CN110089043B

CN110089043B - Measurement reporting in a new radio wireless communication network

Info

Publication number: CN110089043B
Application number: CN201780061808.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 姚丽娟; 郑京仁; 张玉建; 许允亨; 韩载珉; 阳·唐; 黄睿
Original assignee: Apple Inc
Current assignee: Apple Inc; Intel Corp
Priority date: 2016-11-04
Filing date: 2017-09-28
Publication date: 2023-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 2037-09-28
Also published as: WO2018084968A1; CN110089043A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe methods and apparatus for measurement reporting associated with one or more beams of a serving cell and a neighbor cell in a wireless communication network. A User Equipment (UE) may process a message received from a new radio base station (gNB) of a serving cell to determine a maximum number of beams per cell that the UE is to include in a measurement report. The UE may measure feedback information on a plurality of beams of individual cells including a serving cell and neighbor cells. The UE may generate a measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number and transmit the generated measurement report to the gNB. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Description

Measurement reporting in a new radio wireless communication network

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims 2016 the priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/417,917, filed 11, month 4, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of wireless communication networks, and more particularly, to an apparatus, system, and method for measurement reporting in a new radio wireless communication network.

Background

Fifth generation wireless cellular networks may transmit to User Equipment (UE) on multiple beams within each cell. Each beam within a cell transmits on a different time-frequency resource element. Moreover, in some cases, different beams may be transmitted by different Transmit Receiving Points (TRPs) within a cell and/or transmitted with different beamforming (e.g., antenna tilt and/or azimuth). The UE may switch between beams within a cell and/or between beams of different cells.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first aspect, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media are provided having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment, UE, cause the UE to: processing a message received from a new radio base station, gNB, of a serving cell to determine a maximum number of beams per cell to be included in a measurement report by the UE; measuring feedback information on a plurality of beams of each individual cell including the serving cell and neighbor cells; generating the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cell: the beams have the highest signal quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells; and transmitting the generated measurement report to the gNB.

In a second aspect, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media are provided having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a new radio base station, gbb, cause the gbb to: generating a message to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell to include in a measurement report for a UE connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB; sending the message to the UE; and receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cell: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells.

In a third aspect, there is provided an apparatus to be employed by a user equipment, UE, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to: obtaining a message from a new radio base station, gNB, of a serving cell indicating a maximum number of beams per cell to be included in a measurement report by the UE; measuring feedback information on a plurality of beams of each individual cell including the serving cell and neighbor cells; generating the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cells: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving and neighbor cells; and transmitting the generated measurement report to the gNB.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided an apparatus to be employed by a new radio base station, gbb, the apparatus comprising: means for transmitting a message to a UE connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB, the message indicating a maximum number of beams per cell to be included in a measurement report by the UE; and means for receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers and feedback information for up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cell: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells.

Drawings

The embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network environment in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example operational flow/algorithm structure of a user equipment according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example operational flow/algorithm structure of a new radio base station in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a computer system according to some embodiments.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way of illustration embodiments which may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may be performed out of the order presented. The operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiments. Various additional operations may be performed in additional embodiments or the described operations may be omitted.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrases "a or B", "a and/or B", and "a/B" mean (a), (B), or (a and B).

The description may use the phrases "in an embodiment" or "in embodiments," which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, as used in connection with embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, may be part of, or may include any combination of the following to provide the described functionality: integrated circuits (e.g., field programmable gate arrays ("FPGAs"), application specific integrated circuits ("ASICs"), etc.), discrete circuits, combinational logic circuits, system on a chip SOC, system in package sips. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware modules to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may comprise logic operable, at least in part, in hardware.

Fig. 1 illustrates a wireless cellular network 100 (hereinafter "network 100") in accordance with various embodiments. Network 100 may include a plurality of new radio node bs (gNB) 102a-c, where individual gNB102 a-c are associated with respective cells 104a-c of network 100. Within each cell 104a-c, a respective gNB102 a-c may communicate with a User Equipment (UE), such as UE106 depicted in FIG. 1, via one or more Transmission Reception Points (TRPs) 108a-l (e.g., TRPs 108a-d associated with cell 104a, TRPs 108e-h associated with cell 104b, and TRPs 108i-l associated with cell 104 c). In some embodiments, TRPs 108a-l may be located at different locations within the coverage area of each cell 104 a-c. In some embodiments, the gNB102 a-c may be co-located with or include one of the TRPs 108a-l of each cell.

