GB2429375A

GB2429375A - Mobile Radio Communications Device and Related Method and System

Info

Publication number: GB2429375A
Application number: GB0516986A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Roberts; David Lecompte; Frank Savaglio
Original assignee: NEC Technologies UK Ltd
Current assignee: NEC Technologies UK Ltd
Priority date: 2005-08-18
Filing date: 2005-08-18
Publication date: 2007-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2025-08-18
Also published as: GB0516986D0; GB2429375B

Abstract

The present invention provides for a method of providing point-to-point MBMS transmission on a mobile radio communications device including the step of employing a High-Speed Downlink Packet Access channel for the said point-to-point transmission.

Description

Mobile Radio Communications Device and Related Method and System The

present invention relates to a mobile radio communications device and related method and system employing a mobile radio communications device network Mobile radio communication networks and related network and communication devices have been developed for offering so-called thirdgeneration of services in accordance with various standards. These are most commonly defined within Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications which have been issued in a ongoing variety of releases In accordance with Rel-6 of the 3GPP standard, it is required that a LJMTS 1 5 Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) can allow for the transmission of Multibroadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) sessions either by means of a point-to- multipoint (ptm) mode or by way of a point-to-point (ptp) mode. In environments in which the ptp mode is selected, each cell on the network is allocated a dedicated channel such as those defined within 3GPP Release 99 (R99) and upon which the MIBMS session is to take place.

The radio network controller within the network generally determines that the ptp mode can be selected based upon the number of user equipment devices subscribe to a particular service within a particular cell.

For example, it is commonly established that should the number of user equipment devices exceed six, a ptm mode can then be selected rather than the ptp mode In this manner, it will be appreciated that in situations where the radio network controller determines that ptp mode can be applied, up to six dedicated channels will be required and allocated to allow for the MBMS session to be sent to all of those six, or less, user equipment devices.

However, the use of, for example, up to six dedicated channels is found to exhibit disadvantageously limited radio-efficiencies and also to represent inefficient use of radio resources Transmissionspeed limitations are also encountered which can have a disadvantageous impact on the actual service provided, and further limit the extent to which services, for example, content-rich premium services, can be provided.

The invention seeks to provide for a mobile radio communications device, and related network system and method of operation having advantages over known such devices, methods and systems According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is a method of providing Point-to-point MBMS transmission on a mobile radio communications device including the step of employing a High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) channel for the said Point-to-point transmission.

IS In particular, and in accordance with the method, the HSDPA channel can be shared between a plurality of mobile radio communication devices.

Yet further such method can be arranged such that the said plurality of mobile radio communication devices share the same HSPDA Radio Network Temporary Identity (HRNTI) employed for scheduling an MBMS session Also, the method involves, at a radio network controller, allocation of the HSPDA channel and a single H-RNTI at the same time as allocation of the point-to- point channel.

The method can further include the step of allocating a low bit-rate Dedicated Physical Channel (DPCH) on a downl ink for a mobile radio communication device required to receive the MBMS session.

Also, the method can include the step of allocating a dedicated High Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channel (HS-DPCCH) on an uplink for the mobile radio communications device.

Advantageously, the method can include the step of providing signalling from the network disabling ciphering at the mobile radio communications device for the reception of M1BMS information The method of the invention can then include linking of all of the said plurality of mobile radio communication devices on the lub interface.

Yet further, the method of the invention can include the step of combining different user equipment capabilities of the said plurality of mobile radio communication devices in order to allow for selection of the common capability for all of the said plurality of mobile radio communication devices sharing a High-Speed Downljnk Shared Channel Of course, the method can also include the step of returning a result signal from the mobile radio communications device on the HS-DPCCH According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile radio communications device and arranged to receive point-to-point MIBMS transmission via a High Speed Downlink Packet Access Channel.

In particular, the mobile radio communications device can be arranged such that a H-RNTI allocated by the mobile communications network maps to a specific MIBMS session.

Yet further, the said mobile radio communications device can be arranged to be allocated a low bit-rate DPCH on the downlink channel and, further, can be arranged allocated a dedicated HS-DPCCH on an uplink channel.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a network controller device for a mobile radio communications network and arranged to allocate a point-to-point channel for an MBMS session, the said channel comprising an HSDPA channel.

Yet further, the network controller device can be arranged to allocate a single H-RNTJ for the MIBMS session Yet further, the network controller device is arranged to provide for the use of a shared HSDPA bearer among a plurality of mobile radio communication devices.

Still further, the network controller device can advantageously be arranged to issue a disable-ciphering signal to the plurality of mobile radio communications devices for the reception of MBMS information.

