WO2018031069A1

WO2018031069A1 - Hierarchical media access control (mac) control structure in intra mac fronthauling split

Info

Publication number: WO2018031069A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/020722
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jaemin HAN; Sangeetha L. Bangolae; Alexander Sirotkin; Youn Hyoung Heo
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2016-08-11
Filing date: 2017-03-03
Publication date: 2018-02-15

Abstract

A network device (e.g., an evolved Node B (eNB), a user equipment (UE), or other device) can comprise a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured as a central unit (CU) of a MAC layer in a long term evolution (LTE) protocol stack that communicatively interacts with one or more upper protocol layers of the stack. Local MAC layer components, configured as distributed units (DUs) located within the MAC layer, can be communicatively coupled to the central MAC layer component and interact with lower protocol layers of the stack. A MAC layer interface communicatively couples the central MAC layer component with the local MAC layer components in order to distribute functionality from the central unit of the MAC layer among the local MAC layer components and execute main functionalities of the MAC layer in conjunction.

Description

HIERARCHICAL MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL (MAC) CONTROL STRUCTURE IN

INTRA MAC FRONTHAULING SPLIT

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.

62/373,753 filed August 1 1 , 2016, entitled "HIERARCHICAL MAC CONTROL STRUCTURE IN INTRA MAC FRONTHAULING SPLIT", the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more specifically, to media access control (MAC) for wireless communications.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a node (e.g., a transmission station) and a wireless device (e.g., a mobile device), or a user equipment (UE). Some wireless devices communicate using orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) in a downlink (DL) transmission and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC- FDMA) in an uplink (UL) transmission. Standards and protocols that use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) for signal transmission include the third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard (e.g., 802.16e, 802.16m), which is commonly known to industry groups as WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access), and the IEEE 802.1 1 standard, which is commonly known to industry groups as WiFi.

[0004] In 3GPP radio access network (RAN) LTE systems, the node can be a combination of Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node Bs (also commonly denoted as evolved Node Bs, enhanced Node Bs, eNodeBs, or eNBs), and potentially Radio Network Controllers (RNCs), which communicate with the UE. The downlink (DL) transmission can be a communication from the node (e.g., eNB) to the UE, and the uplink (UL) transmission can be a communication from the wireless device to the node. In LTE, data can be transmitted from the eNodeB to the UE via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) can be used to acknowledge that data was received. Downlink and uplink channels can use time-division duplexing (TDD) or frequency-division duplexing (FDD).

[0005] In homogeneous networks, the node, also called a macro node, can provide wireless coverage to wireless devices in a cell or cell network. The cell can be the area in which the wireless devices are operable to communicate with the macro node.

Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) can be used to handle the increased traffic loads on the macro nodes due to increased usage and functionality of wireless devices. HetNets can include a layer of planned high power macro nodes (or macro eNBs) overlaid with layers of lower power nodes (small eNBs, micro-eNBs, pico-eNBs, femto-eNBs, home eNBs (HeNBs) or other network devices) that can be deployed in a less well planned or even entirely uncoordinated manner within the coverage area (cell) of a macro node.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example wireless

communication environments with radio access networks (RANs) of one or more radio access technologies (RATs) employed with or within a UE or eNB according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram illustrating an example core network to be employed in one or more RATs with radio access networks (RANs) employed with or within a UE or eNB according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates a protocol aggregation architectures applicable to the network environments, devices and processes according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates another wireless communications network system device or system for a UE or eNB according to various aspects.

[0010] FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow to enable various MAC layer functions of a protocol stack in a distribution architecture according to various aspects or

embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates another process flow to enable various MAC layer functions of a protocol stack in a distribution architecture according to various aspects or embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 7 illustrates an example system or network device that can operate various aspects or embodiments. [0013] FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example wireless network device or network platform that can implement various aspects or embodiments disclosed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures and devices are not necessarily drawn to scale. As utilized herein, terms "component," "system," "interface," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component can be a processor, a process running on a processor, a controller, a circuit or a circuit element, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet PC and/or a mobile phone with a processing device. By way of illustration, an application running on a server and the server can also be a component. One or more components can reside within a process, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. A set of elements or a set of other components can be described herein, in which the term "set" can be interpreted as "one or more."

[0015] Further, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon such as with a module, for example. The components can communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network, such as, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or similar network with other systems via the signal).

[0016] As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, in which the electric or electronic circuitry can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors can be internal or external to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components or elements without mechanical parts; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein to execute software and/or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, the functionality of the electronic components.

[0017] Use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "including", "includes", "having", "has", "with", or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term

"comprising".

[0018] In consideration of various described deficiencies, media access control (MAC) layer functions can be delayed as a result of a non-ideal transport network delay, as well as increasing processing complexity among various access nodes and communications of various different radio access technologies (RATs), which can include legacy and new radio access technologies / network devices (e.g., 5G based, internet of things (loT), NextGen components, or other network components). As such, providing a more efficient functional split within the MAC protocol layer / MAC layer of an open system (OSI) model can reduce the latency for configured operations as well as reduce the burden on the transport network interfaces related to communication protocol stacks at the MAC layer to enable more efficient radio access network (RAN) architectures.

[0019] In an aspect, the MAC layer of a network device can be split / partition within the RAN architecture, such as at the eNB, a new radio (NR) base station, a UE or other network device / component. This split can be within the MAC layer among different MAC layer entities / components located within the MAC layer. The MAC layer components can be configured in a hierarchy to enable a division of labor or functional sharing from among the MAC components of the MAC layer. For example, a central MAC component can be configured as the central unit (CU) of the MAC layer that can configured one or multiple local MAC components as distributed unit (DUs) within the MAC layer to operate independently and based on central MAC component of the MAC layer. Together these components (CU and DU(s)) can be communicatively coupled to provide overall MAC layer functions to other protocol layers. The upper layers (radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio resource control (RRC)) can interact with the central MAC entity as the CU, while a local MAC component in each DU can interacts with lower layers like the physical layer (PHY) and radio frequency (RF) layer, including associated protocol layer components. Additional aspects and details of the disclosure are further described below with reference to figures.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1 , illustrated is an example network configured to enable the operation of legacy network devices, NextGen network devices (network devices based on a 5G network), new radio (NR) network devices, or the like, for example, which can be independent or communicatively coupled in one or more networks. These network devices can be configured to communicate via a communication protocol stack, which can be based on an Open Source Interconnected (OSI) model and defines the networking framework for implementing communication protocols among the various layers. Control can be passed from one layer to the next, starting at an application layer in one station or node, for example, proceeding to a bottom layer, over a channel to a next station and back up the hierarchy. In particular, various embodiments and aspects herein are directed to the MAC protocol layer within this hierarchy of the protocol stack, such that the MAC layer itself is configured functionally and structurally in a hierarchy of MAC layer components located within the MAC layer.

[0021] The network system 1 00 is an example of an interworking architecture for potential interworking between a legacy network (e.g. , the evolved packet core (EPC) 1 04 in the LTE on the left hand side) and the NextGen core 1 06 with the 5G radio (e.g., the RAN 1 1 0 based on 5G RAT on the right hand side), in which each or both can be a component of an eNB or separate eN Bs as RANs 1 08 and 1 1 0, which can be configured to connect to or comprise both the EPC 1 04 and the NextGen core 1 06. Thus the UE signaling treatment or operation can be based on whether the UE is 5G capable or not to determine if the communication flow would be steered either to the EPC core 1 04 or the NextGen core 1 06. For example, UE 1 1 2 can be a legacy UE with bearer based operation handling, while a UEs 1 1 4 or 1 1 6 can be 5G UEs operable for a bearer based or a flow based operation, in which QoS or other communication parameters are based on a certain communication protocol flow. In another example, the protocol structures governing functions and related components to each layer (e.g., the PHY layer, MAC layer, or otherwise) can be structure differently as well to accommodate differences in complexity and functional demands among the different UEs.