In various embodiments, different TRPs 108a-l may transmit different beams to UE 106. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one or more of the individual TRPs 108a-l may transmit multiple beams. Different beams of the same cell 104a-c may be transmitted on different resource elements (e.g., time and frequency resources). Each beam may transmit one or more reference signals, such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and/or a New Radio Synchronization Signal (NRSS), on one or more of its respective resource elements. In some embodiments, different beams may use different beamforming (e.g., antenna tilt and/or azimuth) to provide coverage for different areas of the cells 104 a-c.

In various embodiments, the UE106 may switch its reception between different beams of the same cell 104a-c (intra-cell handover) and/or switch its reception between different beams of different cells (inter-cell handover). For example, as the UE106 moves and/or as signal conditions on the beams change, the UE106 may switch its reception between different beams. Intra-cell mobility may be managed by a beam management protocol. The beam management protocol may be configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC). The UE106 may perform beam management in the MAC and/or Physical (PHY) layers.

To support inter-cell handover, the UE106 may generate a measurement report including feedback information regarding one or more beams of multiple cells 104a-c (e.g., a serving cell and one or more neighbor cells) and send the generated measurement report to the serving cell. For example, the UE106 may be in an RRC CONNECTED state (RRC _ CONNECTED) with the cell 104a as the serving cell. The UE106 may measure feedback information regarding multiple beams of the serving cell 104a and one or more neighbor cells 104b-c. The feedback information may include, for example, received Signal Received Power (RSRP), received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and/or signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) for each individual beam. In some embodiments, the UE106 may measure feedback information regarding CSI-RS or NRSS associated with the individual beams.

In some embodiments, the feedback information and/or the type of reference signals to be used by the UE106 to measure the feedback information may be configurable by the serving gNB102 a. For example, the gNB102a may configure the type of feedback information and/or the type of reference signals via RRC during measurement configuration.

In various embodiments, serving gNB102a may send a message to UE106 including the maximum number to indicate the maximum number of beams per cell to be used by UE106 to generate a measurement report. The maximum number may be included in any suitable message from serving gNB102a to UE106, such as a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message (e.g., in a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or RRC message). The maximum number of values may be selected by the gNB102a based on any suitable parameter, such as one or more network conditions, e.g., signal quality conditions, load conditions, cell attributes (e.g., size, transmit power), arrangement of serving cells relative to neighbor cells, number of neighbor cells, and so forth.

The UE106 may generate a measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number. For example, in some embodiments, the measurement report may include beam identifiers for individual beams of up to a maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality (e.g., based on measured feedback information) among the beams of the respective serving and neighbor cells. The beam identifier may be referred to as a CSI-RS resource identifier or a timing index of the NRSS block in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the UE106 may additionally or alternatively include feedback information regarding individual beams (e.g., beams associated with respective beam identifiers) up to a maximum number of beams with the highest signal quality. Additionally or alternatively, the UE106 may average the feedback information for up to a maximum number of beams with the highest signal quality among the beams of the serving and neighbor cells and include the average feedback value in the measurement report.

In some embodiments, serving gNB102a may send a format indicator to UE106 to indicate to UE106 which information UE106 is to include in the measurement report. For example, gNB102a may send the format indicator to UE106 in the same message that includes the maximum number or in a different message. In some embodiments, the format indicator may indicate whether the measurement report is to include the beam identifier without associated feedback information or to include both the beam identifier and associated feedback information. Additionally or alternatively, the format indicator may indicate whether the UE106 is to provide beam level feedback. In some cases, the UE106 may provide average feedback information when the format indicator instructs the UE not to provide beam level feedback.

In various embodiments, the maximum number may be switched by serving cell 104a between any suitable set of values. For example, in some embodiments, the maximum number may be represented by a single bit to indicate whether the UE106 is to provide feedback information for only one beam per cell or multiple beams per cell (which may be more than a predetermined number, e.g., two, three, or four, etc.). Alternatively, the maximum number may be represented by a plurality of bits to indicate one of a plurality of possible values for the maximum number (e.g., two bits to indicate one of four possible values or three bits to indicate one of eight possible values).

