RADIO INTERFACE

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional

Patent Application Serial No. 62/129,518, filed on March 6, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to user equipment (UE)-Evolved Node-B (eNodeB) signaling information.

BACKGROUND [0003] Wireless mobile devices or user equipments (UEs) may communicate with each other using radio access technologies such as the 3 GPP Long-Term Evolution ("LTE") standard, 3 GPP LTE Advanced Release 12 (March 2014) (the "LTE-A Standard"), the IEEE 802.16 standard, IEEE Std. 802.16-2009, published May 29, 2009 ("WiMAX"), as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. Technologies such as device-to-device (D2D), sensor networks, or Internet of Things (IoT) (which describes interconnecting uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the internet infrastructure) can utilize user equipments (UEs) comprising limited power supplies. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a wireless network with various components of the network in accordance with some embodiments.

[0005] FIG. 2 illustrates an architecture of components of a cellular network in accordance with some embodiments.

[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates resource allocation schemes for logical channels used for user equipments in accordance with some embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 5 is an illustration of a resource allocation scheme for machine-to-machine communications in accordance with some embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a process for a user equipment to utilize a machine-to-machine resource allocation scheme in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 7 is an illustration of information elements included in a logical channel in accordance with some embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 8 illustrates a wireless communications system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a user equipment and an eNodeB in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable medium and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments can incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments can be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0015] In some embodiments, mobile devices or other devices described herein can be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, a wearable mobile computing device (e.g., a mobile computing device included in a wearable housing), an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that can receive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, the mobile device or other device can be a user equipment (UE) or an Evolved Node-B (eNodeB) configured to operate in accordance with 3 GPP standards (e.g., the 3 GPP Long Term Evolution ("LTE") Advanced Release 12 (March 2014) (the "LTE-A Standard")). In some embodiments, the mobile device or other device can be configured to operate according to other protocols or standards, including IEEE 802.1 1 or other IEEE and 3GPP standards. In some embodiments, the mobile device or other device can include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non- volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen including a touch screen.

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a wireless network with various components of the network, in accordance with some embodiments. A system 100 is shown to include a UE 102 and a UE 104. The UEs 102 and 104 are illustrated as smartphones (i.e., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but can also include PDAs, pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, and the like. [0017] The UEs 102 and 104 are configured to access a radio access network (RAN) 106 via connections 120 and 122, respectively, each of which comprise a physical communications interface or layer; in this example, the connections 120 and 122 are illustrated as an air interface to enable

communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to- Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3 GPP LTE protocol, and the like.

[0018] In some embodiments described in further detail below, any of the UEs 102 and 104 can comprise an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections.

[0019] An IoT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine

(M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) for (machine initiated) exchanging data with an MTC server and/or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. An IoT network describes interconnecting uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the internet infrastructure) having shortlived connections, in addition to background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) executed by the IoT UE.

[0020] The RAN 106 can include one or more access points that enable the connections 120 and 122. These access points (described in further detail below) can be referred to as access nodes, base stations (BSs), NodeBs, eNodeBs, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (i.e., terrestrial access points) or satellite access points providing coverage within a geographic area (i.e., a cell). The RAN 106 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network 1 10. The core network 1 10 can be used to enable a packet-switched data exchange with the Internet 1 12 in addition to bridging circuit switched calls between the UEs 102 and 104. In some embodiments, the RAN 106 can comprise an Evolved UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and the core network 1 10 can comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network.

[0021] The UE 104 is shown to be configured to access an access point

(AP) 108 via connection 124. The connection 124 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with IEEE 802.1 1, wherein the AP 108 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, the AP 108 is shown to be connected to the Internet 1 12 without connecting to the core network 1 10.

[0022] The Internet 1 12 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 1 16. The application server 1 16 can be implemented as a plurality of structurally separate servers or can be included in a single server. The application server 1 16 is shown as connected to both the Internet 112 and the core network 1 10; in other embodiments, the core network 1 10 connects to the application server 1 16 via the Internet 1 12. The application server 1 16 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice- over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UEs that can connect to the application server 1 16 via the core network 1 10 and/or the Internet 1 12.

[0023] The core network 1 10 is further shown to be communicatively coupled to Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 1 14. The IMS 1 14 comprises an integrated network of telecommunications carriers that can enable the use of IP for packet communications, such as traditional telephony, fax, e-mail, internet access, VoIP, instant messaging (IM), videoconference sessions and video on demand (VoD), and the like.