According to still a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a mobile radio communications system comprising a mobile radio communications device as defined above and a network controller device as defined above and arranged to provide for point-to-point MIBMS transmissions by way of a HSDPA channel Preferably, the HSDPA channel is arranged to be shared between a plurality of the said mobile radio communication devices Yet further, the system can be arranged such that the plurality of mobile radio communication devices are arranged to share the same HRNTI for scheduling an MBMS session.

Of course, it should be appreciated that the system can be arranged to operate in accordance with any one or more aspects of the method defined above.

Thus, as will be appreciated, the concept of the present invention provides for the use of a shared HSDPA bearer in MIBMS point-to-point transmission mode for a mobile radio communications network and in relation to a user equipment and network devices thereof The present invention advantageously provides for more radio-efficient transmission of point-to-point MBMS transmissions to a plurality of mobile radio communication devices than is found in the current art.

The sharing, by a plurality of mobile radio communication device of, for example, the same H-RNTI for scheduling an MBMS session, leads to particular advantages with regard to a reduced use of radio resources within a cell. That is, a single HSDPA channel can be employed in place of, for example, six separate R99 DCH channels The present invention is also advantageous in allowing for MIBMS sessions to be transmitted at a higher bit-rate than is possible with the current art. This has the related advantage of enabling streaming services at a bit-rate in the order of 1 Mbps which is particularly useful for content-rich premium services made available to a small number of subscribers.

Yet further, if all JVIBMS enabled Rel-6 mobile radio communication devices are provided so as to support a HSDPA link, the concept of the present invention can be provided by means of only a relatively minor change to the current 3GPP standard allowing for the use of shared HSDPA channels in Rel-6 MBMS sessions.

The invention is described further hereinafter, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawing which comprises a schematic representation of a mobile radio communications network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Turning now to the accompanying drawing, and as illustrated, a mobile radio communications device network 10 including a Node B 12 for establishing channel links with a plurality of mobile radio communication devices 14 is provided, the said channels comprising a high speed downlink shared channel 16 and a high speed synchronisation control channel 18. Signalling, indicated by arrow 20 is also provided from the plurality of mobile radio communication devices 14 to the node B 12.

Thus, in the specific example illustrated, the present invention is embodied in a scenario in which the high-speed downlink shared channel, for example, the HSDPA channel is shared between the three mobile radio communication devices 14 all of which have been allocated the same H-RNTI.

Also, each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices 14 is arranged to receive signalling on the HS-SCCH 18.

Any such devices that are not subscribed to the MIBMS session at issue will therefore effectively ignore signalling on the HS-SCCH 18 once the HRNTI has been received However, when the H-RNT1 is received by those mobile radio communication devices 14 interested in the MBMS session, all of the plurality of mobiles devices receive the signalling on the HS-DSCH simultaneously and are arranged to return on their individual High Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channels (HS-DPCCH) indicated by arrow 20 the result of the transmission on the channel 16 from the Node B 12 As illustrated by arrows 20, the Node B 12 receives the three HS-DPCCH signals which contain Cell Quality Indicator (CQI) and the Acknowledgement/Non Acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) information each time the HS-DSCH is actually scheduled for receipt by the mobile radio communications devices 14 Of course, based upon the result of the transmission as received by way of the signalling 20, the node B may be arranged to re-transmit packets to those of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices 14 that indicated failure of receipt.

However, should any of the mobile radio communication devices that receive a re- transmission have already have received the previous transmission, the re- transmitted packet can readily be discarded.

As discussed above, the use of the HSDPA bearer enables greater efficiency of transmission and also the use of higher bit-rates than those available in relation to the dedicated channels of the current art. Further, a greater number of mobile radio communication devices can then be efficiently handled within the same cell and without code-shortage problems arising As will be appreciated, the operation of the present invention, and in particular the example illustrated in the drawing, is such that when the radio network controller (RNC) decides to allocate a point-to-point channel, the actual channel allocated comprises a HSDPA channel and also a single H-RNTT. At the mobile radio communications device 14, the H-RNTI maps to a specific MBMS session.

Each of the mobile radio communications devices 14 requiring receipt of the M1PMS session is then allocated an associated low bit-rate DPCH on the downlink channel and, as noted previously, a dedicated HS-DPCCH on the uplink channel.

The RNC is arranged to provide signalling serving to disable ciphering at the mobile radio communication devices for the reception of the MBMS information and such that the mobile radio communication devices will not then attempt to decipher the JV[BMS transmissions.