In some embodiments, the beams included in the measurement report may be subject to a signal quality threshold corresponding to the lowest signal quality of the beams to be included in the measurement report. For example, the measurement report generated and transmitted by the UE106 may include beam identifiers and/or measured feedback information for up to a maximum number of beams having a highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold. In some embodiments, serving gNB102a may configure a signal quality threshold for UE 106. For example, the signal quality threshold may be included in the same message that includes the maximum number or in a different message.

In some embodiments, the UE106 may include the beam identifier and/or feedback information in the measurement report only for neighbor cells 104b-c having at least one beam with signal quality above a threshold. In other embodiments, the measurement report may include beam identifiers and/or feedback information for the highest quality beams of one or more neighbor cells even if the signal quality of the highest quality beams is below a signal quality threshold. The measurement report may include additional beams for a given cell only when the signal quality of the additional beams is above a signal quality threshold and the total beams reported for the cell is equal to or less than a maximum number.

As described above, in some embodiments, the measurement report may include feedback information for individual beams and/or average feedback information corresponding to an average of feedback information for multiple beams of the same cell. In some embodiments (e.g., when UE106 is to include both individual feedback information and average feedback information in the measurement report), gNB102a may send to UE106 a first maximum number to be used for determining the individual feedback information to include and a second maximum number to be used for determining the number of beams to be used for the average feedback information. The second maximum number may be different from (e.g., higher or lower than) the first maximum number.

When the UE106 is configured to provide an average feedback value in the measurement report subject to the signal quality threshold, the UE106 may select up to a maximum number of beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold and average the feedback information of the selected beams of the serving cell to generate a first average feedback value. Further, the UE106 may select up to a maximum number of beams of neighbor cells having highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold and average the feedback information of the beams of the selected neighbor cells to generate a second average feedback value. The measurement report generated by UE106 and sent to gNB102a may include first and second average feedback values. In some cases, the measurement report may also include an average feedback value for one or more additional neighbor cells (e.g., if one or more neighbor cells have one or more beams with signal quality above a signal quality threshold).

In various embodiments, certain conditions may cause the UE106 to trigger the generation and sending of measurement reports. For example, in some embodiments, the UE106 may measure feedback information for multiple beams of the serving cell 104a and one or more neighbor cells 104b-c. The UE106 may start a timer when the UE106 determines that the measured feedback information for the neighbor cells 104b-c is greater than the measured feedback information for the serving cell by more than a ping-pong threshold. The determination may be based on, for example, signal qualities of the best beam of serving cell 104a and the best beams of neighbor cells 104b-c, signal qualities of the multiple beams of serving cell 104a and neighbor cells 104b-c, and/or an average signal quality of the multiple beams of serving cell 104a and neighbor cells 104b-c. When the timer expires, the UE106 may again measure feedback information for multiple beams of the serving cell 104a and one or more neighbor cells 104b-c to obtain updated feedback information. If the updated feedback information of the neighbor cells 104b-c is greater than the threshold above the updated feedback information of the serving cell 104a, the UE106 generates and sends a measurement report (e.g., with the updated feedback information). The timer and/or ping-pong threshold may prevent/reduce frequent handovers between cells 104a-c (sometimes referred to as a "ping-pong effect").

In some embodiments, the length of the timer used by the UE106 may vary based on the speed of the UE 106. For example, the UE106 may use a longer timer when the UE106 moves slower (or does not move), and the UE106 may use a shorter timer when the UE106 moves faster. A shorter timer when the UE106 moves faster may enable the UE106 to more quickly handover to the neighbor cells 104b-c, while a longer timer when the UE moves slower may prevent frequent handovers by the UE106 (e.g., when the UE106 is near a cell edge and/or moving from one cell 104a-c to another cell 104 a-c). Due to the multiple beams in each cell 104a-c and the beam tracking performed by the UE106 to switch between the beams of the cells 104a-c, the signal quality within a given cell 104a-c may be multi-modal as the UE106 moves within the cell 104 a-c. The multi-mode signal quality may cause a slower moving UE106 to switch between the same two cells 104a-c multiple times as it moves from one cell to another. The increased timer value for slower moving UEs 106 described herein may alleviate this problem while still providing rapid handover for faster moving UEs 106.

