CN110050475B - Coverage enhancement restrictions for CIoT devices - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus of a cellular internet of things (CIoT) capable User Equipment (UE) is configured for Evolved Packet System (EPS) communication in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). The apparatus includes processing circuitry configured to encode an attach request message for transmission to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in the EPS, the attach request message including a UE network capability Information Element (IE) indicating whether the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage. The processing circuitry may decode an attach accept message confirming attachment to the MME, the attach accept message including an EPS network feature support IE indicating whether use of the enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE. The processing circuitry may refrain from using the enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the UE supports restriction of using the enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates that the enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

Description

Coverage enhancement restrictions for CIoT devices

Priority requirement

The benefit of priority from U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 62/444,200 entitled "reductions FOR COVERAGE FOR reasons FOR DEVICES," filed on 2017, month 1, and day 9, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

Aspects relate to wireless communications. Some aspects relate to wireless networks, including 3GPP (third generation partnership project) networks, 3GPP LTE (long term evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-a (LTE advanced) networks, and fifth generation (5G) networks including New Radio (NR) networks. Other aspects are directed to Coverage Enhancement (CE) restrictions for Cellular Internet-of-Things (CIoT) devices.

Background

Mobile communications have evolved greatly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated integrated communication platforms. With the increase of different types of devices communicating with various network devices, the use of the 3GPP LTE system has increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UEs) in contemporary society continues to drive the demand for a wide variety of networked devices in a variety of different environments.

LTE and LTE upgrades are standards for wireless communication of high-speed data for User Equipment (UE), such as mobile phones. In LTE upgrades and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is one such technique: multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies according to the technique may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thereby increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation may be used where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies.

The use of networked UEs using the 3GPP LTE system has increased in the fields of home and work life. Fifth generation (5G) wireless systems are coming and are expected to enable higher speed, connectivity and availability. Next generation 5G networks are expected to increase throughput, coverage and robustness. As current cellular network frequencies are saturated, high frequencies such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies may be beneficial due to their high bandwidth.

The explosive wireless traffic growth has resulted in a demand for increased rates. With mature physical layer technology, further improvements in spectral efficiency may be insignificant. On the other hand, the lack of licensed spectrum in the low frequency band results in insufficient data rate increase. Thus, there is an interest in the operation of LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum. As a result, one important enhancement of LTE in 3GPP release 13 is to enable its operation in unlicensed spectrum via Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), which expands the system bandwidth by leveraging the flexible Carrier Aggregation (CA) framework introduced by LTE advanced systems. Release 13 LAA systems focus on designs for downlink operation over unlicensed spectrum via CA, while release 14 enhanced LAA (eLAA) systems focus on designs for uplink operation over unlicensed spectrum via CA.

Potential LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum includes (and is not limited to) LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum via Dual Connectivity (DC), or DC-based LAA, as well as standalone LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum, according to which LTE-based technologies operate only in unlicensed spectrum without requiring an "anchor" in licensed spectrum, known as MulteFire. MulteFire combines the performance benefits of LTE technology with the simplicity of WiFi-like deployments. Further enhanced operation of LTE systems in licensed as well as unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems.

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication represents an important growth opportunity for the 3GPP ecosystem. With the proliferation of wireless networks, there is an accelerated push towards connected smart physical objects, such as wireless sensors, smart meters, dedicated microprocessors, etc., that span different ecosystems with different business models.

Drawings

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The accompanying drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various aspects discussed in this document.

FIG. 1A illustrates an architecture of a network, in accordance with some aspects.

FIG. 1B is a simplified diagram of an overall Next Generation (NG) system architecture, according to some aspects.

Fig. 1C illustrates functional partitioning between the NG-RAN and the 5G core (5GC), according to some aspects.

Fig. 1D and 1E illustrate a non-roaming 5G system architecture, according to some aspects.

FIG. 1F illustrates an example CIoT network architecture, in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 2 illustrates example components of a device 200, according to some aspects.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example interface of a baseband circuit, in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 4 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 5 is an illustration of a user plane protocol stack in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example aspects.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example communication sequence in a CIoT environment, in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example UE network capability information element, in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example EPS network feature support information element, in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example MS network capability information element in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example additional network feature support information element, in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 12 generally illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of operating a UE that supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage, in accordance with some aspects.

Fig. 13 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device, such as an evolved node b (enb), next generation node b (gnb), Access Point (AP), wireless Station (STA), Mobile Station (MS), or User Equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects.

Detailed Description

The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other aspects may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some aspects may be included in or substituted for those of others. The aspects recited in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

