WO2022093511A1

WO2022093511A1 - User equipment assistance measurement information

Info

Publication number: WO2022093511A1
Application number: PCT/US2021/054043
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jibing Wang; Hung Tsang
Original assignee: Google Llc
Priority date: 2020-10-29
Filing date: 2021-10-07
Publication date: 2022-05-05

Abstract

This document describes methods, devices, systems, and means for managing a measurement procedure by a user equipment, UE, in which the UE determines that a local condition of the UE has changed (602) and based on the determined local condition, decides to disable selected signal quality measurements (604). Based on the decision, the UE commands a Radio Resource Control, RRC, layer in the UE to transmit UE assistance measurement information to a base station (606). The UE transmits an RRC message, including the UE assistance measurement information to the base station (608), receives an indication to disable the selected signal quality measurements from the base station (610), and based on the received indication, disables the selected signal quality measurements (612).

Description

USER EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE MEASUREMENT INFORMATION

BACKGROUND

[0001] To assist a wireless network in managing service to a user equipment (UE), a UE can provide UE assistance information to inform the network of capabilities and/or conditions the UE is experiencing. UE assistance information can convey a variety of information that assists the network to assist the UE in managing through a current situation.

[0002] The network may configure a UE to measure base station signals in various bands provided by the network. In higher frequency bands, such as millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) frequency bands, operation of transceivers is relatively power-inefficient as compared to transceiver operations in lower frequency bands. There is an opportunity to reduce UE power consumption by reducing or eliminating measurements, especially in the mmWave or THz bands, when the operations at the UE do not or cannot make use of these higher frequency bands.

SUMMARY

[0003] This summary is provided to introduce concepts of user equipment assistance measurement information. The concepts are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0004] In aspects, methods, devices, systems, and means for managing a measurement procedure by a user equipment (UE) describe the UE determining that a local condition of the UE has changed and, based on the determined local condition, deciding to request disablement of certain higher-frequency band or certain radio access technology (RAT) measurements. Based on the decision, the UE commands a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer in the UE to transmit UE assistance measurement information to a base station. The UE transmits an RRC message, including the UE assistance measurement information to the base station, receives from the base station an indication to disable one or more of the requested measurements and, based on the received indication, disables the measurements indicated.

[0005] In other aspects, methods, devices, systems, and means for managing a measurement procedure by a user equipment (UE) describe the UE determining that a local condition of the UE has changed and, based on the determined local condition, deciding to request enablement of certain higher-frequency band or certain RAT measurements. Based on the decision, the UE commands a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer in the UE to transmit UE assistance measurement information to a base station. The UE transmits an RRC message, including the UE assistance measurement information to the base station, receives an indication from the base station to enable one or more of the requested measurements and, based on the received indication, enables the measurements indicated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information are described with reference to the following drawings. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network system in which various aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information can be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example device diagram that can implement various aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a wireless network stack model in which various aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information can be implemented. FIG. 4 illustrates example data and control transactions between network layers of a user equipment and between the user equipment and a base station in accordance with aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information.

FIG. 5 illustrates example data and control transactions between network layers of a user equipment and between the user equipment and a base station in accordance with aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for a UE in accordance with aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method for a UE in accordance with aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0007] The evolution of wireless communication systems to fifth generation (5G) New Radio (5GNR), sixth generation (6G), or subsequent generations of wireless technologies provide higher data rates to users and enables operation in new and higher frequency bands, such as such as millimeter wave (mmWave) or terahertz (THz) frequency bands. While these higher data rates and higher frequency bands provide users with access to a broad range of applications on mobile devices, operations using these higher data rates and higher frequency bands consume greater amounts of power from the battery of a user equipment (UE).

[0008] To manage connectivity for the UE with the radio access network (RAN), the base stations within the RAN configure UEs to perform periodic measurements of serving-cell and neighbor-cell base stations. These measurement configurations can include configuring measurements of base stations operating in the mmWave or THz band. For the UE, operation of transceivers in these higher frequency bands consumes more battery power as compared to transceiver operations in lower frequency bands. In circumstances when applications running on the UE do not require the use of higher frequency bands or higher bandwidths, when the UE is out of range of the mmWave or THz coverage of a base station, or when other UE-related factors prohibit use of higher frequency bands, performing measurements of signals in these bands unnecessarily consumes battery capacity of the UE.

[0009] Present communication standards, for example 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.1.0 (2020- 07), section 5.7.4, provide a protocol for a UE to communicate UE assistance information to a base station to assist the base station in managing communication configurations for the UE. For example, after completing a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration (e.g., to establish, modify, or release radio bearers; to setup, modify, or release measurements; or the like) between the UE and the RAN, the UE can transmit UE assistance information to the RAN to inform the RAN of UE-related information that the RAN can use to configure communications with the UE to assist the UE in mitigating a current condition that is local to the UE, such as power saving when the UE’s battery capacity is low. The UE assistance information includes UE overheating assistance information, UE preferences on discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters for power saving, UE preferences on the maximum aggregated bandwidth for power saving, and so forth.

[0010] In aspects, the UE transmits UE assistance measurement information to the RAN to request that the RAN disable or enable some or all higher-frequency band or 5GNR cell measurements based on local conditions of the UE (UE-local conditions). UE-local conditions include a thermal condition of the UE, a remaining battery capacity of the UE, a charging status of the UE, applications running on the UE, radio conditions of the UE, a geographic location of the UE, a velocity of the UE, data throughput requirements of the UE, a Quality of Service (QoS) level, one or more 5GNR Quality of Service (QoS) parameters or a QoS Identifier (5QI) value for an application or service running on the UE, or other operating condition information of the UE. Based on one or more of these local conditions, the UE can determine to send UE assistance measurement information to the RAN. For example, the UE transmits the UE assistance measurement information as an Information Element (IE) in a UEAssistancelnformation RRC message. The UEAssistancelnformation RRC message may include parameters such as ssbFrequencyRemove, measurementSlotsRemove, measObjectToRemoveList, or the like, that the base station can use to alter the measurements that the UE performs and that the base station expects to receive from the UE.