In various embodiments, serving gNB102a may initiate a handover for the UE from serving cell 104a to one of neighbor cells 104b-c (referred to as a target cell) based on the measurement report. For example, UE106 may send a measurement report to serving gNB102a as part of the handover request. Serving gNB102a may send a handover response to UE106 to instruct UE106 to change its serving cell (e.g., RRC connection) from serving cell 104a to target cell 104b-c.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example operational flow/algorithm structure 200 of the UE106 in accordance with some embodiments.

The operational flow/algorithm structure 200 may include: at 204, messages received from the serving cell's gNB (e.g., gNB102a of serving cell 104 a) are processed to determine a maximum number of beams per cell that UE106 is to include in the measurement report. The maximum number may be any suitable value, such as one or more. Further, the maximum number may be represented by any suitable number of bits, such as one, two, three, or more bits. In some embodiments, the message may also include a signal quality threshold as described herein.

At 208, the operational flow/algorithm structure 200 may also include measuring feedback information regarding a plurality of beams for individual body cells including the serving cell and neighbor cells (e.g., neighbor cell 104b or 104 c). In some embodiments, the UE may measure feedback information regarding beams of more than one neighbor cell. The feedback information may also include, for example, RSRP, RSRQ, and/or SINR.

At 212, the operational flow/algorithm structure 200 may include generating a measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number. In some embodiments, the measurement report may include beam identifiers of up to a maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality among beams of each serving cell and neighbor cell, measured feedback information, and/or an average feedback value. In some embodiments, the beams included in the measurement report may be subject to signal quality thresholds as described herein.

At 216, the operational flow/algorithm structure 200 can also include sending the generated measurement report to the gNB. In some embodiments, the measurement report may be sent by the UE as part of the handover request. The serving gNB may initiate a handover to the target cell (one of the neighbor cells) based on the measurement report. For example, the serving gbb may send a handover response to the UE, and the UE may handover its RRC connection from the serving gbb to the target gbb.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example operational flow/algorithm structure 300 of the gNB102a in accordance with some embodiments.

The operational flow/algorithm structure 300 may include: at 304, a message is generated to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell to include in a measurement report for a UE (e.g., UE 106) connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB. The maximum number may be any suitable value, such as one or more. Further, the maximum number may be represented by any suitable number of bits, such as one, two, three, or more bits. In some embodiments, the message may also include a signal quality threshold as described herein.

At 308, the operational flow/algorithm structure 300 may include sending the message to the UE. For example, the message may be a DCI message transmitted in a PDCCH.

At 312, the operational flow/algorithm structure 300 may include receiving a measurement report from the UE including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and the neighbor cell: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells. In some embodiments, the measurement report may further include measured feedback information and/or an average feedback value for up to a maximum number of beams with the highest signal quality among the beams of each serving cell and neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the beams included in the measurement report may be subject to signal quality thresholds as described herein.

The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 4 illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of an electronic device 400. In embodiments, electronic device 400 may be, may implement, may be included in, or may otherwise be part of: a UE (e.g., UE 106), a gNB (e.g., gnbs 102 a-c), a computer device that may perform and/or implement one or more of the features or operations of the UE and/or the gNB, or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, electronic device 400 may include application circuitry 402, baseband circuitry 404, radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 406, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 408, and one or more antennas 410 coupled together at least as shown. In embodiments in which the electronic device 400 is implemented in or by an eNB, the electronic device 400 may also include network interface circuitry (not shown) for communicating over a wired interface (e.g., an X2 interface, an S1 interface, etc.).

