CN112055985B

CN112055985B - Single-phase downlink control information design for scheduling multiple active bandwidth portions

Info

Publication number: CN112055985B
Application number: CN201880092905.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: K·肖伯; 徐夏刚; 杨涛
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2018-05-09
Filing date: 2018-05-09
Publication date: 2023-09-08
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-09
Also published as: CN112055985A; WO2019213870A1

Abstract

An example method is provided, comprising: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message makes the following determinations: based on an activity field associated with the message, one or more of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers are active user equipment-specific carriers, and based on a scheduling field associated with the message, which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, according to the received message using the configured user equipment-specific carrier.

Description

Single-phase downlink control information design for scheduling multiple active bandwidth portions

Technical Field

Various example embodiments relate generally to wireless networks and, more particularly, relate to bandwidth operation in wireless networks.

Background

In wireless networks, downlink Control Information (DCI) is used for resource assignments and other control information for user equipment or groups of user equipments and is typically carried on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

After describing the main portions of the sections in detail, abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or drawings are defined below.

Disclosure of Invention

This section is intended to include examples, and is not intended to be limiting.

In an example of an embodiment, a method is disclosed, the method comprising: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating by the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier according to the received message.

Additional examples of embodiments include a computer program comprising code for performing the method of the preceding paragraph when the computer program is run on a processor. A computer program according to the paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium carrying computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

Examples of an apparatus include one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code. The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to make the determination: determining one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, according to the received message using the configured user equipment-specific carrier.

In another example of an embodiment, an apparatus includes: means for receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; means for receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; means for interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and means for communicating by the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the received message.

In an example of an embodiment, a method is disclosed, the method comprising: transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message indicates at least: based on an activity field associated with the message, one or more of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers are active user equipment-specific carriers, and based on a scheduling field associated with the message, which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message; and communicating by the network node using the configured user equipment specific carrier according to the transmitted message.

Examples of an apparatus include one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code. The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, according to the received message using the configured user equipment-specific carrier.

In another example of an embodiment, an apparatus includes: transmitting, from the network node to the user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; means for transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message indicates at least: based on an activity field associated with the message, one or more of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers are active user equipment-specific carriers, and based on a scheduling field associated with the message, which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message; and means for communicating with the user equipment by the network node according to the transmitted message using the configured user equipment specific carrier.

Drawings

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced;

fig. 2 shows an example of two BWPs configured on a network resource block grid;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 4 illustrates another example embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 5 illustrates another example embodiment of the subject matter described herein; and

fig. 6 and 7 are logic flow diagrams for scheduling a plurality of active bandwidth portions and illustrate the operation of an exemplary method, the results of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnecting means for performing functions in accordance with the exemplary embodiments.

Detailed Description

The features described herein occasionally refer to LTE terminology, however, it is noted that these features may be used in the future with other types of systems, such as, for example, new Radio (NR)/5G wireless systems. For example, these other wireless systems may be defined by related wireless standards, such as in the case of an NR/5G system. In this way, unless otherwise indicated, for example, references to enbs (i.e., LTE base stations) are equally applicable to future base stations of these other wireless networks (such as, for example, base stations in a 5G wireless network referred to as a gNB).

Example embodiments herein describe techniques for scheduling multiple active bandwidth portions. Having described a system in which the illustrative embodiments may be used, additional description of these techniques is presented.

Turning to FIG. 1, a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced is shown. In fig. 1, a User Equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. A UE is a wireless device (typically a mobile device) that may access a wireless network. UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected by one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver Rx 132 and a transmitter Tx 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optic or other optical communications device, or the like. One or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123.UE 110 includes a determination module (det. Module) that includes one or both of portions 140-1 and/or 140-2 that may be implemented in a variety of ways. The determination module may be implemented in hardware as the determination module 140-1, such as implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The determination module 140-1 may also be implemented as an integrated circuit or by other hardware implementation, such as a programmable logic array. In another example, the determination module may be implemented as the determination module 140-2, which is implemented as the computer program code 123 and executed by the one or more processors 120. For example, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured, with the one or more processors 120, to cause the user device 110 to perform one or more operations described herein. UE 110 communicates with a gNB/eNB 170 (hereinafter generally referred to as gNB 170) via wireless link 111.