[0022] On the left side, a legacy UE 1 1 2 and the 5G U E 1 14 can connect to the LTE eNB with RAN based on LTE 1 08, and the legacy U E 1 1 2 has traffic handled over the S1 interface to the EPC 1 04 while the 5G UE 1 14 can have

communications directed to the NextGen core 1 06 over the NG2 / NG3 interface(s). Thus, the communication handling can be different for different UEs so that one type of communication handling (e.g., a MAC central-distribution architecture) can be enabled for the 5G UE 1 14.

[0023] In order to support the communication handling for the 5G UE 1 14, the PDCP/ RLC / MAC protocol in LTE can include the information that configures the PDCP layer (or RLC or MAC) to carry resources or one or more parameters related to the communication handling. Based on the UE capability, the eNB can know whether to apply the new or the legacy PDCP/RLC/MAC protocol stack, as well as the appropriate operation protocols (e.g., flow based (bearerless) protocols, bearer based protocols, or the like) along a communication stack architecture.

[0024] The components of the RAN based on LTE 108 can be employed in or as an eNB of a RAN based LTE or evolved LTE 108 configured to generate and manage cell coverage area / zone 120, while another eNB of a RAN based on 5G RAT or new RAT (NRAT) 1 10 can control the 5G based cell area 122. Although depicted as multiple coverage areas, this is only one example architecture and is not confined to any one or more cell coverage areas as illustrated on the right and left of the system 100.

[0025] In one embodied aspect, MAC operations of the MAC protocol layer can be centrally controlled with a central MAC layer component that is configured as a central control unit within the MAC layer. The central MAC layer component can govern the central scheduling of resources for communications among various UEs (e.g., UE 1 1 2- 1 1 6) or various different networks 120, 122 of RANs 108, 1 10. At least a portion of the MAC protocol layer functions can also be delegated by the central MAC layer component to one or more local MAC layer components configured as distribution units. [0026] MAC layer operations and physical resource allocation within the MAC layer can be configured by or implemented by the central MAC layer component, as part of the main functionality of the MAC protocol layer. For example, centralized scheduling by the MAC layer can be supported by simultaneously managing two or more independent physical radio resources of DU(s), enabling various features / functionalities such as Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) for joint processing and coordinated scheduling, Carrier Aggregation (CA), Dual Connectivity (DC) with a multi-cell view between various RATs of one or more RANs 108, 1 10. Large-scale inter-cell interference coordination, load management and real-time performance adaptations among DU(s) (or local MAC layer components) can be enabled by the central MAC layer component as central unit of the MAC layer, which can enable achievement of the stringent 5G performance targets such as a 1 0 Gbps or greater data rate with less than a 1 ms end-to-end latency through densified network nodes (e.g., eNBs, access points or other network device).

[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates components of a network in accordance with aspects or embodiments herein. An Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network 200 is shown to include a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 102, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 220, a Serving GateWay (SGW) 230, a Packet Data Network (PDN) GateWay (PGW) 240, a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 250, which can be included in or as a part of the EPC 104 or the NextGen core 106 of FIG. 1.

[0028] The HSS 102 comprises one or more databases for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of

communication sessions. For example, the HSS 102 can provide support for

routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. The EPC network 200 can comprise one or several HSSs 102, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc.

[0029] The MME 220 can be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 220 can manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The EPC network 200 can comprise one or several MMEs 220

[0030] The SGW 230 terminates the interface toward an Evolved UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and routes data packets between the E-UTRAN and the EPC network 200. In addition, the SGW 230 can be a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNodeB handovers and also can provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility for various communication operations such as for Licensed Assisted Access (LAA or eLAA). Other responsibilities can include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0031] The PGW 240 terminates an SGi interface toward the PDN. The PGW 240 routes data packets between the EPC network 200 and external networks, and can be a node (network device / component) for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The PCRF 250 is the policy and charging control element of the EPC network 200. In a non-roaming scenario, there can be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a User Equipment's (UE) Internet Protocol

Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there can be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 250 can be communicatively coupled to an application server (alternatively referred to as application function (AF)).

Generally, the application server is an element offering applications that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, Long Term Evolution (LTE) PS data services, etc.). The application server can signal the PCRF 250 to indicate a new service flow and selecting the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 250 can provision this rule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier (QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by the application server.

[0032] The components of the EPC 200 can be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) can be utilized to virtualize any or all of the above described network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer readable storage mediums. A logical instantiation of the EPC network 200 can be referred to as a network slice 201 . A logical instantiation of a portion of the EPC network 200 can be referred to as a network sub-slice 202 (e.g., the network sub-slice 202 is shown to include the PGW 240 and the PCRF 250).

[0033] Referring to FIG. 3, illustrated is one example of a communication protocol architecture 300 applicable for one or more RAN networks (e.g., 1 08, 1 10, a RAN anchored wireless local area network (WLAN), or other network) or UEs to

communicate there-between and can also be implemented by or in each of these network devices or one or more components of a network device discussed herein. Other architectures can also be implemented with the MAC layer 31 0 with less or more upper / lower protocol layers for communications. The TCP/IP layer 302 comprises a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol layers that is the basic communication language or protocol of the Internet, and can be used as a communications protocol in a private network (either an intranet or an extranet). The TCP/IP layer 302 facilitates communications protocols used to connect network devices on the Internet. The TCP/IP layer 302 can also include a radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer that interacts between the UEs and eNBs at the IP level according to the 3GPP protocol by using RRC messages, for example.

[0034] The Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer 306, below or lower than the TCP / IP / RRC 302, can be one of the layers of the Radio Traffic Stack in LTE, UMTS and performs IP header compression and decompression, transfer of user data and maintenance of sequence numbers for Radio Bearers which are configured for lossless serving radio network subsystem (SRNS) relocation.

[0035] The radio link control (RLC) layer 308, below or lower than the PDCP layer 306, can handle an automatic repeat request fragmentation protocol used over a wireless air interface. The RLC layer 308 can detect packet losses and performs retransmissions to bring packet loss down to a low percentage rate, which is suitable for TCP / IP applications.

[0036] The media access control (MAC) layer 310 and physical (PHY) layer 31 2, can correspond to separate RATs, respectively, and operate to provide an electrical, mechanical, and procedural interface to the transmission medium. The PHY layer 312 can translate logical communications requests from the data link layer into hardware- specific operations to affect transmission or reception of electronic signals, for example. The MAC layer 310 can provide addressing and channel access control mechanisms that make it possible for several terminals or network nodes to communicate within a multiple access network that incorporates a shared medium, for example.

[0037] The MAC layer 310 can operate to provide various functions among inter-cell networks 120, 122 and various UEs 1 12-1 16. In one embodiment, the MAC protocol layer 310 includes a hierarchical MAC control structure and interface 330 (330') between MAC CU 314 and DU(s) 316, 318 through which the configured MAC layer functionalities within each DU 31 6, 318 can be operated in coordination with MAC CU 314, and can also be operated independently, if configured, with its own localized scheduling decisions without involving CU processing. The central MAC layer component / entity 314 as the CU of the MAC layer 310 is configured to perform scheduling decisions (e.g., resource scheduling) for one or more local MAC layer components in DUs 316, 31 8, while leaving some flexibility for the local MAC entities to perform scheduling decisions in a smaller scale than the MAC CU 314 such as for various PHY layer configurations, associated UEs or networks. The scheduling decisions can include time, frequency, bandwidth, load, power, or other communication related parameter to enable data flow, communication function, or other use, for example

[0038] The MAC protocol layer 310 within network devices (e.g., UEs, eNBs, Network Cores, etc.) of communication networks can control various communication functions. A primary function of the MAC protocol layer 310 includes generating transport block (TBs) that include the payload for the PHY layer 31 2, especially for the shared physical channels such as PDSCH and PUSCH, for example. The TB size can be selected based on various parameters (e.g., the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs), the modulation and coding scheme, or other associated parameters), and can be determined / derived by the MAC layer 310 depending on the intended use / communication function with one or more resources, such as for downlink, uplink, a system information (SI) -radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), random access RNTI (RA-RNTI), paging RNTI, a special subframe for a time division duplex (TDD) configuration, or other similar communication resource. Each TB can be generated for a transmission time interval (TTI). Other functions controlled by the MAC layer 310, for example, can include: frame delimiting and recognition; addressing of destination stations (both as individual stations and as groups of stations); conveyance of source- station addressing information; transparent data transfer of LLC PDUs, or of equivalent information in the Ethernet sublayer; protection against errors, generally by means of generating and checking frame check sequences; or control of access to the physical transmission medium. The channel access control mechanisms provided by the MAC layer can also be known as a multiple access protocol. This makes it possible for several stations connected to the same physical medium to share it. Examples of shared physical media are bus networks, ring networks, hub networks, wireless networks and half-duplex point-to-point links. The multiple access protocol may detect or avoid data packet collisions if a packet mode contention based channel access method is used, or reserve resources to establish a logical channel if a circuit- switched or channelization-based channel access method is used. The channel access control mechanism relies on a physical layer multiplex scheme.