Any of the radio links described herein may be in accordance with any one or more of the following exemplary radio communication technologies and/or standardsA plurality of radio communication technologies and/or standards including, but not limited to: global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Radio communication technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Radio communication technology, Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio communication technology and/or Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) Radio communication technology for GSM Evolution, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), free Multimedia Access (FOMA), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), upgraded version of LTE, Code division multiple Access 2000(Code division multiple Access, 2000 Cellular) Radio communication technology, CDMA Digital Packet Data (CDPD), 3G) circuit Switched Data (CSD), High Speed Circuit Switched Data (High-Speed Circuit Switched Data, HSCSD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (Third Generation) (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (Third Generation), UMTS (3G)), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) (Wireless Code Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), W-CDMA UMTS)), High Speed Packet Access (High Speed Packet Access, HSPA), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (High Speed Uplink Packet Access, HSUPA), High Speed Packet Access enhanced version (High Speed Packet Access, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, HSP-TDD), time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), third generation partnership project version 8 (4 rd generation ago) (3GPP rel.8(Pre-4G)), 3GPP rel.9 (third generation partnership project version 9), 3GPP rel.10 (third generation partnership project version 10), 3GPP rel.11 (third generation partnership project version 11)Third generation partnership project release 11), 3GPP Rel.12 (third generation partnership project release 12), 3GPP Rel.13 (third generation partnership project release 13), 3GPP Rel.14 (third generation partnership project release 14), 3GPP Rel.15 (third generation partnership project release 15), 3GPP Rel.16 (third generation partnership project release 16), 3GPP Rel.17 (third generation partnership project release 17), 3GPP Rel.18 (third generation partnership project release 18), 3GPP 5G, 3 LTE Extra, LTE-Advanced Pro, LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LTE localized-Assisted Access, LAA), MuLTEfire, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access, UTRA), Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access, E-Access), LTE Advanced evolution release 4G (LTE evolution-evolution, LTE-Advanced Radio Access, E-evolution-4G) (LTE upgraded version 4G), CDMA (2G), CDMA2000 (third Generation) (CDMA2000(3G)), Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO), Advanced Mobile Phone System (Generation 1) (Advanced Mobile Phone System (1st Generation), AMPS (1G)), Total Access Communication System/Extended Total Access Communication System (Total Access Communication System/Extended Total Access Communication System, TACS/ETACS), digital AMPS (Generation 2) (D-AMPS (2G)), Push-to-talk (Push-to-talk, PTT), Mobile Phone System (Mobile Phone System, MTS), Improved Mobile Phone System (Advanced Mobile Phone System, IMTS), Advanced Mobile Phone System (Advanced Mobile Phone System, OLT, public Mobile Phone System (Mobile Phone System, OLT, Mobile Phone System, public Mobile Phone System, terrestrial Mobile Phone System (OLT, Mobile Phone System, OLT), MTD (swedish acronym for Mobile telephone system D), Public automatic Land Mobile (auto/PALM), ARP (finnish, auto adoiophilin, "car radio), NMT (Nordic Mobile telephone), north european Mobile phone), high capacity version (Hicap) of NTT (japanese telegraph and telephone), Cellular Digital Packet Data (Cellular Digital Packet Data, CDPD), Mobitex, DataTAC, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network, iDEN), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Circuit Switched Data (Circuit Switched Data, CSD), Personal hand held telephone system (peer) and Mobile telephone system (Mobile telephone system D)The national portable-phone System, PHS), Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network, WiDEN), iBurst, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) (also known as 3GPP universal Access Network, or GAN standard), Zigbee,

the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) standard, the general mmWave standard (Wireless systems operating at 10-300GHz and above, such as WiGig, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11ay, and the like), technologies operating above 300GHz and above the THz band (3 GPP/LTE based or IEEE 802.11p and others), Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-X (V2X) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Infrastructure-to-Vehicle (I2V) communication technologies, 3GPP cellular V2X, DSRC (dedicated short range communication) communication systems, such as intelligent transmission systems and others, and the like.

The aspects described herein may be used in the context of any Spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated Licensed Spectrum, unlicensed Spectrum, (Licensed) Shared Spectrum (e.g., Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4GHz, 3.4-3.6GHz, 3.6-3.8GHz, and more, and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55-3.7GHz, and more). The applicable frequency bands include IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) spectrum (including 450-, WiGig band 2(59.40-61.56GHz), WiGig band 3(61.56-63.72GHz), and WiGig band 4(63.72-65.88GHz), 70.2 GHz-71 GHz bands, any frequency band between 65.88GHz and 71GHz, frequency bands currently allocated for automotive radar applications (e.g., 76-81GHz), and future frequency bands including 94-300GHz and above. Furthermore, the scheme can also be used as a secondary on frequency bands such as TV white space band (typically below 790MHz), where the 400MHz and 700MHz bands are particularly applicable. In addition to cellular applications, specific applications in the vertical market may be addressed, such as PMSE (Program Making and Special Events), medical, health, surgical, automotive, low latency, unmanned, etc.

The aspects described herein may also be applied to different single carrier or OFDM formats (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-based multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.) and especially 3GPP NR (New Radio ) by allocating OFDM carrier data bit vectors to respective symbol resources.

FIG. 1A illustrates an architecture of a network, in accordance with some aspects. Network 140A is shown to include User Equipment (UE)101 and UE 102. The UEs 101 and 102 are illustrated as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a Personal Data Assistant (PDA), pager, laptop computer, desktop computer, wireless handset, drone, or any other computing device that includes a wired and/or wireless communication interface.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which may include a network access stratum designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. IoT UEs may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) to exchange data with MTC servers or devices via Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine initiated data exchange. IoT network descriptions utilize short-term connections to interconnect IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the internet infrastructure). The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connection of the IoT network.

UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect with (e.g., communicatively couple with) a Radio Access Network (RAN) 110-RAN 110 may be, for example, an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a next generation RAN (NextGen RAN, NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in more detail below); in this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces to enable communicative coupling and may conform to a cellular communication protocol, such as a global system for mobile communications (GSM) protocol, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocol, a push-to-talk (PTT) protocol, a cellular PTT (poc) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and so forth.

