Non-Anchor based Radio Resource Measurements

A method, performed by a wireless device, for performing idle mode radio resource management (RRM) measurements in a wireless network, the wireless network comprising a first carrier that supports a broadcast of system information, provides radio resources for paging and random access, and the wireless network further comprising a second carrier, distinct from the first carrier, that also provides radio resources for paging and random access, the first carrier being an anchor carrier for the wireless device and the second carrier being a non-anchor carrier for the wireless device, the method comprising:

• receiving one or more conditions for permitting the wireless device to camp on the non-anchor carrier whilst monitoring for paging or random access on the non-anchor carrier, wherein camping comprises performing RRM measurements on the non-anchor carrier for the wireless device and as a result determining whether cell reselection can be directly performed based on one or more measurements of the non-anchor carrier;
• performing at least one of a signal strength measurement and a signal quality measurement, on each of the first and second carriers;
• and,
• based on the at least one measurement for each of the respective carriers, determining whether to perform idle-mode RRM measurements on the second, non-anchor, carrier.

A wireless device adapted to perform idle mode radio resource management (RRM) measurements in a wireless network, the wireless network comprising a first carrier that supports a broadcast of system information, provides radio resources for paging and random access, and, the wireless network further comprising a second carrier, distinct from the first carrier, that also provides radio resources for paging and random access, the first carrier being an anchor carrier for the wireless device and the second carrier being a non-anchor carrier for the wireless device, the wireless device comprising:

• transceiver circuitry configured for communicating with a wireless communication network on the first and second carriers;
• and
• processing circuitry operatively associated with the transceiver circuitry and configured to:
• receive one or more conditions for permitting the wireless device to camp on a non-anchor carrier whilst monitoring for paging or random access on the non-anchor carrier, wherein camping comprises performing RRM measurements on a non-anchor carrier for the wireless device and as a result determining whether cell reselection can be directly performed based on one or more measurements of the non-anchor carrier;
• perform at least one of a signal strength measurement and a signal quality measurement on each of the first and second carriers;
• and
• based on the at least one measurement for each of the respective carriers, determine whether to perform idle-mode RRM measurements on the second, non-anchor, carrier.

A network node adapted for facilitating idle mode radio resource management (RRM) measurements in a wireless network, the wireless network comprising a first carrier that supports a broadcast of system information, provides radio resources for paging and random access, and, the wireless network further comprising a second carrier, distinct from the first carrier, that also provides radio resources for paging and random access, the first carrier being an anchor carrier for the wireless device and the second carrier being a non-anchor carrier for the wireless device, the network node comprising:

• comprising:
• transceiver circuitry configured for communicating with a wireless communication network on the first and second carriers;
• and
• processing circuitry operatively associated with the transceiver circuitry and configured to:
• signal, to a wireless device in the network, one or more conditions for permitting the wireless device to perform RRM measurements on the non-anchor carrier for the wireless device.