is less than a second threshold.

40. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

reselect to a third cell in the first MBSFN area from the second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the third cell; and

continue to receive the MBMS service directly from the third cell while receiving paging signals from the third cell.

41. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

receive a configuration for a priority setting indicating a priority between receiving the MBMS service from the first cell and receiving a unicast service from the second cell;

receive a message indicating a unicast service availability from the second cell; and

determine whether to receive the unicast service or the MBMS service based on the configuration for the priority setting.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

stop the reception of the MBMS service and receiving the unicast service when the configuration indicates a higher priority for the unicast service than the MBMS service; and

continue to receive the MBMS service and refraining from receiving the unicast service when the configuration indicates a higher priority for the MBMS service than the unicast service.

43. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

receive a message indicating a unicast service availability from the second cell; and

inquire from a user whether to receive the unicast service or to continue receiving the MBMS service.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

stop the reception of the MBMS service and receiving the unicast service when the user indicates a desire to receive the unicast service; and

continue to receive the MBMS service and refraining from receiving the unicast service when the user indicates a desire to continue receiving the MBMS service.

45. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

reselect to a third cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the third cell, the third cell being a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a third MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area; and

continue to receive the MBMS service directly from one or more cells in the first MBSFN area while receiving paging signals from the third cell.

46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code that when executed on at least one processor causes the at least one processor to:

receive a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) service from a first cell in a first multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode;

reselect to a second cell through an intra-frequency cell reselection upon moving into coverage of the second cell;

determine whether the second cell is a non-MBSFN cell or an MBSFN cell in a second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area by determining whether a system information block 13 (SIB13) is acquired from the second cell, wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is acquired from the second cell then it is determined that the second cell is the MBSFN cell in the second MBSFN area different than the first MBSFN area, and wherein when it is determined that the SIB13 is not acquired from the second cell then it is determined that the second cell is the non-MBSFN cell; and

continue to receive the MBMS service directly from the first cell while receiving paging signals from the second cell.