10 eICIC and Release 11 feICIC. Although not discussed here, it is worth noticing from Table 7.2 Table 7.2 Summary of LTE eICIC benefits, requirements and characteristics Release 10 eICIC benefits Increased offload to pico eNodeB via reduced eICIC co-channel macro interference. ABS characteristics ABS are subframes with reduced transmit power (including no transmission) on some physical channels and/or reduced activity. The eNodeB ensures backward compatibility towards UEs by transmitting necessary control channels and physical signals, as well as system information Time synchronization Requires time synchronization between base stations. Several implementation alternatives; GPS and backhaul-based solutions such as IEEE 1588v2 ABS muting pattern Distributed dynamic coordination of ABS muting configuration pattern between macro and pico via standardized X2 signalling Network RRM eNodeB RRM functions such as the packet scheduler shall ensure that UEs requiring protection from aggressor nodes are only scheduled when these use Release 10 UE Configuration of time-domain-restricted RLM, RRM requirements and CSI measurements Release 11 Release 11 UE Pico-UE interference cancellation (IC) to handle further eICIC requirements residual interference from macro-ABS transmission. (feICIC) Signalling of IC assistance information from eNodeB to UE SIB1 provisioning SIB1 via dedicated signalling to a connected mode pico-UE in cell range extended region Small Cell Interference Management that eICIC/feICIC also offers benefits for scenarios with co-channel deployment of macro and CSG home base stations (HeNodeB), as also explained in greater details in [2]. 7.3.2 Performance and Algorithms Basic eICIC Performance Considerations The performance gain offered by (f)eICIC depends on multiple factors, where the primary performance determining factors are summarized in Figure 7.11. First, efficient eICIC opera- tion requires accurate setting of macro cell's ABS muting pattern and load balancing. Second, the gain of eICIC naturally depen