WO2017100355A1

WO2017100355A1 - Master information block and system information block transmissions in unlicensed spectrum

Info

Publication number: WO2017100355A1
Application number: PCT/US2016/065436
Authority: WO
Inventors: Qiaoyang Ye; Hwan-Joon Kwon; Abhijeet Bhorkar; Jeongho Jeon; Fatemeh HAMIDI-SEPEHR
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2015-12-07
Filing date: 2016-12-07
Publication date: 2017-06-15
Also published as: CN108293191B; HK1256561A1; CN108293191A

Abstract

Described is an apparatus of an Evolved Node-B. The apparatus may comprise a first circuitry and a second circuitry. The first circuitry may be operable to identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation. The second circuitry may be operable to encode a System Information bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block, and one or more types of System Information Block. Transmission of the Si-bearing transmission may be subject to a Listen-Before-Talk protocol.

Description

MASTER INFORMATION BLOCK AND SYSTEM INFORMATION BLOCK

TRANSMISSIONS IN UNLICENSED SPECTRUM

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to United

States Provisional Patent Application Serial Number 62/264,222 filed December 7, 2015, and to United States Non-Provisional Application Serial Number 62/280,578, filed January 19, 2016, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A variety of wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented over time, including a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) Universal Mobile

Telecommunications System, a 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, and a 3GPP LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) system. Next-generation wireless cellular communication systems based upon LTE and LTE-A systems are being developed, such as a fifth generation (5G) wireless system / 5G mobile networks system.

[0003] Meanwhile, although there is a demand for increasingly high data rates in wireless cellular communication systems, license regimes limit the extent of usable spectrum for such systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] The embodiments of the disclosure will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the disclosure. However, while the drawings are to aid in explanation and understanding, they are only an aid, and should not be taken to limit the disclosure to the specific embodiments depicted therein.

[0005] Fig. 1 illustrates a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) structure in a 3rd

Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0006] Fig. 2 illustrates a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission structure with Master Information Block (MIB) inserted, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0007] Fig. 3 illustrates a MIB and System Information Block (SIB) transmission scenario, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. [0008] Fig. 4 illustrates an Evolved Node-B (eNB) and a User Equipment (UE), in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0009] Fig. 5 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for an eNB for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0010] Fig. 6 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0011] Fig. 7 illustrates methods for an eNB for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0012] Fig. 8 illustrates methods for a UE for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0013] Fig. 9 illustrates example components of a UE device, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Various wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented or are being proposed, including a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 3GPP LTE-Advanced system, and a 5th Generation wireless system / 5th Generation mobile networks (5G) system / 5th Generation new radio (NR) system.

[0015] Successive generations of wireless cellular technology seek to use ever higher data rates. On one hand, as physical-layer designs and implementations progress, further improvements in spectral efficiency may be marginal. On the other hand, licensed spectrum in lower-frequency bands is scarce. Both of these factors hinder improvements in data rates.

[0016] The limits on licensed spectrum have fostered an emerging interest in the operation of LTE systems (and successor systems) in unlicensed spectrum. For example, License-Assisted Access (LAA) may facilitate operation of LTE systems compliant with 3GPP Release 13 (open, end date 2016-03-11 (SP-71)), which may expand system bandwidth by utilizing a flexible Carrier Aggregation (CA) framework introduced in LTE-Advanced systems. [0017] Enhanced system operation in unlicensed spectrum is targeted for future 3GPP releases, which may include 5G systems. Under one approach, operation in unlicensed spectrum may include LTE operation via Dual Connectivity (DC) based LAA. Under another approach, operation in unlicensed spectrum may include standalone LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum, in which LTE-based technology may operate in unlicensed spectrum alone and might not require an "anchor." Standalone LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum may include, for example, MulteFire™ technology by MulteFire Alliance of Fremont California, USA.

[0018] Whereas a CA-based LAA system may have an ideal backhaul between a

Primary Cell (PCell) and a Secondary Cell (SCell), a DC based LAA systems may have a non-ideal backhaul between various Evolved Node-Bs (eNBs), such as between a Master (MeNB) and a Secondary eNB (SeNB). As a result, MeNB and SeNBs might not be synchronized, and a User Equipment (UE) might not be disposed to rely on System

Information (SI) of an MeNB in a licensed carrier to determine SI in an unlicensed carrier. In other words, a UE may be disposed to acquiring key SI such as Master Information Block (MIB) from an SCell that may be activated with configured Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) among SeNBs. In some embodiments of DC based LAA systems, such an SCell may be termed a Primary SCell (PSCell). In some embodiments, a UE may be disposed to acquiring some System Information Blocks (SIBs) from an SeNB in scenarios in which the corresponding SI is not provided by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling from an MeNB.

[0019] Meanwhile, standalone systems lacking an "anchor" operating in licensed spectrum (which may include MulteFire™ systems) may be disposed to transmitting SI, including MIBs and SIBs, in unlicensed spectrum.

[0020] An unlicensed frequency band of current interest in the operation of LTE systems and successor systems is the 5 Gigahertz (GHz) band, which has both a wide spectrum and common availability globally. The 5 GHz band is governed in the US by Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) rules from the Federal

Communications Commission (FCC), and in Europe by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

[0021] Collectively, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), such as WLANs based on the IEEE 802.11 a/n/ac technologies, represent a significant incumbent technology in the 5 GHz band. Since WLAN systems may be widely deployed by both individuals and operators for carrier-grade access service and data offloading, sufficient care must be taken before deployment of potentially-conflicting LTE systems in the 5 GHz band.

[0022] In Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) procedures, a radio transmitter may first sense a medium and may then transmit through the medium if the medium is sensed to be idle.

Release-13 LTE systems employing LAA may be disposed to incorporate LBT features to promote fair coexistence with incumbent WLAN systems.

[0023] Meanwhile, MIBs and SIBs may include system information that UEs may be disposed to acquire in order to be able to access and operate properly within a wireless network, or within a specific cell of a wireless network. In legacy LTE systems, a MIB may consist of 3 bits of bandwidth information, 3 bits of Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Indicator Channel (PHICH) configuration information, 8 bits of System Frame Number (SFN) information, 10 reserved bits, and 16 bits of Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information.

[0024] Fig. 1 illustrates a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) structure in a LTE system, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A PBCH structure 100 may comprise a MIB transmission period 110 in which a plurality of Resource Blocks (RBs) 130 are transmitted across a system bandwidth 115 in a series of radio frames 120. As depicted in Fig. 1, MIB transmission period 110 may comprise 4 radio frames 120, and each radio frame 120 may in turn comprise 10 subframes encompassing 10 RBs 130. MIB transmission period 110 may span 40 milliseconds (ms), radio frames 120 may span 10 ms, and the subframes encompassing RBs 130 may span 1 ms.

[0025] Within MIB transmission period 110, a MIB may be repeatedly broadcast via

PBCH in the first RB 130 of each radio frame 120. In some embodiments, the MIB may be broadcast via PBCH in the central 6 RBs 130 of the system bandwidth. Within MIB transmission period 110, the MIBs being broadcast may be identical. After one MIB transmission period 110 ends, another may begin, in which a new and potentially different MIB may be broadcast. In other words, a new MIB may be generated every 40 ms, and the same MIB may be broadcast repeatedly every 10 ms within the 40 ms period.

[0026] RBs 130 may comprise pluralities of Resource Elements (REs) 140 spanning a set of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbols in the time domain and spanning a set of subcarriers in the frequency domain. For example, an RB 130 may comprise REs 140 spanning 14 OFDM symbols (which may be enumerated from 0-13) and spanning 12 subcarriers (which may be enumerated from 0-11). [0027] For OFDM symbols 0, 4, 7, and 11 at subcarriers 0, 3, 6, and 9, some REs 140 may carry port 0 Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS) and some REs 140 may carry port 1 CRS. REs 140 in OFDM symbol 5 may carry Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), while REs 140 in OFDM symbol 6 may carry Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS).

Various REs 140 in OFDM symbols 7 through 10 may carry PBCH. MIB may in turn be broadcast via REs carrying Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH).

[0028] For example, as depicted in Fig. 1, PBCH carrying MIB may be transmitted in the first RB 130 in a radio frame 120. In some embodiments, various REs 140 of the first 4 OFDM symbols of the second slot of the first subframe in the radio frame (e.g., the second half of the first RB 130 in a radio frame 120).

[0029] Up to 13 types of SIBs may be broadcast (SIBl through SIB 13), each SIB including various system information. Different SIBs may have different transmission periods. For example, SIBl, which may be similar to MIB, may be transmitted with a fixed transmission period: a new SIBl may be generated every 80 ms, and the same SIBl may be repeatedly transmitted in subframe 5, at a period of 20 ms, within the 80 ms SIBl transmission period. SIBs other than SIBl may have flexible transmission periods, which may be determined by scheduling information contained in SIBl . As an example, SIB2 may have a transmission period of 160 ms, while SIB3, SIB4, and SIB5 may have transmission periods of 320 ms. Different SIBs may be mapped to different Sis, which may in turn correspond to actual transport blocks to be transmitted on a Downlink (DL) Shared Channel (DL-SCH). SIBs mapped to the same SI may be disposed to have the same transmission period.

[0030] Each SI may have its own time window within which the SI may be disposed to be transmitted. The time window may be defined based on scheduling information included in SIBl, and different Sis may have different non-overlapping time windows. Thus, a UE may determine which SI is received in a subframe without reference to a dedicated identifier for each SI.

