Patent ID: 8199708
Filing Date: 2012-06-12
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a network node that serves a plurality of user equipments in a mobile communication system, the method comprising: providing the network node with a number, N for each of the antenna ports, ascertaining a channel quality of a channel between the antenna port and the network node; whenever a number of antenna ports of user equipments being served by the network node exceeds the number, N a round-robin order, allocating one orthogonal reference signal in turn to each of the user equipments still having an antenna port to which no orthogonal reference signal has yet been assigned, wherein the round-robin order begins with a user equipment associated with a best ascertained channel quality and continues with user equipments associated with ascertained channel qualities in descending order, such that: each orthogonal reference signal is allocated to only one of the antenna ports; each antenna port has no more than one orthogonal reference signal allocated to it; and allocation decisions made by the allocation process are a function of the channel qualities of the respective antenna ports such that the higher the channel quality, the higher priority the corresponding antenna port is given as a candidate for receiving an orthogonal reference signal allocation.