In the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) network, the specifications of long term evolution (LTE) have been drafted for the purpose of further increasing high speed data rates, providing lower delay and so on (see non-patent literature 1). In LTE, as multiple access schemes, a scheme that is based on OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) is used in downlink channels (downlink), and a scheme that is based on SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) is used in uplink channels (uplink). Also, successor systems of LTE (referred to as, for example, “LTE-advanced” or “LTE enhancement” (hereinafter referred to as “LTE-A”)) have been developed for the purpose of achieving further broadbandization and increased speed beyond LTE, and the specifications thereof have been drafted (Rel. 10/11).
As duplex modes for radio communication in the LTE and LTE-A systems, there are frequency division duplex (FDD) to divide between the uplink (UL) and the downlink (DL) based on frequency, and time division duplex (TDD) to divide between the uplink and the downlink based on time (see FIG. 1A). In TDD, the same frequency region is applied to uplink and downlink communication, and signals are transmitted and received to and from one transmitting/receiving point by dividing between the uplink and the downlink based on time.
In TDD in the LTE system, a plurality of frame configurations (DL/UL configurations) with different transmission ratios of uplink subframes (UL subframes) and downlink subframes (DL subframes) are stipulated. To be more specific, as shown in FIG. 2, seven frame configurations, namely DL/UL configurations 0 to 6, are stipulated, where subframes #0 and #5 are allocated to the downlink and subframe #2 is allocated to the uplink.
Also, the system band of the LTE-A system (Rel. 10/11) includes at least one component carrier (CC), where the system band of the LTE system constitutes one unit. Gathering a plurality of component carriers (cells) to achieve a wide band is referred to as “carrier aggregation” (CA).