Control signaling optimization for lte communications

A mobile device, comprising:

• at least one transceiver configurable to communicate via a long term evolution (LTE) network;
• one or more processors;
• and
• a storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the mobile device to:
• decode a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH);
• acquire a downlink control information (DCI) change indicator from a payload portion of a PDSCH communication;
• and
• decode a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for a DCI based on the DCI change indicator.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network apparatus, cause the network apparatus to:

• identify an expected downlink control information (DCI) change for a mobile device;
• determine whether an LTE subframe location for the DCI change is known;
• in response to determining, generate a DCI change indicator;
• and
• send the DCI change indicator to the mobile device on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to instruct the mobile device where to decode a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for a DCI.