[0039] In one embodiment, the central MAC layer component 314 and the local MAC layer components of DUs 31 6, 318 in conjunction perform the above MAC layer functions together as the MAC layer 310. In addition, the central MAC layer component 314 can perform scheduling decisions for multiple local MAC layer components in DUs 31 6, 318, while configuring flexibility for these local MAC entities to perform scheduling decisions in smaller scale independent of the central MAC layer component 314 based on various UEs (e.g., 1 12-1 16 of FIG. 1 ) or the networks (e.g., 120, 122 of FIG. 1 ). Thus, the central MAC layer component 314 can configure each DU 31 6, 318 differently to perform one or more of the functions described above with respect to the MAC layer on a local level (e.g., a UE, a network, or particular PHY layer configuration) in order to alleviate processing burdens at the CU 314, or share such processing for MAC layer functions to operate ideally and with lower latency than otherwise.

[0040] The MAC layer 310 also includes the MAC interface 330 (330') that communicatively couples the central MAC layer component 314 and the local MAC layer components of DUs 31 6, 318 as part of the communication data transport network. The MAC interface 330 (330') can be nested under the transport network between the CU and DUs, utilizing any type of data or information to interface therebetween. Thus, once established, the MAC interface 330 (330') can include any interface connections of a protocol stack or communication interface whether it is an Ethernet, an optical fiber network, or some other kind of network as a transport network that interfaces between the CU as the central MAC layer component 314 and the different DUs with local MAC layer components 316, 31 8, which can operate under the same physical transport network.

[0041] The central MAC layer component 314 can initiate various messages to establish connection and subsequent configuration of resources to each DU 316, 318, which can include a setup response message, a setup request message, a setup failure message for interface establishment and subsequent communications among these components of the MAC layer 310. The MAC interface 330 (330') can also be a point-to- point communication link, for example, that can comprise either a single link identified by the UE's media access control (MAC) address or other unique identifier, or several links with each link corresponding to a data radio bearer (DRB) of the UE 1 12-1 16, for example.

[0042] The intended purpose of reducing latency within the MAC layer 310 under more complex scenarios such as heterogeneous networks or various RATs may not be achieved if scheduling is decided entirely and solely from a CU. For example, a follow- up hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission when the negative acknowledgement (NACK) is being received may require further resource scheduling unless pre-configured, such as by a semi-persistent scheduling. If the scheduling requires the CU-level processing, then the non-ideal round-trip transport network delays still persist for every one of the HARQ responses. Thus, such scheduling operations can be delegated by the central MAC layer component 314 to a DU 316 or 318

independently to manage / control these operations independently without further processing from the central MAC layer component 314. Semi-persistent scheduling can mean that the scheduling is for up to some future point in time. The CU or other component can operate as a central scheduler that therefore does not need to schedule resources or configurations to a DU 316 dynamically up to that time. The local scheduler or DU can be thus be configured up to some persistent time. Alternatively, the CU 314 can operate to configure the DUs dynamically depending on network individual demands.

[0043] Another example can be seen in the random access control, which is cell- specific and can support faster RACH procedures when performed at the DU 316 or 31 8 independently from the CU 314, but still could require the dynamic resource allocations for the follow-up msg2 / msg3 / msg4 transmissions. As a result, to reduce latency and burden on the transport network 330 (330') requirements, an independent DU-level resource scheduling can be implemented among the central MAC layer component 314 and the local MAC layer components 316, 318 in a hierarchy structure. Depending on the resources each DU 316, 318 manages or controls for scheduling, the central MAC layer component 314 can grant these resources to the DUs 316, 31 8 to independently control between one or more different PHY configurations, UEs 1 12-1 16 or networks 1 20, 122. The DU 316, for example, can utilize different resources and manage one or more different UEs / networks from the DU 318. Each DU 316, 31 8 after being configured by the central MAC layer component 314 can then perform operations independent from the central MAC layer component 314. As stated above, the configurations of the DUs 31 6, 318 by CU 314 can be semi-persistent, re-configured periodically, or dynamic in time based on the network demands.

[0044] The central MAC layer component 314 and the local MAC layer components of DUs 316, 318 can form this hierarchy structure within the MAC layer 31 0, which means that the DUs 316, 31 8 operate according to the configuration (e.g., resource configuration) granted to each DU 316, 318 by the central MAC layer component 314. Together these components 314-318 can jointly provide all the functionalities of the MAC protocol layer 310. The upper layers (RLC, PDCP, RRC) can interact with the central MAC layer component 314 as the CU, while the local MAC layer components of DUs 316, 318 in each DU interacts with lower layers (e.g., PHY and RF layers) or respective components. Each DU can be configured to have one or more local MAC layer components 31 6, 31 8 and associated resources per PHY configuration, based on, for example, whether a DU supports multiple physical radio interfaces to one or more different UEs / networks, or multiple verticals (e.g., enhanced mobile broadband

(eMBB), ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), massive machine type communication (mMTC), different protocol stacks architectures, or other vertical communication stack) within a single physical radio interface (e.g., NG2, NG3, S1 , S6a, or the like).

[0045] The central MAC layer component 314 in the CU can control a large number of local MAC layer components 316, 318 in DUs in order to maximize joint scheduling benefits, operate to generate MAC layer functions or operations with the local MAC layer components 31 6, 31 8, or configure each with resources to operate independently of the central MAC layer component 314 and other local MAC layer components as part of the MAC layer 310, for example. This hierarchical structure thus effectively enables dependent configuration of the DUs by the CU, and joint operation between these components as a distribution chain that eases processing burdens from the CU of the MAC layer 310 and can decrease latency.

[0046] Referring now to FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. In particular, FIG. 4 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 400 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory/storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which are communicatively coupled via a bus 440. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 402 can be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 400.

[0047] The processors 410 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) can include, for example, a processor 412 and a processor 414. The memory/storage devices 420 can include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0048] The communication resources 430 can include resources or parameters described herein as well as interconnection / network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 404 and/or one or more databases 406 via a network 408. For example, the communication resources 430 can include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi®

components, and other communication components.

[0049] Instructions 450 can comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methodologies, functions or component functions discussed herein. The instructions 450 can reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 410 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), the

memory/storage devices 420, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 450 can be transferred to the hardware resources 400 from any combination of the peripheral devices 404 and/or the databases 406. Accordingly, the memory of processors 410, the memory/storage devices 420, the peripheral devices 404, and the databases 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0050] In one embodiment, the communication protocol stack 300 or the MAC layer components (referring also to FIG. 3) as the central MAC layer component 314 and the local MAC layer components of DUs 316, 31 8 can be processor components such as the processor 41 2 or 414, or executable components of memory / storage devices 420 with / part of executable instructions 450 for executing these components based on communication resources 430. The central MAC layer component 314 in CU can govern or manage the centralized scheduling with multi-cell PHY configurations across DUs 316, 318, including the support of: UEs (e.g., 1 12-1 16) enabled with coordinated multipoint (CoMP), carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC), or other

communication functions or configurations; Inter-cell interference management to coordinate functions among DUs to perform inter-cell (inter network (e.g., 120, 122, etc.), or inter-cell 1 12-1 16) operations; Load balancing and performance adaptation between DUs 316, 318.