[0011] In other aspects, various layers of the user plane and/or control plane in the network stack of the UE (e.g., an application layer, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) layer, a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layer, an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, an Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, a Media Access Control (MAC layer) can command a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station. For example, a change in application execution or data flows can cause an application or a TCP/UDP layer to command the RRC layer to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station based on changes in communication needs, such as no longer requiring wide bandwidth channels in mmWave or THz frequency bands, changes in the QoS flows in use, or the like. Changing measurement configuration based on these changes can reduce power consumption and improve network efficiency.

[0012] While features and concepts of the described devices, systems, and methods for user equipment assistance measurement information can be implemented in any number of different environments, systems, devices, and/or various configurations, aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information are described in the context of the following example devices, systems, and configurations.

Example Environment

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment 100 in which various aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information can be implemented. The example environment 100 includes a user equipment 110 (UE 110) that communicates with one or more base stations 120 (illustrated as base stations 121 and 122), through one or more wireless communication links 130 (wireless link 130), illustrated as wireless links 131 and 132. In this example, the user equipment 110 is implemented as a smartphone. Although illustrated as a smartphone, the user equipment 110 may be implemented as any suitable computing or electronic device, such as a mobile communication device, a modem, cellular phone, gaming device, navigation device, media device, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, smart appliance, or vehicle-based communication system. The base stations 120 (e.g., an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Node B, E-UTRAN Node B, evolved Node B, eNodeB, eNB, Next Generation Node B, gNode B, gNB, ng-eNB, a 6G node B, or the like) may be implemented in a macrocell, microcell, small cell, picocell, distributed base station, and the like, or any combination or future evolution thereof. In this schematic, the environment may reflect either a standalone or non- standalone network architecture depending on base station types and core network type.

[0014] The base stations 120 communicate with the user equipment 110 via the wireless links 131 and 132, which may be implemented as any suitable type of wireless link. The wireless links 131 and 132 can include a downlink of data and control information communicated from the base stations 120 to the user equipment 110, an uplink of other data and control information communicated from the user equipment 110 to the base stations 120, or both. The wireless links 130 may include one or more wireless links or bearers implemented using any suitable communication protocol or standard, or combination of communication protocols or standards such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long-Term Evolution (3GPP LTE), Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR), 6G, and so forth. Multiple wireless links 130 may be aggregated in a carrier aggregation to provide a higher data rate for the user equipment 110. Multiple wireless links 130 from multiple base stations 120 may be configured for Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP) communication with the user equipment 110. Additionally, multiple wireless links 130 may be configured for single-radio access technology (RAT) (single-RAT) dual connectivity (single- RAT-DC) or multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC).

[0015] The base stations 120 are collectively a Radio Access Network 140 (RAN, Evolved

Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN, 5GNR RAN or NR RAN). The base stations 121 and 122 in the RAN 140 are connected to a core network 150, such as a Fifth Generation Core (5GC) or 6G core network. The base stations 121 and 122 connect, at 102 and 104 respectively, to the core network 150 via an NG2 interface (or a similar 6G interface) for control-plane signaling and via an NG3 interface (or a similar 6G interface) for user-plane data communications. In addition to connections to core networks, base stations 120 may communicate with each other via an Xn Application Protocol (XnAP), at 112, to exchange user-plane and control -plane data. The user equipment 110 may also connect, via the core network 150, to public networks, such as the Internet 160 to interact with a remote service 170.

Example Devices

[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates an example device diagram 200 of the user equipment 110 and the base stations 120. The user equipment 110 and the base stations 120 may include additional functions and interfaces that are omitted from FIG. 2 for the sake of clarity. The user equipment 110 includes antennas 202, a radio frequency front end 204 (RF front end 204), an LTE transceiver 206, a 5GNR transceiver 208, and a 6G transceiver 210 for communicating with base stations 120 in the RAN 140. The RF front end 204 of the user equipment 110 can couple or connect the LTE transceiver 206, the 5G NR transceiver 208, and the 6G transceiver 210 to the antennas 202 to facilitate various types of wireless communication. The antennas 202 of the user equipment 110 may include an array of multiple antennas that are configured similarly to or differently from each other. The antennas 202 and the RF front end 204 can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency bands defined by the 3GPP LTE, 5GNR, and 6G communication standards and implemented by the LTE transceiver 206, the 5GNR transceiver 208, and/or the 6G transceiver 210. Additionally, the antennas 202, the RF front end 204, the LTE transceiver 206, the 5GNR transceiver 208, and/or the 6G transceiver 210 may be configured to support beamforming for the transmission and reception of communications with the base stations 120.

By way of example and not limitation, the antennas 202 and the RF front end 204 can be implemented for operation in sub-gigahertz bands, sub-6 GHz bands, and/or above 6 GHz bands that are defined by the 3 GPP LTE, 5GNR, and 6G communication standards.

[0017] The user equipment 110 also includes processor(s) 212 and computer-readable storage media 214 (CRM 214). The processor 212 may be a single core processor or a multiple core processor composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, and so on. The computer-readable storage media described herein excludes propagating signals. CRM 214 may include any suitable memory or storage device such as random-access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or Flash memory useable to store device data 216 of the user equipment 110. The device data 216 includes user data, multimedia data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and/or an operating system of the user equipment 110, which are executable by processor(s) 212 to enable user-plane communication, control-plane signaling, and user interaction with the user equipment 110.

[0018] In some implementations, the CRM 214 may also include a measurement manager 218. The measurement manager 218 can communicate with the antennas 202, the RF front end 204, the LTE transceiver 206, the 5 G NR transceiver 208, and/ or the 6G transceiver 210 to monitor the quality of the wireless communication links 130. Based on this monitoring, the measurement manager 218 can determine to disable, enable, or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0019] The device diagram for the base stations 120, shown in FIG. 2, includes a single network node (e.g, a gNode B). The functionality of the base stations 120 may be distributed across multiple network nodes or devices and may be distributed in any fashion suitable to perform the functions described herein. The base stations 120 include antennas 252, a radio frequency front end 254 (RF front end 254), one or more LTE transceivers 256, one or more 5G NR transceivers 258, and/or one or more 6G transceivers 260 for communicating with the UE 110.

