Dynamic transmission mode switching on the physical layer

User equipment (UE), comprising:

• one or more processors;
• a radio interface;
• memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to perform operations comprising:
• receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message from a base station indicating a plurality of transmission modes supported by the base station;
• determining a plurality of candidate Downlink Control Information (DCI) formats that correspond to the plurality of transmission modes supported by the base station;
• receiving a subframe of a radio frame from the base station;
• performing, at a physical layer, at least one blind search for a unique identifier associated with the UE in DCI of the subframe using at least one of the plurality of candidate DCI formats;
• identifying, at the physical layer, a particular DCI format of the plurality of candidate DCI formats that permits the UE, during the at least one blind search, to find the unique identifier in the DCI of the subframe;
• identifying, at the physical layer, a particular transmission mode of the plurality of transmission modes that corresponds to the particular DCI format;
• and
• interpreting, at the physical layer, data for the UE in the subframe according to the particular transmission mode,
• wherein the RRC message is received prior to receipt of the subframe.

One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors associated with user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message from a base station indicating a plurality of transmission modes supported by the base station;
• determining a plurality of candidate Downlink Control Information (DCI) formats that correspond to the plurality of transmission modes supported by the base station;
• receiving a subframe of a radio frame from the base station;
• performing, at a physical layer, at least one blind search for a unique identifier associated with the UE in DCI of the subframe using at least one of the plurality of candidate DCI formats;
• identifying, at the physical layer, a particular DCI format of the plurality of candidate DCI formats that permits the UE, during the at least one blind search, to find the unique identifier in the DCI of the subframe;
• identifying, at the physical layer, a particular transmission mode of the plurality of transmission modes that corresponds to the particular DCI format;
• and
• interpreting, at the physical layer, data for the UE in the subframe according to the particular transmission mode,
• wherein the RRC message is received prior to receipt of the subframe.