Method and apparatus for downlink resource allocation in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing communication system

A method in a user equipment in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing communication system, the method comprising:

• receiving, by the user equipment, a control message on a downlink control channel, the control message comprising an indication indicating the UE is scheduled for distributed transmission and a resource allocation comprising at least one Distributed Virtual Resource Block (DVRB),
• determining, by the user equipment, a mapping of the at least one DVRB to a plurality of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), wherein a first part of the at least one DVRB is mapped to a first part of a first PRB of the plurality of PRBs and a second part of the at least one DVRB is mapped to a second part of a second PRB of the plurality of PRBs, the first part of the first PRB comprises a first set of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of a subframe and the second part of the second PRB comprises a second set of OFDM symbols of the subframe, the OFDM symbols in the first and second set of OFDM symbols are contiguous, the second set of OFDM symbols are subsequent to the first set of OFDM symbols in the subframe, and a size of the at least one DVRB is the same as a size of a PRB of the plurality of PRBs;
• and
• receiving, by the user equipment, downlink data on the mapped part of the first PRB and the second PRB.

A network element capable of operating in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing communication system, the network element comprising:

• a processor configured to:
• schedule a user equipment (UE) for a distributed transmission;
• assign at least one Distributed Virtual Resource Blocks (DVRB) to the UE scheduled for distributed transmission;
• and
• map the assigned at least one DVRB to a plurality of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), wherein a first part of the at least one DVRB is mapped to a first part of a first PRB of the plurality of PRBs and a second part of the at least one DVRB is mapped to a second part of a second PRB of the plurality of PRBs, the first part of the first PRB comprises a first set of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of a subframe and the second part of the second PRB comprises a second set of OFDM symbols of the subframe, the first set of OFDM symbols is different than the second set of OFDM symbols, and a size of the at least one DVRB is the same as a size of a PRB of the plurality of PRBs;
• and
• transmit downlink data to the UE on the mapped part of the first PRB and the second PRB.

A user equipment capable of operating in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing communication system, the user equipment comprising:

• a processor configured to:
• receive a control message on a downlink control channel, the control message comprising an indication indicating the UE is scheduled for distributed transmission and a resource allocation comprising at least one Distributed Virtual Resource Block (DVRB),
• determine a mapping of the at least one DVRB to a plurality of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), wherein a first part of the at least one DVRB is mapped to a first part of a first PRB of the plurality of PRBs and a second part of the at least one DVRB is mapped to a second part of a second PRB of the plurality of PRBs, the first part of the first PRB comprises a first set of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of a subframe and the second part of the second PRB comprises a second set of OFDM symbols of the subframe, the OFDM symbols in the first and second set of OFDM symbols are contiguous, the second set of OFDM symbols are subsequent to the first set of OFDM symbols in the subframe, and a size of the at least one DVRB is the same as a size of a PRB of the plurality of PRBs;
• and
• receive downlink data on the mapped part of the first PRB and the second PRB.