The node B within the network then serves to link all of the mobile radio communication devices together by means of the commonly allocated H-RNTI on the Tub interface so that the mode can then readily identify which mobile devices received, which didn't receive, the packets sent in each transmission timing interval.

Node B can then readily determine which HSDPA transmissions it should resent as part of the hybrid automated repeat requests (HARQ) procedures For the collation of information identifying the mobile radio communication devices, the Node B can advantageously use the means of mobile radio communications device identification thought most appropriate, for example U-RNTI or AAL5 connections The mobile radio communications device is then arranged to identify scheduling of the common H-RNTI and, as illustrated, then report back the CQI and the ACKINACK on the HS-DPCCH. The Node B can further collate the CQI and ACK!NACK and then determine the most appropriate transmission scheme to employ for any required retransmissions. As noted previously, the mobile radio communication devices can be arranged to discard any retransmitted packets at the RLC level which are identified as having previously been received correctly It should also be appreciated that the Node B is advantageously arranged to combine all different mobile radio communication device capabilities in order to establish a common capability for the plurality of mobile radio communication devices sharing the particular DL HS-BSCH.

Claims

Claims A method of providing point-to-point MIBMS transmission on a mobile

radio communications device including the step of employing a High- Speed Downlink Packet Access channel for the said point-to-point transmission
2. A method as claimed in Claim I, wherein the HSDPA channel is shared between a plurality of mobile radio communication devices.
3 A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of mobile radio communication devices share the same HSPDA Radio Network Temporary Identity (HRNTI) employed for scheduling an MBMS session
4 A method as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, and including the use of a radio network controller, allocating the HSPDA channel and a single H- RNTI at the same time as allocation of the point-to-point channel
5. A method as claimed in any one or more of Claims 1 to 4, and including the step of allocating a low bit-rate Dedicated Physical Channel on a downlink for a mobile radio communication device required to receive the MBMS session
6. A method as claimed in any one or more of Claims Ito 5, and including the step of allocating a High Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channel (HS-DPCCH) on an uplink for the mobile radio communications device.
7 A method as claimed in any one or more of Claims 1 to 6, and including the step of providing signalling from the network disabling ciphering at the mobile radio communications device for the reception of MBMS information.
8. A method as claimed in any one or more of Claims ito 7, and including the linking of all of the said plurality of mobile radio communication devices on an lub interface
9 A method as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims and including the step of combining different user equipment capabilities of the said plurality of mobile radio communication devices in order to allow for selection of the common capability for all of the said plurality of mobile radio communication devices sharing a high-speed downlink shared channel.
10. A method as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims and including the step of returning a result signal from the mobile radio communications device on the high speed DPCCH.
11 A mobile radio communications device and arranged to receive pointto-point MBMS transmission via a High Speed Downlink Packet Access Channel.
12. A device as claimed in Claim 11, and arranged such that a H-R.NTI allocated by the mobile communications network maps to a specific MBMS session.
13 A device as claimed in Claim 11 or 12 and arranged to be allocated a low bit-rate DPCH on the downlink channel.
14 A device as claimed in Claim 11, 12 or 13 and arranged to be allocated a dedicated HS-DPCCH on an uplink channel.
15. A network controller device for a mobile radio communications network and arranged to allocate a point-to-point channel for a MIBMS session wherein the said channel comprises a HSDPA channel.
16. A network controller device as claimed in Claim 15 and arranged to allocate a single H-RNTI. l0
17 A network controller device as claimed in Claim 15 or 16, and arranged to provide for the use of a shared HSDPA bearer among a plurality of mobile radio communication devices.
18 A network controller device as claimed in Claim 15, 16 or 17, and arranged to issue a disable-ciphering signal to the plurality of mobile radio communications devices for the reception of MBMS information.
19 A mobile radio communications system comprising a mobile radio communications device as claimed in Claim 11, 12, 13 or 14 and a network controller device as claimed in Claim 15, 16, 17 or 18 and arranged to provide for point-to-point MIBMS transmissions by way of a HSDPA channel.
20. A system as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the HSDPA channel is arranged to be shared between a plurality of said mobile radio communication devices.
21. A system as claimed in Claim 19 or 20, and arranged such that the plurality of mobile radio communication devices are arranged to share the same HIRNTI for scheduling an MBMS session.
22. A system as claimed in Claim 19, 20 or 21 and arranged to operate in accordance with any one or more of claims 1 to 10.
23. A method of providing point-to-point MBMS transmission substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
24. A mobile radio communications device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
25. A network controller device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

26 A mobile radio communications system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.