Method and apparatus for antenna calibration control

Abstract

A method is disclosed which is for controlling antenna calibration of an antenna system residing in a wireless communication network. The antenna calibration is for compensation of impairments associated with operation of the antenna system. The method comprises performing over-the-air measurements of the antenna calibration during unused symbols defined by a predetermined pattern of unused symbols, wherein the predetermined pattern of unused symbols comprises unused symbols directly preceding synchronization symbols and/or unused symbols directly following synchronization symbols. In some embodiments, the predetermined pattern comprises sequences of consecutive unused symbols. Each sequence of consecutive unused symbols which has a length exceeding a measurement length threshold may comprise one or more measurement opportunities, and each measurement may be performed during a respective measurement opportunity. According to some embodiments, the synchronization symbols are time aligned for two or more network nodes operating within the network. Such embodiments may reduce interference during the measurements.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.