In some aspects, RAN110 may comprise a NG RAN or a NG core RAN. The NG RAN110 may include various functions such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Unified Data Management (UDM) function, and a Network Function (NF) repository function (NRF). The AMF may be used to manage access control and mobility and may also include network slice selection functions. The SMF may be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to network policies. The UPFs may be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type. The PCF may be configured to provide a policy framework (similar to the PCRF in 4G communication systems) with network slicing, mobility management and roaming. The UDM may be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to the HSS in a 4G communication system). Various aspects of NG RANs and NG cores are discussed herein with reference to fig. 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E.

In an aspect, UEs 101 and 102 may also exchange communication data directly via ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a Sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

UE102 is shown configured to access an Access Point (AP) 106 via a connection 107. Connection 107 may comprise a logical wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol according to which AP 106 may comprise wireless fidelity

A router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown connected to the internet, rather than to the core network of the wireless system (described in more detail below).

RAN110 may include one or more access nodes that enable connections 103 and 104. These Access Nodes (ANs) may be referred to as Base Stations (BSs), nodebs, evolved nodebs (enbs), next generation nodebs (gnbs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., ground access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a certain geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmission/reception points (TRPs). In the case where the communication nodes 111 and 112 are nodebs (e.g., enbs or gnbs), one or more TRPs may operate within the communication cells of the nodebs. RAN110 may include one or more RAN nodes, such as macro RAN node 111, for providing macro cells, and one or more RAN nodes, such as Low Power (LP) RAN node 112, for providing femto cells or pico cells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macro cells).

Either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, any of RAN nodes 111 and 112 may perform various logical functions for RAN110, including, but not limited to, Radio Network Controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In one example, any of nodes 111 and/or 112 may be a new generation node b (gnb), an evolved node b (enb), or another type of RAN node.

According to some aspects, UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN nodes 111 and 112 using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals over a multicarrier communication channel according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although such aspects are not required. The OFDM signal may include a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some aspects, the downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of RAN nodes 111 and 112 to UEs 101 and 102, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation can be used for OFDM systems, which makes it suitable for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid may correspond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain may correspond to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid may be represented as a resource element. Each resource grid may comprise several resource blocks, which describe the mapping of a particular physical channel to resource elements. Each resource block may include a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent, in some aspects, the minimum number of resources that are currently allocable. There may be several different physical downlink channels carried with such resource blocks.

A Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher layer signaling to UEs 101 and 102. A Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) may carry information about a transport format and resource allocation related to a PDSCH channel, and the like. It may also inform the UEs 101 and 102 about transport format, resource allocation and H-ARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) information related to the uplink shared channel. In general, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UEs 102 within a cell) may be performed at any of RAN nodes 101 and 102 based on channel quality information fed back from any of UEs 111 and 112. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on a PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of UEs 101 and 102.

The PDCCH may use a Control Channel Element (CCE) to carry control information. The PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets before being mapped to resource elements, which may then be transposed with a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements called Resource Element Groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped for each REG. Depending on the size of Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions, the PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more CCEs. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE, with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level L ═ 1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some aspects may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above-described concept. For example, some aspects may utilize an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more Enhanced Control Channel Elements (ECCEs). Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements called Enhanced Resource Element Groups (EREGs). ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs according to some arrangements.

RAN110 is shown communicatively coupled to Core Network (CN)120 via S1 interface 113. In some aspects, the CN120 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, a next generation Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as shown with reference to fig. 1B-1E). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is split into two parts: an S1-U interface 114 that carries traffic data between RAN nodes 111 and 112 and serving gateway (S-GW) 122; and S1 Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between RAN nodes 111 and 112 and MME 121.

In this aspect, CN120 includes MME 121, S-GW 122, Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW)123, and Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. MME 121 may be similar in function to the control plane of a legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). MME 121 may manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. HSS 124 may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support processing of communication sessions by network entities. The CN120 may include one or several HSS 124 depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the device, the organization of the network, etc. For example, HSS 124 may provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location compliance, and so on.

The S-GW 122 may terminate S1 interface 110 towards RAN 113 and route data packets between RAN110 and CN 120. In addition, S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3 GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface towards the PDN. P-GW 123 may route data packets between EPC network 123 and an external network, such as a network that includes application server 130 (otherwise known as an Application Function (AF)) via Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. In general, the application server 130 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this aspect, P-GW 123 is shown communicatively coupled to application server 130 via IP communications interface 125. The application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

P-GW 123 may also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) 126 is a Policy and Charging control element of CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with an Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session of the UE. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the IP-CAN session of the UE: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). PCRF126 may be communicatively coupled to application server 130 via P-GW 123. Application server 130 may signal PCRF126 to indicate the new Service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. PCRF126 may provision this rule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) using an appropriate Traffic Flow Template (TFT) and QoS Class Identifier (QCI), which starts the QoS and charging specified by application server 130.

In an example, any of nodes 111 or 112 may be configured to communicate (e.g., dynamically communicate) antenna panel selection and receive (Rx) beam selection to UE 101/102, which may be used by the UE for data reception on a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and for channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurements and Channel State Information (CSI) calculations.

In an example, either of nodes 111 or 112 may be configured to communicate (e.g., dynamically communicate) antenna panel selection and transmit (Tx) beam selection to the UE 101/102, which may be used by the UE for data transmission on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and for Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission.

