LTE channel access over unlicensed bands

A base station for wireless communications, comprising:

• a processor;
• memory in electronic communication with the processor;
• and
• instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to:
• perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) at the base station associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) to determine availability of a shared spectrum,
• transmit, by the base station, a first waveform to user equipments (UEs) associated with the first RAT over the shared spectrum when a determination is made that the shared spectrum is available, the first waveform comprising a first component configured to be readable by a first device associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT and a second component configured to be readable by a second device associated with the first RAT, the first component comprising a first allocation of resources for the second RAT and the second component comprising a second allocation of resources for the first RAT;
• and
• receive, at the base station, a second waveform from one or more of the UEs associated with the first RAT, the second waveform being transmitted responsive to the first waveform and being received over the shared spectrum and being configured to indicate that the respective UE has channel access over the shared spectrum to receive data from the base station.

A user equipment (UE) for wireless communications, comprising:

• a processor;
• memory in electronic communication with the processor;
• and
• instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to:
• receive, at the UE associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) over a shared spectrum, a first waveform from a base station, the first waveform comprising a first component configured to be readable by a first device associated with a second RAT and a second component configured to be readable by a second device associated with the first RAT, the first component comprising a first allocation of resources for the second RAT and the second component comprising a second allocation of resources for the first RAT;
• and
• perform, responsive to the first waveform, a clear channel assessment (CCA) to determine availability of the shared spectrum for the UE.