Short control messages using index modulation on demodulation reference signals

A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

• receiving, by the UE, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) from a transmitting base station;
• identifying, by the UE, a short control message within a set of expected inactive subcarrier resource elements (REs) of a known sequence of the DMRS, wherein the short control message is associated with the configuration action of the network node;
• and
• adjusting, by the UE, a configuration of the configuration action using control information from the short control message.

A base station comprising:

• a memory storing processor-readable code;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to:
• determine, by the base station, a configuration action for a served user equipment (UE) in communication with the network node;
• generate, by the base station, a short control message associated with the configuration action;
• map, by the base station, the short control message onto a set of inactive subcarrier resource elements (REs) of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence;
• and
• transmit, by the base station, the DMRS sequence to the served UE, wherein the DMRS sequence includes the short control message within the set of inactive subcarrier REs of the DMRS sequence.

A user equipment (UE) comprising:

• a memory storing processor-readable code;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to:
• receive, by the UE, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) from a transmitting base station;
• identify, by the UE, a short control message within a set of expected inactive subcarrier resource elements (REs) of a known sequence of the DMRS, wherein the short control message is associated with the configuration action of the network node;
• and
• adjust, by the UE, a configuration of the configuration action using control information from the short control message.

An apparatus configured for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

• means for determining, by the base station, a configuration action for a served user equipment (UE) in communication with the network node;
• means for generating, by the base station, a short control message associated with the configuration action;
• means for mapping, by the base station, the short control message onto a set of inactive subcarrier resource elements (REs) of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence;
• and
• means for transmitting, by the base station, the DMRS sequence to the served UE, wherein the DMRS sequence includes the short control message within the set of inactive subcarrier REs of the DMRS sequence.

An apparatus configured for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

• means for receiving, by the UE, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) from a transmitting base station;
• means for identifying, by the UE, a short control message within a set of expected inactive subcarrier resource elements (REs) of a known sequence of the DMRS, wherein the short control message is associated with the configuration action of the network node;
• and
• means for adjusting, by the UE, a configuration of the configuration action using control information from the short control message.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• determining, by the base station, a configuration action for a served user equipment (UE) in communication with the network node;
• generating, by the base station, a short control message associated with the configuration action;
• mapping, by the base station, the short control message onto a set of inactive subcarrier resource elements (REs) of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence;
• and
• transmitting, by the base station, the DMRS sequence to the served UE, wherein the DMRS sequence includes the short control message within the set of inactive subcarrier REs of the DMRS sequence.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving, by the UE, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) from a transmitting base station;
• identifying, by the UE, a short control message within a set of expected inactive subcarrier resource elements (REs) of a known sequence of the DMRS, wherein the short control message is associated with the configuration action of the network node;
• and
• adjusting, by the UE, a configuration of the configuration action using control information from the short control message.