WO2024256389A1

WO2024256389A1 - Load based bandwidth selection

Info

Publication number: WO2024256389A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/066081
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leif Wilhelmsson; Sebastian Max; Pontus ARVIDSSON
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2023-06-12
Filing date: 2024-06-11
Publication date: 2024-12-19
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-12

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus are disclosed. A narrowband wireless device configured with a frequency hopping configuration including a set of frequency hopping channels in a predetermined frequency spectrum is provided. The narrowband wireless device is configured to estimate a load of data to be transmitted to at least one other narrowband wireless device, configure a number of channels in the set of frequency hopping channels based on the estimated load of data, and adapt an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum according to the configured number of channels.

Description

LOAD BASED BANDWIDTH SELECTION

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to configurations for supporting load based bandwidth selection in wireless communication networks.

INTRODUCTION

When operating in unlicensed bands, e.g., the 2.4 GHz ISM, the 5 GHz band, or the 6 GHz band, some means of spectrum sharing mechanism is typically required unless the transmissions are limited to use a very low power. Two commonly used spectrum sharing mechanisms are listen before talk (LBT), also referred to as carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA), and frequency hopping (FH).

An example LBT procedure may include the following steps. Before a transmission can be initiated, the transmitter listens on a channel to determine whether it is idle or if there is already another transmission ongoing. If the channel is found to be idle, the transmission can be initiated, whereas if the channel is found to be busy, the transmitter may need to defer from transmission and may continue sensing the channel until it becomes idle. LBT may be used by various types of IEEE 802.11 compliant systems, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi systems, which may operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM band as well as in 5 GHz bands, for example. LBT may also be employed by standards developed by 3GPP operating in the 5 GHz band, e.g., New Radio (NR).

If, instead, FH is used, the spectrum sharing is typically based on only using a specific part of the band for a relatively small fraction of the total time, leaving room for other transmissions. FH is an approach used by Bluetooth systems.

LBT is typically used where channel bandwidth is relatively large, e.g., 20 MHz or more. FH, on the other hand, is typically well-suited for narrowband systems, e.g., where the channel bandwidth is on the order of 1 or 2 MHz.

Although both LBT and FH may be viewed as effective spectrum sharing mechanisms, both typically only work well if all devices are using the same spectrum sharing mechanism. That is, if all devices apply LBT or all devices use FH, then these procedures may function properly. However, if some devices use LBT whereas others use FH, these procedures may not function properly. As an example, a wideband system using LBT may detect the narrowband transmission and defer from transmitting, although such a transmission would have been successful without causing any noticeable harm to the narrowband system. Conversely, a wideband system may not detect a narrowband system, since the average sensed power within the wideband channel is relatively low, and then may initiate a transmission that potentially can result in harmful interference to the narrowband system.

In some existing systems, the above situation may be present in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, where Wi-Fi uses LBT, whereas Bluetooth uses FH. To allow for good coexistence between the two standards, Bluetooth has developed support for adaptive FH (AFH), which means that the Bluetooth devices may detect if there are Wi-Fi transmissions on some of the Wi-Fi channels, and then may adapt the hopping pattern used for FH such that the frequencies coinciding with a Wi-Fi channel are not used. In Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), additional specific measures may be taken to limit the interference to Wi-Fi, e.g., by only using three channels for the initial link establishment, such that these three channels may be selected such that they will not overlap with the three most commonly used Wi-Fi channels (e.g., Channel 1, 6, and H).

AFH may be an effective coexistence mechanism in some contexts, but it has at least two limitations. The first is that it, by necessity, takes some time to determine whether a frequency channel should be considered as occupied by, e.g., Wi-Fi, and therefore should not be used, and also to determine when it is no longer occupied so that it should be used. How long this takes may also depend on how much the channel is used. It is to be expected that if a Wi-Fi channel is only used, e.g., 10% of the time, many Bluetooth transmissions may be needed in order to determine that, in fact, the channel is being used by Wi-Fi. Assuming that the allocation and usage of Wi-Fi channels are relatively static, this problem is still believed to be less severe. The second problem is that AFH may only function properly as long as it is possible to find some channels that are free from interference. If, for instance, Wi-Fi would use an 80 MHz channel in the ISM band (which is typically not allowed), it is clear that AFH would not work, since there are no channels remaining.

The second problem, i.e., that the wideband system uses a channel that covers the entire bandwidth of the system using FH may, however, become a problem if Bluetooth is employed in, e.g., the 6 GHz band. Here, Wi-Fi may use a channel width of 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz, or even more in the future. This means that AFH may not work as intended and that Wi-Fi may detect every Bluetooth transmission and defer from transmitting due to the LBT procedure.