In some aspects, LTE-based communications may use a fixed Transmission Time Interval (TTI) length of 1ms with 12-14 symbols, or may also use a smaller TTI (e.g., in NR-based communications). The sending of the request, grant, or data may be accomplished by using one or more subframes with TTIs. Here, the TTI length may affect both the time of transmission over the air and the processing time at the transmitter and receiver.

FIG. 1B is a simplified diagram of a Next Generation (NG) system architecture, according to some aspects. Referring to fig. 1B, the NG system architecture 140B includes the NG-RAN 110 and the 5G network core (5GC) 120. NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes, such as a gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130. The gNB 128 and ng-eNB 130 may be communicatively coupled to the UE102 via, for example, an N1 interface.

The 5GC 120 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF)132 and/or a User Plane Function (UPF) 134. AMF 132 and UPF 134 may be communicatively coupled to gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNB 128 and the NG-eNB 130 may connect to the AMF 132 over an NG-C interface and to the UPF 134 over an NG-U interface. The gNB 128 and ng-eNB 130 may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

In some aspects, the gNB 128 may include a node that provides New Radio (NR) user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE and is connected to the 5GC 120 via an NG interface. In some aspects, the NG-eNB 130 may include a node that provides evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards a UE and is connected to the 5GC 120 via an NG interface.

In some aspects, each of the gNB 128 and ng-eNB 130 may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, and so on.

Fig. 1C illustrates functional partitioning between a NG-RAN and a 5G core (5GC), according to some aspects. Referring to fig. 1C, a more detailed diagram of the functions that may be performed by the gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 within NG-RAN 110, and the AMF 132, UPF 134, and SMF 136 within 5GC 120 is illustrated. In some aspects, the 5GC 120 may provide access to the internet 138 to one or more devices via the NG-RAN 110.

In some aspects, the gNB 128 and ng-eNB 130 may be configured to host (host) the following functions: functions for radio resource management (e.g., inter-cell radio resource management 129A, radio bearer control 129B, radio admission control 129D, connection mobility control 129C, dynamic allocation of resources (scheduling) 129F to UEs in both uplink and downlink); IP header compression, encryption and integrity protection of data; selection of the AMF at UE attach time when no route to the AMF is determined from information provided by the UE; routing user-plane data towards the UPF(s); routing control plane information towards the AMF; connection setup and release; scheduling and transmission of paging messages (originated from the AMF); scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (originating from the AMF or operations and maintenance); measurement and measurement reporting configuration 129E for mobility and scheduling; transport level packet marking in the uplink; managing a session; support for network slicing; QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers; support for UEs in RRC _ INACTIVE state; a distribution function for non-access stratum (NAS) messages; radio access network sharing; dual connectivity; and tight interworking between NR and E-UTRA, etc.

In some aspects, the AMF 132 may be configured to host functions such as: NAS signaling termination; NAS signaling security 133A; access Stratum (AS) security control; inter Core Network (CN) node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks; idle mode mobility processing 133B, including mobile device (e.g., UE) reachability (e.g., control and execution of paging retransmissions); managing a registration area; support for intra-and inter-system mobility; access authentication; access authorization including verification of roaming rights; mobility management control (subscription and policy); support for network slicing; and/or SMF selection, among other functions.

The UPF 134 may be configured to host functions such as: mobility anchor 135A (e.g., an anchor point for intra-RAT/inter-RAT mobility); packet Data Unit (PDU) processing 135B (e.g., an external PDU session interconnect point to a data network); packet routing and forwarding; a packet inspection and user plane part of the policy rules enforcement; a traffic usage report; an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to a data network; a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions; QoS treatment for the user plane, e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement; uplink traffic validation (SDF to QoS flow mapping); and/or downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggers, among other functions.

Session Management Function (SMF)136 may be configured to host functions such as: managing a session; UE IP address assignment and management 137A; selection and control of the UP function; PDU session control 137B, including configuring traffic handling at the UPF to route traffic to the appropriate destination; a policy enforcement and QoS control part; and/or downlink data notification, among other functions.

Fig. 1D and 1E illustrate a non-roaming 5G system architecture, according to some aspects. Referring to FIG. 1D, a 5G system architecture 140D, denoted by reference point, is illustrated. More specifically, UE102 may communicate with RAN110 and one or more other 5GC network entities. The 5GC of the system architecture 140D includes a plurality of Network Functions (NFs), such as an access and mobility management function (AMF)132, a Session Management Function (SMF)136, a Policy Control Function (PCF) 148, an Application Function (AF) 150, a User Plane Function (UPF)134, a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 142, an authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and a Unified Data Management (UDM) 146. The UPF 134 may provide connectivity to a Data Network (DN) 152, and the data network 152 may include, for example, operator services, internet access, or third party services.

Referring to FIG. 1E, a 5G system architecture 140E and service-based representation are illustrated. System architecture 140E can be substantially similar (or identical) to system architecture 140D. In addition to the network entities shown in FIG. 1D, the system architecture 140E may also include a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 154 and a Network Repository Function (NRF) 156.

In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based, and interactions between network functions may be represented by respective point-to-point reference points Ni (as shown in fig. 1D) or as service-based interfaces (as shown in fig. 1E).