[0051] Various PHY layer configurations can be operational or configured differently depending on the technology. A PHY layer configuration associated to one DU 316 can support CoMP while another DU 318 support carrier aggregation, and associated resources / resource parameters, for example. CoMP can comprise data and channel state information (CSI) being shared among neighboring cellular base stations or eNBs to coordinate their transmissions in the downlink and jointly process the received signals in the uplink. CoMP can utilize a high-speed backhaul network for enabling the exchange of information (e.g., data, control information, and CSI) between the BSs or eNBs, which can be achieved via an optical fiber fronthaul or other interface that can be integrated / interface with the MAC layer 310 or MAC interface 330. Carrier aggregation can include operations to aggregate various component carriers inter-band, intra-band, non-contiguously or contiguously to improve the uplink or downlink frequency spectrum usage more efficiently. Dual connectivity can enable UEs to be connected to one another directly or simultaneously to one another or different eNBs (e.g., RAN 108 and 1 1 0).

[0052] In another embodiment, the central MAC layer component 314 in CU can consider the transport network characteristic (such as available bandwidth (BW) and latency) and the processing capability (or speed) of each DU, when deciding the centralized resource allocation for configuration or function delegation to the various DUs 316, 318, or more. The central MAC layer component 314 can retrieve the scheduling-related information and data from each local MAC layer component 316, 31 8, such as a Buffer status report (BSR) per UE 1 1 2-1 1 6, a power headroom report (PHR) per UE 1 12-1 16 for UL scheduling, load or queue information, or other scheduling related parameter / resource request. Scheduling related information can also include data that is common to UE's 1 1 2-1 16 such as common search space parameters like control information, system information, scheduling, or data on a per UE radio channel, as well as signal measurements (power, load, timing, or other UE measurement reporting parameters) from the associated PHY layer for DL / UL scheduling.

[0053] In other embodiments, the central MAC layer component 314 can configure each local MAC layer component of DU 316, 318 to perform various MAC operations, separately from other DUs, in conjunction with central MAC layer component 314 processes, or independent of the central MAC layer component 314 including UL or DL HARQ per UE 1 12-1 16, per traffic flow (e.g., based on a QoS associated with a particular communication), or per bearer. The central MAC layer component 314 can also configure each local MAC layer component of DU 316, 318 to perform various MAC operations separately from other DUs, in conjunction with central MAC layer component 314 processes, or independent of the central MAC layer component 314 including cell-specific MAC functionalities such as random access control per PHY configuration (per UE or per network RAT), maintenance on cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), UL timing alignment per UE, or other similar related network parameters.

[0054] In other embodiments, the local MAC layer component 316 or 318 can be configured to perform its own localized resource allocations in order to support the configured MAC operations or UEs that do not require multi-cell PHY configurations across different DUs, which can be assigned or allocated different configurations or resources for scheduling operations for communications (e.g., DL / UL grant, bandwidth, power, for communication through the PHY layer). For such UEs, the local MAC layer component 316 or 31 8 can retrieve the scheduling-related information and data such as queue dynamics from the central MAC layer component 314 for DL scheduling and generating the transport block to the PHY layer 312, for example. [0055] In another embodiment, the local MAC layer components 316 or 31 8 are configured by the central MAC layer component 314 separately and independently to carry out assigned functions in lieu of or in conjunction with the central MAC layer component 314. These functions can include scheduling operations or other MAC layer functions specific or local to a particular PHY configuration, UE 1 1 2-1 1 6, or network RATs of RANs 108 or 1 1 0, for example. Any control of scheduling resources described herein or particular configurations, which can involve partition configurations for one or more of these functions, can be allocated, assigned or delegated for control /

processing by a local MAC layer component 316 or 31 8, for example. The functions configured to, or partitioned to a local MAC layer component 316 or 31 8 by the central MAC layer component 314 can be for localized scheduling implementations or scheduling operations to be carried out or shared by the local MAC layer component 31 6 or 318.

[0056] Various embodiments for such local scheduling operations by the local MAC layer component 316 or 318 can be envisioned. In one embodiment, the localized scheduling implementations / operations, can include different resources or parameters in different processes. For example, in one process, the local MAC layer component 31 6 or 318 can use the remaining physical resource block (PRB) per each transmission time interval (TTI) from the centralized allocation decision or configuration (resource / partition configuration) allocated by the central MAC layer component 314. For example, the central MAC layer component 314 can allocate what functions, particular resources, or partition configuration for one or more PHY configurations, UEs, or networks via a PRB communication at a TTI. Remainder bits, frames, subframes or PRB resources can be utilized by the local MAC layer component 316 or 318 for scheduling one or more UEs or networks for communication or scheduling requests.

[0057] In another process embodiment of a localized scheduling operation, subframes can be interlaced for localized / centralized usage. The process by which to interlace can be pre-configured or adaptively managed by the central MAC layer component 314. An interlace can be a sub-carrier mapping operations that enables multiple bits, bit streams or interleaved encoded bits, for example, to be combined with a same level of protection for each sequence, for example.

[0058] In another process embodiment of a localized scheduling operation, PRBs can be partitioned for localized / centralized usage at every TTI granularity, in which the partition can be pre-configured or adaptively managed by the central MAC layer component 314. The local MAC layer component 316 or 318 can

collect/measure/estimate the activities on the configured operations or PRB usage, and report periodically or as requested to the central MAC layer component 314 for efficient resource utilizations. As such, one or more of these above processes (or options) discussed for localized operations in the local MAC layer component 316 or 318 can be used to configure or re-configure each local MAC layer component 316 or 318 based on periodic reports in a semi-persistent manner, upon request, or initiation by the central MAC layer component 314 itself.

[0059] The MAC interface 330 or 330' can be further established as the

communication channel in-between the central MAC layer component 314 in CU and the local MAC layer component 31 6 or 318 in DU, nested under the transport network between CU and DU, as described above. The central MAC layer component 314 can initiate the interface establishment. For example, the MAC interface 330, 330' can support the message exchanges such as MACx SETUP REQUEST, MACx SETUP RESPONSE or MACx SETUP FAILURE for the interface establishment. This way one or more DUs can be integrated, added as well as removed via such messages. A unique local MAC entity identifier for each local MAC layer component 316 or 318 or DU, for example, can be determined through the interface establishment. The information regarding the transport network characteristic, such as available bandwidth, latency, or other parameter / resource can be measured and updated periodically or per request through the MAC interface 330, 330'. The MAC interface 330, 330' can support the message exchanges conveying MAC control-related information, e.g. the local MAC entity configuration, the scheduling-related information / configuration as discussed herein. The MAC interface 330, 330' can support the message exchanges conveying user-plane information such as one or more TBs to the PHY layer, or from the central MAC layer component 314.

[0060] While the methods described within this disclosure are illustrated in and described herein as a series of acts or events, it will be appreciated that the illustrated ordering of such acts or events are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. For example, some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and/or described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the description herein. Further, one or more of the acts depicted herein may be carried out in one or more separate acts and/or phases.

[0061] FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a process flow 500 to generate a MAC layer control structure in a hierarchy within the MAC layer as a fronthauling split, in which the MAC layer distributes or partitions its functions in a hierarchy for fronthauling operations associated with the MAC layer (e.g., scheduling related resources). The method 500 can be considered a distribution hierarchical structure process flow 500 in functional processing within the MAC layer of communication protocol stack models. As such, the operations can be enabled by any network device (e.g., eNB, NRAT, UE or other network device or component).

[0062] At 502, one or more processors can perform operations in a multi-radio heterogeneous network including different RATs comprising: providing, via a central MAC layer component configured to operate as a central unit or CU of the MAC layer, a partition configuration to a local MAC layer component of a plurality of local MAC layer components to configure the local MAC layer component (e.g., 316) as a distribution unit (DU) of the MAC layer with the central MAC layer component. The partition configuration can be a distribution of functionality or resources for governing one or more MAC layer functions, such as scheduling, HARQ operations, random access channel operations or the like. The DU can then be configured to make its own scheduling decisions across one or more UEs, one or more PHY configurations, one or more networks or other network devices based on configuration (partition configuration) enabled by the central MAC layer component (e.g., 314).

