Method and Radio Node for Enabling Use of High Order Modulation in a Radio Communication with a User Equipment

1. A method performed by a radio node of a cellular network, the radio node being operable to apply a first table configuration in radio communications with User Equipments (UEs), the first table configuration comprising at least one of a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table and a first Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) table, wherein the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table support a certain maximum modulation order, the method comprising: detecting that a higher modulation order, which is higher than the maximum modulation order of the first table configuration, is potentially possible to use in a radio communication between the radio node and a first UE; and instructing the first UE to apply a second table configuration in the radio communication, the second table configuration comprising at least one of a second MCS table and a second CQI table, wherein a lowest modulation order of the first table configuration is maintained in the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table as a fallback in case it is desirable to use the lowest modulation order of the first table configuration when the second table configuration is applied.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio node instructs the first UE to apply the second table configuration in the radio communication between the radio node and the first UE when a performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the first UE is above a threshold.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the radio node instructs a second UE to apply the first table configuration in a radio communication between the radio node and the second UE when the performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the second UE is below the threshold.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the radio node instructs the second UE by sending an instruction to the second UE to apply the first table configuration, or by not sending an instruction to the second UE to apply the second table configuration.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table is a modification of the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table, respectively; where a set of entries have been added for the higher modulation order and a set of entries for at least one modulation order in the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table have been removed.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the number of added entries for the higher modulation order and the number of removed entries for the at least one modulation order in the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table are equal such that the first and second MCS tables are of equal size and/or the first and second CQI tables are of equal size.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table support the higher modulation order.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the lowest modulation order in the first MCS table is maintained in the second MCS table as fallback, and a lowest coding rate of the lowest modulation order in the first CQI table is maintained in the second CQI table as fallback.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table is a modification of the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table, respectively, where all entries of the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table have been maintained in the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table and a set of entries for the higher modulation order have been added.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second table configurations further comprise a Transport Block Size table corresponding to the first and second MCS tables, respectively.

11. A radio node of a cellular network, the radio node being operable to apply a first table configuration in radio communications with User Equipments (UEs), the first table configuration comprising at least one of a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table and a first Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) table, wherein the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table support a certain maximum modulation order, the radio node comprising: one or more processing circuits configured to function as: a logic circuit configured to detect that a higher modulation order, which is higher than the maximum modulation order of the first table configuration, is potentially possible to use in a radio communication between the radio node and a first UE; and an instructing circuit configured to instruct the first UE to apply a second table configuration in the radio communication, the second table configuration comprising at least one of a second MCS table and a second CQI table; wherein a lowest modulation order of the first table configuration is maintained in the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table as a fallback in case it is desirable to use the lowest modulation order of the first table configuration when the second table configuration is applied.

12. The radio node of claim 11, wherein the radio node is configured to instruct the first UE to apply the second table configuration in the radio communication between the radio node and the first UE when a performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the first UE is above a threshold.

13. The radio node of claim 12, wherein the radio node is configured to instruct a second UE to apply the first table configuration in a radio communication between the radio node and the second UE when the performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the second UE is below the threshold.

14. The radio node of claim 13, wherein the radio node is configured to instruct the second UE by sending an instruction to the second UE to apply the first table configuration, or by not sending an instruction to the second UE to apply the second table configuration.

15. The radio node of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table is a modification of the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table, respectively, where a set of entries have been added for the higher modulation order and a set of entries for at least one modulation order in the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table have been removed.

16. The radio node of claim 15, wherein the number of added entries for the higher modulation order and the number of removed entries for the at least one modulation order in the at least one of the first MOS table and the first CQI table are equal such that the first and second MCS tables are of equal size and/or the first and second CQI tables are of equal size.

17. The radio node of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table support the higher modulation order.

18. The radio node of claim 11, wherein the lowest modulation order in the first MCS table is maintained in the second MCS table as fallback, and a lowest coding rate of the lowest modulation order in the first CQI table is maintained in the second CQI table as fallback.

19. The radio node of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table is a modification of the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table, respectively, where all entries of the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table have been maintained in the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table and a set of entries for the higher modulation order have been added.

