Channel access configuration

A network node configured for operation in a wireless communication network, the network node comprising:

• communication circuitry configured to communicate directly or indirectly with a User Equipment (UE);
• and
• processing circuitry operatively associated with the communication circuitry and configured to:
• send downlink control information (DCI) for a User Equipment (UE), the DCI indicating an uplink grant to schedule an uplink transmission by the UE in an unlicensed frequency band, where the UE will perform a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure in conjunction with performing the uplink transmission;
• and
• include one bit in the DCI as a control bit, wherein the network node selectively sets the control bit to one of two possible states, wherein a first state among the two possible states triggers the UE to reset a Contention Window (CW) size used by the UE for at least one LBT attempt performed by the UE in the LBT procedure, and wherein a second state among the two possible states triggers the UE to set the CW size for the at least one LBT attempt according to predefined rules.

A User Equipment (UE) configured for use with a wireless communication network, the UE comprising:

• communication circuitry configured to wirelessly couple the UE to the wireless communication network;
• and
• processing circuitry operatively associated with the communication circuitry and configured to:
• receive, from a network node of the wireless communication network, downlink control information (DCI) that indicates an uplink grant to schedule an uplink transmission by the UE in an unlicensed frequency band, where the UE will perform a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure in conjunction with performing the uplink transmission;
• and
• determine a Contention Window (CW) size used by the UE for at least one LBT attempt performed by the UE in the LBT procedure, in dependence on a state of one bit included in the DCI, the one bit serving as a control bit for the UE and being set to one of two possible states, wherein a first state among the two possible states triggers the UE to reset the CW size for the at least one LBT attempt, and wherein a second state among the two possible states triggers the UE to set the CW size for the at least one LBT attempt according to predefined rules.