The RF front end 254 of the base stations 120 can couple or connect the LTE transceivers 256, the 5GNR transceivers 258, and/or the 6G transceivers 260 to the antennas 252 to facilitate various types of wireless communication. The antennas 252 of the base stations 120 may include an array of multiple antennas that are configured similarly to or differently from each other. The antennas 252 and the RF front end 254 can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency band defined by the 3GPP LTE, 5G NR, and 6G communication standards, and implemented by the LTE transceivers 256, one or more 5G NR transceivers 258, and/or one or more 6G transceivers 260. Additionally, the antennas 252, the RF front end 254, the LTE transceivers 256, one or more 5GNR transceivers 258, and/or one or more 6G transceivers 260 may be configured to support beamforming, such as Massive-MIMO, for the transmission and reception of communications with the UE 110.

[0020] The base stations 120 also include processor(s) 262 and computer-readable storage media 264 (CRM 264). The processor 262 may be a single core processor or a multiple core processor composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, and so on. CRM 264 may include any suitable memory or storage device such as randomaccess memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or Flash memory useable to store device data 266 of the base stations 120. The device data 266 includes network scheduling data, radio resource management data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and/or an operating system of the base stations 120, which are executable by processor(s) 262 to enable communication with the user equipment 110.

[0021] CRM 264 also includes a base station manager 268. Alternately or additionally, the base station manager 268 may be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the base stations 120. In at least some aspects, the base station manager 268 configures the LTE transceivers 256, the 5GNR transceivers 258, and the 6G transceiver(s) 260 for communication with the user equipment 110, as well as communication with a core network, such as the core network 150, and routing user- plane and control-plane data for joint communication. Additionally, the base station manager 268 may allocate air interface resources, schedule communications, configure beam recovery configurations, and preform beam-sweeps for the UE 110 and base stations 120 in the ACS when the base station 120 is acting as a master base station for the base stations 120 in the ACS.

[0022] The base stations 120 include an inter-base station interface 270, such as an Xn and/or X2 interface, which the base station manager 268 configures to exchange user-plane and control -plane data between other base stations 120, to manage the communication of the base stations 120 with the user equipment 110. The base stations 120 include a core network interface 272 that the base station manager 268 configures to exchange user-plane and control-plane data with core network functions and/or entities.

User Plane and Control Plane Signaling

[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram 300 of a wireless network stack model 300 (stack 300, network stack 300). The stack 300 characterizes a communication system for the example environment 100, in which various aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information can be implemented. The stack 300 includes a user plane 302 and a control plane 304. Upper protocol layers of the user plane 302 and the control plane 304 share common lower layers in the stack 300. Wireless devices, such as the UE 110 or the base station 120, implement each layer as an entity for communication with another device using the protocols defined for the layer. For example, a UE 110 uses a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity to communicate to a peer PDCP entity in a base station 120 using the PDCP.

[0024] The shared lower protocol layers include a physical (PHY) layer 306, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer 308, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer 310, and a PDCP layer 312. The PHY layer 306 provides hardware specifications for devices that communicate with each other. As such, the PHY layer 306 establishes how devices connect to each other, assists in managing how communication resources are shared among devices, and the like. [0025] The MAC layer 308 specifies how data is transferred between devices. Generally, the MAC layer 308 provides a way in which data packets being transmitted are encoded and decoded into bits as part of a transmission protocol.

[0026] The RLC lay er 310 provides data transfer services to higher layers in the stack 300.

Generally, the RLC layer 310 provides error correction, packet segmentation and reassembly, and management of data transfers in various modes, such as acknowledged, unacknowledged, or transparent modes.

[0027] The PDCP layer 312 provides data transfer services to higher layers in the stack 300. Generally, the PDCP layer 312 provides transfer of user plane 302 and control plane 304 data, header compression, ciphering, and integrity protection.

[0028] Above the PDCP layer 312, the stack splits into the user-plane 302 and the controlplane 304. Layers of the user plane 302 include an optional Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer 314, an Internet Protocol (IP) layer 316, a Transmission Control Protocol/User Datagram Protocol (TCP/UDP) layer 318, and an application layer 320, which transfers data using the wireless link 106. The optional SDAP layer 314 is present in 5G NR networks. The SDAP layer 314 maps a Quality of Service (QoS) flow for each data radio bearer and marks QoS flow identifiers in uplink and downlink data packets for each packet data session. The IP layer 316 specifies how the data from the application layer 320 is transferred to a destination node. The TCP/UDP layer 318 is used to verify that data packets intended to be transferred to the destination node reached the destination node, using either TCP or UDP for data transfers by the application layer 320. In some implementations, the user plane 302 may also include a data services layer (not shown) that provides data transport services to transport application data, such as IP packets including web browsing content, video content, image content, audio content, or social media content.

[0029] The control plane 304 includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer 324 and a

Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer 326. The RRC layer 324 establishes and releases connections and radio bearers, broadcasts system information, or performs power control. The RRC layer 324 also controls a resource control state of the UE 110 and causes the UE 110 to perform operations according to the resource control state. Example resource control states include a connected state (e.g., an RRC connected state) or a disconnected state, such as an inactive state (e.g., an RRC inactive state) or an idle state (e.g., an RRC idle state). In general, iftheUE 110 is in the connected state, the connection with the base station 120 is active. In the inactive state, the connection with the base station 120 is suspended. If the UE 110 is in the idle state, the connection with the base station 120 is released. Generally, the RRC layer 324 supports 3GPP access but does not support non-3GPP access (e.g., WLAN communications).