[0031] Accordingly, in general, MIB and SIB transmission in legacy LTE may be governed by a schedule. In contrast with a legacy LTE environment, however, transmissions in unlicensed spectrum— including transmission of MIB and SIBs— may be subject to LBT procedures, in an effort to promote fair coexistence with incumbent systems (e.g., WLAN systems). Since they are subject to LBT, MIB and SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum might not be transmitted in particular subframes. If a channel is busy enough for long enough, a UE operating in unlicensed spectrum might not receive a MIB or a SIB

transmission within the applicable transmission period.

[0032] As a result, legacy LTE MIB and SIB transmission schemes might not provide

MIB and SIBs frequently enough in unlicensed spectrum. Increasing transmission opportunities for MIB and SIBs in unlicensed systems may accordingly be desirable. At the same time, however, excessive MIB and SIB transmissions may be prudent to avoid, in order to minimize impacts both on incumbent systems (e.g., Wi-Fi systems) and on networks of other operators utilizing the same unlicensed spectrum.

[0033] Disclosed herein are transmission schemes for MIB and SIBs for systems in unlicensed spectrum to increase transmission opportunities for MIB and SIBs and thereby enable UEs to timely acquire system information while avoiding excessive MIB and SIB transmissions.

[0034] In the following description, numerous details are discussed to provide a more thorough explanation of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] Note that in the corresponding drawings of the embodiments, signals are represented with lines. Some lines may be thicker, to indicate a greater number of constituent signal paths, and/or have arrows at one or more ends, to indicate a direction of information flow. Such indications are not intended to be limiting. Rather, the lines are used in connection with one or more exemplary embodiments to facilitate easier understanding of a circuit or a logical unit. Any represented signal, as dictated by design needs or preferences, may actually comprise one or more signals that may travel in either direction and may be implemented with any suitable type of signal scheme.

[0036] Throughout the specification, and in the claims, the term "connected" means a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection between the things that are connected, without any intermediary devices. The term "coupled" means either a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection between the things that are connected or an indirect connection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices. The term "circuit" or "module" may refer to one or more passive and/or active components that are arranged to cooperate with one another to provide a desired function. The term "signal" may refer to at least one current signal, voltage signal, magnetic signal, or data/clock signal. The meaning of "a," "an," and "the" include plural references. The meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on."

[0037] The terms "substantially," "close," "approximately," "near," and "about" generally refer to being within +/- 10% of a target value. Unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first," "second," and "third," etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0038] It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.

[0039] The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions.

[0040] For purposes of the embodiments, the transistors in various circuits, modules, and logic blocks are Tunneling FETs (TFETs). Some transistors of various embodiments may comprise metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors, which include drain, source, gate, and bulk terminals. The transistors may also include Tri-Gate and FinFET transistors, Gate All Around Cylindrical Transistors, Square Wire, or Rectangular Ribbon Transistors or other devices implementing transistor functionality like carbon nanotubes or spintronic devices. MOSFET symmetrical source and drain terminals i.e., are identical terminals and are interchangeably used here. A TFET device, on the other hand, has asymmetric Source and Drain terminals. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other transistors, for example, Bi-polar junction transistors-BJT PNP/NPN, BiCMOS, CMOS, etc., may be used for some transistors without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0041] For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "A and/or B" and "A or

B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase "A, B, and/or C" means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

[0042] In addition, the various elements of combinatorial logic and sequential logic discussed in the present disclosure may pertain both to physical structures (such as AND gates, OR gates, or XOR gates), or to synthesized or otherwise optimized collections of devices implementing the logical structures that are Boolean equivalents of the logic under discussion. [0043] In addition, for purposes of the present disclosure, the term "eNB" may refer to a legacy eNB, a next-generation or 5G eNB, an mmWave eNB, an mmWave small cell, an AP, and/or another base station for a wireless communication system. For purposes of the present disclosure, the term "UE" may refer to a UE, a 5G UE, an mmWave UE, an STA, and/or another mobile equipment for a wireless communication system.

[0044] Various embodiments of eNBs and/or UEs discussed below may process one or more transmissions of various types. Some processing of a transmission may comprise demodulating, decoding, detecting, parsing, and/or otherwise handling a transmission that has been received. In some embodiments, an eNB or UE processing a transmission may determine or recognize the transmission's type and/or a condition associated with the transmission. For some embodiments, an eNB or UE processing a transmission may act in accordance with the transmission's type, and/or may act conditionally based upon the transmission's type. An eNB or UE processing a transmission may also recognize one or more values or fields of data carried by the transmission. Processing a transmission may comprise moving the transmission through one or more layers of a protocol stack (which may be implemented in, e.g., hardware and/or software-configured elements), such as by moving a transmission that has been received by an eNB or a UE through one or more layers of a protocol stack.

[0045] Various embodiments of eNBs and/or UEs discussed below may also generate one or more transmissions of various types. Some generating of a transmission may comprise modulating, encoding, formatting, assembling, and/or otherwise handling a transmission that is to be transmitted. In some embodiments, an eNB or UE generating a transmission may establish the transmission's type and/or a condition associated with the transmission. For some embodiments, an eNB or UE generating a transmission may act in accordance with the transmission's type, and/or may act conditionally based upon the transmission's type. An eNB or UE generating a transmission may also determine one or more values or fields of data carried by the transmission. Generating a transmission may comprise moving the transmission through one or more layers of a protocol stack (which may be implemented in, e.g., hardware and/or software-configured elements), such as by moving a transmission to be sent by an eNB or a UE through one or more layers of a protocol stack.

[0046] A variety of MIB transmission schemes in unlicensed systems (which may be subject to LBT) may be employed. In a first type of MIB transmission scheme, a scheme similar to a legacy LTE MIB transmission scheme may be adopted. A new MIB may be generated every 40 ms, and this MIB may be broadcast via PBCH every 10 ms within the 40 ms MIB transmission period.

[0047] In a second type of MIB transmission scheme, MIB may be inserted in a

Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission. Fig. 2 illustrates a DRS transmission structure with MIB inserted, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. DRS transmission structure 200 may comprise a plurality of RBs 230 in a 1-ms subframe spanning at least a portion of a system bandwidth. In some embodiments, RBs 230 may span a central 6-RB portion 210 of the system bandwidth.

[0048] Each RB 230 may comprise a plurality of REs 240 spanning a set of OFDM symbols in the time domain and spanning a set of subcarriers in the frequency domain. For example, each RB 230 may comprise REs 240 spanning 14 OFDM symbols (which may be enumerated from 0-13) and spanning 12 subcarriers (which may be enumerated from 0-11).

[0049] For OFDM symbols 0, 4, 7, and 11, some REs 240 may carry port 0 CRS and some REs 240 may carry port 1 CRS. In some embodiments, port 0 CRS and/or port 1 CRS may be carried in subcarriers 1, 4, 7, and/or 10. Furthermore, subcarriers for port 0 CRS and/or port 1 CRS may differ from cell to cell, and may depend upon a cell ID. For some embodiments, a distance between port 0 CRS and/or a distance between port 1 CRS may be predetermined (at, e.g., distances of 6 subcarriers).

[0050] For example, as depicted in Fig. 2, port 0 CRS may be carried in subcarriers 1 and 7 in a first set of OFDM symbols (such as OFDM symbols 0 and 7), and port 1 CRS may be carried in subcarriers 4 and 10 in the first set of OFDM symbols; meanwhile, port 0 CRS may be carried in subcarriers 4 and 10 in a second set of OFDM symbols (such as OFDM symbols 4 and 11), and port 1 CRS may be carried in subcarriers 1 and 7 in the first set of OFDM symbols. Some REs 240 in OFDM symbol 5 may carry SSS, and some REs 240 in OFDM symbol 6 may carry Primary Synchronization Signal PSS. Other REs 240 in OFDM symbols 5 and 6 may be reserved. In addition, some REs 240 may carry Channel Status Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS). For example, as depicted in Fig. 2, OFDM symbols 9 and 10 in subcarrier 11 may carry CSI-RS. In various embodiments, however, various other REs 240 may carry CSI-RS.

[0051] In some embodiments, as reflected in Fig. 2, REs 240 in OFDM 7, 8, 9, and/or

10 of the central 6-RB portion 210 of the system bandwidth may carry MIB. However, in various embodiments, MIB may be transmitted on REs of any set of symbols within an RB 230 of a DRS transmission. For example, in some embodiments, in addition to REs 240 in OFDM symbols 7, 8, 9, and 10 carrying MIB, REs 240 in OFDM symbols 2, 3, 4, and/or 11 may also carry MIB. Accordingly, for example, MIB may be transmitted in OFDM symbols 2, 3, 7, and 8; or in OFDM symbols 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 ; or in OFDM symbols 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11; or in any combination of OFDM symbols 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

[0052] In some embodiments, MIB might not be transmitted in symbols used for PSS and/or SSS transmission. For some embodiments, MIB might not be transmitted in REs used for CRS transmission (e.g., for port 0 and port 1 CRS transmission).

[0053] In some embodiments, MIB might not be transmitted in symbols used for CSI-

RS transmission. However, for some embodiments, PBCH transmission may have a higher priority than CSI-RS transmission, and CSI-RS might not be transmitted in the central 6-RB portion 210 of the system bandwidth.