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an architecture of components of a cellular network, in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, (sub)system 200 comprises an Evolved Packet System (EPS) on an LTE network, and thus includes an E-UTRAN 210 and an EPC network 220 communicatively coupled via an SI interface 215. In this illustration, only a portion of the components of E-UTRAN 210 and the EPC network 220 are shown. Some of the elements described below may be referred to as "modules" or "logic." As referred to herein, "modules" or "logic" may describe hardware (such as a circuit), software (such as a program driver) or a combination thereof (such as a programmed micro-processing unit). [0025] The E-UTRAN 210 includes eNodeBs 212 (which can operate as base stations) for communicating with one or more UEs (e.g., the UE 102). The eNodeBs 212 are shown in this example to include macro eNodeBs and low power (LP) eNodeBs. Any of the eNodeBs 212 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UE 102. In some embodiments, any of the eNodeBs 212 can fulfill various logical functions for the E-UTRAN 210 including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. eNodeBs in EPS/LTE networks, such as the eNodeBs 212, do not utilize a separate controller (i.e., an RNC) to communicate with the EPC network 220; in other embodiments utilizing other specification protocols, RANs can include an RNC to enable communication between BSs and core networks.

[0026] In accordance with some embodiments, the UE 102 can be configured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with any of the eNodeBs 212 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance various communication techniques, such as an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technique or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication technique, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0027] In accordance with some embodiments, the UE 102 can be configured to determine a synchronization reference time based on reception of one or more signals from any of the eNodeBs 212. The UE 102 can also be configured to support device-to-device (D2D) communication with other UEs using OFDMA, SC-FDMA, or other multiple access schemes.

[0028] The S 1 interface 215 is the interface that separates the E-UTRAN

210 and the EPC network 220. It is split into two parts: the Sl-U, which carries traffic data between the eNodeBs 212 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 224, and the Sl-MME, which is a signaling interface between the eNodeBs 212 and the mobility management entities (MMEs) 222. An X2 interface is the interface between eNodeBs 212. The X2 interface can comprise two parts (not shown): the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C is the control plane interface between the eNodeBs 212, while the X2-U is the user plane interface between the eNodeBs 212.

[0029] With cellular networks, low power cells can be used to extend coverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or to add network capacity in areas with very dense phone usage, such as train stations. As used herein, the term "LP eNodeB" refers to any suitable relatively low power eNodeB for implementing a narrower cell (i.e., narrower than a macro cell) such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a micro cell at the edge of the network. Femtocell eNodeBs are typically provided by a mobile network operator to its residential or enterprise customers. A femtocell is typically the size of a residential gateway or smaller, and generally connects to the user's broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell connects to the mobile operator's mobile network and provides extra coverage in a range of typically 30 to 50 meters for residential femtocells. Thus, an LP eNodeB might be a femtocell eNodeB since it is coupled through the packet data network gateway (PGW) 226. Similarly, a picocell is a wireless communication system typically covering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls, train stations, etc.) or, more recently, in-aircraft. A picocell eNodeB can generally connect through the X2 link to another eNodeB such as a macro eNodeB through its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, an LP eNodeB can be implemented with a picocell eNodeB since it is coupled to a macro eNodeB via an X2 interface. Picocell eNodeBs or other LP eNodeBs can incorporate some or all functionality of a macro eNodeB. In some cases, this can be referred to as an AP BS or enterprise femtocell.

[0030] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the eNodeBs 212 to the UE 102, while uplink transmission from the UE 102 to any of the eNodeBs 212 can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time- frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this represents the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

[0031] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to the UE 102. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It also informs the UE 102 about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 102 within a cell) is performed at any of the eNodeBs 212 based on channel quality information fed back from the UE 102 to any of the eNodeBs 212, and then the downlink resource assignment information is sent to the UE 102 on the control channel (PDCCH) used for (assigned to) the UE.

[0032] The PDCCH uses control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols are first organized into quadruplets, which are then permuted using a sub-block inter-leaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH is transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE corresponds to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols are mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=l, 2, 4, or 8).

[0033] The EPC network 220 includes the MMEs 222, the S-GW 224, the P-GW 226, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 228. The MMEs 222 are similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General packet radio service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 222 manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 228 comprises a database for network users, including subscription- related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The EPC network 220 may comprise one or several HSSs 228, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 228 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0034] The S-GW 224 and the MMEs 222 can be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. The PGW 226 terminates an SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The PGW 226 routes data packets between the EPC network 220 and external networks (e.g., the internet), and can be a key node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The PGW 226 and S-GW 224 can be implemented in one physical node or separated physical nodes.