[0063] At 504, the method 500 includes communicatively coupling, via a MAC layer interface, communications between the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components in a hierarchal structure to execute operations of the MAC layer.

[0064] The method 500 can further include performing, via the local MAC layer component, a localized resource scheduling of one or more scheduling resources through one or more lower protocol layers, independent of or in coordination with the central MAC layer component based on the partition configuration. As such, the central MAC layer component (e.g., 314) configures the local MAC layer components for localized resource scheduling to one or more PHY configurations. The local MAC layer components can then schedule communications with network devices with or without the central processing unit in CU of the MAC layer of a network device such as an eNB or other network device (e.g., a UE or other network device). The local MAC layer component can retrieve, via the MAC layer interface (e.g., 330), scheduling related information including UE data and the partition configuration associated with one or more higher protocol layers from the central MAC layer component 314, for example.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 6, another process flow 600 that can be a part of the process flow 500 or a separate process flow order to enable localized scheduling in a MAC layer from a CU to one or more DUs therein

[0066] At 602, the method 600 comprises determining, via a central MAC layer component, a resource allocation associated among a plurality of local MAC layer components based on a transport network characteristic of the MAC layer interface and a processing capability of the plurality of local MAC layer components, the transport network characteristic comprising at least one of: an available bandwidth or a latency of a physical medium of the MAC layer interface connecting the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components. The partition configuration designates localized resource allocations among the plurality of local MAC layer components to independently configure the plurality of local MAC layer components to support one or more different PHY protocol layer configurations among network devices for scheduling operations.

[0067] At 604, the method 600 includes controlling a centralized scheduling of the plurality of local MAC layer components according to different physical ("PHY") protocol layer configurations among at least one of: one or more cell networks or one or more user UEs.

[0068] The local MAC layer components can receive or obtain one or more physical resources related to different PHY protocol layer configurations from the central MAC layer component, and report periodically or as requested by the central MAC layer component any physical resources to the central MAC layer component that it may need to perform for scheduling or other functions or as requested by a UE or network that is beyond what it has been allocated for. In return, the central MAC layer component can opt or not to modify the partition configuration of a local MAC layer component of the plurality of local MAC layer components based on a change of a PHY layer configuration of a UE, a network or a traffic flow of data. [0069] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

[0070] Embodiments described herein can be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 7 illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a network device such as an eNB, a User Equipment (UE), or other similar network device 700. In some embodiments, the network device 700 can include application circuitry 702, baseband circuitry 704, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 706, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 708 and one or more antennas 710, coupled together at least as shown.

[0071] The application circuitry 702 can include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 702 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) can include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors can be coupled with and/or can include memory/storage and can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

[0072] The baseband circuitry 704 can include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 704 can include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 706 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 706. Baseband processing circuity 704 can interface with the application circuitry 702 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 706. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 can include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 704a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 704b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 704c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 704d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 704 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 704a-d) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 706. The radio control functions can 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 704 can include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping / demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 704 can 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 can include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0073] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 can include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 704e of the baseband circuitry 704 can 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 can include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 704f. The audio DSP(s) 704f can be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and can include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry can 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 704 and the application circuitry 702 can be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0074] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 can provide for

communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 can 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 704 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol can be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0075] RF circuitry 706 can enable communication with wireless networks

using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 706 can include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 706 can include a receive signal path which can include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 708 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 704. RF circuitry 706 can also include a transmit signal path which can include circuitry to up- convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 704 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 708 for transmission.

[0076] In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 706 can include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 706 can include mixer circuitry 706a, amplifier circuitry 706b and filter circuitry 706c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 706 can include filter circuitry 706c and mixer circuitry 706a. RF circuitry 706 can also include synthesizer circuitry 706d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 706a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706a of the receive signal path can be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 708 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 706d. The amplifier circuitry 706b can be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 706c can 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 can be provided to the baseband circuitry 704 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals can be zero- frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 706a of the receive signal path can comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0077] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706a of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 706d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 708. The baseband signals can be provided by the baseband circuitry 704 and can be filtered by filter circuitry 706c. The filter circuitry 706c can include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0078] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706a of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706a of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706a can be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706a of the transmit signal path can be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[0079] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals can 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 can be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 706 can include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 704 can include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 706.

[0080] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry can be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the

embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0081] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 706d can be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers can be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 706d can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0082] The synthesizer circuitry 706d can be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 706a of the RF circuitry 706 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 706d can be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

[0083] In some embodiments, frequency input can be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input can be provided by either the baseband circuitry 704 or the applications processor 702 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) can be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 702.

[0084] Synthesizer circuitry 706d of the RF circuitry 706 can include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider can be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator can be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD can be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL can 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 can 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.

[0085] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 706d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can 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 can be a LO frequency (f|_o)- In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 706 can include an IQ/polar converter.

[0086] FEM circuitry 708 can include a receive signal path which can include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 710, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 706 for further processing. FEM circuitry 708 can also include a transmit signal path which can include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 706 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 710.

[0087] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 708 can include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry can include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry can 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 706). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 708 can include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 706), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 71 0.

[0088] In some embodiments, the device 700 can include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or an input/output (I/O) interface. In addition,

[0089] To provide further context for various aspects of the disclosed subject matter, FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of access (or user) equipment related to access of a network (e.g., network device, base station, wireless access point, femtocell access point, and so forth) that can enable and/or exploit features or aspects disclosed herein.

[0090] Access equipment (e.g., eNB, network entity, or the like), UE or software related to access of a network can receive and transmit signal(s) from and to wireless devices, wireless ports, wireless routers, etc. through segments 802 802_B (B is a positive integer). Segments 802 802_B can be internal and/or external to access equipment and/or software related to access of a network, and can be controlled by a monitor component 804 and an antenna component 806. Monitor component 804 and antenna component 806 can couple to communication platform 808, which can include electronic components and associated circuitry that provide for processing and manipulation of received signal(s) and other signal(s) to be transmitted.

[0091] In an aspect, communication platform 808 includes a receiver/transmitter 810 that can convert analog signals to digital signals upon reception of the analog signals, and can convert digital signals to analog signals upon transmission. In addition, receiver/transmitter 810 can divide a single data stream into multiple, parallel data streams, or perform the reciprocal operation. Coupled to receiver/transmitter 810 can be a multiplexer / demultiplexer 812 that can facilitate manipulation of signals in time and frequency space. Multiplexer / demultiplexer 812 can multiplex information

(data/traffic and control/signaling) according to various multiplexing schemes such as time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, code division multiplexing, space division multiplexing. In addition, multiplexer/ demultiplexer component 812 can scramble and spread information (e.g., codes, according to substantially any code known in the art, such as Hadamard-Walsh codes, Baker codes, Kasami codes, polyphase codes, and so forth).

[0092] A modulator/demodulator 814 is also a part of communication platform 808, and can modulate information according to multiple modulation techniques, such as frequency modulation, amplitude modulation (e.g., M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation, with M a positive integer); phase-shift keying; and so forth).

[0093] Access equipment and/or software related to access of a network also includes a processor 816 configured to confer, at least in part, functionality to substantially any electronic component in access equipment and/or software. In particular, processor 816 can facilitate configuration of access equipment and/or software through, for example, monitor component 804, antenna component 806, and one or more components therein. Additionally, access equipment and/or software can include display interface 818, which can display functions that control functionality of access equipment and/or software or reveal operation conditions thereof. In addition, display interface 818 can include a screen to convey information to an end user. In an aspect, display interface 818 can be a liquid crystal display, a plasma panel, a monolithic thin-film based electrochromic display, and so on. Moreover, display interface 818 can include a component (e.g., speaker) that facilitates communication of aural indicia, which can also be employed in connection with messages that convey operational instructions to an end user. Display interface 818 can also facilitate data entry (e.g., through a linked keypad or through touch gestures), which can cause access equipment and/or software to receive external commands (e.g., restart operation).

