Handling redundant data in a communication system

摘要

Explicit discard indications are used that allows a radio network controller (105), when operating in a multi-point High Speed Downlink Packet Access, HSDPA, scenario, to send data to a user equipment (106) via plural radio base stations (104) while reducing the risk for unnecessary duplicate data to be sent over the Uu interface between the radio base stations and the user equipment.

主权项

1. A method in a radio network controller, said radio network controller configured for multi-point High Speed Downlink Packet Access, HSDPA, operation wherein data is communicated to a first user equipment via at least two radio base stations, the method comprising:
identifying a first data frame sequence number corresponding to data for the first user equipment that can be discarded at one or more of the at least two radio base stations; and transmitting a discard indication signal to at least one of the at least two radio base stations, wherein the discard indication signal includes the first data frame sequence number and wherein the discard indication signal indicates to the at least one radio base station that Medium Access Control protocol handling dedicated data Protocol Data Units, MAC-d PDUs, received by the at least one radio base station from the radio network controller in a data frame associated with the first data frame sequence number can be discarded; wherein identifying the first data frame sequence number comprises determining that one or more of the at least two radio base stations is buffering data for the first user equipment that is redundant because it has already been received by the first user equipment, and identifying the first data frame sequence number as the frame sequence number corresponding to the data frame associated with the redundant data.