20. A method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the UE being operable to apply a first table configuration in a radio communication with a radio node of a cellular network, the first table configuration comprising at least one of a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table and a first Channel Quality indicator (CU) table, wherein the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table support a certain maximum modulation order, the method comprising: receiving an instruction from the radio node to apply a second table configuration in the radio communication, the second table configuration comprising at least one of a second MCS table and a second CQI table, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table support a higher modulation order which is higher than the maximum modulation order of the first table configuration; and applying the second table configuration in the radio communication with the radio node, wherein a lowest modulation order of the first table configuration is maintained in the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table as a fallback in case it is desirable to use the lowest modulation order of the first table configuration when the second table configuration is applied.

21. A User Equipment (UE), the UE being operable to apply a first table configuration in a radio communication with a radio node of a cellular network, the first table configuration comprising at least one of a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table and a first Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) table, wherein the at least one of the first MCS table and the first CQI table support a certain maximum modulation order, the UE comprising: one or more processing circuits configured to function as: a communication circuit configured to receive an instruction from the radio node to apply a second table configuration in the radio communication, the second table configuration comprising at least one of a second MCS table and a second CQI table, wherein the at least one of the second MCS table and the second CQI table support a higher modulation order which is higher than the maximum modulation order of the first table configuration; and a logic circuit configured to apply the second table configuration in the radio communication with the radio node, wherein a lowest modulation order of the first table configuration is maintained in the at least one of the second MOS table and the second CQI table as a fallback in case it is desirable to use the lowest modulation order of the first table configuration when the second table configuration is applied.

22. A method performed by a radio node of a cellular network, the radio node being operable to apply a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table of a first table configuration, the method comprising: detecting that a higher modulation order, which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first MCS table, is possible to use in a radio communication between the radio node and a first UE; and instructing the first UE to apply a second MCS table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second MCS table supports the higher modulation order; wherein a table row in the first MCS table and a table row in the second MCS table both contain a same combination of lowest modulation order and Transport Block Size (TBS) index, and wherein the table row in the first MCS table and the table row in the second MCS table are both indexed by a lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein use of the lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a MCS table used in a next transmission falls back to the first MCS table of the first table configuration.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the radio node instructs the first UE to apply the second MCS table in the radio communication between the radio node and the first UE when a performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the first UE is above a threshold.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the radio node instructs a second UE to apply the first MCS table in a radio communication between the radio node and the second UE when the performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the second UE is below the threshold.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second MCS tables correspond to respective Transport Block Size (TBS) tables.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the lowest MCS index is MCS index 0.

27. A radio node of a cellular network, the radio node being operable to apply a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table of a first table configuration, the radio node comprising: one or more processing circuits configured to function as: a logic circuit configured to detect that a higher modulation order, which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first MCS table, is possible to use in a radio communication between the radio node and a first UE; and an instructing circuit configured to instruct the first UE to apply a second MCS table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second MCS table supports the higher modulation order; wherein a table row in the first MCS table and a table row in the second MCS table both contain a same combination of lowest modulation order and Transport Block Size (TBS) index, and wherein the table row in the first MCS table and the table row in the second MCS table are both indexed by a lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein use of the lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a MCS table used in a next transmission falls back to the first MCS table of the first table configuration.

28. The radio node of claim 27, wherein the radio node is configured to instruct the first UE to apply the second MCS table in the radio communication between the radio node and the first UE when a performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the first UE is above a threshold.

29. The radio node of claim 28, wherein the radio node is configured to instruct a second UE to apply the first MCS table in a radio communication between the radio node and the second UE when the performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the second UE is below the threshold.

30. The radio node of claim 27, wherein the lowest MCS index is MCS index 0.

31. A method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the UE being operable to apply a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table of a first table configuration in a radio communication with a radio node of a cellular network, the method comprising: receiving an instruction from the radio node to apply a second MCS table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second MCS table supports a higher modulation order which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first MCS table; applying the second MCS table in the radio communication with the radio node; wherein a table row in the first MCS table and a table row in the second MCS table both contain a same combination of lowest modulation order and Transport Block Size (TBS) index, and wherein the table row in the first MCS table and the table row in the second MCS table are both indexed by a lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein use of the lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a MCS table used in a next transmission falls back to the first MCS table of the first table configuration.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the lowest MCS index is MCS index 0.