The reference point representation indicates that an interaction may exist between the corresponding NF services. For example, fig. 1D illustrates the following reference points: n1 (between UE and AMF), N2 (between RAN and AMF), N3 (between RAN and UPF), N4 (between SMF and UPF), N5 (between PCF and AF), N6 (between UPF and DN), N7 (between SMF and PCF), N8 (between UDM and AMF), N9 (between two UPF), N10 (between UDM and SMF), N11 (between AMF and SMF), N12 (between AUSF and AMF), N13 (between AUSF and UDM), N14 (between two AMF), N15 (between PCF and AMF in case of non-roaming scenario, or between PCF and visited network and AFM in case of roaming scenario), N16 (between two SMF; not illustrated in fig. 1D 22 (between AMF and AFM). Other reference point representations not shown in fig. 1D may also be used.

In some aspects, as shown in fig. 1E, the service-based representation may be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services. Here, the 5G system architecture 140E may include the following service-based interfaces: namf 158H (service-based interface exposed by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (service-based interface exposed by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (service-based interface exposed by NEF 154), Npcf 158D (service-based interface exposed by PCF 148), numm 158E (service-based interface exposed by UDM 146), Naf 158F (service-based interface exposed by AF 150), Nnrf 158C (service-based interface exposed by NRF 156), NSSF 158A (service-based interface exposed by NSSF 142), and Nausf 158G (service-based interface exposed by AUSF 144). Other service-based interfaces not shown in fig. 1E (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) may also be used.

Fig. 1F illustrates an example CIoT network architecture, in accordance with some aspects. Referring to fig. 1F, CIoT architecture 140F may include UE102 and RAN110 coupled to multiple core network entities. In some aspects, the UE102 may be a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE. The CIoT network architecture 140F may further include a mobile services switching Center (MSC) 160, an MME 121, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 162, an S-GW 122, an IP-Short-Message Gateway (IP-Short-Message-Gateway, IP-SM-GW)164, a Short-Message Service Center (SMS-SC)/Gateway mobile Service Center (Gateway mobile Service Center, GMSC)/Interworking MSC (Interworking MSC, IWMSC)166, MTC Interworking Function (MTC Interworking Function, MTC-IWF)170, Service Capability Exposure Function (GPRS Capability Exposure Function, SCEF)172, Gateway GPRS support node (Gateway GPRS support node), GGSN)/Gateway data Function (GPRS support node, GGSN)/charging Gateway (Gateway data Function, GW 174, CGF)176, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)/Home Location Register (HLR) 177, a Short Message Entity (SME) 168, an MTC authorization, authentication, and accounting (MTC AAA) server 178, a Service Capability Server (SCS)180, and Application Servers (AS)182 and 184.

In some aspects, the SCEF172 may be configured to securely expose services and capabilities provided by various 3GPP network interfaces. The SCEF172 may also provide a means for discovering exposed services and capabilities, as well as access to network capabilities through various network application programming interfaces (e.g., API interfaces to the SCS 180).

FIG. 1F also illustrates various reference points between different servers, functions, or communication nodes of the CIoT architecture 140F. Some example reference points related to MTC-IWF 170 and SCEF172 include the following: tsms (reference point used by entities outside the 3GPP network to communicate with UEs for MTC via SMS), Tsp (reference point used by SCS to communicate with MTC-IWF related control plane signaling), T4 (reference point used in HPLMN between MTC-IWF 170 and SMS-SC 166), T6a (reference point used between SCEF172 and serving MME 121), T6b (reference point used between SCEF172 and serving SGSN 162), T8 (reference point used between SCEF172 and SCS/AS 180/182), S6m (reference point used by MTC-IWF 170 to interrogate HSS/HLR 177), S6n (reference point used by MTC-AAA 178 to interrogate HSS/HLR 177), and S6T (reference point used between SCEF172 and HSS 177).

In some aspects, CIoT UE102 may be configured to communicate with one or more entities within CIoT architecture 140F via RAN110 based on one or more communication techniques, such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) techniques, in accordance with non-access stratum (NAS) protocols and utilizing one or more reference points, such as a narrowband air interface. As used herein, the term "CIoT UE" refers to a UE capable of CIoT optimization as part of the CIoT communication architecture.

In some aspects, the NAS protocol may support a set of NAS messages for communication between CIoT UE102 and Evolved Packet System (EPS) Mobile Management Entity (MME) 121 and SGSN 162.

In some aspects, CIoT network architecture 140F may include a packet data network, an operator network, or a cloud services network, with, for example, a Service Capability Server (SCS)180, an Application Server (AS)182, or one or more other external server or network components, among others.

The RAN110 may be coupled to the HSS/AAA server 177/178 using one or more reference points (e.g., including an air interface based on the S6a reference point) and configured to authenticate/authorize CIoT UEs 102 to access the CIoT network. RAN110 may be coupled to network 140F using one or more other reference points, including, for example, an air interface corresponding to an SGi/Gi interface for 3GPP access. The RAN110 may be coupled to the SCEF172 using, for example, an air interface based on the T6a/T6b reference point for service capability exposure. In some aspects, SCEF172 may act AS an API GW towards a 3 rd party application server, such AS 182. The SCEF172 may be coupled to the HSS/AAA server using the S6t reference point and may also expose application programming interfaces to network capabilities.

In certain examples, one or more of the CIoT devices disclosed herein, e.g., CIoT UE102, CIoT RAN110, etc., may include one or more other non-CIoT devices, or non-CIoT devices that function or have the functionality of a CIoT device. For example, the CIoT UE102 may include a smartphone, tablet computer, or one or more other electronic devices that function as CIoT devices for specific functions while having other additional functions.

