WO2023069002A1

WO2023069002A1 - Measurement procedures when configured with multiple relaxed measurement criteria

Info

Publication number: WO2023069002A1
Application number: PCT/SE2022/050959
Authority: WO
Inventors: Santhan THANGARASA; Muhammad Ali Kazmi; Mattias BERGSTRÖM; Zhixun Tang; Kazuyoshi Uesaka; Zhanxian WANG
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2021-10-21
Filing date: 2022-10-21
Publication date: 2023-04-27

Abstract

A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (900) for performing relaxed measurements, is disclosed. The method comprises obtaining (400) first information indicating a plurality of configured Relaxed Measurement Criteria, RMCs. The method comprises determining (404), based on the first information, that the UE meets a first configured RMC and a second configured RMC of the plurality of configured RMCs. The first configured RMC is associated with first relaxed measurement requirements, and the second configured RMC is associated with second relaxed measurement requirements. The method comprises, in response to determining that the UE meets the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC, performing (408) relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements.

Description

MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES WHEN CONFIGURED WITH MULTIPLE RELAXED MEASUREMENT CRITERIA

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to selection of Relaxed Measurement Criteria (RMCs) in a cellular communications system.

2. Background

5G is the fifth generation of cellular technology and was introduced in Release 15 of the 3GPP standard. It is designed to increase speed, reduce latency, and improve flexibility of wireless services. The 5G system (5GS) includes both a new radio access network (NG-RAN), which makes use of a new air interface called New Radio (NR), and a new core network (5GC).

The initial release of 5G in Release 15 is optimized for mobile broadband (MBB) and ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC). These services require very high data rates and/or low latency, and therefore put high requirements on the UE. To enable 5G to be used for other services with more relaxed performance requirements, a new low-complexity UE type is introduced in Release 17, called 'reduced capability NR devices' or RedCap. The low-complexity UE type is particularly suited for machine type communication (MTC) services such as wireless sensors or video surveillance, but it can also be used for MBB services with lower performance requirements such as wearables. The low-complexity UE has reduced capabilities compared to a Release 15 NR UE, such as support for lower bandwidth compared to what is currently required for a NR UE and support for only one reception (Rx) branch and one MIMO layer. For full details, refer to the Rel-17 work item description in RP- 210918.

2.1 UE Measurements

The UE performs measurements on one or more downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL) reference signals (RS) of one or more cells in different UE activity states (e.g., RRC idle state, RRC inactive state, RRC connected state, etc.). The measured cell may belong to or operate on the same carrier frequency as the serving cell (e.g., intrafrequency carrier), or it may belong to or operate on different carrier frequency than the serving cell (e.g., non-serving carrier frequency). The non-serving carrier may be referred to as an inter-frequency carrier if the serving and measured cells belong to the same Radio Access Technology (RAT) but different carriers. The non-serving carrier may be referred to as an inter-RAT carrier if the serving and measured cells belong to different RATs. Examples of downlink RS are signals in SSB, CSI-RS, CRS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, signals in SS/PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), PRS, etc. Examples of uplink RS are signals in SRS, DMRS, etc.

Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS, and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols.

One or multiple SSBs are transmitted in one SSB burst, which is repeated with certain periodicity (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms). The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequencies by one or more SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprises parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with respect to reference time (e.g., serving cell's SFN), etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms).

Examples of measurements are cell identification (e.g., PCI acquisition, PSS/SSS detection, cell detection, cell search, etc.), Reference Symbol Received Power (RSRP), Reference Symbol Received Quality (RSRQ), secondary synchronization RSRP (SS-RSRP), SS-RSRQ, SINR, RS-SINR, SS-SINR, CSI-RSRP, CSI-RSRQ, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), acquisition of system information (SI), cell global ID (CGI) acquisition, Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), UE RX-TX time difference measurement, and Radio Link Monitoring (RLM), which consists of Out of Synchronization (out of sync) detection and In Synchronization (in-sync) detection, etc.

The UE is typically configured by the network (e.g., via RRC message) with measurement configurations and measurement reporting configurations such as measurement gap pattern, carrier frequency information, types of measurements (e.g., RSRP, etc.), higher layer filtering coefficient, time to trigger report, reporting mechanism (e.g., periodic reporting, event-triggered reporting, event-triggered periodic reporting, and the like), etc.

The measurements are done for various purposes. Some example measurement purposes are: UE mobility (e.g., cell change, cell selection, cell reselection, handover, RRC connection re-establishment, etc.), UE positioning or location determination self-organizing network (SON), minimization of drive tests (MDT), operation and maintenance (O&M), network planning and optimization, etc.

2.2 Relaxed Measurements

The relaxed monitoring criteria for a neighbor cell are specified in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.304 V16.6.0. In RRC idle and RRC inactive states, the UE can be configured to relax neighbor cell measurements (e.g., for cell reselection) when the UE meets one or more relaxed measurement criteria (RMC). The UE can be configured for applying relaxed measurements via higher layer signalling (e.g., in system information block (SIB) such as in SIB2). Examples of criteria are UE in low mobility, UE not-at-cell-edge, stationary, combined criterion (e.g., UE in low mobility AND not-at-cell-edge, stationary AND not-at-cell-edge), etc.

2.2.1 Relaxed Measurement Criterion for UE with Low Mobility

In one example, the relaxed measurement criterion for a UE with low mobility is fulfilled when the UE speed is below a certain threshold. The UE speed can be expressed in terms of distance per unit time (e.g., Y1 km/hour) and/or in Doppler frequency (e.g., Y2 Hertz). In one specific example, the relaxed measurement criterion for a UE with low mobility is fulfilled if the UE is stationary or static or does not move.

In another example, the low mobility criterion is met when the received signal level at the UE with respect to the cell is static or quasi-static over certain time period (Ts). The received signal from a cell (e.g., serving cell) is static or quasi-static if it does not change by more than certain margin over certain time period (e.g., the variance of the measured signal levels is within a certain threshold). Examples of received signal are signal strength, path loss, RSRP, Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, etc. In one specific example, the relaxed measurement criterion for UE with low mobility is fulfilled when the following condition is met for the serving cell of the UE:

(SrxlevRef - Srxlev) < SSearchDeltaP where:

Srxlev = current Srxlev value of the serving cell (dB).

SrxlevRef = reference Srxlev value of the serving cell (dB), set as follows: After selecting or reselecting a new cell, or If (Srxlev - SrxlevRef) > 0, or

If the relaxed measurement criterion has not been met for a duration of TSearchDeltaP: Then the UE set value of SrxlevRef to the current Srxlev value of the serving cell.

Srxlev is further defined as follows:

Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas - (Qrxlevmin + Qrxlevminoffset) - Pcompensation - Qoffsettemp where:

• Srxlev: It is the cell selection received (RX) level value (dB)

• Qrxlevmeas: It is the measured cell RX level value (RSRP)

• Qrxlevmin is the minimum required RX level in the cell (dBm). It is signalled by the cell.

• Qrxlevminoffset is the offset to the signalled Qrxlevmin. It is signalled by the cell.

• Qoffsettemp: It is the offset temporarily applied to a cell. It is signalled by the cell.

2.2.2 Relaxed Measurement Criterion for Stationary UE

The relaxed measurement criterion for stationary UE is defined in a way similar to UE with low mobility. But the actual values for the thresholds for stationary UE might be different compared to those used for low mobility criterion. For example, the UE meets stationary criterion if the received signal from a cell (e.g., serving cell) does not change by more than certain margin (Hs) over certain time period (Ts). On the other hand, the UE meets low mobility criterion if the received signal with respect to the cell does not change by more than certain margin (Hm) over certain time period (Tm). In one example |Hs| < |Hm| and/or Ts > Tm. In another example |Hs|= |Hm| and/or Ts > Tm. In another example |Hs|< |Hm| and/or Ts = Tm.

