Methods and devices for random access preamble shifting

A method implemented in a base station for adjusting for propagation delay, the method comprising:

• receiving a preamble sequence from a user equipment (UE);
• transmitting a preamble reception response including the received preamble sequence;
• and
• in response to determining that the base station has not received a response to the preamble reception response from the UE, transmitting one or more time-shifted versions of the received preamble sequence.

A method implemented in a base station for adjusting for propagation delay, the method comprising:

• receiving a preamble sequence from a user equipment (UE) in a first window;
• receiving the preamble sequence from the user equipment in a second window that is a time shifted version of the first window;
• and
• detecting that a propagation delay condition exists if the preamble sequence in the second window is stronger than the preamble sequence in the first window.

A user equipment (UE) for adjusting for propagation delay, the user equipment comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory coupled to the processor;
• a transceiver coupled to the processor;
• and
• an antenna coupled to the transceiver configured to transmit and receive messages,
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• transmit one or more preamble sequences to a network node,
• record a response result for each preamble sequence transmitted to the network node,
• analyze each response result to determine whether a propagation delay condition exists, and
• if the propagation delay condition exists, adjust a timing of a preamble sequence transmission in accordance with a time shift or monitor for a preamble sequence in a reception window in accordance with the time shift.

A base station for adjusting for propagation delay, the base station comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory coupled to the processor;
• a transceiver coupled to the processor;
• and
• an antenna coupled to the transceiver configured to transmit and receive messages,
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• receive a preamble sequence from a user equipment (UE),
• transmit a preamble reception response including the received preamble sequence, and
• in response to determining that the base station has not received a response to the preamble reception response from the UE, transmit one or more time-shifted versions of the received preamble sequence.

A base station for adjusting for propagation delay, comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory coupled to the processor;
• a transceiver coupled to the processor;
• and
• an antenna coupled to the transceiver configured to transmit and receive messages,
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• receive a preamble sequence from a user equipment (UE) in a first window,
• receive the preamble sequence from the user equipment in a second window that is a time shifted version of the first window, and
• detect that a propagation delay condition exists if the preamble sequence in the second window is stronger than the preamble sequence in the first window.

A control node comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory coupled to the processor;
• a transceiver coupled to the processor;
• and
• an antenna coupled to the transceiver configured to transmit and receive messages,
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• transmit, to a base station, a configuration command instructing the base station to collect statistics related to a propagation delay condition, and
• receive a statistics report from the base station regarding the collected statistics.