Method and apparatus for controlling carrier frequency in multi-carrier/cell system

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for controlling a carrier frequency in a multi-carrier/cell system are provided. The method includes receiving Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) information of a carrier frequency reported by a terminal, determining whether to deactivate or activate the carrier frequency according to the CQI information, and instructing the terminal to deactivate or activate the carrier frequency according to a result of the determining. Thus, a certain carrier frequency is flexibly activated or deactivated in the multi-carrier/cell system through carrier frequency quality reporting and threshold comparison.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A base station configured to be applied in a multi-carrier/cell system, the base station comprising:
 a controller configured to determine to activate or deactivate a subsidiary carrier frequency of the multi-carrier/cell system according to a parameter associated with the subsidiary carrier frequency; and   a transmitter configured to transmit, to a terminal, an activation/deactivation instruction to activate or deactivate the subsidiary carrier frequency, the activation/deactivation instruction being carried through a Media Access Control (MAC) control element.   
     
     
         2 . The base station according to  claim 1 , wherein the activation/deactivation instruction is carried through a field of the MAC control element. 
     
     
         3 . The base station according to  claim 1 , wherein the field for the activation/deactivation instruction is set to 1 to denote activation of the subsidiary carrier frequency, or set to 0 to denote deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency. 
     
     
         4 . The base station according to  claim 1 , wherein the MAC control element comprises a MAC controlling Protocol Data Unit (PDU), the activation/deactivation instruction being carried through a field of the MAC controlling PDU. 
     
     
         5 . The base station according to  claim 1 , wherein the parameter for the base station determining the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency comprises: downlink traffic, or a channel condition, or any combination of the downlink traffic and the channel condition. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the parameter for the base station determining the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency comprises: an average bit error rate; or a service power; or channel quality information; or a buffering status; or a ratio of ACK and NACK; or any combination of two or more of the average bit error rate, the service power, the channel quality information, the buffering status, and the ratio of ACK and NACK. 
     
     
         7 . The base station according to  claim 1 , further comprising a receiver configured to receive a feedback message about the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency from the terminal. 
     
     
         8 . A method applied in a multi-carrier/cell system, the method comprising:
 determining, by a base station, to activate or deactivate a subsidiary carrier frequency of the multi-carrier/cell system according to a parameter associated with the subsidiary carrier frequency;   transmitting, by the base station, an activation/deactivation instruction to activate or deactivate the subsidiary carrier frequency to a terminal, the activation/deactivation instruction being carried through a Media Access Control (MAC) control element.   
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the activation/deactivation instruction is carried through a field of the MAC control element. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the field for the activation/deactivation instruction is set to 1 to denote activation of the subsidiary carrier frequency, or set to 0 to denote deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the MAC control element comprises a MAC controlling Protocol Data Unit (PDU), the activation/deactivation instruction being carried through a field of the MAC controlling PDU. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the parameter for the base station determining the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency comprises: downlink traffic, or a channel condition, or any combination of the downlink traffic and the channel condition. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the parameter for the base station determining the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency comprises: an average bit error rate; or a service power; or channel quality information; or a buffering status; or a ratio of ACK and NACK; or any combination of two or more of the average bit error rate, the service power, the channel quality information, the buffering status, and the ratio of ACK and NACK. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the base station, a feedback message about the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency from the terminal.   
     
     
         15 . A multi-carrier/cell system comprising:
 a base station configured to communicatively connect with a terminal, wherein the base station is further configured to:   determine to activate or deactivate a subsidiary carrier frequency of the multi-carrier/cell system, according to a parameter associated with a subsidiary carrier frequency; and   transmit, to the terminal, a activation/deactivation instruction to activate or deactivate the subsidiary carrier frequency, the activation/deactivation instruction being carried through a Media Access Control (MAC) control element.   
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the activation/deactivation instruction is carried through a field of the MAC control. 
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the field for the activation/deactivation instruction is set to 1 to denote activation of the subsidiary carrier frequency, or set to 0 to denote deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the MAC control element comprises a MAC controlling Protocol Data Unit (PDU), the activation/deactivation instruction being carried through a field of the MAC controlling PDU. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the parameter for the base station determining the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency comprises downlink traffic, or a channel condition, or any combination of the downlink traffic and the channel condition. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 15 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the base station, a feedback message about the activation/deactivation of the subsidiary carrier frequency from the terminal.