Thus, existing systems lack configurations for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

SUMMARY

To enhance the coexistence between a FH system and a wideband system using LBT, such as, e.g., Wi-Fi, it may be possible to let the FH system use a form of LBT as well. Specifically, for the FH system, before transmitting on a narrow band signal on a new frequency, it is first checked whether the narrowband channel is idle or busy. If the channel is idle, the transmission is done, but if the channel is found to be busy, no transmission is done on this frequency, and instead the transmitter hops to the next frequency according to the frequency hopping pattern. Ideally, this means that the FH system will not cause any interference to the wideband system, but a drawback is that it typically will introduce additional delay because the number of transmission opportunities will effectively be reduced. If the channel is found to be busy, the transmission may have failed anyways, but typically, at least some of the transmission would have been successful.

Frequency hopping as a means of coexistence is based on the idea that the likelihood that more than one transmitter is sending on the same channel is sufficiently low. This means that the number of hopping channels must be sufficiently large in relation to the number of concurrently active links that are operating in the vicinity of one another, i.e., close enough to cause interference. In addition, frequency hopping is a means to ensure that a communication link becomes frequency selective, i.e., that a link will not experience a channel that continuously is in a fading dip. Typically, the bandwidth over which the frequency hopping is performed is selected to be as large as is practically feasible. For example, a limit for the bandwidth may, e.g., be the size of the frequency band where the FH system is intended to operate, as is the case for the 2.4 GHz ISM band, where the maximum bandwidth is limited to 83.5 MHz. Alternatively, the maximum bandwidth may be limited by the implementation complexity as supporting a very large hopping bandwidth, which may result in additional implementation cost.

When a FH system is to coexist with another system which is not using FH, using a very large hopping bandwidth may cause significant interference to the other system. If the number of users in the NB system is relatively small, the gain for the FH system by using a large hopping bandwidth may be small and it may as well use a much smaller bandwidth without any noticeable degradation.

If the other system is based on LBT, it may in fact be an advantage if the FH system is using a relatively small bandwidth as the presence of FH interference may then more easily be detected and the corresponding bandwidth avoided.

Thus, in situations where a narrowband system based on FH is to coexist with a wideband system using LBT, selection of a suitable bandwidth for the narrowband system based on FH can be expected to enhance the coexistence between the two systems. Thus, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods for selecting the bandwidth of a narrowband system based on FH to allow for proper coexistence with a wideband system based on LBT.

Aspects are provided in the independent claims, and embodiments thereof are provided in the dependent claims.

Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may relate to a system using FH, characterized in that the number of channels used for frequency hopping may be selected based on the interfering conditions. For example, in some embodiments, if it is determined that the amount of experienced FH interference in the band is relatively small, a smaller number of channels may be selected compared to if the amount of FH interference in the band is determined to be relatively large. This approach may effectively adjust the amount of spectrum occupied by the FH system to what is needed, and may therefore ensure that other systems operating in the band will have as large bandwidth as possible for the disposal that is not interfered by the FH system.

In some embodiments, the load of the FH system in terms of the probability of a specific channel being occupied may be kept comparably high and independent of the load of the FH system. This may improve the possibility for the wideband system to detect the presence of the FH system and in this way avoid the FH system, as compared to existing solutions. Furthermore, the total bandwidth occupied by the FH system may be kept relatively small compared to existing approaches, e.g., where the FH system uses its maximum bandwidth irrespective of its load.

Some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be described as follows: Example 1. A system using frequency hopping where the number of channels in the set of frequency hopping channels is adapted based on the estimated load of data that is transmitted.

Example 2. The system of Example 1, where the load is estimated based on the probability of collisions with other transmissions.

Example 3. The system of any of Examples 1 and 2, where the load is estimated by using LBT.

Example 4. The system of any of Example 1-3, where the load estimate is provided by another access technology collocated in the device, such as Wi-Fi for a Bluetooth device.

Example 5. The system of any of Example 1-4, where the number of channels is a non-decreasing function of the load.

Example 6. The system of Example 4, where the number of channels is selected in steps corresponding to a certain bandwidth.

Example 7. The system of Example 5, where the certain bandwidth is selected to correspond the minimum bandwidth used for LBT by a non-FH system.

Example 8. The system of Example 6, where the certain bandwidth is 20

MHz.

Example 9. The system of any of Examples 1-8, where the FH system is based on Bluetooth Wireless Technology.