[0094] Broadband network interface 820 facilitates connection of access equipment and/or software to a service provider network (not shown) that can include one or more cellular technologies (e.g., third generation partnership project universal mobile telecommunication system, global system for mobile communication, and so on) through backhaul link(s) (not shown), which enable incoming and outgoing data flow. Broadband network interface 820 can be internal or external to access equipment and/or software and can utilize display interface 818 for end-user interaction and status information delivery. [0095] Processor 816 can be functionally connected to communication platform 808 and can facilitate operations on data (e.g., symbols, bits, or chips) for

multiplexing/demultiplexing, such as effecting direct and inverse fast Fourier transforms, selection of modulation rates, selection of data packet formats, inter-packet times, and so on. Moreover, processor 816 can be functionally connected, through data, system, or an address bus 822, to display interface 81 8 and broadband network interface 820, to confer, at least in part, functionality to each of such components.

[0096] In access equipment and/or software memory 824 can retain location and/or coverage area (e.g., macro sector, identifier(s)) access list(s) that authorize access to wireless coverage through access equipment and/or software sector intelligence that can include ranking of coverage areas in the wireless environment of access equipment and/or software, radio link quality and strength associated therewith, or the like.

Memory 824 also can store data structures, code instructions and program modules, system or device information, code sequences for scrambling, spreading and pilot transmission, access point configuration, and so on. Processor 81 6 can be coupled (e.g., through a memory bus), to memory 824 in order to store and retrieve information used to operate and/or confer functionality to the components, platform, and interface that reside within access equipment and/or software.

[0097] In addition, the memory 824 can comprise one or more machine-readable medium / media including instructions that, when performed by a machine or component herein cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described herein. It is to be understood that aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium (e.g., the memory described herein or other storage device). Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media or a computer readable storage device can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD- ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory medium, that can be used to carry or store desired information or executable instructions. Also, any connection can also be termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.

[0098] As it employed in the subject specification, the term "processor" can refer to substantially any computing processing unit or device including, but not limited to including, single-core processors; single-processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithread technology;

parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic controller, a complex programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions and/or processes described herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance performance of mobile devices. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0099] In the subject specification, terms such as "store," "data store," data storage," "database," and substantially any other information storage component relevant to operation and functionality of a component and/or process, refer to "memory

components," or entities embodied in a "memory," or components including the memory. It is noted that the memory components described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory.

[00100] By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory, for example, can be included in a memory, non-volatile memory (see below), disk storage (see below), and memory storage (see below). Further, nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory, programmable read only memory, electrically programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, or flash memory.

Volatile memory can include random access memory, which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, random access memory is available in many forms such as synchronous random access memory, dynamic random access memory, synchronous dynamic random access memory, double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory, enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory, Synchlink dynamic random access memory, and direct Rambus random access memory. Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methods herein are intended to include, without being limited to including, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[00101 ] Examples can include subject matter such as a method, means for performing acts or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including instructions that, when performed by a machine cause the machine to perform acts of the method or of an apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to embodiments and examples described herein.

[00102] Example 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB), comprising: a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured, as a central unit (CU) located within a MAC layer, to communicatively interact with one or more upper protocol layers that comprise at least one of: a radio link control (RLC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, or a radio resource control (RRC) layer; one or more local MAC layer components as distributed units (DUs) located within the MAC layer and communicatively coupled to the central MAC layer component, configured to interact between one or more lower protocol layers

comprising at least one of: a physical (PHY) layer or a radio frequency (RF) layer; and a MAC layer interface, located between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, configured to communicatively couple the central MAC layer component with the one or more local MAC layer components.

[00103] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1 , the apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to control a

centralized scheduling of the one or more local MAC layer components according to different PHY layer configurations of at least one of: one or more cell networks or one or more user equipments (UEs), based on at least one of: a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) for joint processing and scheduling coordination, a carrier aggregation (CA), or a dual connectivity (DC).

[00104] Example 3 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -2, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to coordinate, through the one or more local MAC layer components, communications related to inter-cell interference between a plurality of cell networks.

[00105] Example 4 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -3, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to perform at least one of: a load-balancing or a performance adaptation between a plurality of local MAC layer components as the distributed units (DUs) located within the MAC layer and coupled to the central MAC layer component.

[00106] Example 5 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -4, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to determine a resource allocation among a plurality of local MAC layer components based on a transport network characteristic of the MAC layer interface and a processing capability of the one or more local MAC layer components, the transport network characteristic comprising at least one of: an available bandwidth or a latency of a physical medium of the MAC layer interface connecting the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components.

[00107] Example 6 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -5, including or omitting any elements as optional,, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to configure MAC layer operations to the one or more local MAC layer components, the MAC layer operations including one or more of: an uplink

communication or a downlink communication related to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), a cell specific MAC functionality including a random access control, or a UE specific functionality including managing a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) or an uplink timing alignment between UEs.

[00108] Example 7 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -6, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to coordinate scheduling operations and MAC layer processes with the central MAC layer component, and perform a localized scheduling of data from the one or more lower protocol layers independent of the central MAC layer component based on the scheduling operations with the central MAC layer component.

[00109] Example 8 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -7, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to retrieve scheduling operation data and queue data from the central MAC layer component, and generate an uplink / downlink scheduling communication and a transport block based on the scheduling operation data and the queue data for the one or more lower or higher protocol layers.

[00110] Example 9 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -8, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to perform the localized scheduling of data by utilizing a physical resource block (PRB) of a transmission time interval (TTI) that remains from a communication of a scheduling operation, interlacing subframes associated with the scheduling operations, or partitioning the PRB of the TTI.

[00111 ] Example 10 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -9, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to generate a measurement of at least one of: a scheduling operation, a PRB usage, or a transport network characteristic, and report a measurement report, periodically or as requested, to the central MAC layer component based on the measurement.

[00112] Example 1 1 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -10, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the MAC layer interface comprises a hierarchical structure between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, and is further configured to communicate a scheduling operation partition configuration between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, wherein the scheduling operation partition configuration designates what scheduling operations are conferred to the one or more MAC layer components to enable joint MAC layer operations of the MAC layer.

[00113] Example 12 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 -1 1 , including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the MAC layer interface is further configured to support message exchanges comprising at least one of: a MAC setup request, a MAC setup response, a MAC setup failure corresponding with an interface establishment between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, or a unique local MAC entity identifier of the one or more local MAC layer components.

[00114] Example 13 is a computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system of an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a user equipment (UE) comprising one or more processors to perform operations in a multi-radio heterogeneous network including different radio access technologies (RATs), the operations comprising: providing, via a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured to operate as a central unit (CU) of a MAC layer, a partition configuration to a local MAC layer component of a plurality of local MAC layer components configured to operate as distribution units (DUs) of the MAC layer with the central MAC layer component; and communicatively coupling, via a MAC layer interface, communications between the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components in a hierarchal structure to execute operations of the MAC layer.

[00115] Example 14 includes the subject matter of Example 13, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: performing, via the local MAC layer component, a localized resource scheduling of one or more scheduling resources through one or more lower protocol layers, independent of or in coordination with the central MAC layer component based on the partition configuration.

[00116] Example 15 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-14, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: retrieving, at the local MAC layer component via the MAC layer interface, scheduling related information including user equipment (UE) data and the partition configuration associated with one or more higher protocol layers from the central MAC layer component; and controlling a centralized scheduling of the plurality of local MAC layer components according to different physical (PHY) protocol layer configurations among at least one of: one or more cell networks.

[00117] Example 16 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-15, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving or obtaining, via the plurality of local MAC layer components, one or more physical resources related to different PHY protocol layer configurations; and reporting, periodically or as requested by the central MAC layer component, the one or more physical resources to the central MAC layer component. [00118] Example 17 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-16, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise:

[00119] determining, via the central MAC layer component, a resource allocation associated among the plurality of local MAC layer components based on a transport network characteristic of the MAC layer interface and a processing capability of the plurality of local MAC layer components, the transport network characteristic comprising at least one of: an available bandwidth or a latency of a physical medium of the MAC layer interface connecting the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components.