The gNB170 is a base station (e.g., for 5G/LTE) that provides access to the wireless network 100 by wireless devices such as the UE 110. The gNB170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces ((N/W I/F) 161), and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected by one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver Rx 162 and a transmitter Tx 163. One or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The gNB170 includes a scheduling module that includes one or both of the portions 150-1 and/or 150-2 that may be implemented in a variety of ways. The scheduling module may be implemented in hardware as scheduling module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of one or more processors 152. The scheduling module 150-1 may also be implemented as an integrated circuit or by other hardware, such as a programmable logic array. In another example, the scheduling module may be implemented as scheduling module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and executed by one or more processors 152. For example, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured, with the one or more processors 152, to cause the gNB170 to perform one or more operations described herein. One or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network, such as via links 176 and 131. Two or more gnbs 170 communicate using, for example, links 176. The link 176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, for example, an X2 interface.

The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of wires on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optic or other optical communication devices, wireless channels, or the like. For example, one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a Remote Radio Head (RRH) 195, other elements of the gNB 170 physically in different locations than the RRH, and one or more buses 157 may be implemented in part as fiber optic cables to connect the other elements of the gNB 170 to the RRH 195.

It is noted that the description herein indicates that a "cell" performs a function, but it should be clear that the gcb forming the cell will perform the function. The cells form part of the gNB. That is, there may be multiple cells per gNB. For example, for a single gNB carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, there may be three cells, each covering one third of the 360 degree area, such that the coverage area of a single gNB covers an approximately oval or circular shape. Further, each cell may correspond to a single carrier, and the gNB may use multiple carriers. Therefore, if there are three 120 degree cells per carrier and there are two carriers, then the gNB has a total of 6 cells.

The wireless network 100 may include one or more Network Control Elements (NCE) 190, which may include MME (mobility management entity) and/or SGW (serving gateway) functionality, and provide connectivity to yet another network, such as a telephone network and/or a data communication network (e.g., the internet). gNB 170 is coupled to NCE 190 via link 131. Link 131 may be implemented as, for example, an S1 interface. For example, for a 5G wireless system, link 131 may represent a 5G interface, such as NG2 or NG3. The NCE 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces ((N/W I/F)) 180 interconnected by one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 are configured, with the one or more processors 175, to cause the NCE 190 to perform one or more operations.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various network elements shown in fig. 1 may be implemented in different ways in future wireless networks, such as 5G wireless networks. For example, the terms NCE, MME and SGW are terms commonly used for core elements in LTE networks. In contrast to LTE, future wireless networks may perform Network Functions (NF) through multiple cooperating devices. The different NFs may include, for example, an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Application Function (AF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a User Plane Function (UPF), and User Data Management (UDM). These NFs may be virtualized functions instantiated on a suitable platform, such as a cloud infrastructure. For example, certain protocols (e.g., such as non-real time protocols) may be performed by one or more Centralized Units (CUs) in the cloud infrastructure, while one or more Distributed Units (DUs) operate the remaining protocols (e.g., real time protocols) of the 5G radio interface. In this way, various NFs can be split between CUs and DUs. Together, the CU, the base DU, and the RRH may be considered to form a logical base station (e.g., which may be represented by the gNB 170 in fig. 1).

The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is a process that combines hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single software-based management entity (virtual network). Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, typically in combination with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is classified as external, combining many networks or parts of networks into virtual units, or as internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. It is noted that to some extent, the virtualized entity resulting from network virtualization is still implemented using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and that such virtualized entity also has technical effects.

Computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing a memory function. Processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Processors 120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions such as controlling UE 110, gNB 170, and other functions described herein.

In general, various example embodiments of user device 110 may include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smartphones, tablet computers, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, internet appliances permitting wireless internet access and browsing, tablet computers having wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions.

A suitable and non-limiting technical context is therefore introduced to practice the exemplary embodiments, which will now be described in more detail.

In 3GPP NR release 15 (R15), the wider/adaptive BW feature is based on a configuration of multiple BW parts (BWP), where each BWP is a contiguous set of RBs on a network RB grid, commonly referred to as a common RB grid (see, e.g., 3GPP ts 36.213). Fig. 2 shows an example of such a configuration, in which two BWP are configured on a network physical RB grid defined by reference point a and a digital basic configuration. For example, reference point a is used as a reference point for different grids, such as RBG grids, control resource set (CORESET) grids, and CSI subband grids. On the other hand, the frequency resource allocation indicated in the DL assignment of the UL grid transmitted on BWP is not indicated with respect to point a, but with respect to the start of BWP.

