Granting scheduling requests in a wireless communication system

A method for conveying data in a communication system, which implements a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, and which includes an evolved NodeB (eNB) and a plurality of user equipments (UEs), the method performed by the eNB and comprising the steps of:

• receiving multiple scheduling requests from multiple UEs of the plurality of UEs, wherein each of the multiple scheduling requests indicates that a corresponding one of the multiple UEs is requesting uplink data transmission resources from the eNB;
• determining a priority value for each of the multiple scheduling requests based on scoring criteria that includes public safety activity information that is received by the eNB from a public safety system, resulting in a plurality of priority values associated with the multiple scheduling requests;
• and
• transmitting one or more scheduling request grants to a subset of the multiple UEs, wherein the subset includes one or more UEs of the multiple UEs that are associated with scheduling requests of the multiple scheduling requests having relatively high priority values of the plurality of priority values.

A communications system comprising:

• a base station configured to operate in a non public safety wireless communications system and further configured to:
• receive multiple scheduling requests from multiple mobile stations via the non public safety wireless communications system, wherein each of the multiple scheduling requests indicates that a corresponding one of the multiple mobile stations is requesting uplink data transmission resources from the base station,
• determine a priority value for each of the multiple scheduling requests based on multiple scoring criteria, resulting in a plurality of priority values associated with the multiple scheduling requests, wherein the multiple scoring criteria includes public safety activity information that is received by the non public safety wireless communications system from a public safety system, and
• transmit one or more scheduling request grants to a subset of the multiple mobile stations, wherein the subset includes one or more mobile stations of the multiple mobile stations that are associated with scheduling requests of the multiple scheduling requests having relatively high priority values of the plurality of priority values.