Example 10. The system of any of Examples 6-8, where the non-FH wideband system is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may advantageously enable a streamlined and efficient way to support the sharing of a frequency band between two different systems. In particular, when a system based on FH is expected to share a frequency band with another system that is not using FH, but instead uses a fixed channel, some embodiments may enable a sharing configuration where the FH system does not use more resources than needed, and in this way, may allow the non-FH system to use a total larger bandwidth that is not interfered by the FH system. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be introduced in a way that does not require the system not using FH to have any knowledge of the approach taken by the FH system. For example, when the non-FH system is based on LBT, as is the case for Wi-Fi, the non-FH system may more easily detect the FH system, and the already supported mechanisms may ensure that coexistence with the FH system is achieved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system including narrowband wireless devices and wideband wireless devices according to the principles in the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example narrowband wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example wideband wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a narrowband wireless device for supporting load based bandwidth selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a wideband wireless device for supporting load based bandwidth selection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example spectrum allocation configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example spectrum allocation configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating another example spectrum allocation configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example spectrum allocation configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing in detail example embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to load based bandwidth selection. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The WD herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with an access point, network node, or another WD over radio signals. The WD may be a Bluetooth enabled device and/or a Wi-Fi enabled device. The WD may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) WD, machine type WD or WD capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with WD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device, station (STA), access point (AP) station, non-access point station, etc.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicable to wireless devices configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z- Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide- area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wideband wireless device and narrowband wireless device are used. In some embodiments, a wideband wireless device may be a device capable of Wi-Fi communication (e.g., IEEE 802.11 standards). In some embodiments, a narrowband device may be a device capable of Bluetooth communication. In some embodiments, a single wireless device may be capable of either or both of narrowband and wideband communication.

Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Some embodiments provide configurations for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

Referring now to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 1 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, which comprises a plurality of narrowband wireless devices 12a and 12b, referred to collectively as narrowband wireless devices 12, which may form a first system 13, such as Bluetooth communication system. A narrowband wireless device 12 is configured to include a frequency hopping (FH) unit 14 which is configured for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

Communication system 10 further includes a plurality of wideband wireless devices 16a and 16b, referred to collectively as wideband wireless devices 16, which may form a second system 15, such as a Wi-Fi communication system. A wideband wireless device 16 is configured to include a listen before talk (LBT) unit 18, which is configured for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

Note that although only two narrowband wireless devices 12 and two wideband wireless devices 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more narrowband wireless devices 12 and wideband wireless devices 16. Furthermore, it is to be understood that a narrowband wireless device 12 may also be capable of wideband communication, and a wideband wireless device 16 may also be capable of narrowband communication, such that a single wireless device may be either or both of a narrowband wireless device 12 and/or a wideband wireless device 16, depending on the context, use case, configuration, etc. For example, a wireless device may be configured for both Bluetooth capability and Wi-Fi capability, such that when it is communicating via Bluetooth, it is referred to as a narrowband wireless device 12, whereas when it is communicating via Wi-Fi, it may be referred to as a wideband wireless device 16.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the narrowband wireless device 12 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 2. In a communication system 10, the narrowband wireless device 12 may have hardware 20 that may include a radio interface 22 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection with one or more other narrowband wireless devices 12 in a first system 13. The radio interface 22 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.

The hardware 20 of the narrowband wireless device 12 further includes processing circuitry 24. The processing circuitry 24 may include a processor 26 and memory 28. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 24 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 26 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 28, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Thus, the narrowband wireless device 12 may further comprise software 30, which is stored in, for example, memory 28 at the narrowband wireless device 12, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the narrowband wireless device 12. The software 30 may be executable by the processing circuitry 24.

The processing circuitry 24 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by narrowband wireless device 12. The processor 26 corresponds to one or more processors 26 for performing narrowband wireless device 12functions described herein. The narrowband wireless device 12 includes memory 28 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 30 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 26 and/or processing circuitry 24, causes the processor 26 and/or processing circuitry 24 to perform the processes described herein with respect to narrowband wireless device 12. For example, the processing circuitry 24 of the narrowband wireless device 12 may include a FH unit 14 configured for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the wideband wireless device 16 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 3. In a communication system 10, the wideband wireless device 16 may have hardware 32 that may include a radio interface 34 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection with one or more other narrowband wireless devices 12 in a second system 15. The radio interface 34 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The hardware 32 of the wideband wireless device 16 further includes processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may include a processor 38 and memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 36 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 40, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Thus, the wideband wireless device 16 may further comprise software 42, which is stored in, for example, memory 40 at the wideband wireless device 16, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the wideband wireless device 16. The software 42 may be executable by the processing circuitry 36.

The processing circuitry 36 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by wideband wireless device 16. The processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing wideband wireless device 16 functions described herein. The wideband wireless device 16includes memory 40 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and/or processing circuitry 36, causes the processor 38 and/or processing circuitry 36 to perform the processes described herein with respect to wideband wireless device 16. For example, the processing circuitry 36 of the wideband wireless device 16 may include a LBT unit 18 configured for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

In some embodiments, the inner workings of the narrowband wireless device 12 and wideband wireless device 16 may be as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 1.