[00120] Example 18 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-17, including or omitting any elements as optional,, wherein the partition configuration designates localized resource allocations among the plurality of local MAC layer components to independently configure the plurality of local MAC layer components to support one or more different PHY protocol layer configurations among network devices for scheduling operations.

[00121 ] Example 19 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 3-18, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the operations further comprise: modifying, via the central MAC layer component, the partition configuration of the local MAC layer component of the plurality of local MAC layer components based on a change in a change of a PHY layer configuration of a network device, a network or a traffic flow.

[00122] Example 20 is an apparatus employed in a user equipment (UE), comprising:

[00123] a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured, as a central unit (CU) located within a first MAC layer of a MAC layer, to communicatively interact with one or more upper protocol layers and a second MAC layer of the MAC layer that is below the first MAC layer in a communication protocol stack; one or more local MAC layer components as distributed units (DUs) located within the second MAC layer and communicatively coupled to the central MAC layer component, configured to be controlled by the central MAC layer component, and communicate with one or more lower protocol layers; and a MAC layer interface, located between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, configured to communicatively couple the central MAC layer component with the one or more local MAC layer components. [00124] Example 21 includes the subject matter of Example 20, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to receive a partition configuration that designates one or more scheduling operations or scheduling resources from the central MAC layer component to enable MAC layer operations comprising uplink / downlink communications related to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), a random access control, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), or an uplink timing alignment between UEs.

[00125] Example 22 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 20-21 , including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the partition configuration further designates local scheduling resources to the one or more local MAC layer components to independently configure one or more scheduling resources for a UE, wherein the one or more scheduling resources comprise uplink / downlink scheduling and transport block generation.

[00126] Example 23 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 20-22, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to schedule communication resources based on data provided by the central MAC layer and related to a physical (PHY) layer configuration of the UE, wherein the PHY layer configuration can include at least one of: a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) for joint processing and scheduling coordination, a carrier aggregation (CA), or a dual connectivity (DC).

[00127] Example 24 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 20-22, including or omitting any elements as optional,, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to perform a localized resource scheduling of resources to support MAC layer operations.

[00128] Example 25 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 20-23, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the local MAC layer component is configured to generate one or more measurements of an available bandwidth, a latency, or a buffer status, and report, periodically or as requested, the one or more measurements through the MAC layer interface to the central MAC layer component.

[00129] Example 26 is a system employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a user equipment (UE), comprising: a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured, as a central unit (CU) located within a first MAC layer of a MAC layer, to communicatively interact with one or more upper protocol layers and a second MAC layer of the MAC layer that is below the first MAC layer in a communication protocol stack; one or more local MAC layer components as distributed units (DUs) located within the second MAC layer and communicatively coupled to the central MAC layer component, configured to be controlled by the central MAC layer component, and communicate with one or more lower protocol layers; and a MAC layer interface, located between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, configured to communicatively couple the central MAC layer component with the one or more local MAC layer components.

[00130] Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to receive a partition configuration that designates one or more scheduling operations or scheduling resources from the central MAC layer component to enable MAC layer operations comprising uplink / downlink communications related to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), a random access control, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), or an uplink timing alignment between different UEs.

[00131 ] Example 28 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-27, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the partition configuration further designates local scheduling resources to the one or more local MAC layer components to independently configure one or more scheduling resources for a UE, wherein the one or more scheduling resources comprise uplink / downlink scheduling and transport block generation.

[00132] Example 29 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-28, including or omitting any elements as optional,, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to schedule communication resources for the user equipment (UE) based on data provided by the central MAC layer and related to a physical (PHY) layer configuration of the UE, wherein the PHY layer configuration can include at least one of: a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) for joint processing and scheduling coordination, a carrier aggregation (CA), or a dual connectivity (DC).

[00133] Example 30 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-29, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to perform a localized resource scheduling of resources to support MAC layer operations or one or more UEs not communicating based on multiple network cell PHY layer configurations. [00134] Example 31 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 26-30, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the local MAC layer component is configured to generate one or more measurements of an available bandwidth, a latency, or a buffer status, and report, periodically or as requested, the one or more measurements through the MAC layer interface to the central MAC layer component.

[00135] Example 32 is an apparatus employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a user equipment (UE) comprising: means for providing a partition configuration to a local MAC layer component of a plurality of local MAC layer components configured to operate as distribution units (DUs) of a central medium access control (MAC) layer component as a central unit (CU) of a MAC layer; and means for communicatively coupling

communications between the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components in a hierarchal structure to execute operations of the MAC layer as a MAC layer interface.

[00136] Example 33 includes the subject matter of Example 32, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for performing a localized resource scheduling of one or more scheduling resources through one or more lower protocol layers that are lower than the MAC layer, independent of or in coordination with the central MAC layer component based on the partition configuration.

[00137] Example 34 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 32-33, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for retrieving at the local MAC layer component scheduling related information including user equipment (UE) data and the partition configuration associated with one or more higher protocol layers from the central MAC layer component; and means for controlling a centralized scheduling of the plurality of local MAC layer components according to different physical (PHY) protocol layer configurations among at least one of: one or more cell networks.

[00138] Example 35 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 32-34, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for receiving or obtaining one or more physical resources related to different PHY protocol layer configurations; and means for reporting, periodically or as requested by the central MAC layer component, the one or more physical resources to the central MAC layer component. [00139] Example 36 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 32-35, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for

determining a resource allocation associated among the plurality of local MAC layer components based on a transport network characteristic of the MAC layer interface and a processing capability of the plurality of local MAC layer components, the transport network characteristic comprising at least one of: an available bandwidth or a latency of a physical medium of the MAC layer interface connecting the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components.

[00140] Example 37 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 32-36, including or omitting any elements as optional, wherein the partition configuration designates localized resource allocations among the plurality of local MAC layer components to independently configure the plurality of local MAC layer components to support one or more different PHY protocol layer configurations corresponding to different network devices for scheduling operations.

[00141 ] Example 38 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 32-37, including or omitting any elements as optional, further comprising: means for modifying the partition configuration of the local MAC layer component of the plurality of local MAC layer components based on a change in a change of a PHY layer configuration of a network device, a network or a traffic flow.

[00142] Example 39 is an apparatus employed within an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a user equipment (UE) of a multi-radio heterogeneous network including different radio access technologies (RATs), comprising: one or more processors configured to: provide a partition configuration to a local MAC layer component of a plurality of local MAC layer components configured to operate as distribution units (DUs) of a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured to operate as a central unit (CU) of a MAC layer; and communicatively couple through a MAC layer interface communications between the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components in a hierarchal structure to execute operations of the MAC layer; and a communication interface or a radio frequency interface configured to process or generate communications related to the MAC layer.

[00143] It is to be understood that aspects described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media or a computer readable storage device can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD- ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory medium, that can be used to carry or store desired information or executable instructions. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.

Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer- readable media.

[00144] Various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other

programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform functions described herein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Additionally, at least one processor can comprise one or more modules operable to perform one or more of the s and/or actions described herein.

[00145] For a software implementation, techniques described herein can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform functions described herein. Software codes can be stored in memory units and executed by processors. Memory unit can be implemented within processor or external to processor, in which case memory unit can be communicatively coupled to processor through various means as is known in the art. Further, at least one processor can include one or more modules operable to perform functions described herein.

[00146] Techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA1800, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. Further, CDMA1800 covers IS-1800, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile

Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.1 1 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.18, Flash-OFDML , etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on downlink and SC-FDMA on uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). Additionally, CDMA1 800 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). Further, such wireless communication systems can additionally include peer-to-peer (e.g., mobile-to-mobile) ad hoc network systems often using unpaired unlicensed spectrums, 802. xx wireless LAN, BLUETOOTH and any other short- or long- range, wireless communication techniques.

