Radio bearer identification for self backhauling and relaying in LTE advanced

摘要

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for user terminal and bearer identification that reduces the overhead for LTE relaying (layer 2 and layer 3), which will save radio resources on the backhaul link. Reduction in overhead is achieved by providing a more efficient mechanism for user terminal and bearer identification as compared to using GTP-u and associated UDP/IP headers.

主权项

1. A method in a donor base station for multiplexing data packets for a plurality of user terminals over a single radio bearer on a backhaul between the donor base station and a relay in a multi-hop communication system, said method comprising:
receiving, by said donor base station over a user-specific tunneling connection with a gateway, an incoming tunneling packet including an incoming tunneling header and an encapsulated data packet for delivery to one of said user terminals; decapsulating, by said donor base station, the data packet from the tunneling packet by removing the incoming tunneling header; compressing, by said donor base station, a header of the data packet; identifying, by the donor base station, a user terminal for which the data packet is intended from a tunnel ID in the incoming tunneling header; encapsulating, by the donor base station, the data packet having the compressed header in an outgoing tunneling packet by adding an outgoing tunneling header; and forwarding said data packet having the compressed header from said donor base station to said relay over a multiplexed backhaul radio bearer over a user-specific tunnel for said user terminal.