[0054] In a third type of MIB transmission scheme, MIB may be transmitted in a set of predetermined subframes X within a MIB transmission period (subject to LBT). For example, in various embodiments, MIB may be transmitted in subframe 0, or in subframe 5, or in both subframes 0 and 5 of a MIB transmission period.

[0055] For some such embodiments, MIB transmission in the predetermined subframes may only happen outside of a DRS transmission window (DTxW), for example in a DL data burst in a predetermined subframe of X outside of a DTxW. DTxW may be a window of time in which DRS may be transmitted and outside of which DRS should not be transmitted. DTxW may be cell-specific and may accordingly be defined on a cell-by-cell basis. In some embodiments, MIB may be transmitted in the set of predetermined subframes X, either within DTxW or outside of DTxW, even if there is no accompanying DL data transmission.

[0056] In a fourth type of MIB transmission scheme, MIB transmissions may be based upon a UE request. Accordingly, if an eNB receives an explicit request for MIB from a UE, the eNB may transmit MIB.

[0057] In various embodiments, any combination of the types of MIB transmission schemes discussed herein may be implemented in an eNB and/or in a UE of a wireless system.

[0058] A variety of SIB transmission schemes in unlicensed systems (which may be subject to LBT) may also be employed. In a first type of SIB transmission scheme, a SIB transmission scheme similar to a legacy LTE SIB transmission scheme may be adopted. Each SIB may have a transmission period in which the SIB is repeatedly broadcast, in a manner similar to that defined for legacy LTE. [0059] In a second type of SIB transmission scheme, SIB transmission periods may be reduced relative to a legacy LTE SIB transmission scheme. For example, a SIB1 may be repeatedly transmitted every 10 ms in a transmission period (instead of being repeatedly transmitted every 20 ms within a transmission period). In various embodiments, SIB transmission periods may be reduced by a constant amount of time (e.g., by subtracting 10 ms) and/or may be scaled by a constant factor (e.g., by dividing by 2).

[0060] In a third type of SIB transmission scheme, one or more SIBs may be inserted in a DRS transmission. In various embodiments, one or more SIBs may be transmitted on REs of any set of symbols within an RB of a DRS transmission, such as the REs discussed above for the third type of MIB transmission scheme. For example, in some embodiments, SIB1 and/or SIB2 may be inserted in a DRS transmission. For some embodiments, some REs may be used for DRS transmission within a central 6 PRBs (Physical RBs) of a bandwidth, and REs outside the central 6 PRBs in the same symbols where DRS is transmitted may be used for SIB transmission. For example, in a system having a bandwidth spanning 50 PRBs, the central 6 PRBs of 12 OFDM symbols (or 14 OFDM symbols) may carry DRS, while the PRBs outside the central 6 PRBs in the same 12 OFDM symbols (or 14 OFDM symbols) may carry SIB.

[0061] For some embodiments, SIBs might not be transmitted in OFDM symbol 0, or might not be transmitted in OFDM symbols 0 or 1 , or might not be transmitted in OFDM symbols 0 through 2. In various embodiments, SIBs might accordingly not be transmitted in up to the first 3 OFDM symbols. Those OFDM symbols may instead be used, in some embodiments, to transmit DL control information (e.g., via a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)).

[0062] In a fourth type of SIB transmission scheme, one or more of SIB1 through

SIB 13 may be transmitted in one or more sets of respectively corresponding predetermined subframes Yj (where j may be any combination of indices 1 through 13), subject to LBT. For example, SIB1 may be transmitted in subframe 5 of a SIB1 transmission period. In various embodiments, each SIB may be transmitted in any set of subframes over its transmission period.

[0063] However, for some such embodiments, SIB transmission (of type j) in the predetermined subframes might only happen outside of a DTxW, for example in a DL data burst in a predetermined subframe (of the set of subframes Yj) outside of a DTxW. In some embodiments, SIB of type j may be transmitted in the corresponding set of predetermined subframes Yj, either within DTxW or outside of DTxW, even if there is no accompanying DL data transmission.

[0064] Notably, for at least the fourth type of SIB transmission scheme, transmission of various SIBs may overlap with time windows for transmissions of different types of SIBs. As a result, time relationships may not be sufficient to indicate SIB type. For some such embodiments, various signaling methods may be used to indicate the type of SIB being transmitted.

[0065] In a first signaling method, a DL Control Information (DCI) may indicate SIB type. In some embodiments, DCI format 1A and/or 1C may be used to carry a SIB type indicator. CRC parity bits for the DCI may be scrambled by a new Radio Network

Temporary Identifier, SIB-j-RNTI, where "j" indicates the SIB type (e.g., "1" for SIB1, "2" for SIB2, and so on, through "13" for SIB13).

[0066] In a second signaling method, a field for SIB type indicator information may be added to an existing DL DCI. CRC parity bits for the DCI may be scrambled by a new Radio Network Temporary Identifier, SIB-j-RNTI, where "j" indicates the SIB type (e.g., "1" for SIB1, "2" for SIB2, and so on, through "13" for SIB13).

[0067] In a third signaling method, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

(PCFICH) transmission may comprise a 2-bit SIB type indicator. In some embodiments, potential PDCCH sizes may be limited to two, which may make bits available for a SIB type indicator.

[0068] In a fourth signaling method, PHICH resources may carry a SIB type indicator. In some embodiments, a SIB type indicator may be coded via a dynamic-length punctured Reed-Miiller block coding.

[0069] In a fifth type of SIB transmission scheme, a transmission in one or more predetermined subframes Z may contain one or more types of SIBs with predetermined periodicity. For example, one or more predetermined subframes Z may contain SIB1 and/or SIB2. Since such transmissions may be subject to LBT, the transmissions of SIBs may be opportunistic and may depend upon channel availability. In some embodiments, a transmission in one or more predetermined subframes Z containing certain types of SIBs with predetermined periodicity may happen outside a DTxW, and might not happen inside a DTxW. For example, transmissions of one or more types of SIB may occur in subframe 0 of every 20 ms outside DTxW. [0070] In a sixth type of SIB transmission scheme, a SIB transmission may be based upon a UE request. In some such embodiments, a specific type of SIB may be transmitted if an eNB receives an explicit request for that type of SIB from a UE.

[0071] In a seventh type of SIB transmission scheme, various different types of SIBs may be included in newly-defined system information blocks, and may be transmitted by schemes substantially similar to other SIB transmission schemes discussed herein. For example, SIB1 and SIB2 system information may be carried by a newly-defined system information block (e.g., an eSIB). Newly-defined system information blocks may be transmitted by schemes substantially similar to the various SIB transmission schemes discussed herein.

[0072] In various embodiments, any combination of the types of SIB transmission schemes discussed herein may be implemented in an eNB and/or in a UE of a wireless system. Furthermore, different types of SIBs may adopt different combinations of the above types of SIB transmission schemes.

[0073] Fig. 3 illustrates a MIB and SIB transmission scenario, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A MIB/SIB transmission scenario 300 may comprise a series of 10 ms frames 305 spanning both a first DTxW period 301 and a second DTxW period 302. In first DTxW period 301, a DRS transmission 310 (which may comprise a MIB and/or SIB transmission) may occur within a first DTxW 312, subject to a first LBT 316. In addition, in first DTxW period 301, a MIB/SIB transmission 320 (which may comprise a MIB and/or SIB transmission) may occur within a first DL burst 324, subject to a second LBT 326. As depicted in Fig. 3, in second DTxW period 302, a third LBT 336 may not succeed until outside second DTxW 332, after which a second DL burst 334 may be initiated. A MIB transmission 330 may occur within second DL burst 334 following second DTxW 332. (Note that although the various features of scenario 300 such as DTxWs, transmissions, and LBTs may be enumerated as being "first" features, "second" features, and/or "third" features, these designations are merely enumerations for purposes of discussing behaviors at various points in scenario 300 in the context of Fig. 3, and are net meant to imply an order of those behaviors in the time domain.)

[0074] First LBT 316 may be a single-interval LBT, and may span, for example, 25 microseconds (μβ). In comparison, Second LBT 326 may be a Category-4 LBT, which may have a higher sensitivity than the single-interval LBT. In various embodiments, first LBT 316, second LBT 326, and/or third LBT 336 may be a single-interval LBT, a Category-4 LBT, or another type of LBT. [0075] In MIB/SIB transmission scenario 300, within a DTxW, MIB and/or SIB

(including, in some embodiments, newly-defined SIB) may be transmitted in a DRS transmission. In addition, outside a DTxW, MIB and/or SIB (including, in some

embodiments, newly-defined SIB) may be transmitted in a DL burst and in one of a predetermined set of subframes within a radio frame. For example, MIB and/or SIB may be transmitted in a subframe X, which may be 0 in some embodiments (in accordance with the second type of MIB transmission scheme and/or the third type of SIB transmission scheme discussed herein). In some embodiments, MIB may not be transmitted in subframe X without a DL transmission burst in subframe X. In comparison, for some embodiments, MIB may be transmitted in subframe X outside a DTxW, even without a DL transmission burst in subframe X. In various embodiments, DTxW may be up to 10 ms.

[0076] In some embodiments, a predetermined duration gap may separate MIB and/or

SIB transmission from DRS transmissions. For example, in some embodiments, MIB and/or SIB (e.g., SIB as discussed herein) may be transmitted (for example, in a DL data burst) in a subframe Z two radio frames after a radio frame in which DRS is transmitted. MIB and/or SIB may thus be transmitted in a radio frame 20 ms after a radio frame in which DRS is transmitted. In other embodiments, the duration gap between a starting frame with a DRS transmission and a radio frame in which MIB and/or SIB (e.g., SIB as discussed herein) may be transmitted within a DL burst may be set to other values.

