Method and apparatus for notifying access control information

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for notifying activations of extended access barring (EAB) and updates of EAB information in the field of Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication systems have been proposed. In accordance with the present disclosure, the eNB notifies MTC devices of EAB changes from a paging message through the paging channel (PCH). The network could use either a single bit EAB status indicator to notify whether the EAB has been enabled or disabled or use multiple bits EAB indicator to represent different EAB parameter changes in addition to whether the EAB has been enabled or disabled. Based on the present disclosure, the network could reduce the paging overhead by require the MTC device to acquire the EAB-SIB only when it needs the EAB information.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of performing access control, adapted to a base station (BS) and the method comprising:
 activating an access control mechanism for a specific access class;   indicating activating the access control mechanism by an indicator in a paging message;   disabling the access control mechanism for the specific access class; and   indicating disabling the access control mechanism by an indicator in a paging message.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indicator indicates a first state and a second state wherein one of the first state and the second state indicates the activation of the access control mechanism, and the other one indicates the disablement of the access control mechanism. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the indicator further indicates additional states for whether an access control parameter has been changed. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the indicator comprises at least two bits representing at least the first state, the second state, a third state, and a fourth state. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein one of the four access control states indicates the activation of access control mechanism, and the other three indicate the disablement of the access control mechanism. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the other three states indicate a change in the access control parameter by changing the indicator from one of the other three states to another one of the other three states. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the access control mechanism is extended access barring (EAB) mechanism of a communication system. 
     
     
         8 . A base station (BS) comprising:
 a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; and   a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured for activating or disabling an access control mechanism for a specific access class and for transmitting a paging message which comprises an indicator indicating whether the access control mechanism is activated or disabled.   
     
     
         9 . The base station of  claim 8 , wherein the indicator consists of a first state and a second state wherein one of the first state and the second state indicates the activation of the access control mechanism, and the other one indicates the disablement of the access control mechanism. 
     
     
         10 . The base station of  claim 8 , wherein the indicator further indicates whether an access control parameter has been changed. 
     
     
         11 . The base station of  claim 9 , wherein the indicator comprises at least two bits representing four different access control states. 
     
     
         12 . The base station of  claim 11 , wherein one of the four access control states indicates the activation of access control mechanism, and the other three indicate the disablement of the access control mechanism. 
     
     
         13 . The base station of  claim 12 , wherein the other three states indicate a change in the access control parameter by changing the indicator from one of the other three states to another one of the other three states. 
     
     
         14 . The base station of  claim 8  wherein the processor is further configured for:
 configuring an access control parameter of the access control mechanism in a system information block; 
 broadcasting the system information block periodically; and 
 disabling the access control mechanism. 
 
     
     
         15 . The base station of  claim 8 , wherein the access control mechanism is extended access barring (EAB) mechanism.