In R15, it has been agreed that the gNB may configure up to 4 bandwidth parts (BWP) per serving cell configured for the UE, and that at most one BWP may be active at a given time. In R15, the gNB may switch the active BWP of the UE by means of scheduling DCI (e.g., DL-assigned UL grant). The scheduling Downlink Control Information (DCI) includes a BWP index field. If the BWP index indicates the currently active BWP, the UE remains in the active BWP, otherwise the UE retunes to the BWP indicated by the BWP index (BWPI).

Various example embodiments relate to the design and enhancement of wider/adaptive bandwidth operation for wireless networks. For example, in 3GPP release 16 (R16), it is expected that support for multiple active BWP will be introduced as an enhancement to R15 wider/adaptive BW operation. In R16, it is expected that multiple active BWP per carrier will provide an alternative to in-band Carrier Aggregation (CA). Note that BWP may be overlapping or non-overlapping, whereas component carriers are only non-overlapping, and BWP may also be smaller than the BW of the network carrier.

In contrast to CA, there are multiple active BWP per carrier:

providing a single set of HARQ processes per serving cell;

overlapping active BWP supporting different digital basic configurations (e.g., such as being able to read system information in a digital basic configuration different from the data);

DL control supporting simultaneous reading of different digital basic configurations; and

on the other hand, the UE needs multiple base bands to handle different digital basic configurations/overlapping BWP simultaneously.

Assuming that multiple BWPs may be active at the same time, the implicit start/stop mechanism of R15 cannot be used anymore because the UE will re-tune/start a new BWP and stop the currently active BWPs when receiving BWPI other than the BWPI of the currently active BWPs. Even after a new BWP is started, the gNB operating the multiple active BWP should be able to keep the current BWP active. Thus, multiple active BWP require different switching mechanisms.

For example, assuming that a maximum of 4 BWP may be active, one possibility is to include a bitmap with an active field and a schedule field, wherein:

the active field is at most 4 bits to indicate BWP active status (e.g., '0100' indicates bwp#1 is active and bwp#0, 2, 3 is not active); and

the schedule field (BWPI) is 2 bits and indicates which BWP is scheduled by BWP.

While this design provides sufficient flexibility, up to 6 bits of overhead is also required in DCI. Various example embodiments reduce the overhead required in the DCI. As described in more detail below, some example embodiments, a user equipment can determine an activity/scheduling field at least in part implicitly by interpreting DCI using different rules (commonly referred to as 'rule-based implementations'). In some other example embodiments, an index value of a table is signaled to the user equipment, wherein the table comprises a plurality of active/schedule field configurations (commonly referred to as 'table-based implementations').

Rule-based implementation

According to some embodiments, the design of DCI for scheduling multiple active bandwidth portions enables a UE to determine values in a scheduling field and an active field using different rules.

For example, the gNB may configure N number of BWPs to the UE and also configure a unique search space for each configured BWP of the UE. If a search candidate for a configured first BWP (referred to as 'BWP a') search space, such as a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) candidate, for example, completely overlaps with a search candidate for a configured second BWP (hereinafter referred to as 'BWP B') search space, the UE may assume that the search candidate belongs to BWP a or BWP B based on one or more rules. For example, the UE may determine that the search candidate should belong to a BWP configured with the highest or alternatively the lowest index. The rules may be predefined (such as defined in an associated wireless specification and/or stored in memory) or may be preconfigured to the UE. When the gNB transmits scheduling DCI (e.g., such as a DL assignment or UL grant), then the UE may interpret the scheduling DCI according to the search space and the associated BWP in which the DCI is received.

Interpretation by the UE also depends on the content of the scheduling DCI. In one version, the scheduling DCI content includes an active field instead of a scheduling field. The number of bits in the active field may be equal to N (i.e., the number of configured BWP's), where each bit corresponds to one of the configured BWP's. When scheduling DCI is received on BWP a, then the UE may interpret this field according to the following rules:

If the bit corresponding to BWP A is set to '1', the UE may interpret the remaining fields in the scheduling DCI according to BWP A;

if the bit corresponding to BWP A is set to '0', the UE interprets the remaining fields according to BWP B, which has the highest (or alternatively, lowest) index for which the bitmap indicates '1';

for example, if a bit corresponding to BWP is set to '1', the UE may activate the BWP and/or keep the BWP activated; and

for example, if a bit corresponding to BWP is set to '0', the UE may deactivate the BWP and/or keep the BWP deactivated.