[0030] The NAS layer 326 provides support for mobility management (e.g., using a Fifth- Generation Mobility Management (5GMM) layer 328) and packet data bearer contexts (e.g., using a Fifth-Generation Session Management (5GSM) layer 330) between the UE 110 and entities or functions in the core network, such as the Access and Mobility Management Function 152 (AMF 152) of the 5GC 150 or the like. The NAS layer 326 supports both 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0031] In the UE 110, each layer in both the user plane 302 and the control plane 304 of the stack 300 interacts with a corresponding peer layer or entity in the base station 120, a core network entity or function, and/or a remote service, to support user applications and control operation of the UE 110 in the RAN 140.

User Equipment Assistance Measurement Information

[0032] The UE 110 can determine at various protocol layers in the user plane 302 and/or the control plane 304 of the network stack 300 that a local condition of the UE 110 should trigger a change in measurements that a base station (e.g. , the base station 121) has configured for the UE

110. The change in measurement configurations includes disabling or enabling measurements on a per-RAN-type basis (e.g. , 5G, 4G), a per-frequency-band basis (e.g. , mmWave band, THz band, above-6 GHz band, below 6 GHz band, below 1 GHz band), or any combination thereof.

[0033] The UE 110 can use one or more local conditions of the UE (UE-local conditions) to determine to request a change in its measurement configuration. For example, local conditions (UE-local conditions) that the UE is experiencing include a thermal condition of the UE 110, a remaining battery capacity of the UE 110, a charging status of the UE 110, applications running on the UE 110, radio conditions of the UE 110, a velocity of the UE 110, data throughput requirements of the UE 110, one or more 5GNR Quality of Service (QoS) parameters or a QoS Identifier (5QI) value for an application or service running on the UE 110, or other operating condition information of the UE 110.

[0034] In one aspect, the UE 110 determines, based on applications executing at the application layer 320 of the network stack 300, to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 disable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. The request can be implicit or explicit. The application layer 320 (e.g., a monitoring service of an operating system for applications executing on the UE) or an application executing at the application layer 320 determines to send an RRC message to the base station 121 to disable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the application layer 320 determines that applications executing on the UE 110 do not require wide channel bandwidths of 5GNR frequency bands (e.g., the mmWave band or THz frequency bands) or that an application requiring wide channel bandwidths has terminated. Based on this determination, the application layer 320 commands the RRC layer 324 (e.g., using an application programming interface (API) call) to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 disable or reconfigure 5GNR measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0035] In response to the request from the UE 110, the base station 121 may grant the request from the UE 110 to disable 5G NR measurements, deny the request, or provide a modified measurement configuration that differs from the requested reconfiguration made by the UE 110. For example, the base station and/or RAN may need measurements of the serving cell and or neighboring cell(s) to manage the RAN (e.g., to manage handovers or other mobility procedures for this UE and other UEs). In one alternative, the reconfiguration of measurements may reduce the frequency at which measurements are made (e.g., increase a time period between measurements, such as measuring the serving cell at one-half of the normal rate). Additionally or alternatively, the rate at which measurements are made of neighbor cells can be reduced relative to measurements of the serving cell. For example, neighbor cells are measured at a one-tenth-of- normal rate (e.g, every 20 seconds instead of every 2 seconds), are completely disabled, or are disabled for a period of time (e.g, 5 minutes).

[0036] In another aspect, the UE 110 determines based on data flows through the TCP/UDP layer 318 and/or the IP layer 316 of the network stack 300 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 disable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the TCP/UDP layer 318 and/or the IP layer 316 determines that an amount of uplink and/or downlink data with the base station 121 has dropped below a threshold value (e.g, bits transmitted per a unit of time). Based on this determination, the TCP/UDP layer 318 and/or the IP layer 316 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 disable or reconfigure 5G NR measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0037] In a further aspect, the SDAP layer 314 of the network stack 300 determines, based on the current QoS flows of packet data, to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 disable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the SDAP layer 314 determines that none of the 5G NR QoS Identifier (5QI) values of QoS flows currently in use, or of a QoS flow that terminates, requires wide channel bandwidths of the 5GNR frequency bands. Based on this determination, the SDAP layer 314 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to implicitly (or explicitly) request that the base station 121 disable or reconfigure 5G NR measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0038] In another aspect, the MAC layer 308 of the network stack 300 determines, based on a buffer status of uplink data to transmit, to send UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 disable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the MAC layer 308 determines that buffered data has dropped to a relatively low level that is below a threshold value. Based on this determination, the MAC layer 308 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 disable or reconfigure 5G NR measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0039] In one aspect, the UE 110 can disable 5GNR measurements based on the geographic location of the UE. For example, the UE 110 maintains a history (stored in the CRM 214) of locations where 5GNR coverage is not available or some frequency bands of 5G NR coverage (e.g. mmWave band or THz frequency bands) are not available. Based on determining that the current location of the UE 110 falls within an area that historically lacks 5G NR coverage, the UE 110 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 disable or reconfigure 5G NR measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0040] In a further aspect, the UE 110 can disable 5G NR measurements based on the velocity of the UE. For example, the UE 110 determines that the velocity if the UE 110 exceeds a threshold value (e.g., in a moving car). Based on determining that the current velocity of the UE 110 exceeds a threshold velocity value (e.g. , the velocity would causes rapid handoffs between mmWave band or THz frequency band base stations), the UE 110 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 disable or reconfigure 5GNR measurements performed by the UE 110. [0041] FIG. 4 illustrates example data and control transactions between network protocol layers of the UE 110, and between the UE 110 and the base station 121, in accordance with aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information. Although not illustrated for the sake of illustration clarity, various acknowledgements for messages illustrated in FIG. 4 may be implemented to ensure reliable operations of communication of user equipment assistance measurement information.