[0077] For the MIB transmission schemes in unlicensed systems and the SIB transmission schemes in unlicensed systems discussed herein, a variety of LBT methods may be employed. In a first type of LBT method, a method substantially similar to an LBT method for DL data transmission may be adopted for MIB and/or SIB transmission. In some embodiments, different priority classes may be configured for MIB and/or SIB transmissions. For some such embodiments, MIB and/or SIB transmissions may belong to classes with a higher priority than other DL data transmission (e.g., priority class 1), or the same priority as other DL data transmission. In some embodiments, LBT requirements (e.g., the use of a single-interval LBT or a Category-4 LBT) may different for transmissions of different priority classes.

[0078] In a second type of LBT method, for a subframe containing only MIB and/or

SIB transmission but no other data transmission, the transmission may be subject to a single- interval LBT. For example, a single-interval LBT for 25 may be performed before transmission of a MIB-only subframe. As another example, a single-interval LBT may be performed for DRS transmissions where DRS consists of 12 OFDM symbols (which may be, e.g., DRS transmissions including MIB and/or SIB transmission), while a Category -4 LBT may be performed for DRS transmissions where DRS consists of 14 OFDM symbols. In various embodiments, energy threshold values for MIB and/or SIB transmissions may be set to different values, e.g. higher values, than energy thresholds for DRS transmissions or other DL data transmissions.

[0079] In a third type of LBT method, MIB and/or SIB transmissions that follow transmission schemes substantially similar to legacy LTE may adopt LBT methods that differ from LBT methods adopted by MIB and/or SIB transmissions that follow various transmission schemes discussed herein. For some embodiments, Category -4 LBT with a highest priority (e.g., priority class 1) may be used for transmissions carrying MIB and/or SIB only (e.g., transmissions without other DL-SCH data transmissions). A multiplexing of MIB and/or SIB transmissions with other DL-SCH may be based upon a multiplexing rule for general DL data transmissions.

[0080] To achieve a desirable frequency of MIB and/or SIB transmissions while avoiding excessive MIB and/or SIB transmissions, various rules may be applied to guide MIB and/or SIB transmissions toward reasonable ranges. Under a first rule, for some embodiments, if more than a predetermined time Ti has elapsed since the most recent MIB and/or SIB transmission, an eNB may transmit an additional MIB and/or SIB transmission, in accordance with a MIB transmission scheme and/or SIB transmission scheme discussed herein. The predetermined time Ti may be a parameter established as a matter of eNB implementation.

[0081] Under a second rule, for some embodiments, a total number of MIB and/or

SIB transmissions in a predetermined time T2 may be limited to a predetermined number N. The predetermined time T2 and predetermined number N may be parameters established as a matter of eNB implementation. In some embodiments, T2 may be set to a MIB transmission period or a SIB transmission period. For some embodiments, N may be set to a number less than or equal to a total number of desired MIB transmissions within a MIB transmission period and/or a total number of desired SIB transmissions within a SIB transmission period.

[0082] For some embodiments, if MIB and/or SIB have been successfully transmitted

N times within its transmission period T2, no further MIB and/or SIB transmissions may be transmitted in the transmission period (e.g., in predetermined subframes in accordance with to the third type of MIB transmission scheme and/or the fourth type of SIB transmission scheme discussed herein). For some embodiments, no additional MIB may be inserted in a DRS transmission (e.g., in accordance with the second type of MIB transmission scheme and/or the third type of SIB transmission scheme discussed herein).

[0083] Under a third rule, in some embodiments, an eNB may determine that additional MIB and/or SIB transmissions should be sent based upon explicit UE requests for the additional MIB and/or SIB transmissions. In some embodiments, the additional MIB and/or SIB transmissions may be those MIB and/or SIB transmissions that are sent in accordance with a scheme similar to legacy LTE (e.g., in accordance with the first type of MIB transmission scheme and/or the first type of SIB transmission scheme). For some embodiments, a UE request may be determined based upon an acquisition of required system information. For example, if a UE has not acquired system information within a certain time period, the UE may send a request for additional MIB and/or SIB transmissions. The design of the UE request for additional MIB and/or SIB transmissions may be based on Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

[0084] In various embodiments, any combination of the types of rules for MIB and/or

SIB transmissions discussed herein may be implemented in an eNB and/or in a UE of a wireless system.

[0085] Moreover, in addition to being transmitted in accordance with the various MIB transmission schemes discussed herein, MIB transmission may carry a variety of information and/or indicators. In accordance with a first sort of information and/or indicators, MIB transmissions may carry information and/or indicators that are different between different PBCH transmissions.

[0086] In accordance with a second sort of information and/or indicators, a transmission symbol index for a MIB transmission may be floating within a DTxW, and MIB transmissions may accordingly carry a subframe index. For example, in some embodiments, 3 bits may be used to indicate a subframe in which DRS (including MIB) may be transmitted. The 3 bits may indicate an offset from where DRS is transmitted to a subframe 0 (if DRS is transmitted in the first half of a radio frame) or to a subframe 5 (if DRS is transmitted in the second half of the radio frame). In some embodiments, an SFN may be changed from 8 bits to 10 bits. Some embodiments may use the reserved 10 bits to carry a subframe index or 2 additional bits of information for the SFN. Alternatively, in embodiments in which system bandwidths of only 10 MHz or 20 MHz are supported, a 1-bit indication of bandwidth may be sufficient, and the other 2 bits used by legacy LTE for system bandwidth indication in a MIB (along with the reserved bits) may be used to indicate other information, which may include the SFN. [0087] In various embodiments, any combination of the sorts of information and/or indicators carried by MIB transmissions may be implemented in an eNB and/or in a UE of a wireless system.

[0088] Fig. 4 illustrates an eNB and a UE, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Fig. 4 includes block diagrams of an eNB 410 and a UE 430 which are operable to co-exist with each other and other elements of an LTE network. High-level, simplified architectures of eNB 410 and UE 430 are described so as not to obscure the embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, eNB 410 may be a stationary non-mobile device.

[0089] eNB 410 is coupled to one or more antennas 405, and UE 430 is similarly coupled to one or more antennas 425. However, in some embodiments, eNB 410 may incorporate or comprise antennas 405, and UE 430 in various embodiments may incorporate or comprise antennas 425.

[0090] In some embodiments, antennas 405 and/or antennas 425 may comprise one or more directional or omni-directional antennas, including monopole antennas, dipole antennas, loop antennas, patch antennas, microstrip antennas, coplanar wave antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some MIMO (multiple-input and multiple output) embodiments, antennas 405 are separated to take advantage of spatial diversity.

[0091] eNB 410 and UE 430 are operable to communicate with each other on a network, such as a wireless network. eNB 410 and UE 430 may be in communication with each other over a wireless communication channel 450, which has both a downlink path from eNB 410 to UE 430 and an uplink path from UE 430 to eNB 410.

[0092] As illustrated in Fig. 4, in some embodiments, eNB 410 may include a physical layer circuitry 412, a MAC (media access control) circuitry 414, a processor 416, a memory 418, and a hardware processing circuitry 420. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that other components not shown may be used in addition to the components shown to form a complete eNB.

[0093] In some embodiments, physical layer circuitry 412 includes a transceiver 413 for providing signals to and from UE 430. Transceiver 413 provides signals to and from UEs or other devices using one or more antennas 405. In some embodiments, MAC circuitry 414 controls access to the wireless medium. Memory 418 may be, or may include, a storage media/medium such as a magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), an optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), an electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, or flash-memory-based storage media), or any tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media. Hardware processing circuitry 420 may comprise logic devices or circuitry to perform various operations. In some embodiments, processor 416 and memory 418 are arranged to perform the operations of hardware processing circuitry 420, such as operations described herein with reference to logic devices and circuitry within eNB 410 and/or hardware processing circuitry 420.

[0094] Accordingly, in some embodiments, eNB 410 may be a device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and an interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device.

[0095] As is also illustrated in Fig. 4, in some embodiments, UE 430 may include a physical layer circuitry 432, a MAC circuitry 434, a processor 436, a memory 438, a hardware processing circuitry 440, a wireless interface 442, and a display 444. A person skilled in the art would appreciate that other components not shown may be used in addition to the components shown to form a complete UE.

[0096] In some embodiments, physical layer circuitry 432 includes a transceiver 433 for providing signals to and from eNB 410 (as well as other eNBs). Transceiver 433 provides signals to and from eNBs or other devices using one or more antennas 425. In some embodiments, MAC circuitry 434 controls access to the wireless medium. Memory 438 may be, or may include, a storage media/medium such as a magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), an optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), an electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, or flash-memory -based storage media), or any tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media. Wireless interface 442 may be arranged to allow the processor to communicate with another device. Display 444 may provide a visual and/or tactile display for a user to interact with UE 430, such as a touch-screen display. Hardware processing circuitry 440 may comprise logic devices or circuitry to perform various operations. In some embodiments, processor 436 and memory 438 may be arranged to perform the operations of hardware processing circuitry 440, such as operations described herein with reference to logic devices and circuitry within UE 430 and/or hardware processing circuitry 440.