2.2.3 Relaxed Measurement Criterion for UE Not at Cell Edge

In one example, relaxed measurement criterion for a UE not at cell edge is fulfilled when the received signal level at the UE from a cell (e.g., serving cell) is above a threshold (e.g., signal strength is above a signal strength threshold and/or signal quality is above a signal quality threshold).

In another example, the relaxed measurement criterion for a UE not at cell edge is fulfilled when the following condition is met for the serving cell of the UE:

Srxlev > SSearchThreshoIdP, and

Squal > SSearchThresholdQ, if SSearchThresholdQ is configured where:

Srxlev = current Srxlev value of the serving cell (dB). Squal = current Squal value of the serving cell (dB).

Squal is further defined as follows:

Squal = Qqualmeas - (Qqualmin + Qqualminoffset) - Qoffsettemp where:

• Squal: It is the cell selection quality value (dB)

• Qqualmeas: It is the measured cell quality level value (RSRQ)

• Qqualmin is the minimum required quality level in the cell (dB). It is signalled by the cell.

• Qqualminoffset is the offset to the signalled Qqualmin. It is signalled by the cell.

2.2.4 Combination of Relaxed Measurement Criteria

The UE can be configured with multiple versions (e.g., rel-16 not-at-cell edge, rel-17 not-at-cell edge) of not-at-cell edge criteria, in which case the actual values for thresholds might be different because the purpose would be to identify the UEs located at different ranges with respect to the cell center.

2.2.5 Relaxed measurement requirements

When one or more relaxed measurement criteria are met, the UE is allowed to relaxed measurements or perform relaxed measurements. The measurement relaxation is realized by meeting relaxed measurement requirements. For example, the UE is allowed to meet one or more relaxed measurement requirements for performing a measurement provided that it is configured with lowMobilityEvaluation IE and also meets the low mobility criterion as defined above. In another example, the UE is allowed to meet one or more relaxed measurement requirements for performing a measurement provided that it is configured with cellEdgeEvaluation IE and also meets the not at cell edge as defined above. In another example, the UE is allowed to meet one or more relaxed measurement requirements for performing a measurement provided that it is configured with combineRelaxedMeasCondition IE and also meets the low mobility criterion and not at cell edge as defined above. The parameters IE lowMobilityEvaluation, cellEdgeEvaluation and combineRelaxedMeasCondition are defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.6.0. The UE is allowed to relax one or more of neighbor cell measurements (e.g., intra-frequency measurements, inter-frequency and inter-RAT measurements) when the UE meets one or more relaxed measurement criteria.

Examples of requirements are measurement time, measurement accuracy, measurement reporting periodicity, number of cells measured over measurement time, etc. Examples of measurement time are cell identification or cell detection time, evaluation period or measurement period (e.g., LI measurement period, Ll-RSRP measurement period, Ll-SINR measurement period, OOS evaluation period, IS evaluation period, BFD evaluation period, BFD evaluation period, LI indication interval, IS indication interval, OOS indication interval, BFD indication interval, etc.) etc. Examples of measurement accuracy are Ll-RSRP accuracy (e.g., within ± XI dB with respect to reference Ll-RSRP value), Ll-SINR accuracy (e.g., within ± X2 dB with respect to reference Ll-SINR value). For example, the measurement time of a relaxed measurement (RM) is longer than the measurement time of the corresponding normal measurement (NM) (i.e., when measurement is not relaxed). In one example, the measurement time for RM (Tmeas_RM) is function of K and Tmeas_NM. Examples of functions are maximum, sum, product, etc. In one specific example: Tmeas_RM = K*Tmeas_NM: Where K > 1.

In one example, measurement relaxation is realized by extending the measurement time compared to the measurement time when no relaxation is applied. In another example, measurement relaxation is realized by not performing any neighbor cell measurements. In another example, measurement relaxation is realized by not performing any neighbor cell measurements for certain time period, which may be predefined or configured by the network node. Examples of measurement time in low RRC activity state (e.g., RRC idle, RRC inactive states, etc.) are cell detection time (Tdetect) measurement period (Tmeasure), evaluation time (Tevaluate) etc. For example, as shown in table 1, when a UE is configured with lowMobilityEvaluation and also meets low mobility criterion, then the UE performs intra-frequency neighbor cell measurements (e.g., Tdetect, NR_Intra, Tmeasure, NR_Intra and Tevaluate, NR_Intra) with relaxation by applying scaling factor KI = 3 i.e., when Kl=l when no relaxation is applied.

Table 1: Tdetect ,NR_Intra, Tmeasure, NR_Intra 3ncl Tevaluate, NR_Intra

3. Summary

A first aspect provides embodiments of a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for performing relaxed measurements. The method comprises obtaining first information indicating a plurality of configured Relaxed Measurement Criteria (RMCs). The method comprises determining, based on the first information, that the UE meets a first configured RMC and a second configured RMC of the plurality of configured RMCs. The first configured RMC is associated with first relaxed measurement requirements, and the second configured RMC is associated with second relaxed measurement requirements. The method comprises, in response to determining that the UE meets the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC, performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements.

A second aspect provides embodiments of a UE. The UE comprises one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to: obtain first information indicating a plurality of configured RMCs; determine, based on the first information, that the UE meets a first configured RMC and a second configured RMC of the plurality of configured RMCs, the first configured RMC being associated with first relaxed measurement requirements, and the second configured RMC being associated with second relaxed measurement requirements; in response to determining that the UE meets the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC, perform relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements.

A third aspect provides embodiments of a method performed by a network node for configuring a UE for performing relaxed measurements. The method comprises configuring the UE with first information indicating a plurality of RMCs. The plurality of RMCs includes a first RMC and a second RMC. The method comprises configuring the UE with first relaxed measurement requirements associated with the first RMC and second relaxed measurement requirements associated with the second RMC. The first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

A fourth aspect provides embodiments of a network node. The network node comprises one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the network node to: configure a UE with first information indicating a plurality of RMCs, the plurality of RMCs including a first RMC and a second RMC; and configure the UE with first relaxed measurement requirements associated with the first RMC and second relaxed measurement requirements associated with the second RMC, wherein the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

Methods and apparatus are disclosed herein for performing relaxed measurements when a User Equipment (UE) is configured with a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria (RMCs) in cellular communication systems. Embodiments disclosed herein facilitate improved system performance by specifying clear UE measurement behavior when the UE is configured with a plurality of RMCs and has evaluated and determined that it has fulfilled multiple RMCs, by enabling better interworking between RMCs that belong to different releases; and by providing improved UE power savings and more flexible configurations.

Embodiments of a method performed by a (UE) for performing relaxed measurements, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of RMCs, are disclosed herein. In some embodiments disclosed herein, the method comprises obtaining first information indicating a plurality of configured RMCs of a set of RMCs. The method further comprises determining that the UE meets at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs, based on the first information. The method also comprises determining a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with a first configured RMC of the at least two configured RMCs. The method additionally comprises performing relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first set of relaxed measurement requirements.

Embodiments of a UE are also disclosed herein. According to some embodiments disclosed herein, the UE comprises one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to obtain first information indicating a plurality of configured RMCs of a set of RMCs. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to determine that the UE meets at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs, based on the first information. The processing circuitry is also configured to cause the UE to determine a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with a first configured RMC of the at least two configured RMCs. The processing circuitry is additionally configured to cause the UE to perform relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first set of relaxed measurement requirements.