Although FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show various “units” such as FH unit 14 LBT unit 18 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry. Further, it is contemplated that a narrowband wireless device 12 may, in some embodiments, also be configured for LBT and may include an LBT unit 18, and similarly, a wideband wireless device 16 may be configured for FH and may include an FH unit 14.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a narrowband wireless device 12 for supporting load based bandwidth selection. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of narrowband wireless device 12 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 24 (including the FH unit 14), processor 26, and/or radio interface 22. Narrowband wireless device 12 is configured with a frequency hopping configuration including a set of frequency hopping channels in a predetermined frequency spectrum. Narrowband wireless device 12 is configured to estimate (Block SI 00) a load of data to be transmitted to at least one other narrowband wireless device 12, configure (Block S102) a number of channels in the set of frequency hopping channels based on the estimated load of data, and adapt (Block SI 04) an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum according to the configured number of channels.

In some embodiments, the load of data is estimated based on a probability of collisions with other transmissions. In some embodiments, the load is estimated according to a listen before talk (LBT) procedure. In some embodiments, the load estimate is provided by another access technology collocated in the narrowband wireless device 12 (e.g., a Wi-Fi access technology of a second system 15). In some embodiments, the number of channels is determined as a non-decreasing function of the load of data. In some embodiments, the number of channels is selected in steps corresponding to a predetermined bandwidth. In some embodiments, the predetermined bandwidth is selected to correspond to a minimum bandwidth used for LBT by a non-FH system. In some embodiments, the predetermined bandwidth is 20 MHz. In some embodiments, the first system 13 is a frequency hopping system based on Bluetooth Wireless Technology. In some embodiments, the non-FH wideband system is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a wideband wireless device 16 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure for supporting load based bandwidth selection. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of wideband wireless device 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the LBT unit 18), processor 38, and/or radio interface 34. Wideband wireless device 16 is configured to detect (Block SI 06) the presence of a narrowband wireless device 12 operating on a set of frequency hopping channels within a predetermined frequency spectrum, analyze (Block SI 08) the detected set of frequency hopping channels to determine a usage pattern corresponding to the frequency hopping of the narrowband wireless device 12, and adapt (Block SI 10) an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum based on the determined usage pattern.

In some embodiments, adapting the operation includes puncturing at least one channel of the predetermined frequency spectrum. In some embodiments, the wideband wireless device 16 is configured with a listen before talk (LBT) configuration, the detecting the presence of the narrowband wireless device 12 being based on the LBT configuration.

Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for supporting load based bandwidth selection.

The present disclosure may be described as applied to a first system 13 using frequency hopping (FH) (e.g., a first system 13 including narrowband wireless devices 12 configured for FH). A first system 13 (and/or the devices therein) configured for using FH may optionally also be configured to use listen before talk (LBT) as a means to reduce probability of collision. For the sake of illustration and without implying any loss of generality, it may be assumed in describing some embodiments of the following disclosure that a first system 13 (i.e., a FH system) may be equivalent to, and/or have some properties that are somewhat similar to, Bluetooth Wireless Technology, e.g., operating in the 6 GHz band. For example, it may be assumed for some embodiments, without limiting the scope of the present disclosure, that a default (maximum) bandwidth that is used by the first system 13 is 160 MHz and that the channel bandwidth is 4 MHz, resulting in 40 non-overlapping hopping channels. It is to be understood that other bandwidth(s) may be employed by embodiments of the present disclosure without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure may be described where a second system 15 (e.g., including wideband wireless devices 16) is present in the same frequency band (i.e., as the devices of the first system 13). In some embodiments, the second system 15 may not be configured to use FH, but is configured only for using LBT. In other embodiments, the second system 15 may be configured to use both FH and LBT. The second system 15 may be relatively wideband compared to the first system 13, and may, for the sake of illustration, be assumed to be based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and uses a channel bandwidth of 160 MHz. It is to be understood that this is a non-limiting example, and other types of systems and/or channel bandwidths may be employed without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

In describing some embodiments of the present disclosure, when referring to configurations, processes, operations, etc., of a first system 13 or a second system 15, it is to be understood that these configurations, processes, operations, etc., may be configured in, performed by, operated by, etc., the devices (e.g., narrowband wireless devices 12) of the first system 13 and/or the devices (e.g., wideband wireless devices 16) of the second system 15, as described herein.

In some embodiments, because FH may not be used by the devices in the second system 15, the channel access procedure for LBT may be different compared to the procedure employed by devices of the first system 13. For example, the same 160 MHz channel may be used all the time, and as long as the channel is determined to be busy, the transmission may be deferred. However, since it may happen that only a part of the 160 MHz channel is busy, the LBT procedure may work on 20 MHz subchannels so that a 20 MHz sub-channel that is found to be idle may be used, whereas a 20 MHz sub-channel that is found to be busy must not be used. If some 20 MHz subchannel is not used whereas other 20 MHz sub-channels are used for transmission, this may be referred to as puncturing.

Moreover, the two systems 13 and 15 (and the devices therein) may be configured to operate in the lower part of the 6 GHz band, i.e., 5925 MHz to 6425 MHz, i.e., a total bandwidth of 500 MHz.