[0042] At 405, the UE 110 determines at an upper layer 402 (e.g., the application layer 320, the TCP/UDP layer 318, the IP layer 316, and/or the SDAP layer 314) that a local condition has changed. Examples of changing local conditions were previously described with reference to FIG. 3. At 410, based on the change in the local condition of the UE 110, the UE 110 determines (e.g., at one of the upper layers 402) to request disablement of certain cell signal measurements. The request could be on a per-RAN-type basis and/or a per-frequency-band basis as previously mentioned.

[0043] At 415, the upper layers 402 command the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information (e.g, as an Information Element (IE) in a UEAssistancelnformation RRC message) to the base station 121. For example, the IE in the UEAssistancelnformation RRC message may include parameters such as ssbFrequencyRemove, measurementSlotsRemove, measObjectToRemoveList, or the like, to indicate which cell signal measurements to disable At 420, the RRC layer transmits an RRC message including the UE assistance measurement information to disable 5GNR measurements.

[0044] Based on receiving the RRC message, the base station 121 responds with an Acknowledgement (ACK) at 425, an optional RRC response message including an updated measurement configuration at 430, or both the ACK and the RRC response message. Based on receiving the ACK and/or the RRC response message, at 435, the MAC layer 308 and/or the Physical layer 306 disable performing 5GNR measurements. [0045] The ACK at 425 can be sent using layer-2 signaling (e.g., a MAC Control Element (CE)) or layer-1 signaling (e.g., an uplink control). The use of layer-2 or layer-1 signaling provides a lower-latency response to the UE 110 that enables the UE 110 to disable measurements more quickly than would be possible using RRC messaging. The RRC response message includes an updated measurement configuration that can add, delete, or modify measurement objects, reporting configurations, measurement identities, quantity configurations, and/or measurement gaps for the remaining measurements after the requested measurements are disabled.

[0046] In an aspect, the UE 110 can enable/reenable selected (a portion of) or all cell signal measurements based on a further change in the local condition of the UE 110. The UE 110 determines, based on applications executing at the application layer 320 of the network stack 300, to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 enable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. The application layer 320 (e.g., a monitoring service of an operating system for applications executing on the UE) or an application (e.g., an online gaming application) executing or beginning to execute at the application layer 320 determines to send an RRC message to the base station 121 to enable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the application layer 320 determines that applications executing on the UE 110 require wide channel bandwidths of 5G NR frequency bands or that an application launched requiring wide channel bandwidths. Based on this determination, the application layer 320 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 enable or reconfigure selected (a subset of) or all cell signal measurements performed by the UE 110. The request could be on a per-RAN-type basis and/or a per-frequency-band basis as previously mentioned.

[0047] In another aspect, the UE 110 determines, based on data flows through the TCP/UDP layer 318 and/or the IP layer 316 of the network stack 300, to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 enable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the TCP/UDP layer 318 and/or the IP layer 316 determines that an amount of uplink and/or downlink data with the base station 121 has gone above a threshold value (e.g, bits transmitted per a unit of time). Based on this determination, the TCP/UDP layer 318 and/or the IP layer 316 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to implicitly (or explicitly) request that the base station 121 enable or reconfigure selected (a subset of) or all cell signal measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0048] In a further aspect, the SDAP layer 314 of the network stack 300 determines that based on the current QoS flows of packet data to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 to enable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the SDAP layer 314 determines that one or more of the 5GNR QoS Identifier (5QI) values of QoS flows currently in use or that a QoS flow that is established requires a QoS that require wide channel bandwidths of the 5G NR frequency bands. Based on this determination, the SDAP layer 314 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 enable or reconfigure selected (a subset of) or all cell signal measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0049] In another aspect, the MAC layer 308 of the network stack 300 determines, based on a buffer status of uplink data to transmit, to send UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 that requests the base station 121 to enable or reconfigure measurements performed by the UE 110. For example, the MAC layer 308 determines that buffered data has risen to a relatively high level that is above threshold value. Based on this determination, the MAC layer 308 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 enable or reconfigure selected (a subset of) or all cell signal measurements performed by the UE 110. [0050] In one aspect, the UE 110 can reenable 5GNR measurements based on the geographic location of the UE. For example, the UE 110 maintains a history of locations where 5GNR coverage is available or some high frequency bands of coverage (e.g. mmWave band or THz frequency bands) are available. Based on determining that the current location of the UE 110 falls within an area that historically provides 5GNR or high frequency coverage, the UE 110 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 enable or reconfigure selected (a subset of) or all cell signal measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0051] In a further aspect, the UE 110 can reenable 5G NR measurements based on the velocity of the UE. For example, the UE 110 determines that the velocity if the UE 110 falls below a different threshold velocity value (e.g., transitions from a moving vehicle to the user walking with the UE). Based on determining that the current velocity of the UE 110 falls below the second threshold velocity value, the UE 110 commands the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 enable or reconfigure selected (a subset of) or all cell signal measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates example data and control transactions between network protocol layers of the UE 110, and between the UE 110 and the base station 121, in accordance with aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information. Although not illustrated for the sake of illustration clarity, various acknowledgements for messages illustrated in FIG. 5 may be implemented to ensure reliable operations of communication of user equipment assistance measurement information.

[0053] At 505, the UE 110 determines at an upper layer 402 (e.g, the application layer 320, the TCP/UDP layer 318, the IP layer 316, and/or the SDAP layer 314) that a local condition has changed. Examples were previously described. At 510, based on the change in the local condition of the UE 110, the UE 110 determines (e.g., at one of the upper layers 402) to request enablement of certain cell signal measurements.

[0054] At 515, the upper layers 402 command the RRC layer 324 to transmit UE assistance measurement information (e.g., as an Information Element (IE) in a UEAssistancelnformation RRC message) to the base station 121. At 520, the RRC layer transmits an RRC message including the UE assistance measurement information to the base station 121 to request that the base station 121 enable or reenable selected or all cell signal measurements.