Embodiments of a method performed by a network node are also disclosed herein. In some embodiments disclosed herein, the method comprises configuring a UE with first information indicating a plurality of RMCs of a set of RMCs. The method further comprises configuring the UE with a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with an RMC in the set of RMCs, wherein the first set of relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs Embodiments of a network node are also disclosed herein. Some embodiments disclosed herein provide that the network node comprises one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the network node to configure a UE with first information indicating a plurality of RMCs of a set of RMCs. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the network node to configure the UE with a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with an RMC in the set of RMCs, wherein the first set of relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs.

Embodiments of a cellular communications system are also disclosed herein. In some embodiments disclosed herein, the cellular communications system comprises a network node and a UE. The network node may for example be in accordance with one or more embodiments of a network node disclosed herein. The UE may for example be in accordance with one or more embodiments of a UE disclosed herein.

4. Brief Description of the

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Figure 1 illustrates one example of a cellular communication system, according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate example embodiments in which the cellular communication system of Figure 1 is a Fifth Generation (5G) System (5GS);

Figures 4A and 4B illustrate exemplary operations for performing relaxed measurements when a User Equipment (UE) is configured with a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria (RMCs), according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

Figure 5 illustrates exemplary operations performed by a network node to configure a UE with a plurality of RMCs, according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node, according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node of Figure 6, according to some embodiments disclosed herein;

Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node of Figure 6 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of a UE, according to some embodiments disclosed herein; and

Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of the UE of Figure 9, according to some other embodiments disclosed herein.

5. Detailed Description

The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

There currently exist certain challenge(s) with existing approaches. In particular, a UE can be configured with one or more relaxed measurement criteria (RMCs) in a set of RMCs (Sr). The set Sr may comprise a plurality of relaxed measurement criteria. In one example,

Sr = {RMCI, RMC2, RMC3, RMC4 and RMC5}

In existing solutions, if the UE is configured with one RMC and UE meets the configured RMC (e.g., RMCI), then it meets the relaxed requirements corresponding to that RMC (i.e., it is required to fulfill the requirements associated with RMCI). In one example, one RMC may comprise a single criterion (e.g., low mobility criterion). In another example, one RMC in Sr may comprise multiple or combined criteria (e.g., low mobility and not-at-cell edge criteria). In existing solutions, there is neither support nor UE behavior defined when the UE is configured with multiple RMCs and the UE meets more than one RMC.

Accordingly, the present disclosure and embodiments therein may provide solutions to the aforementioned or other challenges. There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein. The embodiments apply to a scenario where the UE is configured with a plurality of RMCs. Examples of RMCs include release 16 low mobility criterion, release 16 not-at-cell edge criterion, release 16 low mobility and not-at-cell edge criterion (see row 1-3 in Table 2 below). RMCs may also include release 17 stationary criterion, release 17 stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion (see RMCs 4-5 in Table 2 below). At least some embodiments described herein are relevant for the RMCs that comprise both release 16 and release 17 criteria (see rows 6-11 in Table 2 below), especially when UE has evaluated and determined that any of the RMCs 6-11 are fulfilled.

The RMCs may differ in terms of configured thresholds used to determine whether or not the UE has fulfilled the criteria. The configured thresholds may correspond to different operating scenarios. In one example, the thresholds might be set to identify UEs located in a certain area of the cell (e.g., not-at-cell edge). In other examples, the threshold might be set to identify the UEs that have certain mobility behavior (e.g., fully stationary, low mobility, etc.)

When a UE is configured with any of RMCs 6-11 (which comprise at least two RMCs in set Sr) and the UE has evaluated and determined that it has fulfilled at least two RMCs in Sr, then the UE performs and fulfills measurements based on the selected method in Table 1. The selected method in Table 2 might be requirements that are associated with any of the RMCs in Sr.

In one specific example, if a UE has fulfilled the criteria for RMC.6 then it performs and fulfills the requirements corresponding to RMC.4 which correspond to the stationary conditions, i.e., RMC.6 = RMC.4. However, in another example, the RMC.6 might refer to requirements associated with another RMC in Sr, e.g., RMC.6 = RMC. 2 assuming that RMC.2 is more relaxed compared to RMC.4. Especially, the RMC.3, RMC.5 and RMC.11 may apply the same requirements, such as the UE is not required to meet intra-, inter-, and/or inter-RAT cell measurement requirements.

The association between the selected method for meeting the requirements and RMCs can be predefined as shown in Table 2, but it could also be configured by the NW in which case NW might configure different methods depending on the operating scenarios, such as macro network, HetNet, type of devices (e.g., fixed sensors or moving devices) etc. Table 2 shows an example of predefined rules for meeting the requirements when UE is configured with at least two RMCs and has fulfilled at least two RMCs.

Table 2: List of RMCs and their requirements to be met when performing measurement

When a UE is configured to switch from one RMC to another RMC, the UE may for example fulfill the RMC which is related to the least stringent requirements during the transition period. The transition period can be one measurement period. In one specific example, if UE has configured with RMC 4 and NW configures UE to switch to RMC 1, the UE follows the RMC 4 which is related to a relative relaxed UE requirement. In another example, if the UE is configured with RMC 1 and NW configures the UE to switch to RMC 4, the UE also follows the RMC 4 during the transition period.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). In particular, the proposed solution presents clear UE measurement behavior, which is currently missing, when a UE is configured with a plurality of RMCs and has evaluated and determined that it has fulfilled a plurality of RMCs. Embodiments disclosed herein further enable better interworking between a plurality of RMCs that belong to different releases and improved UE power saving, but also more flexible configurations by the NW.

Before discussing for methods and apparatus for performing relaxed measurements when a User Equipment (UE) is configured with a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria (RMCs) in greater detail, terminology used herein is first defined as follows: Radio Node: As used herein, a "radio node" is either a radio access node or a wireless communication device.

Radio Access Node: As used herein, a "radio access node" or "radio network node" or "radio access network node" is any node in a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), a relay node, a network node that implements part of the functionality of a base station or a network node that implements a gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU)) or a network node that implements part of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.

Core Network Node: As used herein, a "core network node" is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements a core network function. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), or the like. Some other examples of a core network node include a node implementing an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a Network Function (NF) Repository Function (NRF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), or the like.

Communication Device: As used herein, a "communication device" is any type of device that has access to an access network. Some examples of a communication device include, but are not limited to: mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or Personal Computer (PC). The communication device may be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehiclemounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data via a wireless or wireline connection. Wireless Communication Device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which may be any type of wireless device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network). Some examples of a wireless communication device include, but are not limited to: a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, and an Internet of Things (loT) device. Such wireless communication devices may be, or may be integrated into, a mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or PC. The wireless communication device may be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data via a wireless connection.

Network Node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node that is either part of the RAN or the core network of a cellular communications network/system.

Transmission/ Reception Point (TRP): In some embodiments, a TRP may be either a network node, a radio head, a spatial relation, or a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. A TRP may be represented by a spatial relation or a TCI state in some embodiments. In some embodiments, a TRP may be using multiple TCI states. In some embodiments, a TRP may a part of the gNB transmitting and receiving radio signals to/from UE according to physical layer properties and parameters inherent to that element. In some embodiments, in Multiple TRP (multi-TRP) operation, a serving cell can schedule UE from two TRPs, providing better Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) coverage, reliability and/or data rates. There are two different operation modes for multi-TRP: single Downlink Control Information (DCI) and multi- DCI. For both modes, control of uplink and downlink operation is done by both physical layer and Medium Access Control (MAC). In single-DCI mode, UE is scheduled by the same DCI for both TRPs and in multi-DCI mode, UE is scheduled by independent DCIs from each TRP.