Although both systems 13 and 15 may be configured to use LBT, coexistence may in general not work well due to significantly different parameters for the two systems 13 and 15. Specifically, one system (e.g., the devices of the first system 13) may defer for the other system (e.g., the devices of the second system 15) when both systems 13 and 15 (and the devices therein) could have been operating concurrently, or a first system 13 or second system 15 (and the devices therein) may not defer from operating, thereby degrading performance. This observation may be the basis for some embodiments of the present disclosure to enable dividing the total available bandwidth between the two systems 13 and 15 (and the devices therein) so that they will not cause interference to one another.

For example, the total bandwidth may be divided so that each of the two systems 13 and 15 (and the devices therein) obtains a bandwidth that is smaller than the total bandwidth, but on the other hand, each system (i.e., the first system 13 or second system 15, and the devices therein) is free from interference from the other system (i.e., the first system 13 or second system 15, and the devices therein). Thus, some embodiments may enable finding a suitable bandwidth to be used by the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein). For example, by using a larger bandwidth, the number of available channels may increase, thereby enabling supporting more FH links at a given probability of collision. In addition, FH may be a means to ensure that the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein) experiences frequency selective fading, so that the performance may be determined by the average channel conditions of the available channels rather than by the channel condition for the worst channel in the set of channels. Thus, if there are many active FH links, a larger number of non-overlapping frequencies may be needed in order to ensure that the probability of collision is kept sufficiently small.

On the other hand, in some embodiments, if the number of links is small, e.g., only one link is active within an area, then the set of channel may be reduced, and the only parameter that needs to be considered is that the set of channels be sufficiently large enough to ensure that the above-mentioned frequency selectivity is achieved.

In some FH systems (e.g., a first system 13, and the devices therein), the number of used channels may be selected to be as large as possible to allow for as many concurrent links as possible. An exception may occur if it has been determined that some of the channels are interfered by another system (e.g., the second system 15, and the devices therein), in which case the set of used channels may be updated so that these interfered channels are avoided. This approach is used, for instance, in some Bluetooth systems to avoid Wi-Fi channels, and referred to as adaptive frequency hopping (AFH).

In AFH, coexistence may be seen as reactive in the sense that the set of channels may be reduced because interference from another system has been detected, and then AFH may be a means to achieve coexistence. For example, there is typically no adaptation made by the other system, i.e., the system not using AFH, to aid in improving the coexistence. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a proactive approach is taken by a first system 13 (and the devices therein) to improve coexistence with another system (e.g., the second system 15, and the devices therein) sharing the same band, e.g., by attempting to allocate as little frequency spectrum as possible to the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein), and in this way, free up as much frequency spectrum as possible for the other, wideband system (e.g., the second system 15, and the devices therein). The minimum amount of frequency spectrum that the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein) can operate on may depend on factors like the number of simultaneous FH connections active within an area where these connections interfere with each other.

For example, consider a scenario where the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein) by default is configured for using the lower 160 MHz out of the 500 MHz available in the lower 6 GHz band, i.e., 5925-6425 MHz. This may mean that there will be 340 MHz not used by the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein), and as a consequence, it may be possible to, e.g., have two 160 MHz channels operating concurrently with the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein) without interfering. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example spectrum sharing configuration according to this example, in which a 160 MHz wide FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein) is configured for sharing the band with two 160 MHz wide Wi-Fi channels (e.g., as used by the second system 15, and the devices therein). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a first portion 44 of the spectrum may be used by the first system 13, and second portion 46 may be used by the second system 15 (“Wi-Fi 1”), and the third portion 48 may be used by the second system 15 or another system (“Wi-Fi 2”). This configuration may be achieved according to embodiments herein, e.g., without requiring explicit communication or coordination between devices of the first system 13 and devices of the second system 15.

In this scenario, if the number of concurrent links potentially interfering with one another in the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein) is small, then at every single instant of time, most of the 160 MHz allocated for the FH system will be unused. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein) may be configured to detect this, and may be configured to reduce the bandwidth used by the FH system, e.g., by reducing the number of channels that are used for FH. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example spectrum sharing configuration according to this example, in which an 80 MHz wide FH system shares the band with one 80 MHz and two 160 MHz Wi-Fi channels. In FIG. 7, the effect of reducing the total bandwidth allocated to the FH system is depicted. The FH system in this example is allocated 80 MHz, and in this way, the freed up 80 MHz may be allocated to a third Wi-Fi channel, resulting in Wi-Fi obtaining 25% more bandwidth, as compared to the previous example. In this example, a first portion 50 of the spectrum is used by the first system 13, a second portion 52 (“Wi-Fi 1”) is used by the second system 15, a third portion (“Wi-Fi 2”) is used by the second system 15, and a third portion 56 (“Wi-Fi 3”) is used by the second system 15. This configuration may be achieved according to embodiments herein, e.g., without requiring explicit communication or coordination between devices of the first system 13 and devices of the second system 15.