[00147] Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), which utilizes single carrier modulation and frequency domain equalization is a technique that can be utilized with the disclosed aspects. SC-FDMA has similar performance and essentially a similar overall complexity as those of OFDMA system. SC-FDMA signal has lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) because of its inherent single carrier structure. SC-FDMA can be utilized in uplink communications where lower PAPR can benefit a mobile terminal in terms of transmit power efficiency. [00148] Moreover, various aspects or features described herein can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROM, card, stick, key drive, etc.). Additionally, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data. Additionally, a computer program product can include a computer readable medium having one or more instructions or codes operable to cause a computer to perform functions described herein.

[00149] Communications media embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport media. The term "modulated data signal" or signals refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

[00150] Further, the actions of a method or algorithm described in connection with aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination thereof. A software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium can be coupled to processor, such that processor can read information from, and write information to, storage medium. In the alternative, storage medium can be integral to processor. Further, in some aspects, processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Additionally, ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, processor and storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the s and/or actions of a method or algorithm can reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machine-readable medium and/or computer readable medium, which can be incorporated into a computer program product.

[00151 ] The above description of illustrated embodiments of the subject disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible that are considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art can recognize.

[00152] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding Figures, where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below.

[00153] In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations of the disclosure. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus configured to be employed in an evolved NodeB (eNB),

comprising:

a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured, as a central unit (CU) located within a MAC layer, to communicatively interact with one or more upper protocol layers that comprise at least one of: a radio link control (RLC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, or a radio resource control (RRC) layer;

one or more local MAC layer components as distributed units (DUs) located within the MAC layer and communicatively coupled to the central MAC layer

component, configured to interact between one or more lower protocol layers

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to control a centralized scheduling of the one or more local MAC layer components according to different PHY layer configurations of at least one of: one or more cell networks or one or more user equipments (UEs), based on at least one of: a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) for joint processing and scheduling coordination, a carrier aggregation (CA), or a dual connectivity (DC).

3. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -2, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to coordinate, through the one or more local MAC layer components, communications related to inter-cell interference between a plurality of cell networks.

4. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -3, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to perform at least one of: a load-balancing or a performance adaptation between a plurality of local MAC layer components as the distributed units (DUs) located within the MAC layer and coupled to the central MAC layer component.

5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -4, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to determine a resource allocation among a plurality of local MAC layer components based on a transport network characteristic of the MAC layer interface and a processing capability of the one or more local MAC layer components, the transport network characteristic comprising at least one of: an available bandwidth or a latency of a physical medium of the MAC layer interface connecting the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -5, wherein the central MAC layer component is further configured to configure MAC layer operations to the one or more local MAC layer components, the MAC layer operations including one or more of: an uplink communication or a downlink communication related to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), a cell specific MAC functionality including a random access control, or a UE specific functionality including managing a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) or an uplink timing alignment between UEs.

7. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -6, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to coordinate scheduling operations and MAC layer processes with the central MAC layer component, and perform a localized scheduling of data from the one or more lower protocol layers independent of the central MAC layer component based on the scheduling operations with the central MAC layer component.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to retrieve scheduling operation data and queue data from the central MAC layer component, and generate an uplink / downlink scheduling

communication and a transport block based on the scheduling operation data and the queue data for the one or more lower or higher protocol layers.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to perform the localized scheduling of data by utilizing a physical resource block (PRB) of a transmission time interval (TTI) that remains from a communication of a scheduling operation, interlacing subframes associated with the scheduling operations, or partitioning the PRB of the TTI.

10. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -9, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are further configured to generate a measurement of at least one of: a scheduling operation, a PRB usage, or a transport network characteristic, and report a measurement report, periodically or as requested, to the central MAC layer component based on the measurement.

1 1 . The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -10, wherein the MAC layer interface comprises a hierarchical structure between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, and is further configured to communicate a scheduling operation partition configuration between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, wherein the scheduling operation partition configuration designates what scheduling operations are conferred to the one or more MAC layer components to enable joint MAC layer operations of the MAC layer.

12. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 -1 1 , wherein the MAC layer interface is further configured to support message exchanges comprising at least one of: a MAC setup request, a MAC setup response, a MAC setup failure corresponding with an interface establishment between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, or a unique local MAC entity identifier of the one or more local MAC layer components.

13. A computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system of an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a user equipment (UE) comprising one or more processors to perform operations in a multi-radio heterogeneous network including different radio access technologies (RATs), the operations comprising: providing, via a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured to operate as a central unit (CU) of a MAC layer, a partition configuration to a local MAC layer component of a plurality of local MAC layer components configured to operate as distribution units (DUs) of the MAC layer with the central MAC layer component; and

communicatively coupling, via a MAC layer interface, communications between the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components in a hierarchal structure to execute operations of the MAC layer.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

performing, via the local MAC layer component, a localized resource scheduling of one or more scheduling resources through one or more lower protocol layers, independent of or in coordination with the central MAC layer component based on the partition configuration.

15. The computer-readable medium of any one of claims 13-14, wherein the operations further comprise:

retrieving, at the local MAC layer component via the MAC layer interface, scheduling related information including user equipment (UE) data and the partition configuration associated with one or more higher protocol layers from the central MAC layer component; and

controlling a centralized scheduling of the plurality of local MAC layer

components according to different physical (PHY) protocol layer configurations among at least one of: one or more cell networks.

16. The computer-readable medium of any one of claims 13-15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving or obtaining, via the plurality of local MAC layer components, one or more physical resources related to different PHY protocol layer configurations; and reporting, periodically or as requested by the central MAC layer component, the one or more physical resources to the central MAC layer component.

17. The computer-readable medium of any one of claim 13-16, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, via the central MAC layer component, a resource allocation associated among the plurality of local MAC layer components based on a transport network characteristic of the MAC layer interface and a processing capability of the plurality of local MAC layer components, the transport network characteristic comprising at least one of: an available bandwidth or a latency of a physical medium of the MAC layer interface connecting the central MAC layer component and the plurality of local MAC layer components.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the partition configuration designates localized resource allocations among the plurality of local MAC layer components to independently configure the plurality of local MAC layer components to support one or more different PHY protocol layer configurations among network devices for scheduling operations.

19. The computer-readable medium of any one of claims 13-18, wherein the operations further comprise:

modifying, via the central MAC layer component, the partition configuration of the local MAC layer component of the plurality of local MAC layer components based on a change in a change of a PHY layer configuration of a network device, a network or a traffic flow.

20. An apparatus employed in a user equipment (UE), comprising:

a central medium access control (MAC) layer component configured, as a central unit (CU) located within a first MAC layer of a MAC layer, to communicatively interact with one or more upper protocol layers and a second MAC layer of the MAC layer that is below the first MAC layer in a communication protocol stack;

one or more local MAC layer components as distributed units (DUs) located within the second MAC layer and communicatively coupled to the central MAC layer component, configured to be controlled by the central MAC layer component, and communicate with one or more lower protocol layers; and

a MAC layer interface, located between the central MAC layer component and the one or more local MAC layer components, configured to communicatively couple the central MAC layer component with the one or more local MAC layer components.

21 . The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to receive a partition configuration that designates one or more scheduling operations or scheduling resources from the central MAC layer component to enable MAC layer operations comprising uplink / downlink communications related to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), a random access control, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), or an uplink timing alignment between UEs.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the partition configuration further designates local scheduling resources to the one or more local MAC layer components to independently configure one or more scheduling resources for a UE, wherein the one or more scheduling resources comprise uplink / downlink scheduling and transport block generation.

23. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-22, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to schedule communication resources based on data provided by the central MAC layer and related to a physical (PHY) layer configuration of the UE, wherein the PHY layer configuration can include at least one of: a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) for joint processing and scheduling coordination, a carrier aggregation (CA), or a dual connectivity (DC).

24. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-23, wherein the one or more local MAC layer components are configured to perform a localized resource scheduling of resources to support MAC layer operations.

25. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-24, wherein the local MAC layer component is configured to generate one or more measurements of an available bandwidth, a latency, or a buffer status, and report, periodically or as requested, the one or more measurements through the MAC layer interface to the central MAC layer component.