Note that other fields in the scheduling DCI may include, for example, frequency domain resource assignments, time domain resource assignments, SRS resource indicators, precoding information, CSI requests, or other fields in the DCI format configured to be specific to BWP.

In this version of the example embodiment, the size of the active field is implicitly determined by the number of BWP configured (e.g., four BWP with bwpi= {0,1,2,3} referred to as bwp#0, bwp#1, bwp#2, and bwp#3, respectively). Fig. 3 shows an example table 300 summarizing a subset of scheduling options for when scheduling DCI has been received in a different BWP. For simplicity, the scheduling option 302 is shown when scheduling DCI is received to index 0. For the scheduling options in table 300, assume that the gNB wants to operate a maximum of two active BWPs at a given time, and applies a 'minimum BWP index rule' when determining the scheduled BWPs. For example, if the UE receives the activity field '0100' on bwp#0, the UE activates bwp#1, deactivates bwp#0, and keeps bwp#2 and bwp#3 deactivated. Since the bit corresponding to bwp#1 is the lowest remaining bit set to '1', the UE can also implicitly determine the scheduling field as '01' in this case (indicating that the scheduling information in the DCI is for bwp#1). Likewise, if the UE receives an active field of one bwp#0 having '0011', the UE deactivates bwp#0, keeps bwp#1 deactivated, and activates bwp#2 and bwp#3. The UE implicitly determines the scheduling field to be '10' (indicating that the scheduling information in the DCI is for bwp#2) because the bit corresponding to bwp#2 has a lower index than bwp#3. In this example, the DCI overhead for operating the configured BWP is a 4-bit active field. One advantage (as compared to other example embodiments described below) is that there is no limitation on dynamic activation of BWP, although there are some limitations on cross BWP scheduling.

According to another version of the example embodiment, the BWPI field and the active bits are included in the scheduling DCI content. When scheduling DCI is received on BWP a, then the UE interprets these fields according to the following rules:

the activity bit is always applied to BWP a, independent of the BWPI value; and

the activity bit may be implicit such that if the Resource Allocation (RA) field indicates a non-zero allocation, the activity bit is '1' (i.e., indicates that BWP a is kept active) and if the RA field indicates a zero allocation, the activity bit is '0' (i.e., indicates that BWP a is to be deactivated), and vice versa.

In this version, the schedule field may be implemented, for example, similar to BWPI of R15, but with an additional activity bit extended. The expansion of the active bits is implemented:

activate and deactivate BWP in which DCI has been scheduled;

BWP-cross BWP-activation while maintaining BWP activity in which DCI has been scheduled; and

BWP is activated while the BWP in which DCI is scheduled is deactivated.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example table 400 in which DCI is extended by active bits, according to some example embodiments. When four BWP have been configured, the table 400 is applicable. For simplicity, only a subset of the scheduling options are shown. In this embodiment, if the UE receives the scheduling field '00' and the activity bit '1', the UE is interpreted to mean that bwp#0 should remain active and the scheduling information is for bwp#0 (i.e., self-scheduled). If the UE receives the scheduling field '01' and the activity bit '0', the UE interprets this as meaning that bwp#0 should be deactivated, bwp#1 should be activated, and the scheduling information is for bwp#1. Table 400 results in a DCI overhead of 3 bits that is less than the overhead required in the example shown in fig. 3 and does not result in any cross-scheduling restriction. However, a plurality of BWP cannot be activated at the same time.

Table-based implementation

In another example embodiment, the gNB may configure the UE with a number N of BWPs and tables. Each row in the table may include an active bit map of size N to indicate the BWP active status of each BWP configured. For example, setting the active bit map to '0100' indicates bwp#1 is active and bwp#0, 2, 3 is not active. Each row in the table may also include a scheduling bit map (BWPI) of size log (N) to indicate which BWP is scheduled by the scheduling DCI. When the gNB transmits scheduling DCI (DL grant or DL assignment) in the search space set, the UE may interpret the DCI row index N according to the following.