[0097] Accordingly, in some embodiments, UE 430 may be a device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touch-screen display.

[0098] Elements of Fig. 4, and elements of other figures having the same names or reference numbers, can operate or function in the manner described herein with respect to any such figures (although the operation and function of such elements is not limited to such descriptions). For example, Figs. 5 and 6 also depict embodiments of eNBs, hardware processing circuitry of eNBs, UEs, and/or hardware processing circuitry of UEs, and the embodiments described with respect to Fig. 4 and Figs. 5 and 6 can operate or function in the manner described herein with respect to any of the figures.

[0099] In addition, although eNB 410 and UE 430 are each described as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. In some embodiments of this disclosure, the functional elements can refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements. Examples of software and/or hardware configured elements include Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), one or more microprocessors, DSPs, Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs), and so on.

[00100] Fig. 5 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for an eNB for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. With reference to Fig. 4, an eNB may include various hardware processing circuitries discussed below (such as hardware processing circuitry 500 of Fig. 5), which may in turn comprise logic devices and/or circuitry operable to perform various operations. For example, in Fig. 4, eNB 410 (or various elements or components therein, such as hardware processing circuitry 420, or combinations of elements or components therein) may include part of, or all of, these hardware processing circuitries.

[00101] In some embodiments, one or more devices or circuitries within these hardware processing circuitries may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. For example, processor 416 (and/or one or more other processors which eNB 410 may comprise), memory 418, and/or other elements or components of eNB 410 (which may include hardware processing circuitry 420) may be arranged to perform the operations of these hardware processing circuitries, such as operations described herein with reference to devices and circuitry within these hardware processing circuitries. In some embodiments, processor 416 (and/or one or more other processors which eNB 410 may comprise) may be a baseband processor.

[00102] Returning to Fig. 5, an apparatus of eNB 410 (or another eNB or base station), which may be operable to communicate with one or more UEs on a wireless network, may comprise hardware processing circuitry 500. In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 500 may comprise one or more antenna ports 505 operable to provide various transmissions over a wireless communication channel (such as wireless communication channel 450). Antenna ports 505 may be coupled to one or more antennas 507 (which may be antennas 405). In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 500 may incorporate antennas 507, while in other embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 500 may merely be coupled to antennas 507.

[00103] Antenna ports 505 and antennas 507 may be operable to provide signals from an eNB to a wireless communications channel and/or a UE, and may be operable to provide signals from a UE and/or a wireless communications channel to an eNB. For example, antenna ports 505 and antennas 507 may be operable to provide transmissions from eNB 410 to wireless communication channel 450 (and from there to UE 430, or to another UE).

Similarly, antennas 507 and antenna ports 505 may be operable to provide transmissions from a wireless communication channel 450 (and beyond that, from UE 430, or another UE) to eNB 410.

[00104] With reference to Fig. 5, hardware processing circuitry 500 may comprise a first circuitry 510, a second circuitry 520, and a third circuitry 530. First circuitry 510 may be operable to identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation. Second circuitry 520 may be operable to encode an Si-bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. First circuitry 510 may identify the wireless network to second circuitry 520 over an interface 515. In some embodiments, third circuitry 530 may be operable to process a request transmission from the UE bearing a request for the SI- bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission may be in response to the request transmission. For some such embodiments, the request transmission may be based on a PRACH transmission. Transmission of the Si-bearing transmission may be subject to a LBT protocol on the channel.

[00105] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be in the same subframe as a DRS transmission. For some embodiments, second circuitry 520 may be operable to generate the Si-bearing transmission for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DTxW. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data. For some

embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry two or more types of SIBs.

[00106] For some embodiments, second circuitry 520 may be operable to generate the

Si-bearing transmission for transmission within a DTxW, and the LBT protocol may be one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol. In some such

embodiments, the LBT protocol may be a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency- Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the LBT protocol may be a Category-4 LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a subframe index indicator. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB may be carried in one or more of OFDM symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00107] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry one or more types of SIB, and second circuitry 520 may be operable to generate an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried. The indicator transmission may be one of: a DCI transmission, a PCFICH transmission, or a PHICH transmission.

[00108] For some embodiments, the LBT protocol may be an LBT protocol used for

DL transmissions. In some embodiments, second circuitry 520 may be operable to generate a DL transmission, and the SI transmission may belong to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a 10-bit SFN indicator. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include 3 bits for at least one of: an SFN indicator, or a subframe index indicator providing an offset from either subframe 0 or subframe 5.

[00109] In some embodiments, second circuitry 520 may be operable to encode one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, more than a predetermined time Tl may elapse since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00110] For some embodiments, second circuitry 520 may be operable to encode one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 may not exceed a predetermined number N. [00111] In some embodiments, first circuitry 510, second circuitry 520, and third circuitry 530 may be implemented as separate circuitries. In other embodiments, one or more of first circuitry 510, second circuitry 520, and third circuitry 530 may be combined and implemented together in a circuitry without altering the essence of the embodiments.

[00112] Fig. 6 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. With reference to Fig. 4, a UE may include various hardware processing circuitries discussed below (such as hardware processing circuitry 600 of Fig. 6), which may in turn comprise logic devices and/or circuitry operable to perform various operations. For example, in Fig. 4, UE 430 (or various elements or components therein, such as hardware processing circuitry 440, or combinations of elements or components therein) may include part of, or all of, these hardware processing circuitries.

[00113] In some embodiments, one or more devices or circuitries within these hardware processing circuitries may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. For example, processor 436 (and/or one or more other processors which UE 430 may comprise), memory 438, and/or other elements or components of UE 430 (which may include hardware processing circuitry 440) may be arranged to perform the operations of these hardware processing circuitries, such as operations described herein with reference to devices and circuitry within these hardware processing circuitries. In some embodiments, processor 436 (and/or one or more other processors which UE 430 may comprise) may be a baseband processor.

[00114] Returning to Fig. 6, an apparatus of UE 430 (or another UE or mobile handset), which may be operable to communicate with one or more eNBs on a wireless network, may comprise hardware processing circuitry 600. In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 600 may comprise one or more antenna ports 605 operable to provide various transmissions over a wireless communication channel (such as wireless

communication channel 450). Antenna ports 605 may be coupled to one or more antennas 607 (which may be antennas 425). In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 600 may incorporate antennas 607, while in other embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 600 may merely be coupled to antennas 607.

[00115] Antenna ports 605 and antennas 607 may be operable to provide signals from a UE to a wireless communications channel and/or an eNB, and may be operable to provide signals from an eNB and/or a wireless communications channel to a UE. For example, antenna ports 605 and antennas 607 may be operable to provide transmissions from UE 430 to wireless communication channel 450 (and from there to eNB 410, or to another eNB). Similarly, antennas 607 and antenna ports 605 may be operable to provide transmissions from a wireless communication channel 450 (and beyond that, from eNB 410, or another eNB) to UE 430.

[00116] With reference to Fig. 6, hardware processing circuitry 600 may comprise a first circuitry 610, a second circuitry 620, and a third circuitry 630. First circuitry 610 may be operable to identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation. Second circuitry 620 may be operable to decode a Si-bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. First circuitry 610 may identify the wireless network to second circuitry 620 over an interface 615. In some embodiments, third circuitry 630 may be operable to generate a request transmission bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission is in response to the request

transmission. For some such embodiments, the request transmission may be based on a PRACH transmission. The Si-bearing transmission may be received subsequent to the channel being idle in accordance with an LBT protocol.

[00117] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be in the same subframe as a DRS transmission. For some embodiments, second circuitry 620 may be operable to process the Si-bearing transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DTxW. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data. For some embodiments, the SI- bearing transmission may be generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry two or more types of SIBs.

[00118] For some embodiments, second circuitry 620 may be operable to process the

Si-bearing transmission within a DTxW, and the LBT protocol may be one of: a single- interval LBT protocol, or a Category-4 LBT protocol. In some such embodiments, the LBT protocol may be a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the LBT protocol may be a Category-4 LBT protocol when the SI- bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols. In some embodiments, the SI- bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a subframe index indicator. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB may be carried in one or more of OFDM symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00119] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry two or more types of SIB, and second circuitry 620 may be operable to process an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried. The indicator transmission may be one of: a DCI transmission, a PCFICH transmission, or a PHICH transmission.

[00120] For some embodiments, the LBT protocol may be an LBT protocol used for

DL transmissions. In some embodiments, second circuitry 620 may be operable to process a DL transmission, and the SI transmission may belong to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a 10-bit SFN indicator. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include 3 bits for at least one of: an SFN indicator, or a subframe index indicator providing an offset from either subframe 0 or subframe 5.

[00121] In some embodiments, second circuitry 620 may be operable to decode one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, more than a predetermined time Tl may elapse since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00122] For some embodiments, second circuitry 620 may be operable to decode one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 may not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00123] In some embodiments, first circuitry 610, second circuitry 620, and third circuitry 630 may be implemented as separate circuitries. In other embodiments, one or more of first circuitry 610, second circuitry 620, and third circuitry 630 may be combined and implemented together in a circuitry without altering the essence of the embodiments.