The application circuitry 402 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 402 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors 402 a. The processor(s) 402a may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor 402a may be coupled with and/or may include a computer-readable medium 402b (also referred to as "CRM 402b," "memory 402b," "storage 402b," or "memory/storage 402 b") and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the CRM402b to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 404 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 404 may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 406 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 406. Baseband circuitry 404 may interface with application circuitry 402 to generate and process baseband signals and to control the operation of RF circuitry 406. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 404 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 404a, a third generation (3G) baseband processor 404b, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 404c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 404d for other existing generations, generations in development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 404 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 404 a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 406. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency offset, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 404 may include Fast-fourier transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding/decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 404 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, viterbi (Viterbi), and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may include elements of a protocol stack, such as elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) protocol, including, for example, physical (PHY), medium Access Control (MAC), radio Link Control (RLC), packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and/or Radio Resource Control (RRC) elements. A Central Processing Unit (CPU) 404e of the baseband circuitry 404 may be configured to run elements of a protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the RRC layer may perform one or more of the operations described herein, such as the generation of measurement reports by the UE.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) 404f. The audio DSP(s) 404f may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. The baseband circuitry 404 may also include a computer-readable medium 404g (also referred to as a "CRM 404g," "memory 404g," "storage 404g," or "memory/storage 404 b"). The CRM404g may be used to load and store data and/or instructions for operations performed by the processor of the baseband circuitry 404. For example, when the device 400 is an eNB, the CRM404g may load and store data and/or instructions as follows: these data and/or instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of baseband circuitry 404, cause baseband circuitry 404 to generate a message including a maximum value to be transmitted to a UE (e.g., via RF circuitry 406) as described herein. As another example, when the device 400 is a UE, the CRM404g may load and store data and/or instructions as follows: these data and/or instructions, when executed by one or more processors of baseband circuitry 404, cause baseband circuitry 404 to generate measurement reports to be sent to serving gNB (e.g., via RF circuitry 406) as described herein.

The CRM404g of one embodiment may comprise any combination of suitable volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. The CRM404g may include any combination of various levels of memory/storage, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM) with embedded software instructions (e.g., firmware), random access memory (e.g., dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)), caches, buffers, and so forth. The CRM404g may be shared among various processors or dedicated to a particular processor. The components of baseband circuitry 404 may be combined as appropriate on a single chip, a single chipset, or in some embodiments, disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 404 and the application circuitry 402 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, embodiments in which baseband circuitry 404 may support radio communications with E-UTRAN and/or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) in which baseband circuitry 404 is configured to support more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 406 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, RF circuitry 406 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with a wireless network. The RF circuitry 406 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 408 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 404.RF circuitry 406 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by baseband circuitry 404 and provide RF output signals to FEM circuitry 408 for transmission.

In some embodiments, RF circuitry 406 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of RF circuitry 406 may include mixer circuitry 406a, amplifier circuitry 406b, and filter circuitry 406c. The transmit signal path of RF circuitry 406 may include filter circuitry 406c and mixer circuitry 406a. RF circuitry 406 may also include synthesizer circuitry 406d for synthesizing frequencies for use by mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 408 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 406 d. The amplifier circuit 406b may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal and the filter circuit 406c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 404 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not a necessary requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path may comprise a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 406d to generate the RF output signal for the FEM circuitry 408. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuitry 404 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 406c. Filter circuit 406c may include a Low Pass Filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may comprise two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and/or up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., hartley (Hartley) image rejection). In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and/or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 404 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 406.

In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 406d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 406d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase locked loop with a frequency divider. Synthesizer circuit 406d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by mixer circuit 406a of RF circuit 406 based on the frequency input and the divider control input. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 406d may be a fractional N/N +1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), although this is not a necessary requirement. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 404 or application circuitry 402, depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application circuit 402.

Synthesizer circuit 406d of RF circuit 406 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a Dual Modulus Divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a Digital Phase Accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N +1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, a DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to decompose the VCO period into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 406d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency having multiple different phases from each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include an IQ/polarity converter.

FEM circuitry 408 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 410, amplify the received signals, and provide amplified versions of the received signals to RF circuitry 406 for further processing. FEM circuitry 408 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by RF circuitry 406 for transmission by one or more of one or more antennas 410. In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 408 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 408 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified receive RF signal as an output (e.g., to RF circuitry 406). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 408 may include a Power Amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 406) and one or more filters to generate the RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 410).

In some embodiments, electronic device 400 may include additional elements, such as a display, a camera, one or more sensors, and/or interface circuitry (e.g., an input/output (I/O) interface or bus) (not shown). In embodiments where the electronic device is implemented in or by an eNB, the electronic device 400 may include network interface circuitry. The network interface circuits may be one or more computer hardware components that connect the electronic device 400 to one or more network elements, such as one or more servers within a core network or one or more other enbs, via a wired connection. To this end, the network Interface circuitry may include one or more special purpose processors and/or Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) to communicate using one or more network communication protocols, such as X2 Application Protocol (AP), S1AP, stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP), ethernet, point-to-Point (PPP), fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), and/or any other suitable network communication protocol.