In some embodiments, a set Transmission Points (TPs) is a set of geographically co-located transmit antennas (e.g., an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements)) for one cell, part of one cell or one Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) -only TP. TPs can include base station (eNB) antennas, Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), a remote antenna of a base station, an antenna of a PRS-only TP, etc. One cell can be formed by one or multiple TPs. For a homogeneous deployment, each TP may correspond to one cell.

In some embodiments, a set of TRPs is a set of geographically co-located antennas (e.g., an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements)) supporting TP and/or Reception Point (RP) functionality.

Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system.

Note that, in the description herein, reference may be made to the term "cell"; however, particularly with respect to 5G NR concepts, beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, it is important to note that the concepts described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

Figure 1 illustrates one example of a cellular communications system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communications system 100 is a 5G system (5GS) including a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5G Core (5GC) or an Evolved Packet System (EPS) including an Evolved Universal Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In this example, the RAN includes base stations 102-1 and 102-2, which in the 5GS include NR base stations (gNBs) and optionally next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (e.g., LTE RAN nodes connected to the 5GC) and in the EPS include eNBs, controlling corresponding (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2. The base stations 102- 1 and 102-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 102 and individually as base station 102. Likewise, the (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells 104 and individually as (macro) cell 104. The RAN may also include a number of low power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 controlling corresponding small cells 108-1 through 108-4. The low power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 can be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations) or RRHs, or the like. Notably, while not illustrated, one or more of the small cells 108-1 through 108-4 may alternatively be provided by the base stations 102. The low power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as low power nodes 106 and individually as low power node 106. Likewise, the small cells 108-1 through 108-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells 108 and individually as small cell 108. The cellular communications system 100 also includes a core network 110, which in the 5G System (5GS) is referred to as the 5GC. The base stations 102 (and optionally the low power nodes 106) are connected to the core network 110.

The base stations 102 and the low power nodes 106 provide service to wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 in the corresponding cells 104 and 108. The wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 112 and individually as wireless communication device 112. In the following description, the wireless communication devices 112 are oftentimes UEs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Figure 2 illustrates a wireless communication system represented as a 5G network architecture composed of core Network Functions (NFs), where interaction between any two NFs is represented by a point-to-point reference point/interface. Figure 2 can be viewed as one particular implementation of the system 100 of Figure 1.

Seen from the access side the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 2 comprises a plurality of UEs 112 connected to either a RAN 102 or an Access Network (AN) as well as an AMF 200. Typically, the R(AN) 102 comprises base stations, e.g., such as eNBs or gNBs or similar. Seen from the core network side, the 5GC NFs shown in Figure 2 include a NSSF 202, an AUSF 204, a UDM 206, the AMF 200, a SMF 208, a PCF 210, and an Application Function (AF) 212.

Reference point representations of the 5G network architecture are used to develop detailed call flows in the normative standardization. The N1 reference point is defined to carry signaling between the UE 112 and AMF 200. The reference points for connecting between the AN 102 and AMF 200 and between the AN 102 and UPF 214 are defined as N2 and N3, respectively. There is a reference point, Nil, between the AMF 200 and SMF 208, which implies that the SMF 208 is at least partly controlled by the AMF 200. N4 is used by the SMF 208 and UPF 214 so that the UPF 214 can be set using the control signal generated by the SMF 208, and the UPF 214 can report its state to the SMF 208. N9 is the reference point for the connection between different UPFs 214, and N14 is the reference point connecting between different AMFs 200, respectively. N15 and N7 are defined since the PCF 210 applies policy to the AMF 200 and SMF 208, respectively. N12 is required for the AMF 200 to perform authentication of the UE 112. N8 and N10 are defined because the subscription data of the UE 112 is required for the AMF 200 and SMF 208. The 5GC network aims at separating UP and CP. The UP carries user traffic while the CP carries signaling in the network. In Figure 2, the UPF 214 is in the UP and all other NFs, i.e., the AMF 200, SMF 208, PCF 210, AF 212, NSSF 202, AUSF 204, and UDM 206, are in the CP. Separating the UP and CP guarantees each plane resource to be scaled independently. It also allows UPFs to be deployed separately from CP functions in a distributed fashion. In this architecture, UPFs may be deployed very close to UEs to shorten the Round Trip Time (RTT) between UEs and a Data Network (DN) 216 (which provides Internet access, operator services, and/or the like) for some applications requiring low latency.

The core 5G network architecture is composed of modularized functions. For example, the AMF 200 and SMF 208 are independent functions in the CP. Separated AMF 200 and SMF 208 allow independent evolution and scaling. Other CP functions like the PCF 210 and AUSF 204 can be separated as shown in Figure 2. Modularized function design enables the 5GC network to support various services flexibly.

Each NF interacts with another NF directly. It is possible to use intermediate functions to route messages from one NF to another NF. In the CP, a set of interactions between two NFs is defined as service so that its reuse is possible. This service enables support for modularity. The UP supports interactions such as forwarding operations between different UPFs.

Figure 3 illustrates a 5G network architecture using service-based interfaces between the NFs in the CP, instead of the point-to-point reference points/interfaces used in the 5G network architecture of Figure 2. However, the NFs described above with reference to Figure 2 correspond to the NFs shown in Figure 3. The service(s) etc. that a NF provides to other authorized NFs can be exposed to the authorized NFs through the service-based interface. In Figure 3 the service based interfaces are indicated by the letter "N" followed by the name of the NF, e.g., Namf for the service based interface of the AMF 200 and Nsmf for the service based interface of the SMF 208, etc. The NEF 300 and the NRF 302 in Figure 3 are not shown in Figure 2 discussed above. However, it should be clarified that all NFs depicted in Figure 2 can interact with the NEF 300 and the NRF 302 of Figure 3 as necessary, though not explicitly indicated in Figure 2.

Some properties of the NFs shown in Figures 2 and 3 may be described in the following manner. The AMF 200 provides UE-based authentication, authorization, mobility management, etc. A UE 112 even using multiple access technologies is basically connected to a single AMF 200 because the AMF 200 is independent of the access technologies. The SMF 208 is responsible for session management and allocates Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to UEs. It also selects and controls the UPF 214 for data transfer. If a UE 112 has multiple sessions, different SMFs 208 may be allocated to each session to manage them individually and possibly provide different functionalities per session. The AF 212 provides information on the packet flow to the PCF 210 responsible for policy control in order to support QoS. Based on the information, the PCF 210 determines policies about mobility and session management to make the AMF 200 and SMF 208 operate properly. The AUSF 204 supports authentication function for UEs or similar and thus stores data for authentication of UEs or similar while the UDM 206 stores subscription data of the UE 112. The Data Network (DN) 216, not part of the 5GC network, provides Internet access or operator services and similar.

An NF may be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g., a cloud infrastructure.

Embodiments for performing relaxed measurements when the UE is configured with a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria, RMC, are now discussed.

5.1 Generalization and Terminology

Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, transmission reception point (TRP), RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g., MSC, MME, etc.), O8iM, OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC),etc.

The non-limiting term UE refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, etc.

The term radio access technology, or RAT, may refer to any RAT e.g., UTRA, E-UTRA, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, New Radio (NR), 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the term node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of DL physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as PSS, SSS, CSI-RS, DMRS signals in SS/PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), CRS, PRS, etc. RS may be periodic e.g., RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g., 20 ms, 40 ms, etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols. One or multiple SSBs are transmit in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with respect to reference time (e.g., serving cell's SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. Examples of UL physical signals are reference signal such as SRS, DMRS, etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g., data, control, etc. Examples of physical channels are PBCH, NPBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, sPUCCH, sPDSCH, sPUCCH, sPUSCH, MPDCCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, E-PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, NPUSCH, etc.

