Apparatus, method and computer program product providing dynamic sharing of resources between uplink and downlink allocations for separately coded users

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable memory medium tangibly embodying a computer program, the computer program configured to operate an electronic device in a wireless communications system, wherein when the computer program is executed the electronic device is configured to:

• receive downlink and uplink allocation information signaled in a control channel by the wireless communications system, wherein the control channel is divided into a downlink allocation portion used for the downlink allocation information and an uplink allocation portion used for the uplink allocation information;
• wherein the downlink allocation portion and uplink allocation portion of the control channel have first and second ends, the first and second ends each corresponding to control channel resources comprising, in part, the control channel;
• wherein the first ends of the downlink allocation portion and the uplink allocation portion coincide with first and second ends of the control channel, respectively, and wherein the downlink allocation information is signaled using control channel resources starting first with the control channel resources coincident with the first end of the control channel and the uplink allocation information is signaled using control channel resources starting first with the control channel resources coincident with the second end of the control channel;
• and
• to search for the downlink allocation information in the downlink allocation portion and the uplink allocation information in the uplink allocation portion.

A method comprising:

• receiving at an apparatus downlink and uplink allocation information signaled in a control channel by a wireless communications system, wherein the control channel is divided into a downlink allocation portion used for the downlink allocation information and an uplink allocation portion used for the uplink allocation information;
• wherein the downlink allocation portion and uplink allocation portion of the control channel have first and second ends, the first and second ends each corresponding to control channel resources comprising, in part, the control channel;
• where the first ends of the downlink allocation portion and the uplink allocation portion coincide with first and second ends of the control channel, respectively, and wherein downlink allocation information is signaled using control channel resources starting first with control channel resources coincident with the first end of the control channel and uplink allocation information is signaled using control channel resource starting first with control channel resources coincident with the second end of the control channel;
• and
• searching by the apparatus for the downlink allocation information in the downlink allocation portion and the uplink allocation information in the uplink allocation portion.