Devices and method for retrieving and utilizing neighboring WLAN information for LTE LAA operation

A License Assisted Access (LAA) user equipment (UE) comprising:

• a transceiver configured to communicate with an LAA enhanced NodeB (eNB) using an unlicensed band;
• and
• processing circuitry configured to:
• configure the transceiver to receive a request from the eNB for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) information regarding a neighboring WLAN with which the UE is able to communicate, the request specifying a manner for which the WLAN information is to be obtained;
• configure the transceiver obtain the WLAN information through communication with an access point (AP) on a channel of the unlicensed band using the specified manner;
• and
• configure the transceiver to transmit a report including the WLAN information to the eNB, and
• configure the transceiver to transmit a request for a station in the same basic service set (BSS) to perform measurements on behalf of the UE and transmit resulting measurement information to the UE.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a License Assisted Access (LAA) enhanced NodeB (eNB) to configure the eNB to communicate via a transceiver with an LAA user equipment (UE) operating in an unlicensed band, the one or more processors to configure the eNB to:

• transmit a request to the UE for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) information regarding a neighboring WLAN with which the UE is able to communicate, the WLAN information comprising information available in a WLAN management frame or from a response message sent in response to a request message sent by the UE to an access point (AP) operating over a channel in the unlicensed band;
• configure the transceiver to receive, from the UE, a report including the WLAN information, and
• configure the transceiver to submit the WLAN information to a network entity for use in network operations involving use of the unlicensed band by UEs,
• wherein the request transmitted to the UE from the transceiver comprises information about the AP including at least one of:
• a beacon schedule of the AP including channel index,
• rough beacon start time, or
• basic service set identification (BSSID) of the AP.

A method for retrieving neighboring Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) information at a License Assisted Access (LAA) enhanced NodeB (eNB) from a LAA user equipment (UE) in an unlicensed band, the method comprising:

• transmitting a request for the WLAN information from the eNB to the UE, the request specifying at least one of a channel in the unlicensed band and a time window for which the WLAN information is to be obtained;
• receiving the WLAN information from the UE at the eNB, the WLAN information comprising operational information of the unlicensed band for which measurement is not employed;
• and
• setting network operations involving use of the unlicensed band by UEs by at least one of:
• processing the WLAN information at the eNB to set the network operations, or
• submitting the WLAN information to a network entity for the network entity to set the network operations,
• wherein the request indicates to the UE at least one of to acquire:
• a WLAN basic service set identifier (BSSID) from WLAN Media Access Control (MAC) frames,
• information in a WLAN management frame body from a response to a request to neighboring WLAN access points (APs), and
• information defined for WLAN Measurement Report by one of:
• the UE performing a measurement, or
• the UE requesting a WLAN station to perform a measurement for the UE.