[0035] The UE 102 performs cell selection upon power-up and cell reselections throughout its operation. The UE 102 searches for a cell provided by E-UTRAN 210 (e.g., a macro cell or a picocell). During the cell reselection process, the UE 102 can measure reference signal strength for each neighboring cell (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power/Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRP/RSRQ)) and select a cell based on this measurement (e.g., select a cell with the highest RSRP value). After the UE 102 selects a cell, it can verify the accessibility of the cell by reading the master information block (MIB). If the UE 102 fails to read the MIB of the selected cell, it can discard the selected cell and repeat the above process until a suitable cell is discovered.

[0036] A radio resource control (RRC) state indicates whether an RRC layer of the UE 102 is logically connected to an RRC layer of the E-UTRAN 210. After the UE 102 is communicatively coupled to a cell, its RRC state is RRC IDLE. When the UE 102 has data packets to transmit or receive, its RRC state becomes RRC CONNECTED. The UE 102, when in an RRC IDLE state, can associate itself to different cells. [0037] The S-GW 224, the MMEs 222, and the HSS 228 can be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. The P-GW 226 terminates an SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The P-GW 226 routes data packets between the EPC network 220 and external networks (e.g., the Internet), and can be a key node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The P-GW 226 and S-GW 224 can be implemented in one physical node or separated physical nodes.

[0038] In some embodiments, the UE 102 can comprise either a device with constrained coverage capabilities or a device operating in a coverage constrained mode (either type of device may be described herein as a "coverage constrained device"). For example, devices operating primarily for machine type communication (MTC) or machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (e.g., sensor devices, controller devices, etc.) may have limited coverage and/or processing capabilities; similarly, devices may operate in a coverage constrained mode to limit power/resource consumption.

[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a

UE device 300 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the UE device 300 may include application circuitry 302, baseband circuitry 304, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 306, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 308, a low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) 350, and one or more antennas 310, coupled together at least as shown. In some embodiments, the UE device 300 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface.

[0040] The application circuitry 302 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 302 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

[0041] The baseband circuitry 304 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 304 may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 306 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 306. Baseband processing circuity 304 may interface with the application circuitry 302 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 306. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 304a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 304b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 304c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 304d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 304 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 304a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 306. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation,

encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 304 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation

mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 304 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0042] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an EUTRAN protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or RRC elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 304e of the baseband circuitry 304 may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 304f. The audio DSP(s) 304f may be include elements for

compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 304 and the application circuitry 302 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0043] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTPvAN) 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 304 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi- mode baseband circuitry.

[0044] RF circuitry 306 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 306 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 308 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 304. RF circuitry 306 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 304 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 308 for transmission.

[0045] In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 306 may include mixer circuitry 306a, amplifier circuitry 306b and filter circuitry 306c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 306 may include filter circuitry 306c and mixer circuitry 306a. RF circuitry 306 may also include synthesizer circuitry 306d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 308 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 306d. The amplifier circuitry 306b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 306c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 304 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 306a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0046] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 306d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 308. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 304 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 306c. The filter circuitry 306c may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0047] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306a may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some

embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0048] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 306.

[0049] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0050] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 306d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+l synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 306d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0051] The synthesizer circuitry 306d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306a of the RF circuitry 306 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 306d may be a fractional N/N+l synthesizer.

[0052] In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 304 or the applications processor 302 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 302.

[0053] Synthesizer circuitry 306d of the RF circuitry 306 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may 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 may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0054] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 306d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[0055] FEM circuitry 308 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 310, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 306 for further processing. FEM circuitry 308 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 306 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 310.

[0056] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 308 may include a

TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 306). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 308 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 306), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 310.

[0057] In some embodiments, the UE 300 comprises a plurality of power saving mechanisms. If the UE 300 is in an RRC Connected state, where it is still connected to the eNB as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[0058] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the UE 300 may transition off to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The UE 300 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device cannot receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC Connected state.

[0059] An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.

[0060] As discussed above, the UE device 300 may comprise a network access layer designed for low-power applications utilizing short-lived UE connections, such as a low-power IoT UE (e.g., an MTC or M2M device). IoT/MTC/M2M UEs may comprise less components than the components illustrated in this embodiment and less components compared to standard/legacy mobile broadband (MBB) UEs; however, both of these types of devices are to utilize similar uplink/downlink transmission schemes.