If the active field bitmap in the table of row N indicates 1 for the configured BWP, then the UE may activate or keep activated the BWP;

if the active field in the table of row N indicates 0 for the configured BWP, the UE may deactivate the BWP or keep the BWP deactivated; and

the UE interprets other fields in the DCI based on the BWP indicated in the schedule field of the table in the N rows.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a table 500 having multiple rows corresponding to row indexes, where each row includes a schedule field and an active field. The gNB configures the scheduling DCI to include an index corresponding to one of the rows. In this example, it is assumed that 4 BWP are configured to the UE (i.e., bwp#0 to bwp#3). This configurability enables the gNB to optimize dynamic overhead for the desired scheme. In the example shown in fig. 5, the gNB operates a maximum of 4 active BWP's, while there is only 3-bit overhead in the scheduling DCI corresponding to the configured 8 rows, where the active bit field and the scheduling bit field are jointly encoded. The disadvantage of this solution is that the table needs to be reconfigured each time the UE changes the number of configured BWP.

It is noted that the various example embodiments described above refer generally to bandwidth portions, however, this is not intended to be limiting, and such embodiments may also be applied to carrier aggregation (such as in-band carrier aggregation), for example.

Fig. 6 is a logic flow diagram for scheduling multiple active bandwidth portions. The figure further illustrates the operation of one or more exemplary methods, the results of execution of computer program instructions implemented on computer-readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnecting components for performing the functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments. For example, the determination modules 140-1 and/or 140-2 may include a plurality of blocks in FIG. 6, where each block included is an interconnection means for performing the function in the block. Assume that the blocks in fig. 6 are performed by UE 110, e.g., at least partially under control of determination modules 140-1 and/or 140-2.

According to an example embodiment, there is provided a method comprising: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment, as indicated by block 600; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, as indicated by block 602; interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment-specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message, as indicated by block 604; and communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment-specific carrier in accordance with the received message, as indicated by block 606.

The method may include: a second configuration of unique search spaces for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers is received. The method may include: in response to the position within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier completely overlapping with the position within the unique search space for the second user equipment specific carrier, the message is interpreted as received on the first user equipment specific carrier by: an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of an active field and a schedule field. Interpreting the message may include: at least one of the active field and the scheduling field is implicitly determined based at least on the user equipment specific carrier in which the message is received. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field includes a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment-specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment-specific carriers is active or inactive. The method may include: the schedule field is implicitly determined based on: in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of a bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier determined to be active. Among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is: determining that an index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is a highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or determining that the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active. The received message may include an active field, wherein the active field includes a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The method may include: for implicitly determining a single bit of the active field based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include at least: an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row includes a schedule field and an active field. The method may include: a configuration of a table is received, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or schedule field. The number of bits in the active field of the first row may be equal to the number N of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and the number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N). The method may include: the reconfiguration of the table is received in response to a change in a number of user equipment-specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment-specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion, wherein the bandwidth portion is a contiguous set of resources of the same numerical basic configuration, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth portions of the plurality of bandwidth portions at least partially overlap; or the carrier of the serving cell.

According to another example embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; means for receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; means for interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and means for communicating by the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the received message.

The apparatus may include: means for receiving a second configuration of a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers. The apparatus may include: in response to the position within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier completely overlapping with the position within the unique search space for the second user equipment specific carrier, means for interpreting the message as received on the first user equipment specific carrier by: an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of an active field and a schedule field. The means for interpreting the message may comprise: means for implicitly determining at least one of an active field and a scheduling field based at least on a user equipment specific carrier upon which the message is received. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field includes a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment-specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment-specific carriers is active or inactive. Implicitly determining the schedule field may be based on: in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of a bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier determined to be active. Among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier has been scheduled may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is: determining that an index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is a highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or determining that the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active. The received message may include an active field, wherein the active field includes a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The apparatus may include: means for implicitly determining a single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include an index value corresponding to at least a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row includes a schedule field and an active field. The apparatus may include: means for receiving a configuration of a table, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or schedule field. The number of bits in the active field of the first row may be equal to the number N of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and the number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N). The apparatus may include: means for receiving a reconfiguration of the table in response to a change in a number of user equipment-specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion, wherein the bandwidth portion is a contiguous set of resources of the same digital basic configuration, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth portions of the plurality of bandwidth portions at least partially overlap; or the carrier of the serving cell.