5.2 Example scenario

Embodiments disclosed herein address a scenario that comprises at least one UE which is operating in a first cell (cell 1) served by a network node (NW1), and performing measurements on one or more serving cell(s) and one or more neighbor cells or neighbor frequencies, e.g., on serving carrier and/or one or more additional carriers configured for measurements. Any additional carrier may belong to the RAT of the serving carrier frequency. In this case if that carrier is non-serving carrier then it is called as inter-frequency carrier. The additional carrier may also belong to another RAT and in which case it is called as inter-RAT carrier. The term carrier may also interchangeably be called carrier frequency, layer, frequency layer, carrier frequency layer, etc. For consistency, the term carrier is used herein after.

The UE is further configured to evaluate one of the at least two relaxed measurement criteria (RMC) in a set of RMCs (Sr). An example of Sr ={RMC 1, RMC 2, RMC 3, RMC 4 and RMC 5}. The RMCs may correspond to different operating conditions, e.g., UEs which are configured any combinations of: rel-16 low mobility, rel- 16 not-at-cell edge, rel-16 low mobility and not-at-cell edge, rel-17 stationary and rel-17 stationary and not-at-cell edge. If the UE has evaluated and determined that it has fulfilled a criterion corresponding to a certain RMC, then it meets the set of measurement requirements associated with that RMC when performing a measurement.

5.3 Methods in the UE for performing relaxed measurements The embodiments described herein may also be implemented in any combination. The UE embodiment comprises at least the following:

• Step 1: UE obtains information about type of RMCs configured;

• Step 2: UE evaluates and determines relaxed measurement requirements associated with the configured RMCs; and

• Step 3: UE performs and fulfills relaxed measurement requirements.

Step 1

In this step, the UE obtains information about the type of RMCs which are configured e.g., via higher layer signaling. In one example, the RMCs containing the different criteria are configured by the NW using RRC signaling. In some examples, the RMCs might be pre-defined and UE may select to apply one or more RMCs from the set of predefined RMCs. The conditions for selecting the RMCs may depend on different factors such as mobility conditions of the UE, type of cells (e.g., macro-, micro- or pico cells), interference and signal measurements, etc.

Based on obtained information the UE knows the type and the number of RMCs configured. In one example, the set of RMCs in Sr may be up to 2 RMCs. But in other examples the Sr may contain up to N number of RMCs, where N > 3. The embodiment described herein applies to the case when N > 2.

One example of basic set (Sr) of individual RMCs are shown in Table 3 below. In the legacy, the UE can be configured with any one of the 5 basic types of RMCs denoted by Rl, R2, R3, R4 and R5 in Table 3. However, in this embodiment the UE may be configured with at least any two RMCs. An example of possible configured set (Sc) of pair of RMCs is shown in Table 4 below. For example, the UE can be configured with any one of the sets Cl, C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6 in Table 4. For example, the UE configured with set Cl needs to evaluate both R1 and R4 i.e., Cl = (Rl, R4). In another example, the UE configured with set C6 needs to evaluate both R3 and R5 i.e., C6 = (R3, R5).

Table 3: An example of basic set (Sr) of measurement relaxation criteria (RMCs)

Table 4: An example of configured set (Sc) of RMC comprising 2 RMCs in set Sr

In one embodiment, the UE will when determine the set of RMCs (basic RMCs or sets of RMCs), consider only RMCs which the UE is capable of. The UE may for example be implementing the "Stationary" and "Low mobility" RMC, but not the "not-at- cell-edge" RMC. The UE may in response to this consider all Configured set of RMCs comprising the "Not-at-cell edge" criteria to be not applicable for the UE, even if configuration parameters for such a set is provided from the network. In the example provided in Table 4 above, it means that such a UE would only consider Cl to be applicable for this UE.

Step 2

In this step, the UE evaluates whether it meets at least two configured RMCs. The UE may separately evaluate the criterion for each of the at least 2 configured RMCs. The evaluation is based on one or more rules as described above in the background section. If the UE meets at least the two configured RMCs then the UE further determines the set of requirements (Rx) it should fulfill when performing relaxed measurements. The determination of the requirements is further based on a rule, which may be pre-defined or configured by the network. The UE performs the relaxed measurement while meeting the determined set of the requirements associated with the two sets of RMCs. The rules for determining Rx for at least 2 RMCs are further described with several examples.

It is assumed that every RMCs is associated with a certain type of requirements. Rx information can be predefined or signaled by the network (e.g., a scaling factor to apply on the reference requirements which are the requirements when no relaxation is applied).

By evaluating the configured RMCs, the UE determines which of the RMCs are fulfilled and then it selects Rx based on that information. More specifically, when the UE is configured with at least two RMCs and UE has evaluated and determined that it fulfills more than one RMCs, then it uses one out of multiple set of requirements for meeting the requirements. The set of requirements to be met when meeting multiple set of RMCs may correspond to the requirements associated with one of the RMCs in the basic set (Sr). The requirements can be determined based on one or more rules e.g.

• In one example, it may correspond to the requirements associated with another RMC which is not configured. For example, if the UE is configured with R1 and R4, and if both R1 and R4 are met then the UE meets requirements associated with R2.

• In another example, it may correspond to the requirements associated with one of the configured RMCs. In one example, the UE meets the least stringent of the two sets of requirements. The least stringent requirement may refer the one which gives longest measurement time. In another example, the UE meets the most stringent of the two sets of requirements. The most stringent requirement may refer the one which gives shortest measurement time.

The above general principles are described below with examples.

An example of requirements (e.g., measurement time) associated with individual RMCs in the set Sr is shown in Table 5 below. The requirements associated with Rl, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are denoted by MR1, MR2, MR3, MR4 and MR5 respectively. Examples of measurement time are: cell detection time, measurement period, evaluation time, etc. In this example,

• TNM is the measurement time over which a measurement is performed by the UE without any relaxation i.e., normal measurement.

• TRM is the measurement time over which a measurement is performed by the UE with relaxation i.e., relaxed measurement.

• Gi is scaling factor associated with RMCi; where Gi= {GI, G2, G3, G4 and G5}. Gi is used for determining measurement time for relaxed measurement from the normal measurement time for certain RMC. The values of Gi may be pre-defined or configured by the network node. o In one example, G1=G2=3, G3= infinity, G4=4 and G5=infinity o In another example, G1=G2=G4=3, G3=infinity if no neighbor cell measurement is done over the last XI time period otherwise G3=l and G5=infinity if no neighbor cell measurement is done over the last X2 time period otherwise G5=l. In one example, XI = X2. In another example, XI > X2. In another example, XI < X2.

Table 5 is further used for determining the requirements to be met by the UE for performing the measurement when the UE is configured with at last two RMCs and also meets conditions for both RMCs. One example of such composite or combined requirement is shown in Table 6 below. Another example of such composite or combined requirement is shown in Table 7 below, where C6 is associated with MR5 instead of MR3.

Table 5: An example of requirement associated with RMCs in set Sr

Table 6: Example #1 of requirement associated with configured set (Sc) of RMC comprising 2 RMCs in set Sr

Table 7: Example #2 of requirement associated with configured set (Sc) of RMC comprising 2 RMCs in set Sr

For example, assume that the UE is configured with set of criteria, Cl, which comprise R1 and R4 as shown in Table 3. The UE regularly evaluates whether it meets one or more RMCs (i.e., R1 and R4). For example, the UE may evaluate the RMCs once every L*Tdrx where Tdrx is the DRX cycle length in time and L is a scaling factor, which may be pre-defined or configured by the network node. In one example, L=l. In another example, L=2. The value of L may be the same or it may be different for different RMCs (e.g., L=1 for R1 and L=2 for R4). In this example, as shown in table 6, the UE when fulfilling Cl (i.e., both R1 and R4) meets requirements MR4. MR4 can be the set of requirements that are most relaxed between low mobility criterion and stationary criterion e.g., in terms of measurement time. MR4 can also be different set of relaxation (e.g., relaxation in frequency domain or relaxation corresponding to a different measurement object (MO), etc.) compared to requirements associated with low mobility criterion or stationary criterion. In this example it is assumed that the stationary requirements (MR4 in Table 3) are more relaxed than low mobility requirements (MR1). An example of more being relaxed include measurements which are performed over longer duration when R4 is met compared to the case when R1 is met. As described earlier this can be realized by applying a larger scaling factor in the measurement period when R4 is met compared to the case when R1 is met.

