Patent ID: 9461849
Filing Date: 2016-10-04
CPC Classification: H04J,H04L,H04W

Claim Text:
1. A method for operating a base station as part of a wireless communication network, the wireless communication network having a plurality of mobile terminals arranged in virtual multiple input, multiple output (“V-MIMO”) communication with the base station, the method comprising: receiving, at the base station, a composite signal in response to transmissions of respective uplink reference signals from the respective mobile terminals, wherein the composite signal includes a superposition of signal components corresponding respectively to the uplink reference signals, wherein each of the signal components is a result of a first distorting action of a respective channel on the respective uplink reference signal transmitted from the respective mobile terminal, with the respective channel being between the respective mobile terminal and the base station; receiving, at the base station, response signals in response to transmissions of respective sounding reference signals (SRSs) from the respective mobile terminals, wherein each of the response signals is a result of a second distorting action of the respective channel on the respective sounding reference signal transmitted from the respective mobile terminal; and determining, at the base station, channel estimates for the mobile terminal based at least on the composite signal and the response signals.