33. A User Equipment (UE), the UE being operable to apply a first Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table of a first table configuration in a radio communication with a radio node of a cellular network, the UE comprising: one or more processing circuits configured to function as: a communication circuit configured to receive an instruction from the radio node to apply a second MCS table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second MCS table supports a higher modulation order which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first MCS table; a logic circuit configured to apply the second MCS table in the radio communication with the radio node; wherein a table row in the first MCS table and a table row in the second MCS table both contain a same combination of lowest modulation order and Transport Block Size (TBS) index, and wherein the table row in the first MCS table and the table row in the second MCS table are both indexed by a lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein use of the lowest MCS index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a MCS table used in a next transmission falls back to the first MCS table of the first table configuration.

34. The UE of claim 33, wherein the lowest MCS index is MCS index 0.

35. A method performed by a radio node of a cellular network, the radio node being operable to apply a first Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) table of a first table configuration, the method comprising: detecting that a higher modulation order, which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first CQI table, is possible to use in a radio communication between the radio node and a first UE; and instructing the first UE to apply a second CQI table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second CQI table supports the higher modulation order; wherein a table row in the first CQI table and a table row in the second CQI table both contain a same combination of modulation scheme of a lowest modulation order and a lowest coding rate, and wherein the table row in the first CQI table and the table row in the second CQI table are both indexed by a lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein indication of the lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a CQI table used in a next transmission falls back to the first CQI table of the first table configuration.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the radio node instructs the first UE to apply the second CQI table in the radio communication between the radio node and the first UE when a performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the first UE is above a threshold.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the radio node instructs a second UE to apply the first CQI table in a radio communication between the radio node and the second UE when the performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the second UE is below the threshold.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein the lowest CQI index is CQI index 1.

39. A radio node of a cellular network, the radio node being operable to apply a first Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) table of a first table configuration, the radio node comprising: one or more processing circuits configured to function as: a logic circuit configured to detect that a higher modulation order, which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first CQI table, is possible to use in a radio communication between the radio node and a first UE; and an instructing circuit configured to instruct the first UE to apply a second CQI table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second CQI table supports the higher modulation order; wherein a table row in the first CQI table and a table row in the second CQI table both contain a same combination of modulation scheme of a lowest modulation order and a lowest coding rate, and wherein the table row in the first CQI table and the table row in the second CQI table are both indexed by a lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein indication of the lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a CQI table used in a next transmission falls back to the first CQI table of the first table configuration.

40. The radio node of claim 39, wherein the radio node is configured to instruct the first UE to apply the second CQI table in the radio communication between the radio node and the first UE when a performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the first UE is above a threshold.

41. The radio node of claim 40, wherein the radio node is configured to instruct a second UE to apply the first CQI table in a radio communication between the radio node and the second UE when the performance related parameter of signals communicated between the radio node and the second UE is below the threshold.

42. The radio node of claim 39, wherein the lowest CQI index is CQI index 1.

43. A method performed by a User Equipment (UE), the UE being operable to apply a first Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) table of a first table configuration in a radio communication with a radio node of a cellular network, the method comprising: receiving an instruction from the radio node to apply a second CQI table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second CQI table supports a higher modulation order which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first CQI table; applying the second CQI table in the radio communication with the radio node; wherein a table row in the first CQI table and a table row in the second CQI table both contain a same combination of modulation scheme of a lowest modulation order and a lowest coding rate, and wherein the table row in the first CQI table and the table row in the second CQI table are both indexed by a lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein selection of the lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a CQI table used in a next transmission falls back to the first CQI table of the first table configuration.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the lowest CQI index is CQI index 1.

45. A User Equipment (UE), the UE being operable to apply a first Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) table of a first table configuration in a radio communication with a radio node of a cellular network, the UE comprising: one or more processing circuits configured to function as: a communication circuit configured to receive an instruction from the radio node to apply a second CQI table of a second table configuration in the radio communication, wherein the second CQI table supports a higher modulation order which is higher than a maximum modulation order of the first CQI table; and a logic circuit configured to apply the second CQI table in the radio communication with the radio node; wherein a table row in the first CQI table and a table row in the second CQI table both contain a same combination of modulation scheme of a lowest modulation order and a lowest coding rate, and wherein the table row in the first CQI table and the table row in the second CQI table are both indexed by a lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order; and wherein selection of the lowest CQI index of the lowest modulation order when the second table configuration is applied indicates that a CQI table used in a next transmission falls back to the first CQI table of the first table configuration.

46. The UE of claim 45, wherein the lowest CQI index is CQI index 1.