[00124] Fig. 7 illustrates methods for an eNB for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. With reference to Fig. 4, various methods that may relate to eNB 410 and hardware processing circuitry 420 are discussed below. Although the actions in flowchart 700 of Fig. 7 are shown in a particular order, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus, the illustrated embodiments can be performed in a different order, and some actions may be performed in parallel. Some of the actions and/or operations listed in Fig. 7 are optional in accordance with certain embodiments. The numbering of the actions presented is for the sake of clarity and is not intended to prescribe an order of operations in which the various actions must occur. Additionally, operations from the various flows may be utilized in a variety of combinations.

[00125] Moreover, in some embodiments, machine readable storage media may have executable instructions that, when executed, cause eNB 410 and/or hardware processing circuitry 420 to perform an operation comprising the methods of Fig. 7. Such machine readable storage media may include any of a variety of storage media, like magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, or flash- memory-based storage media), or any other tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media.

[00126] In some embodiments, an apparatus may comprise means for performing various actions and/or operations of the methods of Fig. 7.

[00127] Returning to Fig. 7, a method 700 may comprise an identifying 710 an encoding 715, a generating 720, a generating 730, a generating 740, a processing 750, a generating 760, an encoding 770, and/or an encoding 780. In identifying 710, a channel of the wireless network may be identified, the channel being in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation. In encoding 715, an Si-bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. Transmission of the Si-bearing transmission may be subject to a LBT protocol on the channel.

[00128] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be in the same subframe as a DRS transmission. For some embodiments, in generating 720, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DTxW. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry two or more types of SIBs. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00129] For some embodiments, in generating 730, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission within a DTxW, and the LBT protocol may be one of: a single- interval LBT protocol, or a Category-4 LBT protocol. In some such embodiments, the LBT protocol may be a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the LBT protocol may be a Category-4 LBT protocol when the SI- bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols. In some embodiments, the SI- bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a subframe index indicator. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB may be carried in one or more of OFDM symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00130] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry two or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, in generating 740, an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types SIB being carried may be generated. The indicator transmission may be one of: a DCI transmission, a PCFICH transmission, or a PHICH transmission.

[00131] For some embodiments, in processing 750, a request transmission from a UE bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission may be processed. The encoding of the SI- bearing transmission may be in response to the request transmission. For some such embodiments, the request transmission may be based on a PRACH transmission.

[00132] For some embodiments, the LBT protocol may be an LBT protocol used for

DL transmissions. In some embodiments, in generating 760, a DL transmission may be generated, and the SI transmission may belong to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a 10-bit SFN indicator. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include 3 bits for at least one of: an SFN indicator, or a subframe index indicator providing an offset from, for example, either subframe 0 or subframe 5.

[00133] In some embodiments, in encoding 770, one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions may be encoded, the transmissions carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, more than a predetermined time Tl may elapse since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00134] For some embodiments, in encoding 780, one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions may be encoded carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 may not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00135] Fig. 8 illustrates methods for a UE for MIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, for SIB transmissions in unlicensed spectrum, or both, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. With reference to Fig. 4, methods that may relate to UE 430 and hardware processing circuitry 440 are discussed below. Although the actions in the flowchart 800 of Fig. 8 are shown in a particular order, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus, the illustrated embodiments can be performed in a different order, and some actions may be performed in parallel. Some of the actions and/or operations listed in Fig. 8 are optional in accordance with certain embodiments. The numbering of the actions presented is for the sake of clarity and is not intended to prescribe an order of operations in which the various actions must occur. Additionally, operations from the various flows may be utilized in a variety of combinations.

[00136] Moreover, in some embodiments, machine readable storage media may have executable instructions that, when executed, cause UE 430 and/or hardware processing circuitry 440 to perform an operation comprising the methods of Fig. 8. Such machine readable storage media may include any of a variety of storage media, like magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, or flash- memory-based storage media), or any other tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media.

[00137] In some embodiments, an apparatus may comprise means for performing various actions and/or operations of the methods of Fig. 8.

[00138] Returning to Fig. 8, a method 800 may comprise an identifying 810, a decoding 815, a processing 820, a processing 830, a processing 840, a generating 850, a processing 860, a decoding 870, and/or a decoding 880. In identifying 810, a channel of the wireless network may be identified, the channel being in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation. In decoding 815, an Si-bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. The Si-bearing transmission may be received subsequent to the channel being idle in accordance with a LBT protocol.

[00139] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be in the same subframe as a DRS transmission. For some embodiments, in processing 820, the Si-bearing transmission may be processed in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DTxW. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry two or more types of SIBs. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may be generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00140] For some embodiments, in processing 830, the Si-bearing transmission may be processed within a DTxW, and the LBT protocol may be one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol. In some such embodiments, the LBT protocol may be a single-interval LBT protocol when the Sl-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the LBT protocol may be a Category-4 LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a subframe index indicator. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB may be carried in one or more of OFDM symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00141] In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry two or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, in processing 840, an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried may be processed. The indicator transmission may be one of: a DCI transmission, a PCFICH transmission, or a PHICH transmission.

[00142] For some embodiments, in generating 850, a request transmission bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission may be generated. The encoding of the Si-bearing transmission may be in response to the request transmission. For some such embodiments, the request transmission may be based on a PRACH transmission.

[00143] For some embodiments, the LBT protocol may be an LBT protocol used for

DL transmissions. In some embodiments, in processing 860, a DL transmission may be processed, and the SI transmission may belong to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission. For some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include a 10-bit SFN indicator. In some embodiments, the Si-bearing transmission may carry a MIB, and the MIB may include 3 bits for at least one of: an SFN indicator, or a subframe index indicator providing an offset from, for example, either subframe 0 or subframe 5.

[00144] In some embodiments, in decoding 870, one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions may be decoded carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of SIB. In some such embodiments, more than a predetermined time Tl may elapse since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00145] For some embodiments, in decoding 880, one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions may be decoded carrying one or more of: a MIB, and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB). In some such embodiments, a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 may not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00146] Fig. 9 illustrates example components of a UE device 900, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, the UE device 900 may include application circuitry 902, baseband circuitry 904, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 906, front- end module (FEM) circuitry 908, a low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR), and one or more antennas 910, coupled together at least as shown. In some embodiments, the UE device 900 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory /storage, display,

camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface.

[00147] The application circuitry 902 may include one or more application processors.

For example, the application circuitry 902 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with and/or may include memory /storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory /storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

[00148] The baseband circuitry 904 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 904 may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 906 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 906. Baseband processing circuity 904 may interface with the application circuitry 902 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 906. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 904A, third generation (3G) baseband processor 904B, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 904C, and/or other baseband processor(s) 904D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 904 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 904A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 906. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 904 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 904 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of

modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. [00149] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an EUTRAN protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or RRC elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 904E of the baseband circuitry 904 may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 904F. The audio DSP(s) 904F may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 904 and the application circuitry 902 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[00150] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 904 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[00151] RF circuitry 906 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 906 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 908 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 904. RF circuitry 906 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 904 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 908 for transmission.

[00152] In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 906 may include mixer circuitry 906A, amplifier circuitry 906B and filter circuitry 906C. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 906 may include filter circuitry 906C and mixer circuitry 906A. RF circuitry 906 may also include synthesizer circuitry 906D for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 906A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906A of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 908 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 906D. The amplifier circuitry 906B may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 906C may be a low- pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 904 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 906A of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00153] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906A of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 906D to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 908. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 904 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 906C. The filter circuitry 906C may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00154] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and/or up-conversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906A may be arranged for direct down-conversion and/or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906A of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[00155] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 904 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 906.

[00156] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00157] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 906D may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+l synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 906D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[00158] The synthesizer circuitry 906D may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 906A of the RF circuitry 906 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 906D may be a fractional N/N+l synthesizer.

[00159] In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 904 or the applications processor 902 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 902.

[00160] Synthesizer circuitry 906D of the RF circuitry 906 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DP A). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+l (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[00161] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 906D may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[00162] FEM circuitry 908 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 910, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 906 for further processing. FEM circuitry 908 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 906 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 910.

[00163] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 908 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 906). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 908 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 906), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 910.

[00164] In some embodiments, the UE 900 comprises a plurality of power saving mechanisms. If the UE 900 is in an RRC Connected state, where it is still connected to the eNB as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[00165] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the UE

900 may transition off to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The UE 900 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. Since the device might not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it should transition back to RRC Connected state.

[00166] An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable. [00167] In addition, in various embodiments, an eNB may include components substantially similar to one or more of the example components of UE device 900 described herein.

[00168] Reference in the specification to "an embodiment," "one embodiment," "some embodiments," or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments. The various appearances of "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "some embodiments" are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments. If the specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic "may," "might," or "could" be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to "a" or "an" element, that does not mean there is only one of the elements. If the specification or claims refer to "an additional" element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

[00169] Furthermore, the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, a first embodiment may be combined with a second embodiment anywhere the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics associated with the two embodiments are not mutually exclusive.

[00170] While the disclosure has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, many alternatives, modifications and variations of such embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. For example, other memory architectures e.g., Dynamic RAM (DRAM) may use the

embodiments discussed. The embodiments of the disclosure are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as to fall within the broad scope of the appended claims.

[00171] In addition, well known power/ground connections to integrated circuit (IC) chips and other components may or may not be shown within the presented figures, for simplicity of illustration and discussion, and so as not to obscure the disclosure. Further, arrangements may be shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure, and also in view of the fact that specifics with respect to implementation of such block diagram arrangements are highly dependent upon the platform within which the present disclosure is to be implemented (i.e., such specifics should be well within purview of one skilled in the art). Where specific details (e.g., circuits) are set forth in order to describe example embodiments of the disclosure, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the disclosure can be practiced without, or with variation of, these specific details. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

[00172] The following examples pertain to further embodiments. Specifics in the examples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments. All optional features of the apparatus described herein may also be implemented with respect to a method or process.