[0061] FIG. 4 illustrates resource allocation schemes for logical channels used for UEs in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, a downlink resource allocation scheme 400 is shown to include downlink resources allocated for both MBB and M2M downlink channels, including M2M downlink resources 402 and 404, and an uplink resource allocation scheme 450 is shown to include resources allocated for both MBB and M2M uplink channels, including M2M uplink resources 452 and 454.

[0062] The illustrated uplink and downlink resources can be allocated in a fixed or semi-static allocation scheme; for example, a semi-static allocation scheme may change based on the load distribution of human centric type of traffic (e.g., MBB traffic) or IoT type of traffic (e.g., M2M traffic). In another example, allocation of bands for IoT type of traffic may be based on the estimated number of devices active in a given cell. In another example, allocation of bands for IoT type of traffic may be based on channel quality statistics of active MBB users carrying human centric traffic or of wireless devices carrying M2M traffic.

[0063] For the resource allocation schemes 400 and 450, the parts of the system bandwidth allocated to M2M traffic (e.g., resources 402, 404, 452, and 454) may operate at a different access mode than the one applied for MBB— for example, variants of FDMA, TDMA, CDMA or Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA), or any variant thereof. Furthermore, the resource allocation schemes 400 and 450 can be applicable to both licensed and unlicensed bands.

[0064] In addition, there can be flexibility on the granularity of the resources allocated for M2M traffic. In some embodiments, for the downlink resource allocation scheme 400, OFDM may be applied to MBB type of traffic, and OFDM variants, such as narrower (in frequency) than 15 kHz subcarriers and narrower than 180 kHz resource blocks, may be applied to M2M traffic. The same types of variations may be applied for uplink resource allocation scheme 450 (e.g., SC-FDMA may be applied to MBB traffic, and SC-FDMA variants may be applied to M2M traffic.

[0065] To indicate the various M2M bandwidth allocations discuss above, a modified version of the PDCCH, a modified version of the MIB, or a modified version of System Information Block (SIB) may be used. However, these solutions would utilize a high amount of signaling overhead and, thus, involve the usage of very valuable control channel resources. In addition, these solutions presume that low cost devices are able to decode the modifications to the PDCCH, MIB, and/or SIB; this may not be accurate, dependent on the operating bandwidth of these low-cost devices.

[0066] FIG. 5 is an illustration of a resource allocation scheme for M2M communications in accordance with some embodiments. A resource allocation scheme 500 for a subframe transmitted from an eNodeB to one or more UEs is illustrated as a downlink data scheme with OFDM symbols included in various time slots (i.e., the x-axis) and subcarriers included in various frequency ranges (i.e., the y-axis).

[0067] As discussed above, the capabilities of M2M devices may not allow these devices to decode data included in the time-frequency locations of the PDCCH 502— for example, M2M devices may not be able to read subcarriers allocated during the time slot of the PDCCH 502, or M2M device may not operate in the frequency bands where (at least some of) the data of the PDCCH 502 is present.

[0068] In this embodiment, the resource allocation scheme 500 includes specific primary synchronization channels transmitted at given locations in the bandwidth of a system and within a given time pattern. The resource allocation scheme is shown to include logical channels devoted to M2M devices, including master evolved PDCCH (M-EPDCCH) 510, master PDSCH (M-PDSCH) 512, and master machine anchor channel (M-MACH) 514. The (standard) evolved- PDCCH (E-PDDCH) 516 is also shown to be included in the resource allocation scheme 500. Other logical channel data not illustrated may be included in the resource allocation scheme 500.

[0069] The M-MACH 514 includes synchronization sequences for M2M

UEs to synchronize with a transmitting eNodeB. These synchronization sequences may also be used to identify other logical channel locations— e.g., the M2M logical channels described above. In some embodiments, the synchronization sequences comprise Zadoff-Chu sequences; Zadoff-Chu sequences may be used in the (standard) primary synchronization channel (P- SCH). In some embodiments, Zadoff-Chu sequences for the M-MACH 514 may comprise with different root indexes than ones used for the P-SCH. The synchronization sequences may be transmitted within K sub-carriers used for M2M communications (e.g., within fewer than six PRBs). The initial candidate location for the M-MACH 514 may be at a known (coded within the device) distance F from the central carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the demodulation reference symbols of the M-EPDCCH 510, the M-PDSCH 512, and other M2M logical channels such as the machine E-PUSCH (M-EPUSCH (not shown)) are derived from the root of the detected M-MACH 514, which define the cyclic shift of another appositely defined Zadoff-Chu sequence. In a further embodiment of the current invention, the eventual Secondary Synchronization channel (SSS) is located at distance equal to ±B number of subcarriers from the location of M-MACH 514 and the characteristics of this specific to M2M traffic SSS, implying thus that the demodulation reference symbols of M-EPDCCH and of M-PUSCH and of M-PDSCH are derived from the cyclic shift resulting from the P-SCH and the SSS.