[0055] Based on receiving the RRC message, the base station 121 responds with an Acknowledgement (ACK) at 525, an optional RRC response message including an updated measurement configuration at 530, or both the ACK and the RRC response message. Based on receiving the ACK and/or the RRC response message, at 535, the MAC layer 308 and/or the Physical layer 306 enable performing selected or all cell signal measurements. In the event that the base station 121 transmits only the ACK at 525, the UE 110 resumes measurements using a most-recently -received set of measurement objects received from the base station 121 prior to any disablement per FIG. 4, if applicable. At 540, based on the measurement configuration in use, the UE 110 periodically transmits measurement reports to the base station 121.

[0056] The ACK at 525 can be sent using layer-2 signaling (e.g., a MAC Control Element (CE)) or layer-1 signaling (e.g., an uplink control). The use of layer-2 or layer-1 signaling provides a lower-latency response to the UE 110 that enables the UE 110 to enable/reenable measurements more quickly than would be possible using RRC messaging. The RRC response message includes an updated measurement configuration that can add, delete, or modify measurement objects, reporting configurations, measurement identities, quantity configurations, and/or measurement gaps for the remaining measurements after selected cell signal measurements are disabled. Example Methods

[0057] Example methods 600 and 700 are described with reference to FIGs. 6 and 7 in accordance with one or more aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information. FIG. 6 illustrates example method(s) 600 of user equipment assistance measurement information as generally related to the user equipment 110 determining to disable 5GNR measurements.

[0058] At block 602, a user equipment determines that a local condition of the UE has changed. For example, a UE (e.g. , the UE 110) determines that a local condition (e.g. , a thermal condition of the UE, a remaining battery capacity of the UE, a charging status of the UE, applications running on the UE, radio conditions of the UE, a geographic location of the UE, a velocity of the UE, data throughput requirements of the UE, a QoS, one or more 5G NR QoS parameters, or a 5QI value for an application or service running on the UE) has changed.

[0059] At block 604, based on determining that the local condition of the UE has changed, the user equipment decides to disable selected signal quality measurements. For example, the UE 110 decides in an upper layer (e.g., the upper layers 402, the application layer 320, the TCP/UDP layer 318, the IP layer 316, the SDAP layer 314, or the MAC layer 308) of a network stack (e.g., the network stack 300) to disable performing selected signal quality measurements.

[0060] At block 606, based on the deciding, command a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer in the UE to transmit to a base station first UE assistance measurement information that requests disablement of the selected signal quality measurements. For example, an upper layer 402 in the network stack 300 sends a command to the RRC layer (e.g., the RRC layer 324) to transmit UE assistance measurement information to a base station (e.g., the base station 121) to request to disable performing selected signal quality measurements.

[0061] At block 608, the user equipment transmits an RRC message, including the UE assistance measurement information, to the base station. For example, the RRC layer 324 transmits an RRC message including the UE assistance measurement information, to the base station 121. [0062] At block 610, the user equipment receives, from the base station, an indication to modify one or more of the selected signal quality measurements. For example, the UE 110 receives an Acknowledgement (ACK), an RRC response message including an updated measurement configuration, or both the ACK and the RRC response message from the base station 121.

[0063] At block 612, based on receiving the indication from the base station, the user equipment modifies the one or more of the selected signal quality measurements. For example, the UE110 modifies one or more of the selected signal quality measurements.

[0064] FIG. 7 illustrates example method(s) 700 of user equipment assistance measurement information as generally related to the user equipment 110 determining to enable 5GNR measurements. At block 702, a user equipment determines that a local condition of the UE has changed. For example, a UE (e.g., the UE 110) determines that a local condition (e.g., a thermal condition of the UE, a remaining battery capacity of the UE, a charging status of the UE, applications running on the UE, radio conditions of the UE, a geographic location of the UE, a velocity of the UE, data throughput requirements of the UE, a QoS, one or more 5G NR QoS parameters, a 5QI value for an application or service running on the UE) has changed or other operating condition information of the UE 110.

[0065] At block 704, based on determining that the local condition of the UE has changed, the user equipment decides to enable suggested signal quality measurements. For example, the UE 110 decides in an upper layer (e.g., the upper layers 402, the application layer 320, the TCP/UDP layer 318, the IP layer 316, the SDAP layer 314, or the MAC layer 308) of a network stack (e.g., the network stack 300) to enable/reenable performing suggested signal quality measurements.

[0066] At block 706, based on deciding to enable suggested signal quality measurements, the user equipment commands an RRC layer in the UE to transmit to a base station UE assistance measurement information that requests enablement of the suggested signal quality measurements. For example, an upper layer 402 in the network stack 300 sends a command to the RRC layer (e.g, the RRC layer 324) to transmit UE assistance measurement information to a base station (e.g, the base station 121) to request to enable/reenable performing suggested signal quality measurements.

[0067] At block 708, the user equipment transmits an RRC message, including the UE assistance measurement information, to the base station. For example, the RRC layer 324 transmits an RRC message including the UE assistance measurement information, to the base station 121.

[0068] At block 710, the user equipment receives, from the base station, an indication to enable the suggested signal quality measurements. For example, the UE 110 receives an Acknowledgement (ACK), an RRC response message including an updated measurement configuration, or both the ACK and the RRC response message from the base station 121.

[0069] At block 712, based on receiving the indication from the base station, the user equipment enables the suggested signal quality measurements. For example, the UE110 enables/reenables performing suggested signal quality measurements.

[0070] The order in which the method blocks of methods 600 and 700 are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be skipped or combined in any order to implement a method or an alternate method. Generally, any of the components, modules, methods, and operations described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g, fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods may be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is local and/or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations can include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Alternatively or in addition, any of the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components, such as, and without limitation, Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SoCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

[0071] In the following text some examples are described:

Example 1 : A method for managing a measurement procedure by a user equipment, UE, the method comprising the user equipment: determining that a first local condition of the UE has changed; based on the determining, deciding to disable at least a subset of signal quality measurements; based on the deciding, commanding a Radio Resource Control, RRC, layer in the UE to transmit to a base station first UE assistance measurement information that requests disablement of the subset of signal quality measurements; transmitting a first RRC message, including the first UE assistance measurement information, to the base station; receiving, from the base station, an indication to modify one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements; and based on the receiving, modifying the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements.

