Virtualization and central coordination in wireless networks

Apparatus for deployment in a cellular network, in which a base station is partitioned into a virtualization platform and radio transceiver points and communications are established between a given User Equipment (UE) and the virtualization platform via at least one Radio Transceiver Point (R-TP) that is associated with the base station, wherein the communications include PHY (Physical Layer) processing and Layer 2 processing, including PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol), RLC (Radio Link Control), and MAC (Medium Access Control) processing functions, and wherein the PDCP sub-layer is located on the virtualization platform, while the other sub-layers and the PHY layer are located on each of the at least one R-TP, the apparatus comprising:

• at least one network interface;
• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor, which is configured to operate as a virtualization platform on which is implemented as a part of the base station, and to establish, over the network interface, a control interface between each R-TP and the said apparatus and to make or receive, from a central coordinator, a selection of a downlink coordinated transmission mode that is to be applied to the communications between the given UE and the base station, and a selection of a first R-TP and of a second R-TP for coordinating their transmissions, and to convey over the control interface to the first R-TP a first message comprising an identifier of the given UE and a first specification of first time-frequency resources for user data transmission and a second specification of second time-frequency resources for reference signals, and to convey to the second R-TP a second message comprising the first specification of the first time-frequency resources and a third specification of third time-frequency resources for reference signals, wherein the reference signals are used by the given UE for radio communication measurements, and to perform the radio processing functions in the communications between the given UE and the base station, while executing the selected coordinated transmission mode by the first and the second R-TP in accordance with the first, the second and the third specifications of time-frequency resources.

Apparatus for deployment in a cellular network, in which a base station is partitioned into a virtualization platform and radio transceiver points and communications are established between a given User Equipment (UE) and the virtualization platform via at least one assigned Radio Transceiver Point (R-TP) that is associated with the base station, wherein the communications include PHY (Physical Layer) processing and Layer 2 processing, including PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol), RLC (Radio Link Control), and MAC (Medium Access Control) processing functions, and wherein the PDCP sub-layer is located on the virtualization platform, while the other sub-layers are located on each of the at least one R-TP, the apparatus comprising:

• a network interface;
• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor, which is configured to serve as a central coordinator of the at least one R-TP and of the virtualization platform, wherein the at least one R-TP and the virtualization platform are able to perform the processing functions in the communications between the given UE and the base station, and to establish, over the network interface, a control interface between the said apparatus and each radio transceiver point, wherein the central coordinator makes a selection of a downlink coordinated transmission mode for the base station communication with the given UE and a selection of a first R-TP and a second R-TP for the execution of the selected coordinated transmission mode and conveys over the control interface to the first R-TP a first message comprising an identifier of the given UE and a first specification of first time-frequency resources for user data transmission and a second specification of second time-frequency resources for reference signals, and conveys to the second R-TP a second message comprising the first specification of the first time-frequency resources and a third specification of third time-frequency resources for reference signals, wherein the reference signals are used by the given UE for radio communication measurements, and the at least one of the first and the second R-TP and the virtualization platform perform the radio processing functions in the base station communications with the given UE, while the selected coordinated transmission mode is executed by the first and the second R-TP in accordance with the first, the second and the third specifications of time-frequency resources.

Radio Transceiver Point (R-TP) apparatus for deployment in a cellular network, in which a base station is partitioned into a virtualization platform and radio transceiver points and communications are established between a given User Equipment (UE) and the virtualization platform via at least one Radio Transceiver Point (R-TP) that is associated with the base station, wherein the communications include PHY (Physical Layer) processing and Layer 2 processing, including PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol), RLC (Radio Link Control), and MAC (Medium Access Control), and wherein the PDCP sub-layer is located on the virtualization platform, while the other sub-layers and the PHY layer are located on each R-TP, and wherein a central coordinator selects a downlink coordinated transmission mode for the base station communication with the given UE and selects the said R-TP apparatus and another R-TP for the execution of the selected coordinated transmission mode, the apparatus comprising:

• a radio interface;
• a network interface;
• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor, which is configured to establish, over the network interface, a control interface between the said apparatus and the virtualization platform and/or between the said apparatus and the central coordinator and to receive over the control interface a first message comprising an identifier of the given UE and a first specification of first time-frequency resources for user data transmission and a second specification of a second time-frequency resources for reference signals, while the other R-TP receives a second message comprising the first specification of the first time-frequency resources and a third specification of third time-frequency resources for reference signals, wherein the reference signals are used by the given UE for radio communication measurements and to perform by the said apparatus and by the other R-TP, the radio processing functions in the base station communications with the given UE while the selected coordinated transmission mode is executed by the said apparatus and the other R-TP in accordance with the first, the second and the third specifications of time-frequency resources.