[0070] In some embodiments, the M-MACH 514 is transmitted at a given time pattern, either constantly, or periodically, or according to a predefined-known to the UE-predefmed pattern. The frequency/periodicity at which the M-MACH 514 may depend on the load MBB and M2M traffic in the cell. In some embodiments, a guard band around the subcarriers is used for transmitting the M-MACH 514 so as to avoid interference with adjacent subcarriers.

[0071] In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH 510 is located at a distance ±C from the current location of the position of the M-MACH 514. This distance C is a function of the detected Zadoff-Chu root, u; hence:

[0072] C = f(u) + b

[0073] In which b is any constant. C may be equal to the Zadoff-Chu root, u, or any multiple of u and b could be 0. As shown in the resource allocation scheme 500, the M-EPDCCH 510 is located at distance of X sub- frames from the sub-frame of the M-MACH 514. This distance X can be 0 or any integer number lower than 20. The value of X can be another function of the root of the Zadoff-Chu sequence of the M-MACH 514.

[0074] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a process for a UE to utilize an M2M resource allocation scheme in accordance with some embodiments. Process and logical flow diagrams as illustrated herein provide examples of sequences of various process actions. Although shown in a particular sequence or order, unless otherwise specified, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus, the described and illustrated implementations should be understood only as examples, and the illustrated processes can be performed in a different order, and some actions can be performed in parallel. Additionally, one or more actions can be omitted in various embodiments; thus, not all actions are executed in every implementation. Other process flows are possible.

[0075] A process 600 includes an operation to be executed for a UE to read data indicating the UE is configured as an M2M UE or a coverage constrained UE (shown as block 602). This data can comprise RLC data indicating the UE is configured for M2M operations. The UE then identifies one or more synchronization sequences (e.g., Zadoff-Chu sequences) in an M- MACH (shown as block 604) .

[0076] As discussed above, the M-MACH is a channel similar to the P-

SCH, but used for M2M traffic rather than MBB traffic. The Zadoff-Chu sequences used for the M-MACH may differ from those used for the P-SCH, for example, by the denominators and/or root indexes applied. As longer sequences in time may be used to account for M2M UE or coverage constrained UE capabilities, the Zadoff-Chu sequence parameters are adjusted accordingly in some embodiments. Hence, the guard band between the P-SCH and the adjacent channels may be smaller. Longer in time sequences imply that their cross- correlation and auto-correlation properties are improved. Moreover, there is a higher number of possible root sequences.

[0077] An operation is executed to determine if the M2M UE has acquired synchronization within a given time window of duration, Tl (shown as block 606). If the M2M has acquired synchronization within the time period Tl, then, the M2M UE may read the M-EPDCCH to identify resources allocated for M2M traffic (shown as block 608). As discussed above, M2M UEs are synchronized and obtain the root sequence of the Zadoff-Chu PSS and the position of the Master Evolved PDCCH (M-EPDCCH). The M-EPDCCH may comprise system information as well as control signaling information used to identify resource allocations (described in further detail below. In addition, the root sequence of the Zadoff-Chu PSS may indicate the reference symbols to be used for de -modulation of the M-EPDCCH and of the other data channels.

[0078] By reading the M-EPDCCH, the UE may obtain the information on the bandwidth allocation for M2M traffic, as well as information for accessing specific RACH or M2M traffic and information on paging. The M2M UE may subsequently continue operation utilizing resources allocated for M2M traffic (shown as block 610). This implies that the UE either attempts random access in the allocated resources for machine type RACH, or is ready to receive paging messages. [0079] If the M2M UE has not acquired synchronization within the time period Tl, then the M2M UE determines whether this was the last candidate band in which the M-MACH is transmitted (shown as block 612). In that case this was the last candidate location in which M-MACH is transmitted, the M2M UE increases the duration of the time window Tl with a given delta, Delta T (shown as block 614). The M2M UE may re-execute the same procedure as the one described above by re-executing block 604.