The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

Some non-limiting examples of various embodiments are provided below.

Example 1 is one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a User Equipment (UE), cause the UE to: processing a message received from a new radio base station (gNB) of a serving cell to determine a maximum number of beams per cell to be included in a measurement report by the UE; measuring feedback information on a plurality of beams of each individual cell including the serving cell and neighbor cells; generating the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number; and transmitting the generated measurement report to the gNB.

Example 2 is the one or more media of example 1, wherein the generated measurement report includes beam identifiers and measured feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams with highest signal quality among beams of each serving cell and neighbor cell.

Example 3 is the one or more media of example 2, wherein the generated measurement report includes beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of beams having highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold and the measured feedback information.

Example 4 is the one or more media of example 3, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 5 is the one or more media of example 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: selecting up to the maximum number of beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold; averaging feedback information of the selected beam of the serving cell to generate a first average feedback value; selecting up to the maximum number of beams of the neighbor cell having a highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold; and averaging feedback information of the selected beam of the neighbor cell to generate a second average feedback value; and wherein the generated measurement report comprises the first and second average feedback values.

Example 6 is the one or more media of example 5, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 7 is the one or more media of any one of examples 1 to 6, wherein the message further indicates a type of feedback to measure for the feedback information.

Example 8 is the one or more media of example 7, wherein the type of feedback is Received Signal Received Power (RSRP), received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR).

Example 9 is the one or more media of any one of examples 1 to 8, wherein the UE measures feedback information for each channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) associated with an individual beam of the plurality of beams.

Example 10 is the one or more media of any one of examples 1 to 8, wherein the UE measures feedback information regarding New Radio Synchronization Signals (NRSS) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 11 is the one or more media of any one of examples 1 to 10, wherein the multiple beams of the serving cell are transmitted with different beamforming on different resource elements.

Example 12 is the one or more media of any one of examples 1 to 11, wherein the measured feedback information is first feedback information, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: measuring second feedback information regarding the plurality of beams; starting a timer based on a determination that the second feedback information for the neighbor cell is greater than the second feedback information for the serving cell by more than a threshold; measuring the first feedback information after the timer expires; and transmitting the measurement report when the first feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher than the second feedback information of the serving cell by more than the threshold.

Example 13 is the one or more media of example 12, wherein a length of the timer varies based on a speed of the UE.

Example 14 is the one or more media of any one of examples 1 to 13, wherein the message is a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.

Example 15 is one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a new radio base station (gNB), cause the gNB to: generating a message to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell to include in a measurement report for a UE connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB; sending the message to the UE; and receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cell: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells.

Example 16 is the one or more media of example 15, wherein the measurement report further includes feedback information measured by the UE for beams associated with respective beam identifiers included in the measurement report.

Example 17 is the one or more media of examples 15 or 16, wherein the measurement report includes beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams having highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold.

Example 18 is the one or more media of example 17, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 19 is the one or more media of any one of examples 15 to 18, wherein the measurement report comprises: a first average feedback value corresponding to an average of feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold; and a second average feedback value corresponding to an average of feedback information of up to the maximum number of beams of the neighbor cell having the highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold.

Example 20 is the one or more media of example 19, wherein the message further includes the signal quality threshold.

Example 21 is the one or more media of any one of examples 15 to 20, wherein the message further indicates a type of feedback to measure for the feedback information.

Example 22 is the one or more media of example 21, wherein the type of feedback is Received Signal Received Power (RSRP), received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR).

Example 23 is the one or more media of any one of examples 15 to 22, wherein the UE measures feedback information for each channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) associated with an individual beam of the plurality of beams.

Example 24 is the one or more media of any one of examples 15 to 23, wherein the UE measures feedback information regarding New Radio Synchronization Signals (NRSS) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 25 is the one or more media of any one of examples 15 to 24, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the gNB to transmit the plurality of beams of the serving cell with different beamforming on different resource elements.

Example 26 is the one or more media of example 25, wherein the gNB transmits the plurality of beams via a plurality of Transmit Receive Points (TRPs).

Example 27 is the one or more media of any one of examples 15 to 26, wherein the measurement report is received as part of a handover request, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the gNB to initiate handover of the UE to the neighbor cell based on the measurement report.

