Patent ID: 8467341

Claim:
A method for negotiating a multi-carrier configuration between a base station and a terminal, the method comprising: receiving, by the terminal via a primary carrier, a message comprising carrier common control information indicating available carriers in a network; receiving, by the terminal via the primary carrier, a first message comprising information specifying multiple carriers supported by the base station; transmitting, by the terminal, a second message comprising information specifying one or more carriers simultaneously supported by the terminal and information indicating a number of the one or more carriers supported by the terminal; and receiving, by the terminal, a third message in response to the second message, wherein the third message comprises information indicating one or more carriers assigned to the terminal and information indicating a number of the one or more carriers assigned to the terminal, wherein the multiple carriers have two or more carriers supported by the base station, and the multiple carriers consist of the primary carrier and one or more secondary carriers.