Patent ID: 8923199

Claim:
A method of operating a wireless network node of a wireless communication network, the method comprising: operating the wireless network node in a current downlink transmission mode that is one of at least first and second downlink transmission modes of the wireless network node; and transmitting a signal indicative of a current downlink transmission mode of the wireless network node, wherein: the first downlink transmission mode comprises normal operation of the network node and is applicable when a number of active terminals in a cell associated with the network node is greater than a first mode threshold value; and the second downlink transmission mode comprises restricted downlink transmission of the network node and is applicable when the number of active terminals in the cell associated with the network node is less than or equal to a second mode threshold value, the restricted downlink transmission comprising information that assists active terminals not served by the cell in finding the cell and/or non-active terminals camping on the cell to stay in synchronization with the wireless communication network.