Example 28 is the one or more media of any one of examples 15 to 27, wherein the message is a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.

Example 29 is an apparatus to be employed by a User Equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to: obtaining, from a new radio base station (gNB) of a serving cell, a message indicating a maximum number of beams per cell to be included by the UE in a measurement report; measuring feedback information on a plurality of beams of each individual cell including the serving cell and neighbor cells; generating the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cells: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving and neighbor cells; and sending the generated measurement report to the gNB.

Example 30 is the apparatus of example 29, wherein the generated measurement report further includes measured feedback information for beams associated with each beam identifier included in the measurement report.

Example 31 is the apparatus of example 29 or 30, wherein the message further includes a signal quality threshold, and wherein the measurement report includes beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams of the serving cell and the neighbor cell having a highest quality above the signal quality threshold.

Example 32 is the apparatus of any one of examples 29 to 31, wherein the measurement report comprises: a first average feedback value corresponding to an average of feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold; and a second average feedback value corresponding to an average of feedback information of up to the maximum number of beams of the neighbor cell having the highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold.

Example 33 is the apparatus of any one of examples 29 to 32, wherein the message further indicates a type of feedback to be measured for the feedback information, wherein the type of feedback is Received Signal Received Power (RSRP), received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR).

Example 34 is the apparatus of any one of examples 29 to 33, wherein the UE measures feedback information regarding channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams or regarding New Radio Synchronization Signals (NRSS) associated with individual beams of the plurality of beams.

Example 35 is the apparatus of any one of examples 29 to 34, wherein the measured feedback information is first feedback information, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: measuring second feedback information regarding the plurality of beams; starting a timer based on a determination that the second feedback information for the neighbor cell is greater than the second feedback information for the serving cell by more than a threshold; measuring the first feedback information after the timer expires; and transmitting the measurement report when the first feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher than the second feedback information of the serving cell by more than the threshold.

Example 36 is the apparatus of example 35, wherein a length of the timer varies based on a speed of the UE.

Example 37 is the apparatus of any one of examples 29 to 36, wherein the message is a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.

Example 38 is an apparatus to be employed by a new radio base station (gNB), the apparatus comprising: means for transmitting a message to a UE connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB, the message indicating a maximum number of beams per cell to be included in a measurement report by the UE; and means for receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including measured feedback information and respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cells: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells.

Example 39 is the apparatus of example 38, wherein the message further includes a signal quality threshold, and wherein the generated measurement report includes measured feedback information and beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams having a highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold.

Example 40 is the apparatus of example 38 or 39, further comprising means for sending a configuration message to the UE to indicate whether the UE is to measure feedback information regarding each channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) associated with an individual beam of the plurality of beams or each New Radio Synchronization Signal (NRSS) associated with an individual beam of the plurality of beams.

Example 41 is the apparatus of example 40, further comprising means for transmitting the multiple beams of the serving cell with different beamforming on different resource elements via multiple Transmit Receive Points (TRPs).

Example 42 is the apparatus of any one of examples 38 to 41, wherein the measurement report is received as part of a handover request, and wherein the apparatus further comprises means for initiating handover of the UE to the neighbor cell based on the measurement report.

The description herein of illustrated implementations, including those described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. While specific implementations and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various alternative or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be made in accordance with the above detailed description without departing from the scope of the disclosure, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment, UE, cause the UE to:

processing a message received from a new radio base station, gNB, of a serving cell to determine a maximum number of beams per cell to be included by the UE in a measurement report;

measuring feedback information on a plurality of beams of each individual cell including the serving cell and neighbor cells;

generating the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cells: the beams have the highest signal quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells; and is

Sending the generated measurement report to the gNB.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the generated measurement report further includes measured feedback information for beams associated with each beam identifier included in the measurement report.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein the generated measurement report includes beam identifiers and measured feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams having the highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein the maximum number is represented by a single bit in the message to indicate whether the UE provides feedback information for one beam per cell or multiple beams per cell, wherein the multiple beams per cell is a predetermined number greater than 1.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to:

selecting up to the maximum number of beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold;

averaging feedback information for the selected beam of the serving cell to generate a first average feedback value;

selecting up to the maximum number of beams of the neighbor cell having a highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold; and is