[00173] Example 1 provides an Evolved Node B (eNB) operable to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a wireless network, comprising: one or more processors to:

identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation; and encode a System

Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block

(MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein transmission of the Si-bearing transmission is subject to a Listen-Bef ore-Talk (LBT) protocol on the channel.

[00174] In example 2, the apparatus of example 1, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

[00175] In example 3, the apparatus of either of examples 1 or 2, wherein the one or more processors are further to: generate the Si-bearing transmission for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00176] In example 4, the apparatus of example 3, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data.

[00177] In example 5, the apparatus of example 3, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00178] In example 6, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 5, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00179] In example 7, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 6, wherein the one or more processors are further to: generate the Si-bearing transmission for transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single- interval LBT protocol, or a Category-4 LBT protocol.

[00180] In example 8, the apparatus of example 7, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category-4 LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols. [00181] In example 9, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 8, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a subframe index indicator.

[00182] In example 10, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 9, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00183] In example 11, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 10, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and wherein the one or more processors are further to: generate an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission.

[00184] In example 12, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 11, wherein the one or more processors are further to: process a request transmission from the UE bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission.

[00185] In example 13, the apparatus of example 12, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00186] In example 14, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 13, wherein the

LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions.

[00187] In example 15, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 14, wherein the one or more processors are further to: generate a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission.

[00188] In example 16, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 15, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a 10-bit System Frame Number

(SFN) indicator.

[00189] In example 17, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 16, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes 3 bits for at least one of: a System Frame Number (SFN) indicator, or a subframe index indicator, wherein the subframe index indicator provides an offset from one of: subframe 0, or subframe 5.

[00190] In example 18, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 17, wherein the one or more processors are further to: encode one or more additional Si-bearing

transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein more than a predetermined time Tl has elapsed since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00191] In example 19, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 18, wherein the one or more processors are further to: encode one or more additional Si-bearing

transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 does not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00192] Example 20 provides an Evolved Node B (eNB) device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and an interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, the eNB device including the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 19.

[00193] Example 21 provides a method comprising: identifying a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual- connectivity based license assisted access operation; and encoding a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein transmission of the Si-bearing transmission is subject to a Li sten-Bef ore-Talk (LBT) protocol on the channel.

[00194] In example 22, the method of example 21, wherein the Si-bearing

transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

[00195] In example 23, the method of either of examples 21 or 22, the operation comprising: generating the Si-bearing transmission for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00196] In example 24, the method of example 23, wherein the Si-bearing

transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data.

[00197] In example 25, the method of example 23, wherein the Si-bearing

transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00198] In example 26, the method of any of examples 21 through 25, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00199] In example 27, the method of any of examples 21 through 26, the operation comprising: generating the Si-bearing transmission for transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol.

[00200] In example 28, the method of example 27, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category -4 LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols.

[00201] In example 29, the method of any of examples 21 through 67, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a subframe index indicator.

[00202] In example 30, the method of any of examples 21 through 29, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00203] In example 31, the method of any of examples 21 through 30, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and the operation comprising:

generating an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission.

[00204] In example 32, the method of any of examples 21 through 31, the operation comprising: processing a request transmission from a User Equipment (UE) bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission.

[00205] In example 33, the method of example 32, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00206] In example 34, the method of any of examples 21 through 33, wherein the

LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions.

[00207] In example 35, the method of any of examples 21 through 34, the operation comprising: generating a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission.

[00208] In example 36, the method of any of examples 21 through 35, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a 10-bit System Frame Number (SFN) indicator.

[00209] In example 37, the method of any of examples 21 through 36, wherein the SI- bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes 3 bits for at least one of: a System Frame Number (SFN) indicator, or a subframe index indicator, wherein the subframe index indicator provides an offset from one of: subframe 0, or subframe 5.

[00210] In example 38, the method of any of examples 21 through 37, the operation comprising: encoding one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein more than a predetermined time Tl has elapsed since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00211] In example 39, the method of any of examples 21 through 38, the operation comprising: encoding one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 does not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00212] Example 40 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform a method according to any of examples 21 through 39.

[00213] Example 41 provides an apparatus of an Evolved Node B (eNB) operable to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a wireless network, comprising: means for identifying a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation; and means for encoding a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein transmission of the Si-bearing transmission is subject to a Listen-Bef ore-Talk (LBT) protocol on the channel.

[00214] In example 42, the apparatus of example 41, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

[00215] In example 43, the apparatus of either of examples 41 or 42, the operation comprising: means for generating the Si-bearing transmission for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00216] In example 44, the apparatus of example 43, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data.

[00217] In example 45, the apparatus of example 43, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00218] In example 46, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 45, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00219] In example 47, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 46, the operation comprising: means for generating the Si-bearing transmission for transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol. [00220] In example 48, the apparatus of example 47, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category -4 LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols.

[00221] In example 49, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 48, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a subframe index indicator.

[00222] In example 50, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 49, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00223] In example 51, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 50, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and the operation comprising: means for generating an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission.

[00224] In example 52, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 51, the operation comprising: means for processing a request transmission from a User Equipment (UE) bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission.

[00225] In example 53, the apparatus of example 52, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00226] In example 54, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 53, wherein the

LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions.

[00227] In example 55, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 54, the operation comprising: means for generating a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission.

[00228] In example 56, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 55, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a 10-bit System Frame Number

(SFN) indicator.

[00229] In example 57, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 56, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes 3 bits for at least one of: a System Frame Number (SFN) indicator, or a subframe index indicator, wherein the subframe index indicator provides an offset from one of: subframe 0, or subframe 5. [00230] In example 58, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 57, the operation comprising: means for encoding one or more additional Sl-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System

Information Block (SIB), wherein more than a predetermined time Tl has elapsed since a transmission of a most recent previous Sl-bearing transmission.

[00231] In example 59, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 58, the operation comprising: means for encoding one or more additional Sl-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System

Information Block (SIB), wherein a total number of Sl-bearing transmissions in a

predetermined time T2 does not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00232] Example 60 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of an Evolved Node B (eNB) to perform an operation comprising: identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation; and encode a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein transmission of the Sl-bearing transmission is subject to a Listen-Bef ore-Talk (LBT) protocol on the channel.

[00233] In example 61, the machine readable storage media of example 60, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

[00234] In example 62, the machine readable storage media of either of examples 60 or

61, the operation comprising: generate the Sl-bearing transmission for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00235] In example 63, the machine readable storage media of example 62, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data.

[00236] In example 64, the machine readable storage media of example 62, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00237] In example 65, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 64, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00238] In example 66, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 65, the operation comprising: generate the Sl-bearing transmission for transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single- interval LBT protocol, or a Category-4 LBT protocol.

[00239] In example 67, the machine readable storage media of example 66, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category-4 LBT protocol when the SI- bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols.

[00240] In example 68, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 67, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a subframe index indicator. 69, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 68, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00241] In example 70, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 69, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and the operation comprising: generate an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control

Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission.

[00242] In example 71, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 70, the operation comprising: process a request transmission from a User Equipment (UE) bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the SI- bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission.

[00243] In example 72, the machine readable storage media of example 71, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00244] In example 73, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 72, wherein the LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions.

[00245] In example 74, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 73, the operation comprising: generate a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission. [00246] In example 75, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 74, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a 10-bit System Frame Number (SFN) indicator.

[00247] In example 76, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 75, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes 3 bits for at least one of: a System Frame Number (SFN) indicator, or a subframe index indicator, wherein the subframe index indicator provides an offset from one of: subframe 0, or subframe 5.

[00248] In example 77, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 76, the operation comprising: encode one or more additional Si-bearing

[00249] In example 78, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 60 through 77, the operation comprising: encode one or more additional Si-bearing

[00250] Example 79 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node B (eNB) on a wireless network, comprising: one or more processors to: identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation; and decode a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein the Si-bearing transmission is received subsequent to the channel being idle in accordance with a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol.

[00251] In example 80, the apparatus of example 79, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

[00252] In example 81, the apparatus of either of examples 79 or 80, wherein the one or more processors are further to: process the Si-bearing transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00253] In example 82, the apparatus of example 81, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data. [00254] In example 83, the apparatus of example 81, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00255] In example 84, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 83, wherein the

Sl-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00256] In example 85, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 84, wherein the one or more processors are further to: process the Sl-bearing transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol.

[00257] In example 86, the apparatus of example 85, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Sl-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category -4 LBT protocol when the Sl-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols.

[00258] In example 87, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 86, wherein the

Sl-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a subframe index indicator.

[00259] In example 88, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 87, wherein the

Sl-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00260] In example 89, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 88, wherein the

Sl-bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and wherein the one or more processors are further to: process an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission.

[00261] In example 90, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 89, wherein the one or more processors are further to: generate a request transmission bearing a request for the Sl-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Sl-bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission.

[00262] In example 91, the apparatus of example 90, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00263] In example 92, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 91, wherein the

LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions. [00264] In example 93, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 92, wherein the one or more processors are further to: process a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission.

