Reliable data packet transmission among entities of a radio access network of a mobile communication network

A mobile communication network, comprising:

• a radio access network comprising a plurality of cells, the radio access network being configured to serve a user equipment within a cell,
• wherein, to provide a data packet to the user equipment, the radio access network or a further user equipment, which communicates with the user equipment using a direct communication link, is configured to provide a plurality of different versions of the data packet and to transmit the plurality of different versions of the data packet to the user equipment in parallel via different physical resources, and/or
• wherein, to provide a data packet to the radio access network or to the further user equipment, the user equipment is configured to provide a plurality of different versions of the data packet and to transmit the plurality of different versions of the data packet to the radio access network or to the further user equipment in parallel via different physical resources,
• wherein the plurality of different versions of the data packet are acquired by performing a packet redundancy/duplication at the packet data convergent protocol, PDCP, layer or at the MAC layer of the radio access network protocol architecture,
• wherein the radio access network is configured to provide an RRC configuration including an information element which indicates per logical channel whether the packet redundancy/duplication is enabled or not,
• wherein the radio access network is configured to transmit a control signaling message to the user equipment indicating that the user equipment to operate in an autonomous mode, the control signaling message defining one or more conditions whether or not the user equipment provides one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet and transmits the one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet to the radio access network or to another user equipment via different uplink physical resources, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine whether or not one or more of the conditions exist, and
• wherein the one or more conditions comprise one or more of:
• a transmission power currently used by the user equipment, or
• battery power of the user equipment.

A method for transmitting a data packet in a mobile communication network, the mobile communication network comprising a radio access network comprising a plurality of cells and serving a user equipment within a cell, the method comprising:

• providing, by the user equipment or by the radio access network, a plurality of different versions of the data packet, and
• transmitting the plurality of different versions of the data packet to the radio access network or to the user equipment in parallel via different physical resources,
• wherein the plurality of different versions of the data packet are acquired by performing a packet redundancy/duplication at the packet data convergent protocol, PDCP, layer or at the MAC layer of the radio access network protocol architecture,
• wherein the radio access network provides an RRC configuration including an information element which indicates per logical channel whether the packet redundancy/duplication is enabled or not,
• transmitting, by the radio access network, a control signaling message to the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is to operate in an autonomous mode, the control signaling message defining one or more conditions whether or not the user equipment provides one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet and transmits the one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet to the radio access network or to another user equipment via different uplink physical resources, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine whether or not one or more of the conditions exist, and
• wherein the one or more conditions comprise one or more of:
• a transmission power currently used by the user equipment, or
• battery power of the user equipment.

A non-transitory digital storage medium having a computer program stored thereon to perform, when executed by a computer, the method for transmitting a data packet in a mobile communication network, the mobile communication network comprising a radio access network comprising a plurality of cells and serving a user equipment within a cell, the user equipment configured to communicate with one or more further user equipments using a direct communication link, said method comprising:

• providing, by the user equipment or by a single base station of the radio access network, a plurality of different versions of the data packet, and
• transmitting the plurality of different versions of the data packet to the radio access network or to the user equipment in parallel via different physical resources,
• wherein the plurality of different versions of the data packet are acquired by performing a packet redundancy/duplication at the packet data convergent protocol, PDCP, layer or at the MAC layer of the radio access network protocol architecture,
• wherein the radio access network provides wherein the radio access network provides an RRC configuration including an information element which indicates per logical channel whether the packet redundancy/duplication is enabled or not,
• transmitting, by the radio access network, a control signaling message to the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is to operate in an autonomous mode, the control signaling message defining one or more conditions whether or not the user equipment provides one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet and transmits the one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet to the radio access network or to another user equipment via different uplink physical resources, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine whether or not one or more of the conditions exist, and
• wherein the one or more conditions comprise one or more of:
• a transmission power currently used by the user equipment, or
• battery power of the user equipment.

A base station for a mobile communication network, the mobile communication network comprising a radio access network comprising a plurality of cells, the base station configured to serve a user equipment within a cell, the base station comprising:

• an antenna, and
• a signal processor,
• wherein, to provide a data packet to the user equipment, the base station is configured to provide a plurality of different versions of the data packet and to transmit the plurality of different versions of the data packet to the user equipment in parallel via different physical resources,
• wherein the plurality of different versions of the data packet are acquired by performing a packet redundancy/duplication at the packet data convergent protocol, PDCP, layer or at the MAC layer inside the base station, and
• wherein the base station is configured to provide a set of different RRC configurations for the RRC layer of the radio access network protocol stack, to select one of the RRC configurations for the transmission of the plurality of different versions of the data packet, and to signal the user equipment the selected RRC configuration,
• wherein the base station is configured to transmit a control signaling message to the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is to operate in an autonomous mode, the control signaling message defining one or more conditions whether or not the user equipment provides one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet and transmits the one version or the plurality of different versions of the uplink data packet to the radio access network or to another user equipment via different uplink physical resources, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine whether or not one or more of the conditions exist, and
• wherein the one or more conditions comprise one or more of:
• a transmission power currently used by the user equipment, or
• battery power of the user equipment.