In cases where only a single FH link is active, it may even be sufficient to allocate (i.e., configure the devices such that they utilize/allocate) as little as 20 MHz for the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein), leaving 480 MHz for Wi-Fi (e.g., the second system 15, and the devices therein). In this case, it may be possible to configure/utilize three 160 MHz channels operating in parallel with the FH system. This example is illustrated in the diagram of FIG. 8, in which a 20 MHz FH system shares the band with three 160 MHz Wi-Fi channels. In this example, a first portion 58 of the spectrum is used by the first system 13, a second portion 60 (“Wi-Fi 1”) is used by the second system 15, a third portion 62 (“Wi-Fi 2”) is used by the second system 15, and a fourth portion (“Wi-Fi 3”) is used by the second system 15. This configuration may be achieved according to embodiments herein, e.g., without requiring explicit communication or coordination between devices of the first system 13 and devices of the second system 15.

As discussed above, one desired feature of FH is that it enables frequency diversity, provided that the different channels that are used experience sufficiently uncorrelated fading. In case the total bandwidth is decreased, there is a risk that the frequency diversity may be compromised. In order to counteract this, the hopping bandwidth used may be divided into two (or more) non-contiguous sets of the band, e.g., based on a configuration in the narrowband wireless devices 12 and/or wideband wireless devices 16. This example is illustrated in the diagram of FIG. 9, in which an FH system is configured to use non-contiguous parts of the band. In this example, a first portion 66 and a second portion 68 of the spectrum are used by devices of the first system 13. A third portion 70 (“Wi-Fi 1”), a fourth portion 72 (“Wi-Fi 2”) and a fifth portion 74 (“Wi-Fi 3”) are used by devices of the second system 15. This configuration may be achieved according to embodiments herein, e.g., without requiring explicit communication or coordination between devices of the first system 13 and devices of the second system 15.

Several example embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with additional details related to how these systems 13 and 15, the devices therein (e.g., narrowband wireless devices 12 and wideband wireless devices 16) may be configured to detect when to change the set of channels to be used for the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein).

Embodiment 1 - Load based bandwidth selection

According to a first embodiment, the number of channels in the set of frequency hopping channels may be adapted (e.g., by narrowband wireless devices 12 of a first system 13) based on the estimated load of data that is transmitted using frequency hopping. According to this embodiment, the number of channels used may be selected based on the bandwidth used by another system, so that, e.g., the granularity of the different channel bandwidths used may be selected (e.g., by narrowband wireless devices 12 and wideband wireless devices 16) such that each step corresponds to one sub-channel for the other system. The narrowband wireless devices 12 and/or wideband wireless devices 16 may be configured to determine and/or estimate the bandwidth used by devices of another system, e.g., based on radio measurement procedures, LBT procedures, etc.

Embodiment 2 - Load determination based on interference detection

According to a second embodiment, which may be implemented in combination with Embodiment 1, the load in the FH system (e.g., the first system 13) may be estimated (e.g., by a narrowband wireless device 12) based on detecting how many of the transmitted packets are interfered. The interference level may, e.g., be detected by considering the total received power as well as the resulting effective signal-to-noise- and-interference-ratio (SINR). As another example, the fraction of packets that are received in error may be used (e.g., by narrowband wireless devices 12) to estimate how much interference is experienced. If it is determined that an application, e.g., requires not more than 10% retransmissions, the bandwidth may be controlled (e.g., by narrowband wireless devices 12) so that this is just satisfied. As an example, if using 160 MHz channel bandwidth results in 1% retransmissions, the bandwidth may be reduced (e.g., by narrowband wireless devices 12) to 80 MHz. If the retransmission rate is still much lower than the 10%, the bandwidth may be reduced even further. Then, if one system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein), e.g., tries to use a bandwidth of only 20 MHz, and as a result finds that the retransmission rate is higher than 10%, say 15%, then the first system 13 (and the devices therein, such as narrowband wireless devices 12) may be configured to increase the bandwidth to, e.g., 40 MHz, assuming that the granularity of the frequency hopping sets corresponds to 20 MHz.

Embodiment 3 - Load determination based on LBT

In a third embodiment, the FH system (e.g., the first system 13, and the devices therein, such as narrowband wireless devices 12) may also be configured to use LBT to determine whether the selected channel is already used by another device. When this is the case, the LBT may also be used (e.g., by narrowband wireless devices 12) for estimating the load. For example, the fraction of LBT resulting in the transmission being deferred may be used for estimating the load. Similar to Embodiment 2, one system (e.g., the first system 13 and the devices therein, or the second system 15 and the devices therein) may be configured to target, e.g., a 10% deferral rate and adjust the set of hopping channels in an analogous way as described in Embodiment 2.

LBT-like sensing of the spectrum may also be performed (e.g., by narrowband wireless devices 12) independent of actually making transmissions, by utilizing idle periods scanning all channels in a sweeping manner.