Averaging feedback information for the selected beam of the neighbor cell to generate a second average feedback value;

wherein the generated measurement report comprises the first average feedback value and the second average feedback value.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the message further comprises the signal quality threshold.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the message further indicates a type of feedback to measure for the feedback information.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the UE is to measure feedback information for each channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or each New Radio Synchronization Signal (NRSS) associated with an individual beam of the plurality of beams.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beams of the serving cell are transmitted with different beamforming on different resource elements.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the measured feedback information is first feedback information, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to:

measuring second feedback information regarding the plurality of beams;

starting a timer based on a determination that the second feedback information for the neighbor cell is greater than the second feedback information for the serving cell by more than a threshold;

measuring the first feedback information after the timer expires; and is provided with

Sending the measurement report when the first feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher than the first feedback information of the serving cell by more than the threshold.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein a length of the timer varies based on a speed of the UE.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a new radio base station, gbb, cause the gbb to:

generating a message to indicate a maximum number of beams per cell to include in a measurement report for UEs connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB;

sending the message to the UE; and is

Receiving a measurement report from the UE including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cells: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the measurement report further includes feedback information measured by the UE for beams associated with respective beam identifiers included in the measurement report.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the maximum number is represented by a single bit in the message to indicate whether the UE provides feedback information for one beam per cell or for multiple beams per cell, wherein the multiple beams per cell is a predetermined number greater than 1.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the message further comprises a signal quality threshold, and wherein the measurement report comprises:

a first average feedback value corresponding to an average of feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams of the serving cell having a highest signal quality above a signal quality threshold; and

a second average feedback value corresponding to an average of feedback information for up to the maximum number of beams of the neighbor cell having a highest signal quality above the signal quality threshold.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the message further indicates a type of feedback to measure for the feedback information, and wherein the UE is to measure feedback information for each channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or each New Radio Synchronization Signal (NRSS) associated with an individual one of the beams.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the gNB to transmit beams of the serving cell with different beamforming on different resource elements, and wherein the gNB is to transmit the beams via a plurality of Transmit Receive Points (TRPs).

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the measurement report is received as part of a handover request, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the gNB to initiate handover of the UE to the neighbor cell based on the measurement report.

19. An apparatus to be employed by a user equipment, UE, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to:

obtaining a message from a new radio base station, gNB, of a serving cell indicating a maximum number of beams per cell to be included in a measurement report by the UE;

generating the measurement report based on the measured feedback information and the maximum number, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers of up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving cell and neighbor cell: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving and neighbor cells; and is provided with

And sending the generated measurement report to the gNB.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the maximum number is represented by a single bit in the message to indicate whether the UE provides feedback information for only one beam per cell or for multiple beams per cell, wherein multiple beams per cell is a predetermined number greater than 1.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the message further includes a signal quality threshold, and wherein the measurement report includes beam identifiers for up to the maximum number of beams of the serving cell and the neighbor cell having a highest quality above the signal quality threshold.

22. The apparatus of any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the measured feedback information is first feedback information, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to:

measuring second feedback information regarding the plurality of beams;

starting a timer based on a determination that second feedback information for the neighbor cell is higher than second feedback information for the serving cell by more than a threshold;

measuring the first feedback information after the timer expires; and is

Sending the measurement report when the first feedback information of the neighbor cell is higher than the first feedback information of the serving cell by more than the threshold;

wherein a length of the timer varies based on a speed of the UE.

23. An apparatus to be employed by a new radio base station, gNB, the apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting a message to a UE connected to a serving cell associated with the gNB, the message indicating a maximum number of beams per cell to be included in a measurement report by the UE; and

means for receiving a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report including respective beam identifiers and feedback information for up to the maximum number of the following beams of the serving and neighbor cells: these beams have the highest quality among the beams of the respective serving cell and neighbor cells.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the maximum number is represented by a single bit in the message to indicate whether the UE provides feedback information for only one beam per cell or for multiple beams per cell, wherein the multiple beams per cell is a predetermined number greater than 1.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 or claim 24, further comprising means for: sending a configuration message to UEs to indicate whether the UEs are to measure feedback information on channel State information reference signals (CSI-RSs) associated with individual ones of the beams or on New Radio Synchronization Signals (NRSSs) associated with individual ones of the beams.