ROBUST DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL COMMUNICATION BASED ON REPETITION OF SCHEDULING GRANTS OVER A PDCCH

摘要

A wireless telecommunications method, a computer program product and network nodes are disclosed. The method comprises: encoding, within a downlink control channel, an identical, repeating configuration message for an intended user equipment, the configuration message providing configuration information to enable the user equipment to access downlink traffic over a traffic channel, the configuration message being repeated for a fixed number of times within a corresponding number of sub-frames of the control channel. By repeating the configuration message within a number of sub-frames, the user equipment can combine the energy from successive repetitions in order to increase the likelihood that the configuration message can be decoded. It will be appreciated that such repetitions, therefore, increase the coverage provided in areas of high attenuation.