In a second example, assuming that UE has evaluated and determined that it fulfills the set of criteria corresponding to C5 (R2 and R5) in Table 6, then UE uses requirements MR5 associated with R5. In this case, R5 may not be more relaxed than R2, but they might be more suitable for the current mobility state of the UE.

In a third example, it is assumed that the requirements to apply when UE has fulfilled more than 1 RMC are configured by the network (NW1). In this case, the configurable parameter may include a scaling factor to apply on the reference requirements, a different MO configuration, etc.

In a fourth example, it is assumed that UE selects or determines the set of requirements to apply when more than 1 RMC is fulfilled are based on information related to UE power class, UE remaining battery life, number of receivers/transmitters.

In a fifth example, it is assumed that the UE selects or determines the set of requirements to apply when more than 1 RMC is fulfilled based on whether or not UE is configured to perform or currently performing any high priority tasks. Examples of high priority tasks are public safety measurements, CGI measurements, UE Rx-Tx measurement, PRS-RSRP measurement, RSTD measurement, etc.

Step 3

In this step, the UE uses the selected or determined requirements (Rx) for performing relaxed measurement and meeting those requirements. The UE may then use the results of the performed measurements for one or more operational tasks. The operational tasks comprise, using the measurement results for evaluating or performing one or more procedures (e.g., for different types of cell change such as cell re-selection, handover, RRC re-establishment, RRC release with redirection, etc.), reporting those measurement results to different nodes (e.g., NW1, another UE), logging the measurement results for minimization of drive test (MTD) etc. During the measurement, UE continues to evaluate the configured RMCs. The UE can change the requirements (Rx) according to the configured RMCs and fulfilled RMCs. For example, assume the UE is configured with Cl and fulfilled both R1 (Low mobility) and R4 (Stationary), and then performs MR4 according to Table 5. During the measurement, if R4 is not satisfied, the UE switches the measurement algorithm to satisfy MR1. After that, when the UE meets both R1 and R4 again, then the UE switches the measurement algorithm to satisfy MR4.

5.4 Methods in the UE for performing measurements in transition RMCs The embodiments described herein may also be implemented in any combination. The UE embodiment may comprise at least the following:

• Step 1: The UE stays in a type of RMCs configured and performs measurements and fulfills relaxed measurement requirements

• Step 2: The UE obtains information about another type of RMCs configured

• Step 3: The UE evaluates and determines relaxed measurement requirements associated with which type of configured RMCs

• Step 4: The UE performs and fulfills relaxed measurement requirements in a transition period and applies the latter configured type of RMCs after the transition period

Step 1

In this step, the UE obtains information about the type of RMCs which are configured. The UE evaluates whether it meets at least two configured RMCs. The UE uses the selected or determined requirements (Rx) for performing relaxed measurement and meeting those requirements. The overall procedure is similar as the procedures discussed above.

Step 2

In this step, the UE obtains further information about another type of RMCs which are configured, e.g., via higher layer signaling. The procedure in this step is the same as the procedure specified in section 5.3 The new type of RMCs is partially or totally different combinations with RMCs as the older type of RMCs.

Step 3

In this step, the UE evaluates whether the new type of RMCs or the older type of RMCs should be used during the transition period. By evaluating the two configured type of RMCs, the UE determines which type of the RMCs are fulfilled and then it selects related requirement (Rx) based on that information.

The evaluation can be determined based on one or more rules, for example:

• In one example, the UE will apply the type of RMCs which are associated with the least stringent of the two types of requirements. The least stringent requirement may refer the one which gives longest measurement time.

• In one example, the UE will apply the type of RMCs which are associated with the most stringent of the two types of requirements. The most stringent requirement may refer the one which gives shortest measurement time. For example, if the UE is configured with R1 in the beginning and switching to R4, and if both R1 and R4 are met, then the UE meets requirements associated with R1 which may has a most stringent requirement.

The above general principles are described below with examples.

An example of requirements (e.g., measurement time) associated with individual RMCs in the set Sr is shown in Table 5. The requirements associated with Rl, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are denoted by MR1, MR2, MR3, MR4 and MR5 respectively. Examples of measurement time are: cell detection time, measurement period, evaluation time, etc. similar as the definition described above.

For example, assume that the UE has been configured with the set of criteria Cl. Then the UE is configured with the set of criteria C4. The UE will switch from the criteria Cl to C4.

The UE regularly evaluates whether it meets one or more type of RMCs (i.e., Rl and R4). For example, the UE may evaluate the RMCs once every L*Tdrx where Tdrx is the DRX cycle length in time and L is a scaling factor, which may be pre-defined or configured by the network node. In one example, L=l. In another example, L=2. The value of L may be the same or it may be different for different RMCs (e.g., L=1 for Rl and L=2 for R4). In this example, as shown in table 6, the UE when fulfilling Rl and R4 meets requirements MR1 and MR4. MR4 can be the set of requirements that are most relaxed between low mobility criterion and stationary criterion e.g., in terms of measurement time. In this example it is assumed that the stationary requirements (MR4 in Table 5) are more relaxed than low mobility requirements (MR1).

In a second example, assuming that UE has evaluated and determined that it fulfills the set of criteria corresponding to Rl and R4, then UE uses requirements MR1 associated with Rl. In this case, MRl(low mobility) is more stringent than stationary requirements (MR4).

Step 4

In this step, the UE uses the selected or determined requirements (Rx) for performing relaxed measurement and meeting those requirements over the transition period. The transition period can be the duration for one measurement period. And thereafter switch to requirements corresponding to the latter configured type of RMCs.

5.5 Further example embodiments

To illustrate exemplary operations for performing relaxed measurements wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of RMCs, Figures 4A and 4B are provided. In Figure 4A, operations begin with a UE obtaining first information indicating a plurality of configured RMCs of a set of RMCs (this set of RMCs is also referred to herein as Sr) (block 400). Some embodiments disclosed herein may provide that the UE also obtains information indicating a first type of each configured RMC (block 402). The information indicating a first type of each configured RMC could for example be comprised in the first information received at block 400. The UE next determines that the UE meets at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs, based on the first information (block 404). The UE determines a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with a first configured RMC of the at least two configured RMCs (block 406). The UE then performs relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first set of relaxed measurement requirements (block 408). In some embodiments disclosed herein, the UE may perform one or more operational tasks based on a result of the relaxed measurement (block 410). Operations in some embodiments may continue at block 412 of Figure 4B.

Referring now to Figure 4B, some embodiments may provide that the UE subsequently obtains second information indicating a type of a second configured RMC (block 412). The UE determines that the UE meets one of the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC (block 414). The UE next determines a second set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with the one of the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC (block 416). The UE then performs relaxed measurement while fulfilling the second set of relaxed measurement requirements during a transition period (block 418). Subsequent to the transition period, the UE performs relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first set of relaxed measurement requirements (block 420).

