Patent attributes
The uplink transmission timing from a mobile communications device is defined with reference to the downlink reception timing of signals from a particular reference cell. When that reference cell is removed from the active set, there is defined a virtual reference cell, the timing of which is defined with reference to one or more of the cells remaining in the active set, such that the timing of this new virtual reference cell corresponds to the timing of the previous reference cell. The timing of the uplink transmission from the user equipment are then defined with reference to the new virtual reference cell, in the conventional way. This has the advantage that, following a soft handover, it is not necessary to adjust the timing of uplink transmissions from the user equipment.
