Frequency-hopping method for LTE aperiodic sounding reference signals.

摘要

Methods and apparatus are provided to enable aperiodic sounding reference signaling including frequency hopping through the use of additional RRC configuration. The methods can require little or no additional L1 overhead to support narrowband frequency hopping for aperiodic sounding transmissions. In some embodiments, an approach is provided for extending an LTE periodic sounding reference signal methodology to include aperiodic sounding. One benefit of the proposed technique is that it enables each UE to perform aperiodic channel sounding in sounding subframes, using a frequency-hopping pattern, in which the sounding bandwidth of the UE can be narrowed appropriately to match its link capability. Additional benefits of the new approach include better resource utilization, lower signaling overhead, faster channel information update rates, and lower blocking probabilities.