To illustrate exemplary operations performed by a network node for configuring a UE with a plurality of RMCs, Figure 5 is provided. Operations in Figure 5 begin with a network node configuring a UE with first information indicating a plurality of RMCs of a set of RMCs (block 500). The network node then configures the UE with a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with an RMC in the set of RMCs, wherein the first set of relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs (block 502).

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio access node 600 may be, for example, a base station 102 or 106 or a network node that implements all or part of the functionality of the base station 102 or gNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio access node 600 includes a control system 602 that includes one or more processors 604 (e.g., Central Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and/or the like), memory 606, and a network interface 608. The one or more processors 604 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. In addition, the radio access node 600 may include one or more radio units 610 that each includes one or more transmitters 612 and one or more receivers 614 coupled to one or more antennas 616. The radio units 610 may be referred to or be part of radio interface circuitry. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s) 610 is external to the control system 602 and connected to the control system 602 via, e.g., a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s) 610 and potentially the antenna(s) 616 are integrated together with the control system 602. The one or more processors 604 operate to provide one or more functions of a radio access node 600 as described herein. In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software that is stored, e.g., in the memory 606 and executed by the one or more processors 604.

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is equally applicable to other types of network nodes. Further, other types of network nodes may have similar virtualized architectures. Again, optional features are represented by dashed boxes.

As used herein, a "virtualized" radio access node is an implementation of the radio access node 600 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node 600 is implemented as a virtual component(s) (e.g., via a virtual machine(s) executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As illustrated, in this example, the radio access node 600 may include the control system 602 and/or the one or more radio units 610, as described above. The control system 602 may be connected to the radio unit(s) 610 via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The radio access node 600 includes one or more processing nodes 700 coupled to or included as part of a network(s) 702. If present, the control system 602 or the radio unit(s) are connected to the processing node(s) 700 via the network 702. Each processing node 700 includes one or more processors 704 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory 706, and a network interface 708.

In this example, functions 710 of the radio access node 600 described herein are implemented at the one or more processing nodes 700 or distributed across the one or more processing nodes 700 and the control system 602 and/or the radio unit(s) 610 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 710 of the radio access node 600 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 700. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 700 and the control system 602 is used in order to carry out at least some of the desired functions 710. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system 602 may not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 610 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 700 via an appropriate network interface(s).

In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of radio access node 600 or a node (e.g., a processing node 700) implementing one or more of the functions 710 of the radio access node 600 in a virtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node 600 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 600 includes one or more modules 800, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 800 provide the functionality of the radio access node 600 described herein. This discussion is equally applicable to the processing node 700 of Figure 7 where the modules 800 may be implemented at one of the processing nodes 700 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 700 and/or distributed across the processing node(s) 700 and the control system 602.

Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 900 includes one or more processors 902 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory 904, and one or more transceivers 906 each including one or more transmitters 908 and one or more receivers 910 coupled to one or more antennas 912. The transceiver(s) 906 includes radio-front end circuitry connected to the antenna(s) 912 that is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna(s) 912 and the processor(s) 902, as will be appreciated by on of ordinary skill in the art. The processors 902 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceivers 906 are also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 900 described above may be fully or partially implemented in software that is, e.g., stored in the memory 904 and executed by the processor(s) 902. Note that the wireless communication device 900 may include additional components not illustrated in Figure 9 such as, e.g., one or more user interface components (e.g., an input/output interface including a display, buttons, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker(s), and/or the like and/or any other components for allowing input of information into the wireless communication device 900 and/or allowing output of information from the wireless communication device 900), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of the wireless communication device 900 according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless communication device 900 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 900 includes one or more modules 1000, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 1000 provide the functionality of the wireless communication device 900 described herein.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

While not being limited thereto, some example embodiments of the present disclosure are provided below.

Embodiment 1: A method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for performing relaxed measurements, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria (RMC) the method comprising: • obtaining first information indicating a plurality of configured RMCs of a set of RMCs;

• determining that the UE meets at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs, based on the first information;

• determining a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with an RMC in the set of RMCs; and

• performing relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first set of relaxed measurement requirements.

Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, further comprising obtaining information indicating a first type of each configured RMC.

Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the first information also indicates a first type of each configured RMC.

Embodiment 4: The method of any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the first set of relaxed measurement requirements is associated with a first configured RMC of the at least two configured RMCs.

Embodiment 5: The method of any one of embodiments 1-4, wherein:

• the set of RMCs is predefined; and

• obtaining the first information comprises selecting one or more RMCs from the predefined set of RMCs.

Embodiment 6: The method of embodiment 5, wherein selecting one or more RMCs from the predefined set of RMCs is based on one or more of mobility conditions of the UE, type of cells, interference measurements, and signal measurements.

Embodiment 7: The method of any one of embodiments 1-4, wherein:

• the set of RMCs is predefined; and

• obtaining the first information comprises receiving an indication of one or more RMCs from a network node.

Embodiment 8: The method of any one of embodiments 1-7, wherein the set of RMCs comprises more than two RMCs.

Embodiment 9: The method of any one of embodiments 1-8, further comprising performing one or more operational tasks based on a result of the relaxed measurement.

Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 9, wherein performing the one or more operational tasks comprises using the result for evaluating a procedure, performing a procedure, reporting the result to a network node, logging the result, or storing the result in a network node.

Embodiment 11: The method of any one of embodiments 1-10, further comprising:

• obtaining second information indicating a type of a second configured RMC;

• determining that the UE meets one of the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC;

• determining a second set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with the one of the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC;

• performing relaxed measurement while fulfilling the second set of relaxed measurement requirements during a transition period; and

• subsequent to the transition period, performing relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first set of relaxed measurement requirements.

Embodiment 12: The method of any one of embodiments 1-10, further comprising:

• obtaining second information indicating a type of a second configured RMC;

• performing relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first or second set of relaxed measurement requirements during a transition period; and

• subsequent to the transition period, performing relaxed measurement while fulfilling the second set of relaxed measurement requirements.

Embodiment 13: A User Equipment (UE) comprising:

• one or more transmitters;

• one or more receivers; and

• processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the UE to:

• obtain first information indicating a plurality of configured RMCs of a set of RMCs;

• determine that the UE meets at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs, based on the first information; • determine a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with a first configured RMC of the at least two configured RMCs; and

• perform relaxed measurement while fulfilling the first set of relaxed measurement requirements.

Embodiment 14: The UE of embodiment 13, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to perform the method of any one of embodiments 2 to 12.

Embodiment 15: A User Equipment (UE) adapted to:

• determine that the UE meets at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs, based on the first information;

• determine a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with a first configured RMC of the at least two configured RMCs; and

Embodiment 16: The UE of embodiment 15, wherein the UE is adapted to perform the method of any one of embodiments 2 to 12.

Embodiment 17: A method performed by a network node for configuring a User Equipment (UE) for performing relaxed measurements wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria (RMC), the method comprising:

• configuring the UE with first information indicating a plurality of RMCs of a set of RMCs;

• configuring the UE with a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with an RMC in the set of RMCs, wherein the first set of relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs.

Embodiment 18: The method of embodiment 17, further comprising determining the first information indicating the plurality of RMCs of the set of RMCs.

Embodiment 19: The method of any one of embodiments 17-18, wherein the first set of relaxed measurement requirements is associated with a first configured RMC of the at least two configured RMCs.

Embodiment 20: A network node, comprising: • one or more transmitters;

• one or more receivers; and

• processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to:

• configure a UE with first information indicating a plurality of RMCs of a set of RMCs; and

• configure the UE with a first set of relaxed measurement requirements associated with an RMC in the set of RMCs, wherein the first set of relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting at least two configured RMCs of the plurality of configured RMCs. Embodiment 21: The network node of embodiment 20, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the network node to perform the method of any one of embodiments 18 to 19.