Embodiment 4 - Load based bandwidth selection implemented using AFH

In a fourth embodiment, there may be a variety of means for implementing a reduction of the total number of channels used by the FH system (e.g., the first system 13 and the devices therein). If the first system 13 is a Bluetooth system, for example, AFH may be implemented as a means to avoid interfered channels. According to this embodiment, AFH may be used (e.g., by the first system 13 and the devices therein, such as narrowband wireless devices 12) as a means for implementing the reduction of the set of frequency hopping channels. Specifically, the channels that are to be excluded from the frequency hopping set are excluded (e.g., by the first system 13 and the devices therein, such as narrowband wireless devices 12) in the same way as if they are excluded because they have been found to be interfered.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD- ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. Example Embodiments:

Embodiment Al . A narrowband wireless device (12) in a first system (13) configured with a frequency hopping configuration including a set of frequency hopping channels in a predetermined frequency spectrum, the narrowband wireless device (12) configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface (22) and/or comprising processing circuitry (24) configured to: estimate a load of data to be transmitted to at least one other narrowband wireless device (12); configure a number of channels in the set of frequency hopping channels based on the estimated load of data; and adapt an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum according to the configured number of channels.

Embodiment A2. The narrowband wireless device (12) of Embodiment Al, wherein the load of data is estimated based on a probability of collisions with other transmissions.

Embodiment A3. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Embodiments Al and A2, wherein the load is estimated according to a listen before talk (LBT) procedure.

Embodiment A4. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Embodiments A1-A3, wherein the load estimate is provided by another access technology collocated in the narrowband wireless device (12).

Embodiment A5. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Embodiments A1-A4, wherein the number of channels is determined as a nondecreasing function of the load of data.

Embodiment A6. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Embodiments A1-A5, wherein the number of channels is selected in steps corresponding to a predetermined bandwidth.

Embodiment A7. The narrowband wireless device (12) of Embodiment A6, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is selected to correspond to a minimum bandwidth used for LBT by a non-FH system.

Embodiment A8. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Embodiments A6 and A7, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is 20 MHz. Embodiment A9. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Embodiments A1-A8, wherein the first system (13) is a frequency hopping system based on Bluetooth Wireless Technology.

Embodiment A10. The narrowband wireless device (12) of Embodiment A7, wherein the non-FH wideband system is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

Embodiment Bl. A method implemented in a narrowband wireless device (12) in a first system (13) configured with a frequency hopping configuration including a set of frequency hopping channels in a predetermined frequency spectrum, the method comprising: estimating (SI 00) a load of data to be transmitted to at least one other narrowband wireless device (12); configuring (SI 02) a number of channels in the set of frequency hopping channels based on the estimated load of data; and adapting (SI 04) an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum according to the configured number of channels.

Embodiment B2. The method of Embodiment Bl, wherein the load of data is estimated based on a probability of collisions with other transmissions.

Embodiment B3. The method of any one of Embodiments Bl and B2, wherein the load is estimated according to a listen before talk (LBT) procedure.

Embodiment B4. The method of any one of Embodiments B1-B3, wherein the load estimate is provided by another access technology collocated in the narrowband wireless device (12).

Embodiment B5. The method of any one of Embodiments B1-B4, wherein the number of channels is determined as a non-decreasing function of the load of data.

Embodiment B6. The method of any one of Embodiments B1-B5, wherein the number of channels is selected in steps corresponding to a predetermined bandwidth.

Embodiment B7. The method of Embodiment B6, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is selected to correspond to a minimum bandwidth used for LBT by a non-FH system.

Embodiment B8. The method of any one of Embodiments B6 and B7, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is 20 MHz. Embodiment B9. The method of any one of Embodiments B1-B8, wherein the first system (13) is a frequency hopping system based on Bluetooth Wireless Technology.

Embodiment BIO. The method of Embodiment B7, wherein the non-FH wideband system is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

Embodiment Cl. A wideband wireless device (16) configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface and/or processing circuitry configured to: detect the presence of a narrowband wireless device (12) operating on a set of frequency hopping channels within a predetermined frequency spectrum; analyze the detected set of frequency hopping channels to determine a usage pattern corresponding to the frequency hopping of the narrowband wireless device (12); and adapt an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum based on the determined usage pattern.

Embodiment C2. The wideband wireless device (16) of Embodiment Cl, wherein adapting the operation includes puncturing at least one channel of the predetermined frequency spectrum.

Embodiment C3. The wideband wireless device (16) of any one of Embodiments Cl and C2, wherein the wideband wireless device (16) is configured with a listen before talk (LBT) configuration, the detecting the presence of the narrowband wireless device (12) being based on the LBT configuration.

Embodiment DI . A method implemented in a wideband wireless device (16) configured with a listen before talk (LBT) configuration, the method comprising: detecting (SI 06) the presence of a narrowband wireless device (12) operating on a set of frequency hopping channels within a predetermined frequency spectrum; analyzing (SI 08) the detected set of frequency hopping channels to determine a usage pattern corresponding to the frequency hopping of the narrowband wireless device (12); and adapting (SI 10) an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum based on the determined usage pattern.

