Technique for determining a channel width of a channel used in a wireless communication network

A method for determining a channel width of a channel used in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:

• performing a listen before talk (LBT) operation in each channel of a first group of channels, wherein the LBT operation comprises, for each channel, setting a counter associated with the respective channel to a random integer number and performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) for the respective channel, wherein the counter is decreased by one responsive to determining that the channel is clear and wherein the counter maintains its value in the event that the channel is determined to be occupied;
• determining the channel, the counter of which first reaching a value of one, to be a primary channel;
• discarding the counters of the channels of the first group of channels, which are not the primary channel;
• performing a CCA for each channel of the first group of channels, by which it is determined whether the respective channel is clear or occupied and by which the clear channels are determined to belong to a second group of channels;
• and
• responsive to determining that the primary channel is clear:
• combining at least two adjacent channels of the second group of channels to form a final combined channel;
• and
• initiating a data transmission over at least the final combined channel;
• wherein the method further comprises, before the step of performing the LBT operation in each channel of a first group of channels:
• determining a quality indicator for each of a plurality of channels;
• determining, from the plurality of channels, a first subset of channels, the quality indicators of which meeting a first requirement;
• combining at least two adjacent channels of the first subset of channels to form a first combined channel;
• and
• determining that at least the first combined channel belongs to the first group of channels.

A device for determining a channel width of a channel used in a wireless communication network, the device comprising:

• a network interface that is adapted to communicatively couple the device to the wireless communication network;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory containing instructions executable by the processor to cause the device to:
• determine a quality indicator for each of a plurality of channels by multiplying each of a plurality of considered parameters with a predefined weight value to obtain weighted parameters and determining the quality indicator based on the sum of the weighted parameters, wherein the considered parameters comprise one or more of the following parameters:
• link quality;
• cleanliness of the respective channel;
• historic behavior on the channel usage and on the channel bandwidth;
• presence of collocated wireless communication networks;
• required quality of service (QoS) in terms of signal to noise ratio, SNR;
• regulatory limits of an allowed maximum output power and/or maximum Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIPR) limits;
• regulatory limits of an allowed minimum and/or maximum channel bandwidth in a sub-band, in which the respective channel is located;
• device capability of the device;
• deployment scheme;
• and
• policy constraints;
• determine, from the plurality of channels, a first subset of channels, the quality indicators of which meet a first requirement;
• combine at least two adjacent channels of the first subset of channels to form a combined channel;
• and
• perform a listen before talk (LBT) operation in the combined channel.

A device for determining a channel width of a channel used in a wireless communication network, the device comprising:

• a network interface that is adapted to communicatively couple the device to the wireless communication network;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory containing instructions executable by the processor to cause the device to:
• perform a listen before talk (LBT) operation in each channel of a first group of channels, wherein the LBT operation comprises, for each channel, setting a counter associated with the respective channel to a random integer number and performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) for the respective channel, wherein the counter is decreased by one responsive to a determination that the channel is clear and wherein the counter maintains its value in the event that the channel is determined to be occupied;
• determine the channel, the counter of which first reaching a value of one, to be a primary channel;
• discard the counters of the channels of the first group of channels, which are not the primary channel;
• perform a CCA for each channel of the first group of channels, by which it is determined whether the respective channel is clear or occupied and by which the clear channels are determined to belong to a second group of channels;
• and
• responsive to determining the primary channel clear:
• combine at least two adjacent channels of the second group of channels to form a final combined channel;
• and
• initiate a data transmission over at least the final combined channel;
• wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the device to, before performing the LBT operation in each channel of a first group of channels:
• determine a quality indicator for each of a plurality of channels;
• determine, from the plurality of channels, a first subset of channels, the quality indicators of which meeting a first requirement;
• combine at least two adjacent channels of the first subset of channels to form a first combined channel;
• and
• determine that at least the first combined channel belongs to the first group of channels.