Embodiment 22: A network node adapted and/or configured to perform the method of any one of embodiments 17-19.

Embodiment 23: A cellular communications system comprising a network node and a UE, wherein the network node is adapted and/or configured to perform the method of any one of embodiments 17 to 19, and wherein the UE is adapted and/or configured to perform the method of any one of embodiments 1-12.

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).

• 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

• 5G Fifth Generation

• 5GC Fifth Generation Core

• 5GS Fifth Generation System

• AF Application Function

• AMF Access and Mobility Function

• AN Access Network

• AP Access Point

• ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit

• AUSF Authentication Server Function • CPU Central Processing Unit

• DCI Downlink Control Information

• DN Data Network

• DSP Digital Signal Processor

• eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B

• EPS Evolved Packet System

• E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

• FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array

• gNB New Radio Base Station

• gNB-DU New Radio Base Station Distributed Unit

• HSS Home Subscriber Server

• loT Internet of Things

• IP Internet Protocol

• LTE Long Term Evolution

• MAC Medium Access Control

• MME Mobility Management Entity

• MTC Machine Type Communication

• NEF Network Exposure Function

• NF Network Function

• NR New Radio

• NRF Network Function Repository Function

• NSSF Network Slice Selection Function

• OTT Over-the-Top

• PC Personal Computer

• PCF Policy Control Function

• PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

• P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway

• PRS Positioning Reference Signal

• QoS Quality of Service

• RAM Random Access Memory

• RAN Radio Access Network

• ROM Read Only Memory

• RP Reception Point • RRH Remote Radio Head

• RTT Round Trip Time

• SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function

• SMF Session Management Function • TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator

• TP Transmission Point

• TRP Transmission/Reception Point

• UDM Unified Data Management

• UE User Equipment • UPF User Plane Function

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1 . A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (900) for performing relaxed measurements, the method comprising: obtaining (400) first information indicating a plurality of configured Relaxed Measurement Criteria, RMCs; determining (404), based on the first information, that the UE meets a first configured RMC and a second configured RMC of the plurality of configured RMCs, the first configured RMC being associated with first relaxed measurement requirements, and the second configured RMC being associated with second relaxed measurement requirements; and in response to determining that the UE meets the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC, performing (408) relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements comprises: performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the least stringent of the first and the second relaxed measurement requirements.

3. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein: the first configured RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second configured RMC is a stationary criterion; and wherein performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements comprises: performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the second relaxed measurement requirements.

4. The method of any of claims 1 -2, wherein: the first configured RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second configured RMC is a stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion; and wherein performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements comprises: performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the second relaxed measurement requirements.

5. The method of any of claims 1 -2, wherein: the first configured RMC is a release 16 low mobility criterion, a release 16 not-at- cell edge criterion, or a release 16 low mobility and not-at-cell edge criterion; and the second configured RMC is a release 17 stationary criterion, or a release 17 stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion.

6. The method of any of the proceeding claims, further comprising: determining (406) whether to perform relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or to perform relaxed measurements while fulfilling the second relaxed measurement requirements.

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the first information indicates selection of the plurality of RMCs from a predefined set of RMCs.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: performing one or more operational tasks based on a result of the relaxed measurements.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein performing the one or more operational tasks comprises using the result for evaluating a procedure, performing a procedure, reporting the result to a network node, logging the result, or storing the result in a network node.

10. A User Equipment, UE, (900), comprising: one or more transmitters (908); one or more receivers (910); and processing circuitry (902) associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the UE to: obtain (400) first information indicating a plurality of configured Relaxed Measurement Criteria, RMCs; determine (404), based on the first information, that the UE meets a first configured RMC and a second configured RMC of the plurality of configured RMCs, the first configured RMC being associated with first relaxed measurement requirements, and the second configured RMC being associated with second relaxed measurement requirements; and in response to determining that the UE meets the first configured RMC and the second configured RMC, perform (408) relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements.

11 . The UE of claim 10, wherein performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements comprises: performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the least stringent of the first and the second relaxed measurement requirements.

12. The UE of any of claims 10-11 , wherein: the first configured RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second configured RMC is a stationary criterion; and wherein performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements comprises: performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the second relaxed measurement requirements.

13. The UE of any of claims 10-11 , wherein: the first configured RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second configured RMC is a stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion; and wherein performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements comprises: performing relaxed measurements while fulfilling the second relaxed measurement requirements.

14. The UE of any of claims 10-11 , wherein: the first configured RMC is a release 16 low mobility criterion, a release 16 not-at- cell edge criterion, or a release 16 low mobility and not-at-cell edge criterion; and the second configured RMC is a release 17 stationary criterion, or a release 17 stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion.

15. The UE of any of claims 10-14, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to: determine (406) whether to perform relaxed measurements while fulfilling the first relaxed measurement requirements or to perform relaxed measurements while fulfilling the second relaxed measurement requirements.

16. The UE of any of claims 10-15, wherein the first information indicates selection of the plurality of RMCs from a predefined set of RMCs.

17. The UE of any of claims 10-16, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to: perform one or more operational tasks based on a result of the relaxed measurements.

18. The UE of claim 17, wherein performing the one or more operational tasks comprises using the result for evaluating a procedure, performing a procedure, reporting the result to a network node, logging the result, or storing the result in a network node.

19. A method performed by a network node (600) for configuring a User Equipment, UE, (900) for performing relaxed measurements, the method comprising: • configuring (500) the UE with first information indicating a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria, RMCs, the plurality of RMCs including a first RMC and a second RMC; and

• configuring (502) the UE with first relaxed measurement requirements associated with the first RMC and second relaxed measurement requirements associated with the second RMC, wherein the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the least stringent of the first and the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

21 . Then method of any of claims 19-20, wherein the first RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second RMC is a stationary criterion; and wherein the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

22. Then method of any of claims 19-20, wherein the first RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second RMC is a stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion; and wherein the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

23. The method of any of claims 19-20, wherein: the first RMC is a release 16 low mobility criterion, a release 16 not-at-cell edge criterion, or a release 16 low mobility and not-at-cell edge criterion; and the second RMC is a release 17 stationary criterion, or a release 17 stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion.

24. The method of any of claims 19-23, wherein the first information indicates selection of the plurality of RMCs from a predefined set of RMCs.

25. A network node (600), comprising: one or more transmitters (612); one or more receivers (614); and processing circuitry (604) associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to: configure (500) a User Equipment, UE, (900) with first information indicating a plurality of Relaxed Measurement Criteria, RMCs, the plurality of RMCs including a first RMC and a second RMC; and configure (502) the UE with first relaxed measurement requirements associated with the first RMC and second relaxed measurement requirements associated with the second RMC, wherein the first relaxed measurement requirements or the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

26. The network node of claim 25, wherein the least stringent of the first and the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

27. Then network node of any of claims 25-26, wherein the first RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second RMC is a stationary criterion; and wherein the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

28. Then network node of any of claims 25-26, wherein the first RMC is a low mobility criterion; the second RMC is a stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion; and wherein the second relaxed measurement requirements are fulfilled by the UE while performing relaxed measurements upon meeting the first RMC and the second RMC.

29. The network node of any of claims 25-26, wherein: the first RMC is a release 16 low mobility criterion, a release 16 not-at-cell edge criterion, or a release 16 low mobility and not-at-cell edge criterion; and the second RMC is a release 17 stationary criterion, or a release 17 stationary and not-at-cell edge criterion.

30. The network node of any of claims 25-29, wherein the first information indicates selection of the plurality of RMCs from a predefined set of RMCs.