Multi-Standard Radio Network Node Configuration Data Handling for Network Operation

1. A method in a Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) terminal, wherein the MSR terminal is configured to communicate with other network nodes over a radio interface using multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) via common radio frequency communication components included in the MSR terminal, the common radio frequency communication components comprising a power amplifier and/or a radio frequency (RF) filter, the method comprising: generating, by the MSR terminal, a message comprising an MSR terminal identifier identifying the MSR terminal, MSR terminal configuration data including RAT capability information relating to the multiple RATs supported by the MSR terminal, and information about configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum in a non-contiguous MSR network node, wherein the MSR terminal configuration data indicates that the MSR terminal supports non-contiguous multi-carrier operation and the information about the configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum comprises at least one of: a location of each sub-block of frequency in frequency domain, a size of each sub-block, number of carriers in each sub-block, and types of RATs for each carrier in each sub-block; sending, by the MSR terminal, the generated message to at least another network node for use in network operation; and using, by the MSR terminal, the common radio frequency communication components to transmit and/or receive over the radio interface using multiple RATs.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the method comprises detecting an occurrence of an initiating event, and generating the message in response to detecting the occurrence of the initiating event.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the initiating event is one or more of the following: time based initiation; receiving a request from the at least another network node to send configuration data; receiving a request from a central network node to send configuration data; initial setup initiated generation; a change of MSR terminal cell identifier; or upgrade based initiation.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the generating is based on an implicit reporting principle achieved by assigning specific identifiers to be used based on specific MSR terminal characteristics.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the capability information of the MSR terminal comprises at least one of the following: a number of RATs; types of RATs; number of carriers within a RAT in the MSR terminal; or bandwidth of a carrier.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the generating further comprises generating a message comprising a second identifier identifying whether the MSR terminal operates on contiguous or non-contiguous carriers.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the generated message is sent in assisting the at least another network node in one or more of: handover decisions; admission control; network planning; or network optimization.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein carriers in the MSR node using the common radio frequency communication components are contiguous or non-contiguous with a bandwidth of the MSR terminal.

9. A Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) terminal, comprising: common radio frequency communication components configured to communicate with other radio nodes over a radio interface using multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs), the common radio frequency communication components including a power amplifier and/or aradio frequency (RF) filter; a data processor circuitry configured to generate a message including an MSR terminal identifier identifying the MSR terminal, MSR terminal configuration data that includes RAT capability information relating to the multiple RATs supported by the MSR terminal, and information about configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum in a non-contiguous MSR network node, wherein the MSR terminal configuration data indicates that the MSR terminal supports non-contiguous multi-carrier operation and the information about the configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum comprises at least one of: a location of each sub-block of frequency in frequency domain, a size of each sub-block, number of carriers in each sub-block, and types of RATs for each carrier in each sub-block; and a network interface configured to send the generated message to the at least another network node.

10. The MSR terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the network interface is configured to detect an occurrence of an initiating event before the generating of the message.

11. The MSR terminal according to claim 10 , wherein the initiating event is one or more of the following: time based initiation; receiving a request from the at least another network node to send configuration data; receiving a request from a central network node to send configuration data; initial setup initiated generation; a change of MSR terminal cell identifier; or upgrade based initiation.

12. The MSR terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the data processor circuitry is configured to generate a message partly based on an implicit reporting principle achieved by assigning specific identifiers to be used based on specific MSR terminal characteristics.

13. The MSR terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the capability information of the MSR terminal comprises at least one of the following: a number of RATs; types of RATs; number of carriers within a RAT in the MSR terminal; or bandwidth of a carrier.

14. The MSR terminal according to claim 13 , wherein the MSR terminal comprises at least one RAT and at least one carrier within a RAT.

15. The MSR terminal according to claim 13 , wherein the multiple RATs include RATs based on different radio communication standards.

16. The MSR terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the data processor circuitry is further configured to generate a message comprising a second identifier identifying whether the MSR terminal operates on contiguous or noncontiguous carriers.

17. The MSR terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the MSR identifier, the MSR terminal configuration data, the capability information, a second identifier, information about configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum in a non-contiguous MSR network node, and a type identifier are all generated in one message or in several messages.

18. The MSR terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the network interface is configured to send the generated message(s) to the at least another network node for use in network operation for assisting the at least another network node in: handover decisions; admission control; network planning; or network optimization.

19. The MSR terminal according to claim 9 , wherein carriers in the MSR terminal using the common radio frequency communication components are contiguous or non-contiguous with a bandwidth of the MSR terminal.

20. A method in a network node for operation in a network, the network comprising the network node and a Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) terminal, the MSR terminal being configured to communicate with other radio nodes over a radio interface using multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) using common radio frequency communication components included in the MSR terminal, the method comprising: receiving a message from another network node, the message comprising an identifier identifying the other network node as the MSR terminal, MSR terminal configuration data including RAT capability information relating to the common radio frequency communication components in the MSR terminal used to communicate using the multiple RATs, and information about configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum in a non-contiguous MSR network node, wherein the common radio frequency communication components include a power amplifier and/or a radio frequency (RF) filter, the MSR network node configuration data indicates that the MSR terminal supports non-contiguous multi-carrier operation, and the information about the configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum comprises at least one of: a location of each sub-block of frequency in frequency domain, a size of each sub-block, number of carriers in each sub-block, and types of RATs for each carrier in each sub-block; and using the received message for network operation.

21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the receiving is done as a response to a request sent from the network node for network node configuration data to another network node.

22. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the received message comprises one or more of the following: a MSR identifier; MSR network node configuration data; MSR capability information; a second identifier; information about configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum in a non-contiguous MSR network node; or a MSR type identifier.

23. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the received message is used in network operation of one or more of the following: handover decisions; admission control; network planning; or network optimization.

24. A network node for operation in a network, the network including the network node and a Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) terminal, the MSR terminal being configured to communicate with other radio nodes over a radio interface using multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) using common radio frequency communication components included in the MSR terminal, the network node comprising: a network interface configured to receive a message from another network node, the message comprising an identifier identifying the other network node as the MSR terminal, MSR terminal configuration data including RAT capability information relating to the common radio frequency communication components in the MSR terminal used to communicate using the multiple RATs, and information about configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum in a non-contiguous MSR network node, wherein the common radio frequency communication components include a power amplifier and/or a radio frequency (RF) filter, the MSR terminal configuration data indicates that the MSR terminal supports non-contiguous multi-carrier operation, and the information about the configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum comprises at least one of: a location of each sub-block of frequency in frequency domain, a size of each sub-block, number of carriers in each sub-block, and types of RATs for each carrier in each sub-block; and a data processor circuitry configured to use the received message for network operation.

25. The network node according to claim 24 , wherein the network interface is configured to send a request for network node configuration data to the other network node.

26. The network node according to claim 24 , wherein the received message comprises one or more of the following: a MSR identifier; MSR network node configuration data; MSR capability information; a second identifier; information about configured sub-blocks of frequency or spectrum in a non-contiguous MSR network node; or a MSR type identifier.

27. The network node according to claim 24 , wherein the received message is used in network configuring of one or more of the following: handover decisions; admission control; network planning; or network optimization.

28. The network node according to claim 24 , the network node being a relay node, a donor node, a base station, a NodeB, or an evolved NodeB.

29. The network node according to claim 24 , wherein the data processor circuitry is configured to use part of the received message and forward the received message via the network interface to a central node for network operation.