[0080] In some embodiments, the initial time window duration Tl, during which the M2M UE attempts to synchronize to a given M-MACH location, is set during previous connections by the network and it is related to the duration or period in which M-MACH is transmitted at a given location. In other embodiments, the M2M UE may sets the value of Tl on the basis of previous observations.

[0081] If there are other candidate locations for the transmission of M- MACH, then the M2M UE attempts to synchronize at the next candidate location for M-MACH (shown as block 616). The next candidate location may be at a distance which is equal to a number D of sub-carriers from the current location. The M2M UE may re-execute the same procedure as the one described above by re-executing block 604.

[0082] FIG. 7 is an illustration of information elements (IEs) included in an M-EPDCCH in accordance with some embodiments. An M-EPDCCH may comprise any number of IEs. In this embodiment, a first IE 702 is shown to include content for identifying downlink and uplink bandwidth for M2M communications, time transmission interval (TTI) patterns, code allocations, and validity times for one or more bands, etc. A second IE 704 is shown to include E-PDCCH configuration information, including time-frequency location information (e.g., a distance in sub-frames from the M-EPDCCH), the number of subcarriers for the E-PDCCH, TTI allocation patters, modulation and coding scheme information, code allocation, and scrambling code.

[0083] A third IE 706 is shown to include RACH configuration information, including time-frequency location information (e.g., the distance in sub-frames from the central uplink sub-carrier), the number of sub-carriers, preamble size, and preamble root for the respective Zadoff Chu sequence. A fourth IE 708 can include PCH configuration information, including time- frequency location information (e.g., distance in sub-frames from a central downlink sub-carrier), a number of sub-carriers modulation and coding scheme, etc.

[0084] FIG. 8 illustrates a wireless communications system in accordance with some embodiments. In this embodiment, a system 800 is shown to include a plurality of devices 801-80« communicatively coupled to an Internet of Things (IOT) server 850 via a network 840 (e.g., a local ad- hoc network, the Internet, and so forth). IOT communications describe

communications involving any transceiver device (e.g., a sensor, a machine, and so forth) that has an addressable wired or wireless interface (e.g., an Internet protocol (IP) address, a Bluetooth identifier, an NFC identifier, and so forth) and can transmit information to one or more other devices via an air interface 810. Each of the devices 801-80« can have an active communication interface, such as transceiver circuitry, or a passive communication interface, such as a quick response (QR) code, a RF identifier (RFID) tag, an NFC tag, and so forth.

[0085] Accordingly, the system 800 can be comprised of a combination of mobile computing devices (e.g., laptop or desktop computers, smartphones, wearable mobile computing devices, and so forth) in addition to devices that do not typically have Internet-connectivity (e.g., appliances, individual sensors, and so forth). Each of the devices 801-80« device can communicate via the network 840. Communication between devices that do not typically have Internet- connectivity can be referred to as machine-to machine (M2M) communications, wherein interactions between machines can be controlled via a mobile computing device 830 (e.g., for intra-system communications) and/or an IOT server 850 (e.g., for inter-system communications).

[0086] The devices 801-80« can be communicatively coupled to an air interface 810 comprising any wireless communication protocol. In order to increase the transmission/reception range of the devices 801-80«, an access point 820 can be used. The devices 801 -80« may receive and identify

uplink/downlink resources for M2M communications via any of the processes described above.

[0087] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a UE 900 and an eNodeB 950, in accordance with some embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the eNodeB 950 can be a stationary (non-mobile) device. The UE 900 can include physical layer circuitry (PHY) 902 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the eNodeB 950, other eNodeBs, other UEs, or other devices using one or more antennas 901, while the eNodeB 950 can include physical layer circuitry (PHY) 952 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the UE 900, other eNodeBs, other UEs, or other devices using one or more antennas 951. The UE 900 can also include medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry 904 for controlling access to the wireless medium, while the eNodeB 950 can also include MAC circuitry 954 for controlling access to the wireless medium. The UE 900 can also include processing circuitry 906 and memory 908 arranged to perform the operations described herein, and the eNodeB 950 can also include processing circuitry 956 and memory 958 arranged to perform the operations described herein.

[0088] The antennas 901, 951 can comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas 901, 951 can be effectively separated to benefit from spatial diversity and the different channel

characteristics that can result.