Example 2: The method of example 1, wherein the receiving the indication to modify the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving an acknowledgement, ACK, of the transmitted first RRC message from the base station; and wherein the modifying the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements comprises: disabling the subset of signal quality measurements. Example 3: The method of example 1 or example 2, wherein the receiving the indication to modify the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving an RRC response message including a first measurement configuration.

Example 4: The method of any of the preceding examples, wherein: the determining that the first local condition of the UE has changed; the deciding to disable at least a subset of signal quality measurements; and the commanding the RRC layer to transmit the first UE assistance measurement information, are performed at a layer of a network stack other than the RRC layer.

Example 5 : The method of example 4, wherein: the layer of the network stack that is other than the RRC layer is an application layer; or the layer of the network stack that is other than the RRC layer is a Transmission Control Protocol, TCP, layer, a User Datagram Protocol, UDP, layer, or an Internet Protocol, IP, layer, and the deciding to disable the subset of signal quality measurements comprises deciding at the TCP, UDP, or IP layer to disable THz measurements; the layer of the network stack that is other than the RRC layer is a Service Data Adaptation Protocol, SDAP, layer, and the deciding to disable the subset of signal quality measurements comprises deciding at the SDAP layer to disable mmWave measurements; or the layer of the network stack that is other than the RRC layer is a Medium Access Control, MAC, layer, and the deciding to disable the subset of signal quality measurements comprises deciding at the MAC layer to disable 5G NR measurements. Example 6: The method of any one of examples 1 to 3, wherein the determining that the first local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining the first local condition of the UE based on a first geographic location of the UE.

Example 7 : The method of example 6, further comprising the user equipment: comparing the first geographic location with one or more historic locations of the UE.

Example 8: The method of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the first local condition includes one or more of: a thermal condition of the UE; a remaining battery capacity of the UE; a charging status of the UE; applications running on the UE; radio conditions of the UE; a geographic location of the UE; a velocity of the UE; data throughput requirements of the UE; a Quality of Service, QoS level; one or more 5GNR QoS parameters; or a QoS Identifier, 5QI, value for an application or service running on the UE.

Example 9: The method of any one of the preceding examples, wherein transmitting the first RRC message comprises: including a request in the first UE assistance measurement information to disable measurements: on a per-RAN-type basis; on a per-frequency-band basis; or both on the per-RAN-type basis and on the per-frequency-band basis.

Example 10: The method of example 1, further comprising: determining that a second local condition of the UE has changed; based on the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed, deciding to enable a second subset of signal quality measurements; based on the deciding to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements, commanding an RRC layer in the UE to transmit to the base station second UE assistance measurement information that requests enablement of the second subset of signal quality measurements; transmitting a second RRC message, including the second UE assistance measurement information, to the base station; receiving, from the base station, an indication to enable the at least one of signal quality measurements; and based on the receiving the indication to enable the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements, enabling the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements.

Example 11: The method of example 10, wherein the receiving the indication to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving an ACK of the transmitted second RRC message from the base station.

Example 12: The method of example 11, wherein the enabling the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: enabling the second subset of signal quality measurements using a most-recently-received measurement configuration that includes a configuration for the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements.

Example 15: The method of example 12 or example 13, wherein the receiving the indication to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving a second RRC response message including a second measurement configuration.

Example 16: The method of any one of examples 12 to 15, wherein the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining at an application layer of a network stack that the second local condition of the UE has changed; wherein the deciding to enable second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: deciding at the application layer to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements; and wherein the commanding the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information comprises: commanding, by the application layer, the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information.

Example 17: The method of any one of examples 12 to 15, wherein the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining at a TCP layer, a UDP layer, or an IP layer of a network stack that the second local condition of the UE has changed; wherein the deciding to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: deciding at the TCP, UDP, or IP layer to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements; and wherein the commanding the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information comprises: commanding, by the TCP, UDP, or IP layer, the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information.

Example 18: The method of any one of examples 12 to 15, wherein the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining at an SDAP layer, of a network stack that the second local condition of the UE has changed; wherein the deciding to enable second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: deciding at the SDAP layer to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements; and wherein the commanding the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information comprises: commanding, by the SDAP layer, the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information.

Example 19: The method of any one of examples 12 to 15, wherein the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining at a MAC layer, of a network stack that the second local condition of the UE has changed; wherein the deciding to enable 5GNR measurements comprises: deciding at the MAC layer to disable 5G NR measurements; and wherein the commanding the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information comprises: commanding, by the MAC layer, the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information.

Example 20: The method of any one of examples 12 to 15, wherein the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining the second local condition of the UE based on a second geographic location of the UE.

Example 21 : The method of example 20, further comprising the user equipment: comparing the second geographic location with one or more historic locations of the UE.

Example 22: The method of any one of examples 12 to 21, wherein the second local condition includes one or more of: a thermal condition of the UE; a remaining battery capacity of the UE; a charging status of the UE; applications running on the UE; radio conditions of the UE; a geographic location of the UE; a velocity of the UE; data throughput requirements of the UE; a Quality of Service, QoS level; one or more 5G NR QoS parameters; or a QoS Identifier, 5QI, value for an application or service running on the UE. Example 23: The method of any one of examples 12 to 22, wherein the second UE assistance measurement information comprises disabling measurements: on per-RAN-type basis; on a per-frequency-band basis; or any combination thereof.

Example 24: The method of any one of examples 12 to 23, wherein the enabling the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: performing the second subset of signal quality measurements; and transmitting a measurement report to the base station, the measurement report including the second subset of signal quality measurements.