According to another example of embodiment, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, according to the received message using the configured user equipment-specific carrier.

The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: a second configuration of unique search spaces for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers is received. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: in response to the position within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier completely overlapping with the position within the unique search space for the second user equipment specific carrier, the message is interpreted as received on the first user equipment specific carrier by: an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of an active field and a schedule field. Interpreting the message may include: at least one of the active field and the scheduling field is implicitly determined based at least on the user equipment specific carrier upon which the message was received. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field includes a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment-specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment-specific carriers is active or inactive. Implicitly determining the schedule field may be based on: in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of a bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier determined to be active. Among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is: determining that an index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is a highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or determining that the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active. The received message may include an active field, wherein the active field includes a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: the single bit of the active field is implicitly determined based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include an index value corresponding to at least a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row includes a schedule field and an active field. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: a configuration of a table is received, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or schedule field. The number of bits in the active field of the first row may be equal to the number N of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and the number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N). The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: the reconfiguration of the table is received in response to a change in a number of user equipment-specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment-specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion, wherein the bandwidth portion is a contiguous set of resources of the same numerical basic configuration, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth portions of the plurality of bandwidth portions at least partially overlap; or the carrier of the serving cell.

According to another example of embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to make the determination: determining one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, according to the received message using the configured user equipment-specific carrier. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: a second configuration of unique search spaces for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers is received. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: in response to the location within the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier completely overlapping with the location within the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier, the message is interpreted as being received on the first user equipment specific carrier based on: an index value of the unique search space corresponding to the first user equipment specific carrier is compared with an index value of the unique search space corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of an active field and a schedule field. The interpretation of the message may include: at least one of the active field and the scheduling field is implicitly determined based at least on the user equipment specific carrier upon which the message was received. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field includes a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment-specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment-specific carriers is active or inactive. Implicitly determining the schedule field may be based on: in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of a bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier determined to be active. Among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active, determining that the second user equipment-specific carrier has been scheduled may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is: determining that an index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is a highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or determining that the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active. The received message may include an active field, wherein the active field includes a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: the single bit of the active field is implicitly determined based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include at least: an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row includes a schedule field and an active field. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: a configuration of a table is received, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or schedule field. The number of bits in the active field of the first row may be equal to the number N of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and the number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N). The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: the reconfiguration of the table is received in response to a change in a number of user equipment-specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion, wherein the bandwidth portion is a contiguous set of resources of the same digital basic configuration, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth portions of the plurality of bandwidth portions at least partially overlap; or the carrier of the serving cell.

Fig. 7 is a logic flow diagram for scheduling multiple active bandwidth portions. The figure further illustrates the operation of one or more exemplary methods, the results of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnecting components for performing the functions in accordance with the exemplary embodiments. For example, the scheduling module 150-1 and/or 150-2 may include a plurality of blocks in FIG. 7, where each block included is an interconnecting component for performing the functions in the block. Assume that the blocks in FIG. 7 are performed by gNB 170, e.g., at least partially under control of scheduling modules 150-1 and/or 150-2.

According to one example of embodiment, there is provided a method comprising: transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message indicates at least: based on the activity field associated with the message, one or more of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers are active user equipment-specific carriers, and based on the scheduling field associated with the message, which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message, as indicated by block 702; and communicating, by the network node, with the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier according to the transmitted message, as indicated by block 704.

The method may include: transmitting, to the user equipment, a second configuration for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment-specific carriers; and transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier that completely overlaps with a location within the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on: an index value of the unique search space corresponding to the first user equipment specific carrier is compared with an index value of the unique search space corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier. The method may include: the message is configured such that at least one of the active field and the schedule field is implicitly indicated. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits may indicate whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is active or inactive. The message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled when a bit of the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is active. When the bit of the first user equipment-specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on the index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment-specific carrier indicates that the second user equipment-specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined to be active. The transmitted message may include an active field, and the active field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The method may include: a single bit of the active field is implicitly indicated based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The method may include: a configuration of a table having a plurality of rows is transmitted, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different active field and/or schedule field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table, the first row including a scheduling field and an active field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion; or the carrier of the serving cell. The bandwidth parts may be consecutive sets of resources of the same digital basic configuration, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

According to an example of embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising: transmitting, from the network node to the user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; means for transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message indicates at least: one or more of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers are active user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and means for communicating, by the network node, with the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the transmitted message.