[0089] Although the UE 900 and eNodeB 950 are each illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements can be combined and can be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements can comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio- frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements can refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0090] Embodiments can be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Embodiments can also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which can be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device can include any non-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device can include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments can include one or more processors and can be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

[0091] In accordance with embodiments, the UE 900 can operate in accordance with a D2D communication mode. The UE 900 can include hardware processing circuitry 906 configured to determine a synchronization reference time based on reception of one or more signals from the eNodeB 950. The hardware processing circuitry 906 can be further configured to, during a

D2D communication session, transmit Multi-Time Transmission Interval Bundle Groups (MTBG) of data symbols during a first group of data transmission intervals (DTI) and refrain from transmission of data symbols during a second group of DTIs that is exclusive to the first group of DTIs. Starting times of the DTIs can be based at least partly on the synchronization reference time. The hardware processing circuitry 906 can be further configured to transmit, during an in-network communication session exclusive to the D2D communication session, data symbols according to a TTI reference time that is synchronized to the synchronization reference time. These embodiments are described in more detail below.

[0092] In some scenarios, the UE 900, operating in a cellular communication network, can begin to experience performance degradation for various reasons. As an example, user loading or throughput demands of the network can become high. As another example, the UE 900 can move toward or beyond the edges of coverage cells. While operating in the network, the UE 900 can actually be in communication with other UEs that are physically located in close proximity to the UE 900, although the communication can take place through the network. In addition to, or instead of, communication through the network, it can be beneficial to the UE 900 (and the other resources of the related communication system) for the UE 900 to engage in direct or D2D communication with one or more other UEs that can be within range of the UE 900. As an example, in the performance degradation scenarios described above, the D2D communication between the UE 900 and the other UEs can enable the network to off-load some of the network traffic, which can improve overall system performance.

[0093] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable medium and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to aspects of the disclosure. In particular, FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary computer system 1000 (which can comprise any of the network elements discussed above) within which software 1024 for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein can be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine can operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer- to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system 1000 can function as any of the above described UEs or eNodeBs, and can be a personal computer (PC), a wearable mobile computing device, a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a PDA, a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" can also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

[0094] The example computer system 1000 includes a processor 1002 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both), a main memory 1004 and a static memory 1006, which communicate with each other via a bus 1008. The computer system 1000 can further include a video display unit 1010 (e.g., a LCD or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 1000 also includes an alphanumeric input device 1012 (e.g., a keyboard), a user interface navigation (or cursor control) device 1014 (e.g., a mouse), a storage device 1016, a signal generation device 1018 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interface device 1020.

[0095] The storage device 1016 includes a non-transitory machine- readable medium 1022 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures and software 1024 embodying or utilized by any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The software 1024 can also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 1004 and/or within the processor 1002 during execution thereof by the computer system 1000, with the main memory 1004 and the processor 1002 also constituting non-transitory, machine-readable media 1022. The software 1024 can also reside, completely or at least partially, within the static memory 1006.

[0096] While the non-transitory machine-readable medium 1022 is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term "machine- readable medium" can include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more software 1024 or data structures. The term "machine- readable medium" can also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present embodiments, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with such instructions. The term "machine-readable medium" can accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media 1022 include non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only Memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices); magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and compact disc-read-only memory (CD-ROM) and digital versatile disc (or digital video disc) read-only memory (DVD-ROM) disks.

[0097] The software 1024 can further be transmitted or received over a communications network 1026 using a transmission medium. The software 1024 can be transmitted using the network interface device 1020 and any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g. , HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)). Examples of communication networks include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the internet, mobile telephone networks, plain old telephone service (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., WiFi and WiMax networks). The term "transmission medium" can be taken to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software 1024.

[0098] The drawings and the forgoing description gave examples of the present disclosure. Although depicted as a number of disparate functional items, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of such elements can well be combined into single functional elements. Alternatively, certain elements can be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment can be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein can be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein.

Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts can be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of the present disclosure, however, is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of the disclosure is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

[0099] The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section

1.72(b) requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

[00100] Some embodiments describe user equipment (UE) comprising receiver circuitry to receive a subframe from an eNodeB, the subframe to include signal data associated with a master machine anchor channel (M-MACH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and a master evolved physical downlink control channel (M-EPDCCH), the M-MACH located in a time- frequency location different than the PDCCH, and baseband circuitry to identify one or more synchronization sequences included in the M-MACH, determine a time-frequency location of the M-EPDCCH based, at least in part, on the identified one or more synchronization sequences included in the M-MACH, and identify at least one of downlink resources or uplink resources allocated for machine-to-machine (M2M) traffic from one or more information elements (IEs) included in the M-EPDCCH.