Embodiment D2. The method of Embodiment DI, wherein adapting the operation includes puncturing at least one channel of the predetermined frequency spectrum. Embodiment D3. The method of any one of Embodiments DI and D2, wherein the wideband wireless device (16) is configured with a listen before talk (LBT) configuration, the detecting the presence of the narrowband wireless device (12) being based on the LBT configuration.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A narrowband wireless device (12) in a first system (13) configured with a frequency hopping (FH) configuration including a set of FH channels in a predetermined frequency spectrum, the narrowband wireless device (12) configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface (22) and/or comprising processing circuitry (24) configured to: estimate a load of data to be transmitted to at least one other narrowband wireless device (12); configure a number of channels in the set of FH channels based on the estimated load of data; and adapt an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum according to the configured number of channels.

2. The narrowband wireless device (12) of Claim 1, wherein the first system (13) is a FH system based on Bluetooth Wireless Technology.

3. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Claims 1 and 2, wherein the load estimate is provided by another access technology which is different from the Bluetooth Wireless Technology and collocated in the narrowband wireless device (12).

4. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Claims 1-3, wherein the load of data is estimated based on a probability of collisions with other transmissions.

5. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Claims 1-4, wherein the load is estimated according to a listen before talk (LBT) procedure.

6. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Claims 1-5, wherein the number of channels is determined as a non-decreasing function of the load of data.

7. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Claims 1-6, wherein the number of channels is selected in frequency steps corresponding to a predetermined bandwidth.

8. The narrowband wireless device (12) of Claim 7, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is selected to correspond to a minimum bandwidth used for LBT by a second, non-FH wideband system.

9. The narrowband wireless device (12) of any one of Claims 7 and 8, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is 20 MHz.

10. The narrowband wireless device (12) of Claim 8, wherein the non-FH wideband system is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

11. A method implemented in a narrowband wireless device (12) in a first system (13) configured with a frequency hopping (FH) configuration including a set of FH channels in a predetermined frequency spectrum, the method comprising: estimating (SI 00) a load of data to be transmitted to at least one other narrowband wireless device (12); configuring (SI 02) a number of channels in the set of FH channels based on the estimated load of data; and adapting (SI 04) an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum according to the configured number of channels.

12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the first system (13) is a FH system based on Bluetooth Wireless Technology.

13. The method of any one of Claims 11 and 12, wherein the load estimate is provided by another access technology which is different from Bluetooth Wireless Technology and collocated in the narrowband wireless device (12).

14. The method of any one of Claims 11-13, wherein the load of data is estimated based on a probability of collisions with other transmissions.

15. The method of any one of Claims 11-14, wherein the load is estimated according to a listen before talk (LBT) procedure.

16. The method of any one of Claims 11-15, wherein the number of channels is determined as a non-decreasing function of the load of data.

17. The method of any one of Claims 11-16, wherein the number of channels is selected in frequency steps corresponding to a predetermined bandwidth.

18. The method of Claim 17, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is selected to correspond to a minimum bandwidth used for LBT by a second, non-FH wideband system.

19. The method of any one of Claims 17 and 18, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is 20 MHz.

20. The method of Claim 18, wherein the non-FH wideband system is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

21. A wideband wireless device (16) configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface and/or processing circuitry configured to: detect the presence of a narrowband wireless device (12) operating on a set of frequency hopping (FH) channels within a predetermined frequency spectrum; analyze the detected set of FH channels to determine a usage pattern corresponding to the FH of the narrowband wireless device (12); and adapt an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum based on the determined usage pattern.

22. The wideband wireless device (16) of Claim 21, wherein adapting the operation includes puncturing at least one channel of the predetermined frequency spectrum.

23. The wideband wireless device (16) of any one of Claims 21 and 22, wherein the wideband wireless device (16) is configured with a listen before talk (LBT) configuration, the detecting the presence of the narrowband wireless device (12) being based on the LBT configuration.

24. A method implemented in a wideband wireless device (16) configured with a listen before talk (LBT) configuration, the method comprising: detecting (SI 06) the presence of a narrowband wireless device (12) operating on a set of frequency hopping (FH) channels within a predetermined frequency spectrum; analyzing (SI 08) the detected set of (FH) channels to determine a usage pattern corresponding to the (FH) of the narrowband wireless device (12); and adapting (SI 10) an operation in the predetermined frequency spectrum based on the determined usage pattern.

25. The method of Claim 24, wherein adapting the operation includes puncturing at least one channel of the predetermined frequency spectrum.

26. The method of any one of Claims 24 and 25, wherein the wideband wireless device (16) is configured with a listen before talk (LBT) configuration, the detecting the presence of the narrowband wireless device (12) being based on the LBT configuration.