The apparatus may include: means for transmitting the second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment-specific carriers; and means for transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier that completely overlaps with a location within the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on: an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The apparatus may include: the message may be configured such that at least one of the active field and the schedule field is implicitly indicated. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits may indicate whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is active or inactive. The message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled when a bit of the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is active. When the bit of the first user equipment-specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on the index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment-specific carrier indicates that the second user equipment-specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined to be active. The transmitted message may include an active field, and the active field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The apparatus may include: means for implicitly indicating a single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The apparatus may include: means for transmitting a configuration of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein each row in the table may correspond to a different activity field and/or schedule field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table, the first row including a scheduling field and an active field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion; or the carrier of the serving cell. The bandwidth parts may be consecutive sets of resources of the same digital basic configuration, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

According to another example of embodiment, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least: transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message indicates at least: one or more of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers are active user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the network node, with the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the transmitted message.

The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: transmitting a second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment-specific carriers; and transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier that completely overlaps with a location within the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on: an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: the message is configured such that at least one of the active field and the schedule field is implicitly indicated. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits may indicate whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is active or inactive. The message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled when a bit of the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is active. When the bit of the first user equipment-specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on the index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment-specific carrier indicates that the second user equipment-specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment specific carrier has been scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined to be active. The transmitted message may include an active field, and the active field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: the single bit of the activity field is implicitly indicated based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: a configuration of a table having a plurality of rows is transmitted, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different active field and/or schedule field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table, the first row including a scheduling field and an active field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion; or the carrier of the serving cell. The bandwidth parts may be consecutive sets of resources of the same digital basic configuration, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

According to another example of embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message indicates at least: one or more of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers are active user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the network node, with the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the transmitted message.

The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmitting a second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment-specific carriers; and transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier that completely overlaps with a location within the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on: an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value corresponding to the unique search space corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: the message is configured such that at least one of the active field and the schedule field is implicitly indicated. The message may include an active field instead of a schedule field, wherein the active field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits may indicate whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is active or inactive. The message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled when a bit of the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is active. When the bit of the first user equipment-specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on the index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment-specific carrier indicates that the second user equipment-specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate that the second user equipment specific carrier has been scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined to be active. The transmitted message may include an active field, and the active field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: the single bit of the active field is implicitly indicated based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: a configuration of a table having a plurality of rows is transmitted, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different active field and/or schedule field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table, the first row including a scheduling field and an active field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: a bandwidth portion; or the carrier of the serving cell. The bandwidth parts may be consecutive sets of resources of the same digital basic configuration, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is reducing dynamic control overhead. Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is to allow dynamic signaling to be customized to a target scenario.

Embodiments herein may be implemented in software (executed by one or more processors), hardware (e.g., application specific integrated circuits), or a combination of software and hardware. In an example embodiment, software (e.g., application logic, instruction set) is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable medium" can be any medium or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (such as a computer) having one example of a computer, such as that depicted and described in fig. 1. A computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 125, 155, 171, or other device) that may be any medium or apparatus that can contain, store, and/or communicate instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. The computer-readable storage medium does not include a propagated signal.

The different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other, if desired. Furthermore, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined, if desired.

Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or drawings are defined as follows:

eNB (or eNodeB) evolved node B (e.g., LTE base station)

BWP bandwidth part

bWPI BWP index

CA carrier aggregation

CORESET control resource set

CSI channel state information

DCI downlink control information

DL downlink

gNB next generation node B

HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request

I/F interface

LTE long term evolution

MME mobility management entity

NCE network control element

N/W network

PRB physical resource block

RBG resource block group

RRH remote radio head

Rx receiver

SGW service gateway

TB transport block

Tx transmitter

UE user equipment (e.g., wireless device, typically

Mobile device

Claims

1. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment;

means for receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers;