[00265] In example 94, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 93, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a 10-bit System Frame Number (SFN) indicator.

[00266] In example 95, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 94, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes 3 bits for at least one of: a System Frame Number (SFN) indicator, or a subframe index indicator, wherein the subframe index indicator provides an offset from one of: subframe 0, or subframe 5.

[00267] In example 96, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 95, wherein the one or more processors are further to: decode one or more additional Si-bearing

[00268] In example 97, the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 96, wherein the one or more processors are further to: decode one or more additional Si-bearing

[00269] Example 98 provides a User Equipment (UE) device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touch-screen display, the UE device including the apparatus of any of examples 79 through 97.

[00270] Example 99 provides a method comprising: identifying a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual- connectivity based license assisted access operation; and decoding a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein the Si-bearing transmission is received subsequent to the channel being idle in accordance with a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol.

[00271] In example 100, the method of example 99, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission. [00272] In example 101, the method of either of examples 99 or 100, the operation comprising: processing the Si-bearing transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00273] In example 102, the method of example 101, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data.

[00274] In example 103, the method of example 101, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00275] In example 104, the method of any of examples 99 through 103, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00276] In example 105, the method of any of examples 99 through 104, the operation comprising: processing the Si-bearing transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol.

[00277] In example 106, the method of example 105, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category -4 LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols.

[00278] In example 107, the method of any of examples 99 through 106, wherein the

[00279] In example 108, the method of any of examples 99 through 107, wherein the

[00280] In example 109, the method of any of examples 99 through 108, wherein the

Si-bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and the operation comprising: processing an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission.

[00281] In example 110, the method of any of examples 99 through 109, the operation comprising: generating a request transmission bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission. [00282] In example 111, the method of example 110, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00283] In example 112, the method of any of examples 99 through 111, wherein the

LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions.

[00284] In example 113, the method of any of examples 99 through 112, the operation comprising: processing a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission.

[00285] In example 114, the method of any of examples 99 through 113, wherein the

[00286] In example 115, the method of any of examples 99 through 114, wherein the

[00287] In example 116, the method of any of examples 99 through 115, the operation comprising: decoding one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein more than a predetermined time Tl has elapsed since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00288] In example 117, the method of any of examples 99 through 116, the operation comprising: decoding one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 does not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00289] Example 118 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform a method according to any of examples 99 through 117.

[00290] Example 119 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node B (eNB) on a wireless network, comprising: means for identifying a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation; and means for decoding a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein the Si-bearing transmission is received subsequent to the channel being idle in accordance with a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol.

[00291] In example 120, the apparatus of example 119, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

[00292] In example 121, the apparatus of either of examples 119 or 120, the operation comprising: means for processing the Si-bearing transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00293] In example 122, the apparatus of example 121, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data.

[00294] In example 123, the apparatus of example 121, wherein the Si-bearing transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00295] In example 124, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 123, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00296] In example 125, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 124, the operation comprising: means for processing the Si-bearing transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol.

[00297] In example 126, the apparatus of example 125, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category -4 LBT protocol when the Si-bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols.

[00298] In example 127, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 126, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a subframe index indicator.

[00299] In example 128, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 127, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00300] In example 129, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 128, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and the operation comprising: means for processing an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission. [00301] In example 130, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 129, the operation comprising: means for generating a request transmission bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission.

[00302] In example 131, the apparatus of example 130, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00303] In example 132, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 131, wherein the LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions.

[00304] In example 133, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 132, the operation comprising: means for processing a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission.

[00305] In example 134, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 133, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a 10-bit System Frame Number (SFN) indicator.

[00306] In example 135, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 134, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes 3 bits for at least one of: a System Frame Number (SFN) indicator, or a subframe index indicator, wherein the subframe index indicator provides an offset from one of: subframe 0, or subframe 5.

[00307] In example 136, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 135, the operation comprising: means for decoding one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein more than a predetermined time Tl has elapsed since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00308] In example 137, the apparatus of any of examples 119 through 136, the operation comprising: means for decoding one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 does not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00309] Example 138 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a User Equipment (UE) to perform an operation comprising: identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation; and decode a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is received subsequent to the channel being idle in accordance with a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol.

[00310] In example 139, the machine readable storage media of example 138, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

[00311] In example 140, the machine readable storage media of either of examples 138 or 139, the operation comprising: process the Sl-bearing transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

[00312] In example 141, the machine readable storage media of example 140, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is generated for transmission within a DL burst carrying other DL data.

[00313] In example 142, the machine readable storage media of example 140, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission is generated for transmission without a DL burst containing other DL data.

[00314] In example 143, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 142, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

[00315] In example 144, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 143, the operation comprising: process the Sl-bearing transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category -4 LBT protocol.

[00316] In example 145, the machine readable storage media of example 144, wherein the LBT protocol is a single-interval LBT protocol when the Sl-bearing transmission carries Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) in 12 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and wherein the LBT protocol is a Category-4 LBT protocol when the Sl- bearing transmission carries DRS in 14 OFMD symbols.

[00317] In example 146, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 145, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a subframe index indicator.

[00318] In example 147, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 146, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

[00319] In example 148, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 147, wherein the Sl-bearing transmission carries one or more types of SIB, and the operation comprising: process an indicator transmission carrying an indicator of the types of SIB being carried, wherein the indicator transmission is one of: a Downlink Control Information (DCI) transmission, a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) transmission, or a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid-ARQ) Channel (PHICH) transmission.

[00320] In example 149, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 148, the operation comprising: generate a request transmission bearing a request for the Si-bearing transmission, wherein the encoding of the Si-bearing transmission is in response to the request transmission.

[00321] In example 150, the machine readable storage media of example 149, wherein the request transmission is based on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

[00322] In example 151, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 150, wherein the LBT protocol is an LBT protocol used for Downlink (DL) transmissions.

[00323] In example 152, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 151, the operation comprising: process a Downlink (DL) transmission, wherein the SI transmission belongs to a priority class with a higher priority than the DL transmission.

[00324] In example 153, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 152, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes a 10- bit System Frame Number (SFN) indicator.

[00325] In example 154, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 153, wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and the MIB includes 3 bits for at least one of: a System Frame Number (SFN) indicator, or a subframe index indicator, wherein the subframe index indicator provides an offset from one of: subframe 0, or subframe 5.

[00326] In example 155, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 154, the operation comprising: decode one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein more than a predetermined time Tl has elapsed since a transmission of a most recent previous Si-bearing transmission.

[00327] In example 156, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 138 through 155, the operation comprising: decode one or more additional Si-bearing transmissions carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB), wherein a total number of Si-bearing transmissions in a predetermined time T2 does not exceed a predetermined number N.

[00328] In example 157, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 19 and 79 through

97, wherein the one or more processors comprise a baseband processor.

[00329] In example 158, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 19 and 79 through

97, comprising a transceiver circuitry for at least one of: generating transmissions, encoding transmissions, processing transmissions, or decoding transmissions.

[00330] In example 159, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 19 and 79 through

97, comprising a transceiver circuitry for generating transmissions and processing transmissions.

[00331] An abstract is provided that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

claim:

An apparatus of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) operable to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors to:

identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over

unlicensed spectrum, or dual-connectivity based license assisted access operation; and

encode a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB),

wherein transmission of the Si-bearing transmission is subject to a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol on the channel.

The apparatus of claim 1 ,

wherein the Si-bearing transmission is in the same subframe as a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) transmission.

The apparatus of either of claims 1 or 2, wherein the one or more processors are further to:

generate the Si-bearing transmission for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

The apparatus of either of claims 1 or 2,

wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

generate the Si-bearing transmission for transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW),

wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category-4 LBT protocol.

6. The apparatus of either of claims 1 or 2,

wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 11.

7. Machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when

executed, cause one or more processors of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) to perform an operation comprising:

identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over

8. The machine readable storage media of claim 7,

9. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 7 or 8, the operation comprising: generate the Si-bearing transmission for transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

10. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 7 or 8,

wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

11. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 7 or 8, the operation comprising: generate the Si-bearing transmission for transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW),

12. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 7 or 8,

13. An apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved

Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors to:

identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over

decode a System Information (SI) bearing transmission carrying one or more of: a Master Information Block (MIB), and one or more types of System Information Block (SIB),

wherein the Si-bearing transmission is received subsequent to the channel being idle in accordance with a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) protocol.

14. The apparatus of claim 13,

15. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14, wherein the one or more processors are further to:

process the Si-bearing transmission in one of a predefined set of subframes outside a DRS transmission window (DTxW).

16. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14,

wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

17. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14, wherein the one or more processors are further to:

process the Si-bearing transmission within a DRS transmission window (DTxW), wherein the LBT protocol is one of: a single-interval LBT protocol, or a Category-4 LBT protocol.

18. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14,

19. Machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when

executed, cause one or more processors of a User Equipment (UE) to perform an operation comprising:

identify a channel of the wireless network in one of: standalone operation over

20. The machine readable storage media of claim 19,

21. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20, the operation

comprising:

22. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20,

wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries two or more types of SIBs.

23. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20, the operation

comprising:

24. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20,

wherein the Si-bearing transmission carries a MIB, and at least a portion of the MIB is carried in one or more of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 2, 3, 4, and 1 1.