Allocating unique sensing periods to terminal devices during which it senses an uplink time-frequency resource for a conflicting transmission

摘要

The same uplink time-frequency resource is scheduled 202 to at least two terminal devices and sensing periods of unequal lengths are allocated 204 to the terminal devices. A sensing period defines a duration for which a terminal device senses the uplink time-frequency resource for a conflicting transmission before transmitting in the uplink time-frequency resource. Additionally, the same uplink reference signal sequence may be allocated to the terminal devices. The lengths of the sensing periods may be multiples of an uplink symbol duration. Preferably, a shorter sensing period is allocated to a terminal having higher transmission priority and a longer sensing period is allocated to a terminal having lower transmission priority. A sensing period may be allocated dynamically together with a scheduling message delivering to the terminal device an indication of the scheduled uplink time-frequency resource. Sensing periods may be allocated only to terminal devices operating on an unlicensed frequency band.