Means for interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment-specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and determining which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

means for communicating by the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the received message.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

means for receiving a second configuration for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

in response to a position within the unique search space for the first user equipment-specific carrier fully overlapping with a position within the unique search space for a second user equipment-specific carrier, means for interpreting the message as received on the first user equipment-specific carrier by: an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the message comprises at least one of the activity field and the schedule field.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the means for interpreting the message comprises:

means for implicitly determining at least one of the active field and the schedule field based at least on the user equipment specific carrier in which the message is received.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the message includes the active field and not the schedule field, and wherein the active field includes a number of bits equal to a number of user equipment-specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment-specific carriers is active or inactive.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus comprises means for implicitly determining the schedule field based on:

in response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled; and

In response to determining that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, determining that a second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier determined to be active.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein determining that the index value of the second user device-specific carrier is scheduled among the plurality of user device-specific carriers determined to be active is based on a rule, wherein the rule is:

determining that the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is a highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or alternatively

Determining that the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the received message comprises the activity field, and wherein the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, comprising: means for implicitly determining the single bit of the active field based on whether any resources are allocated on the first user equipment specific carrier.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the received message comprises at least:

an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row includes the schedule field and the activity field.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: means for receiving a configuration for the table, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or schedule field.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein a number of bits in the active field of the first row is equal to a number N of configured user equipment-specific carriers of the first configuration, and wherein a number of bits in the scheduling field is equal to log (N).

14. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

means for receiving a reconfiguration of the table in response to a change in the number of user equipment-specific carriers configured for the user equipment.

15. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each of the user equipment specific carriers is:

a bandwidth portion, wherein the bandwidth portion is a contiguous set of resources of the same digital basic configuration, and wherein at least two of the plurality of bandwidth portions for the user equipment at least partially overlap; or alternatively

Carrier of the serving cell.

16. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to user equipment;

receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers;

interpreting the message to make the following determination: determining one or more active user equipment-specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and determining which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

communication is performed by the user equipment according to the received message using the configured user equipment specific carrier.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

at least one of the active field and the schedule field is implicitly determined based at least on the user equipment specific carrier in which the message is received.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

a configuration is received for a table having a plurality of rows, each row corresponding to a different activity field and/or scheduling field, and wherein the received message includes at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table, the first row corresponding to the scheduling field and the activity field associated with the message.

19. A computer readable medium having program code stored thereon, characterized in that the program code is configured to, when executed by a processor, perform the following:

Communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment-specific carrier in accordance with the received message.

20. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment;

means for transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is at least: indicating one or more active user equipment-specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and indicating which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

means for communicating with the user equipment by the network node using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the transmitted message.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

Transmitting a second configuration to the user equipment, the second configuration being for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment-specific carriers; and

means for transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier that completely overlaps with a location within the unique search space of a second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on: an index value of the unique search space corresponding to the first user equipment specific carrier is compared to an index value of the unique search space corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising means for configuring the message such that at least one of the active field and the schedule field is implicitly indicated.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the message includes the active field and not the schedule field, and wherein the active field includes a number of bits equal to a number of user equipment-specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment-specific carriers is active or inactive.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein:

when the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is active, the message implicitly indicates that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled; and

when the bit of the first user equipment-specific carrier is set to indicate that the first user equipment-specific carrier is inactive, the message implicitly indicates that a second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment-specific carrier indicates that the second user equipment-specific carrier is active.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the message implicitly indicates that the second user equipment-specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule is:

the index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active; or alternatively

The index value corresponding to the second user equipment-specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers determined to be active.

26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the transmitted message comprises the activity field, and wherein the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is active or inactive.

27. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

means for transmitting a configuration for a table having a plurality of rows, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different active field and/or scheduling field, and wherein the message transmitted comprises at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table, the first row comprising the scheduling field and the active field to be used by the user equipment.

28. The apparatus according to any of claims 20 to 27, wherein each of the user equipment specific carriers is:

Carrier of the serving cell.

29. A method of communication, comprising:

transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is at least: indicating one or more active user equipment-specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment-specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and indicating which of the user equipment-specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

communicating, by the network node, with the user equipment using the configured user equipment specific carrier in accordance with the transmitted message.

30. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon program code which, when executed by a processor, performs at least the following: