Patent ID: 9258831
Filing Date: 2016-02-09
CPC Classification: H04W

Claim Text:
1. An apparatus for use in a communication system, the apparatus comprising a processing system configured to: control a plurality of local area base stations; divide occasions in time of a common random access channel for different local area base station groups, such that each occasion in time is allocated to two or more of the local area base station groups, and wherein each local area base station group comprises one or more local area base stations; and allocate resources of the common random access channel between the local area base stations, the resources comprising preambles, wherein allocating the resources includes, for said each occasion in time, allocating a preamble group for each local area base station in the local area base station groups to which the occasion in time is allocated; wherein each preamble group comprises a predetermined number of contention free preambles and contention based preambles; and wherein the apparatus is a macro base station.