ARQ system with status and packet acknowledgement

A primary station for use in a communication system

• having a downlink indicator channel for the transmission of an indicator signal indicating that a data packet is scheduled to be transmitted on a downlink data channel from the primary station to a secondary station, the primary station including:
• a transmitter configured to transmit the indicator signal indicating that the data packet is scheduled to be transmitted on the downlink data channel from the primary station to a secondary station,
• a receiver configured to receive on an uplink channel (UL) a status signal from the secondary station to indicate receipt of the indicator signal before reception at the secondary station of a positive or negative acknowledgement to indicate the status of the data packet received by the secondary station, wherein the uplink channel is divided into a plurality of sub-frames, wherein the status signal and the acknowledgement are received in consecutive sub-frames.

A secondary station comprising:

• a receiver configured to receive an indicator signal and a data packet from a primary station;
• and
• a transmitter configured to transmit a status signal to the primary station, the status signal being indicative of the reception of the indicator signal and an acknowledgment signal including a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for indicating a status of the received data packet, wherein the status signal and the acknowledgment signal are transmitted in consecutive sub-frames.

A secondary station for use in a communication system, the secondary station comprising:

• a receiver configured to receive an indicator signal via a downlink indicator channel and the data packet via a downlink data channel;
• and
• a transmitter being configured to transmit a positive or negative acknowledgement to the primary station to indicate a status of the received data packet via an uplink channel, the uplink channel being divided into a plurality of consecutive sub-frames, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a status signal in a sub-frame immediately before a sub-frame in which the secondary station transmits the positive or negative acknowledgement to indicate the status of the received data packet, and wherein the status signal is indicative of the receipt of the indicator signal.

A method of operating a secondary station in a communication system having a downlink indicator channel for the transmission of an indicator signal indicating that a data packet is scheduled to be transmitted on a downlink data channel from a primary station to the secondary station, the method comprising:

• receiving at the secondary station, in a first transmission, the indicator signal on the downlink indicator channel;
• receiving at the secondary station, in a second transmission, the data packet on the downlink data channel, and
• transmitting from the secondary station on an uplink channel (UL) a status signal to indicate receipt of the indicator signal before transmission of a positive or negative acknowledgement to indicate the status of the received data packet, wherein the uplink channel is divided into a plurality of sub-frames, wherein the status signal and the acknowledgement are received in consecutive sub-frames.