Example 25: The method of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the transmitting the first UE assistance measurement information that requests disablement of the subset of signal quality measurements comprises: transmitting an explicit request for disablement of the subset of signal quality measurements; or transmitting an implicit request for disablement of the subset of signal quality measurements.

Example 26: A user equipment comprising: a wireless transceiver; a processor; and instructions for a measurement manager that are executable by the processor to configure the user equipment to perform any of the methods of examples 1 to 25. Example 27: A method for managing a user equipment, UE, measurement procedure by a base station, the method comprising the base station: receiving, from the UE, a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message, including UE assistance measurement information; based on the received UE assistance measurement information, modifying one or more of a subset of signal quality measurements; and transmitting, to the UE, an RRC response message that includes the modified subset of signal quality measurements.

Example 28: The method of example 27, the method comprising the base station: in response to receiving the RRC message, transmitting an acknowledgement, ACK, to the UE.

Example 29: A base station comprising: a wireless transceiver; a processor; and instructions for a base station manager that are executable by the processor to configure the user equipment to perform the method of example 27 or example 28.

Example 30: A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause an apparatus comprising the processor to perform any of the methods of examples 1 to 25, 27, or 28.

[0072] Although aspects of user equipment assistance measurement information have been described in language specific to features and/or methods, the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of user equipment assistance measurement information, and other equivalent features and methods are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims. Further, various different aspects are described, and it is to be appreciated that each described aspect can be implemented independently or in connection with one or more other described aspects.

Claims

1. A method for managing a measurement procedure by a user equipment, UE, the method comprising the user equipment: determining that a first local condition of the UE has changed; based on the determining, deciding to disable at least a subset of signal quality measurements; based on the deciding, commanding a Radio Resource Control, RRC, layer in the UE to transmit to a base station first UE assistance measurement information that requests disablement of the subset of signal quality measurements; transmitting a first RRC message, including the first UE assistance measurement information, to the base station; receiving, from the base station, an indication to modify one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements; and based on the receiving, modifying the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the indication to modify the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving an acknowledgement, ACK, of the transmitted first RRC message from the base station; and wherein the modifying the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements comprises: disabling the subset of signal quality measurements.

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3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the receiving the indication to modify the one or more of the subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving an RRC response message including a first measurement configuration.

4. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein: the determining that the first local condition of the UE has changed; the deciding to disable at least a subset of signal quality measurements; and the commanding the RRC layer to transmit the first UE assistance measurement information, are performed at a layer of a network stack other than the RRC layer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein: the layer of the network stack that is other than the RRC layer is an application layer; or the layer of the network stack that is other than the RRC layer is a Transmission Control Protocol, TCP, layer, a User Datagram Protocol, UDP, layer, or an Internet Protocol, IP, layer, and the deciding to disable the subset of signal quality measurements comprises deciding at the TCP, UDP, or IP layer to disable THz measurements; or the layer of the network stack that is other than the RRC layer is a Service Data Adaptation Protocol, SDAP, layer, and the deciding to disable the subset of signal quality measurements comprises deciding at the SDAP layer to disable mmWave measurements.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determining that the first local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining the first local condition of the UE based on a first geographic location of the

UE.

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7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the user equipment: comparing the first geographic location with one or more historic locations of the UE.

8. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first local condition includes one or more of: a thermal condition of the UE; a remaining battery capacity of the UE; a charging status of the UE; applications running on the UE; radio conditions of the UE; a geographic location of the UE; a velocity of the UE; data throughput requirements of the UE; a Quality of Service, QoS, level; one or more 5GNR QoS parameters; or a QoS Identifier, 5QI, value for an application or service running on the UE.

9. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein transmitting the first RRC message comprises: including a request in the first UE assistance measurement information to disable measurements: on a per-RAN-type basis; on a per-frequency-band basis; or both on the per-RAN-type basis and on the per-frequency-band basis.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that a second local condition of the UE has changed; based on the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed, deciding to enable a second subset of signal quality measurements; based on the deciding to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements, commanding an RRC layer in the UE to transmit to the base station second UE assistance measurement information that requests enablement of the second subset of signal quality measurements; transmitting a second RRC message, including the second UE assistance measurement information, to the base station; receiving, from the base station, an indication to enable at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements; and based on the receiving the indication to enable the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements, enabling the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the receiving the indication to enable at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving an ACK of the transmitted second RRC message from the base station.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the enabling the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: enabling the second subset of signal quality measurements using a most-recently-received measurement configuration that includes a configuration for the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements.

13. The method of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the receiving the indication to enable the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: receiving a second RRC response message including a second measurement configuration.

14. The method of any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the determining that the second local condition of the UE has changed comprises: determining at an application layer of a network stack that the second local condition of the UE has changed; wherein the deciding to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: deciding at the application layer to enable the second subset of signal quality measurements; and wherein the commanding the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information comprises: commanding, by the application layer, the RRC layer to transmit the second UE assistance measurement information.

15. The method of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the enabling the at least one of the second subset of signal quality measurements comprises: performing the second subset of signal quality measurements; and transmitting a measurement report to the base station, the measurement report including the second subset of signal quality measurements.

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16. A user equipment comprising: a wireless transceiver; a processor; and instructions for a measurement manager that are executable by the processor to configure the user equipment to perform any one of methods of claims 1 to 15.

17. A method for managing a user equipment, UE, measurement procedure by a base station, the method comprising the base station: receiving, from the UE, a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message, including UE assistance measurement information; based on the received UE assistance measurement information, modifying one or more of a subset of signal quality measurements; and transmitting, to the UE, an RRC response message that includes the modified subset of signal quality measurements.

18. The method of claim 17, the method comprising the base station: in response to receiving the RRC message, transmitting an acknowledgement, ACK, to the UE.

19. A base station comprising: a wireless transceiver; a processor; and instructions for a base station manager that are executable by the processor to configure the user equipment to perform the method of claim 17 or claim 18.

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20. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause an apparatus comprising the processor to perform any of the methods of claims 1 to 15, 17, or 18.

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