[00101] In some embodiments, the one or more synchronization sequences included in the M-MACH comprises a Zadoff-Chu sequence. In some embodiments, the baseband circuity, when determining the time-frequency location of the M-EPDCCH, is to identify a root index of the Zadoff-Chu sequence, and execute a function of the root index of the Zadoff-Chu sequence to determine an offset from the time- frequency location of the M-MACH for locating the M-EPDCCH.

[00102] In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising downlink and uplink bandwidth for M2M communications. In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising evolved physical downlink control channel (E-PDCCH) configuration information, including an offset from the time-frequency location of the M-MACH for locating the E- PDCCH.

[00103] In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising random access channel (RACH) configuration information, including an offset from a time-frequency location of a central uplink sub-carrier for locating the RACH. In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising paging channel (PCH) configuration information, including an offset from a time-frequency location of a central downlink sub-carrier for locating the PCH.

[00104] In some embodiments, the UE further comprises a memory to include the time-frequency location of the M-MACH, wherein the baseband circuitry is to further retrieve the time-frequency location of the M-MACH from the memory. In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry further comprises an antenna to receive signals associated with the subframe.

[00105] Some embodiments describe a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising contents that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform operations to read UE configuration information that indicates the UE is to transmit or receive machine -to-machine (M2M) traffic, identify one or more synchronization sequences included in a master machine anchor channel (M-MACH), the M-MACH located in a time-frequency location different from a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), determine a time-frequency location of a master evolved physical downlink control channel (M-EPDCCH) based, at least in part, on the identified one or more synchronization sequences included in the M-MACH, and identify at least one of downlink resources or uplink resources allocated for M2M traffic from one or more information elements (IEs) included in the M-EPDCCH.

[00106] In some embodiments, the one or more synchronization sequences included in the M-MACH comprises a Zadoff-Chu sequence. In some embodiments, the operation to determine the time-frequency location of the M-EPDCCH comprises operations to identify a root index of the Zadoff-Chu sequence, and execute a function of the root index of the Zadoff-Chu sequence to determine an offset from the time- frequency location of the M-MACH for locating the M-EPDCCH.

[00107] In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising downlink and uplink bandwidth for M2M communications. In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising evolved physical downlink control channel (E-PDCCH) configuration information, including an offset from the time-frequency location of the M-MACH for locating the E- PDCCH.

[00108] In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising random access channel (RACH) configuration information, including an offset from a time-frequency location of a central uplink sub-carrier for locating the RACH. In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising paging channel (PCH) configuration information, including an offset from a time-frequency location of a central downlink sub-carrier for locating the PCH.

[00109] Some embodiments describe an apparatus for an eNodeB comprising signal generation circuitry to generate signals associated with a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a master evolved-PDCCH (M- EPDCCH), and a master machine anchor channel (M-MACH), and transmission circuitry to transmit a subframe comprising the signals associated with the PDCCH, the E-PDCCH, the M-MACH, the M-MACH to be transmitted in a time-frequency location different from a time- frequency location of the PDCCH, the signals associated with the M-MACH to include one or more Zadoff-Chu sequences comprising a root index based on an offset between a time-frequency location of the M-EPDCCH and the time-frequency location of the M-MACH.

[00110] In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH comprises one or more information elements (IEs) to identify at least one of downlink resources or uplink resources allocated for machine-to-machine (M2M) traffic. In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH comprises an IE comprising downlink and uplink bandwidth for M2M communications.

[00111] In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH comprises an IE comprising evolved physical downlink control channel (E-PDCCH)

configuration information, including an offset from the time-frequency location of the M-MACH for locating the E-PDCCH. In some embodiments, the M- EPDCCH comprises an IE comprising random access channel (RACH) configuration information, including an offset from a time-frequency location of a central uplink sub-carrier for locating the RACH. In some embodiments, the M-EPDCCH includes an IE comprising paging channel (PCH) configuration information, including an offset from a time-frequency location of a central downlink sub-carrier for locating the PCH.

[00112] In some embodiments, transmission circuitry to transmit the signals associated with the M-MACH periodically in a plurality of candidate bands of the sub-frame.