In some aspects, RAN110 may include a CIoT enhanced node b (CIoT enb)111 communicatively coupled to a CIoT access network gateway (CIoT GW) 190. In some examples, RAN110 may include a plurality of base stations (e.g., CIoT enbs) connected to CIoT GW 190, and CIoT GW 190 may include MSC 160, MME 121, SGSN 162, and/or S-GW 122. In some examples, the internal architecture of RAN110 and CIoT GW 190 may be implementation dependent and need not be standardized.

As used herein, the term circuitry may refer to, be part of, or include the following: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or other Specific Application Circuit, an electronic Circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic Circuit, or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. According to some aspects, the circuitry may be implemented in, or the functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some aspects, the circuitry may comprise logic operable, at least in part, in hardware. In some aspects, the circuits and modules disclosed herein may be implemented in a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. In some aspects, the functionality associated with the circuitry may be distributed across more than one hardware or software/firmware module. In some aspects, a module (disclosed herein) may comprise logic operable, at least in part, in hardware. The aspects described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware or software.

Fig. 2 illustrates example components of a device 200, according to some aspects. In some aspects, device 200 may include application circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 206, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 208, one or more antennas 210, and Power Management Circuitry (PMC) 212 coupled together at least as shown. The illustrated components of the apparatus 200 may be included in a UE or RAN node. In some aspects, the apparatus 200 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize the application circuitry 202, but rather include a processor/controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some aspects, device 200 may include additional elements, such as memory/storage, a display, a camera, sensors, and/or input/output (I/O) interface elements. In other aspects, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations, the circuitry may be included separately in more than one device).

The application circuitry 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled with and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 200. In some aspects, the processor of the application circuitry 202 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

The baseband circuitry 204 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 204 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 206 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 206. The baseband processing circuitry 204 may interface with the application circuitry 202 to generate and process baseband signals and control operation of the RF circuitry 206. For example, in some aspects, the baseband circuitry 204 may comprise a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processor(s) 204D for other existing generations, generations in development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 204A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 206. In other aspects, some or all of the functionality of the baseband processors 204A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 204G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency offset, and the like. In some aspects, the modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some aspects, the encoding/decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 204 may include convolutional, tail-biting convolutional, turbo, viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Aspects of the modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other aspects.

In some aspects, the baseband circuitry 204 may include one or more audio Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) 204F. The audio DSP(s) 204F may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation, and in other aspects may include other suitable processing elements. The components of the baseband circuitry may be combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or arranged on the same circuit board in some aspects as appropriate. In some aspects, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 204 and the application circuitry 202 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some aspects, the baseband circuitry 204 may support communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some aspects, the baseband circuitry 204 may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and/or Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). In some aspects, the baseband circuitry 204 configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

The RF circuitry 206 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various aspects, the RF circuitry 206 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from FEM circuitry 208 and provide baseband signals to baseband circuitry 204. RF circuitry 206 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by baseband circuitry 204 and provide RF output signals to FEM circuitry 208 for transmission.

In some aspects, the receive signal path of RF circuitry 206 may include mixer 206A, amplifier 206B, and filter 206C. In some aspects, the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 206 may include filter 206C and mixer 206A. RF circuitry 206 may also include a synthesizer 206D to synthesize frequencies for use by mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer 206D. The amplifier 206B may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal and the filter 206C may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 204 for further processing. In some aspects, the output baseband signal may optionally be a zero frequency baseband signal. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path may comprise a passive mixer.

In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer 206D to generate the RF output signal for the FEM circuitry 208. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and may be filtered by the filter 206C.

In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley (Hartley) image rejection). In some aspects, the mixers 206A and 206A of the receive signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

In some alternative aspects, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may optionally be analog baseband signals. According to some alternative aspects, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative aspects, the RF circuitry 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 206.

In some dual-mode aspects, separate radio IC circuitry may optionally be provided to process the signal for each spectrum.

In some aspects, synthesizer 206D may optionally be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer, although other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer 206D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase locked loop with a frequency divider.

Synthesizer 206D may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by mixer circuitry 206A of RF circuitry 206 based on the frequency input and the divider control input. In some aspects, synthesizer 206D may be a fractional N/N +1 synthesizer.

In some aspects, the frequency input may be provided by a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), although this is not a necessary requirement. The divider control input may be provided, for example, by the baseband circuitry 204 or the application processor 202, depending on the desired output frequency. In some aspects, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application processor 202.

Synthesizer circuit 206D of RF circuit 206 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some aspects, the divider may be a Dual Module Divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a Digital Phase Accumulator (DPA). In some aspects, the DMD may be configured to divide an input signal by N or N +1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example aspects, a DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these aspects, the delay elements may be configured to decompose the VCO period into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, the DLL provides negative feedback to help maintain the total delay through the delay line to one VCO cycle.

In some aspects, synthesizer circuit 206D may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other aspects, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, or four times the carrier frequency) and may be used with a quadrature generator and frequency divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency having multiple different phases from each other. In some aspects, the output frequency may be an LO frequency (fLO). In some aspects, the RF circuitry 206 may include an IQ/polarity converter.

FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 210 and/or amplify received signals and provide amplified versions of the received signals to RF circuitry 206 for further processing. FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by RF circuitry 206 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 210. In various aspects, amplification by the transmit signal path or the receive signal path may be accomplished partially or entirely in the RF circuitry 206, partially or entirely in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the FEM 208.

In some aspects, the FEM circuitry 208 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified receive RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 206). The transmit signal path of FEM circuitry 208 may include a Power Amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 206) and one or more filters to generate the RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

In some aspects, PMC 212 may manage power provided to baseband circuitry 204. The PMC 212 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, and/or DC-to-DC conversion. When device 200 is capable of being battery powered, such as when the device is included in a UE, PMC 212 may be included in some aspects. The PMC 212 may increase power conversion efficiency while providing beneficial implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

Fig. 2 shows PMC 212 coupled to baseband circuitry 204. In other aspects, PMC 212 may additionally or alternatively be coupled with and perform similar power management operations for other components, such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 202, RF circuitry 206, or FEM 208.

In some aspects, PMC 212 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of device 200. For example, if the device 200 is in an RRC _ Connected state where it is still Connected to the RAN node because it is expected to receive traffic very soon, it may enter a state called Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 200 may be powered down for brief time intervals and thus save power.

According to some aspects, if there is no data traffic activity for a longer period of time, the device 200 may transition off to an RRC Idle state in which it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, and the like. The device 200 enters a very low power state and it performs paging during which it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 200 may transition back to the RRC _ Connected state to receive data.

The additional power saving mode may allow the device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than the paging interval (ranging from seconds to hours). During this time, the device 200 may be inaccessible to the network and may be powered down in some aspects. Any data sent during this time is subject to potentially large delays and it is assumed that the delays are acceptable.

The processor of the application circuitry 202 and the processor of the baseband circuitry 204 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuitry 204, alone or in combination, may be used to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuitry 204 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., Transmission Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, layer 3 may include a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, which is described in more detail below. As referred to herein, layer 2 may include a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which are described in more detail below. Layer 1, as referred to herein, may comprise the Physical (PHY) layer of the UE/RAN node, which is described in more detail below.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example interface of a baseband circuit, in accordance with some aspects. As described above, the baseband circuitry 204 of FIG. 2 may include the processors 204A-204E and the memory 204G utilized by the processors. Each of the processors 204A-204E may include a memory interface 304A-304E, respectively, to send/receive data to/from the memory 204G.

The baseband circuitry 204 may also include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitry/devices, such as a memory interface 312 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from a memory external to the baseband circuitry 204), an application circuitry interface 314 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 202 of fig. 2), an RF circuitry interface 316 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the RF circuitry 206 of fig. 2)Interface (s)), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 318 (e.g., to/from a Near Field Communication (NFC) component,

Component (e.g. low energy consumption)

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Interfaces for components and other communicating components to send/receive data) and a power management interface 320 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or control signals to/from PMC 212).

Fig. 4 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack in accordance with some aspects. In an aspect, control plane 400 is shown as a communication protocol stack between UE101 (or UE 102), RAN node 111 (or RAN node 112), and MME 121.

The PHY layer 401 may in some aspects send or receive information over one or more air interfaces for use by the MAC layer 402. The PHY layer 401 may also perform link Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers (e.g., the RRC layer 405). PHY layer 401 may also, in some aspects, perform error detection on transport channels, Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoding/decoding of transport channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna processing.

The MAC layer 402 may, in some aspects, perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) from one or more logical channels onto Transport Blocks (TBs) for delivery to the PHY via the transport channels, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from Transport Blocks (TBs) delivered from the PHY via the transport channels onto one or more logical channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto the TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction by hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), and logical channel prioritization.

The RLC layer 403 may operate in a variety of operating modes in some aspects, including: transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC layer 403 may perform transmission of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) for upper layer, error correction by automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission. The RLC layer 403 may also, in some aspects, perform re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transfers, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transfers, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect protocol errors for AM data transfers, and perform RLC re-establishment.

The PDCP layer 404 may, in some aspects, perform header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP Sequence Number (SN), perform in-order delivery of upper layer PDUs at lower layer re-establishment, eliminate duplication of lower layer SDUs at lower layer re-establishment for radio bearers mapped onto the RLC AM, cipher and decipher control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data, timer-based dropping of control data, and perform security operations (e.g., ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

In some aspects, the main services and functions of the RRC layer 405 may include broadcasting of System Information (e.g., included in a Master Information Block (MIB) or a System Information Block (SIB) related to a non-access stratum (NAS)), broadcasting of System Information related to an Access Stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of an RRC connection between the UE and the E-UTRAN (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. The MIB and SIB may include one or more Information Elements (IEs), each of which may include an individual data field or data structure.

The UE101 and the RAN node 111 may utilize a Uu interface (e.g., LTE-Uu interface) to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack including a PHY layer 401, a MAC layer 402, an RLC layer 403, a PDCP layer 404, and an RRC layer 405.

Non-access stratum (NAS) protocol 406 forms the highest level of the control plane between UE101 and MME 121, as shown in fig. 4. In some aspects, the NAS protocol 406 supports mobility and session management procedures for the UE101 to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE101 and the P-GW 123.

The S1 application protocol (S1-AP) layer 415 may support the functionality of the S1 interface and include Elementary Procedures (EP). The EP is a unit of interaction between the RAN node 111 and the CN 120. In certain aspects, the S1-AP layer services may include two groups: UE-associated services and non-UE-associated services. These services perform functions including, but not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) Management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling, RAN Information Management (RIM), and configuration transfer.

Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) layer (which may alternatively be referred to as SCTP/IP layer) 414 may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between RAN node 111 and MME 121 based in part on IP protocols supported by IP layer 413. The L2 layer 412 and the L1 layer 411 may refer to communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) used by the RAN node and MME to exchange information.

RAN node 111 and MME 121 may utilize the S1-MME interface to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack including L1 layer 411, L2 layer 412, IP layer 413, SCTP layer 414, and S1-AP layer 415.

Fig. 5 is an illustration of a user plane protocol stack in accordance with some aspects. In this aspect, user plane 500 is shown as a communication protocol stack between UE101 (or UE 102), RAN node 111 (or RAN node 112), S-GW 122, and P-GW 123. The user plane 500 may utilize at least some of the same protocol layers as the control plane 400. For example, the UE101 and the RAN node 111 may utilize a Uu interface (e.g., LTE-Uu interface) to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including a PHY layer 401, a MAC layer 402, an RLC layer 403, and a PDCP layer 404.

A General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP-U) layer 504 for the user plane may be used to carry user data within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network and the core network. The user data transmitted may be packets in a format such as IPv4, IPv6, or PPP. UDP and IP security (UDP/IP) layer 503 may provide a checksum for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at source and destination, and encryption and authentication on selected data streams. The RAN node 111 and the S-GW 122 may utilize the S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including the L1 layer 411, the L2 layer 412, the UDP/IP layer 503, and the GTP-U layer 504. S-GW 122 and P-GW 123 may utilize the S5/S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack that includes L1 layer 411, L2 layer 412, UDP/IP layer 503, and GTP-U layer 504. As described above with respect to FIG. 4, the NAS protocol supports mobility and session management procedures for the UE101 to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE101 and the P-GW 123.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example aspects. In particular, fig. 6 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 600, hardware resources 600 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 610, one or more memory/storage devices 620, and one or more communication resources 630, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 640. For aspects utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 602 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices and/or sub-slices utilizing hardware resources 600.

The processor 610 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) (e.g., a baseband processor), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination of these) may include, for example, a processor 612 and a processor 614.

Memory/storage 620 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination of these. The memory/storage 620 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state storage, and the like.

The communication resources 630 may include interconnection or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripherals 604 or one or more databases 606 via the network 608. For example, communication resources 630 can include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, and/or a wireless communication link,

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Components and other communication components.

The instructions 650 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 610 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 650 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 610 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), within the memory/storage 620, or any suitable combination of these. Further, any portion of instructions 650 may be communicated to hardware resource 600 from any combination of peripherals 604 or database 606. Thus, the memory of the processor 610, the memory/storage 620, the peripherals 604, and the database 606 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

In some aspects, referring to CIoT network architecture 140F of fig. 1F, Coverage Enhancement (CE) functionality may be used to ensure that particular subscribers (e.g., those subscribed to use CE services) can benefit from CE-related features. In some aspects, to address the use of a large amount of resources from the network, a particular subscriber is prevented from using the enhanced coverage function. In some aspects, new subscription parameters (e.g., Enhanced Coverage Allowed (Enhanced Coverage Allowed) parameters) may be introduced and stored in HSS 177. In some aspects, the enhanced coverage allowance parameter may be configured to specify, for each Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), whether enhanced coverage functionality is allowed for a given UE. In some aspects, the third party service provider may query the status of the enhanced overlay via the SCEF172 or request the MNO to enable/disable the enhanced overlay. This solution may include updating NAS procedures (e.g., ATTACH ACCEPT, Tracking Area Update (TAU)/Routing Area Update (RAU) ACCEPT messages) to receive enhanced coverage admission parameters, storing this parameter for each PLMN in the UE, and then using enhanced coverage capabilities based on the value of this parameter. In some aspects, HSS 177 may be configured to update subscription information to determine whether the UE is allowed to use CE functions, and then provide this information to MME 121, where it may be stored as part of the Mobility Management (MM) context and EPS bearer context. In some aspects, SCEF172 may be configured to query HSS 177 to determine the status of the enhanced coverage and enable or disable it if needed. For example, in the case where the UE is not subscribed to CE functionality, enhanced coverage may be restricted to the UE.

In some aspects, the UE may indicate its support for restricting enhanced coverage feature in ATTACH REQUEST (ATTACH REQUEST) and tracking area UPDATE REQUEST (TRACKING AREA UPDATE REQUEST) messages, and if the UE supports this feature, the MME may be configured to indicate whether enhanced coverage is restricted in ATTACH ACCEPT (ATTACH ACCEPT) and tracking area UPDATE ACCEPT (TRACKING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT) messages. In the case where enhanced coverage is restricted for a particular PLMN, then the UE will not access enhanced coverage capability in that PLMN.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example communication sequence in a CIoT environment, in accordance with some aspects. Referring to fig. 7, a communication sequence 700 may occur between a UE 702, an MME/SGSN 704, and an HSS 706.

In one aspect, CIoT architecture 140F may be associated with an Evolved Packet System (EPS). In this case, the UE may send an attach request to MME 704 at 708. In one aspect, the attach request may include a UE network capability Information Element (IE)800, as shown in fig. 8. The UE network capability IE 800 may include a restictec bit 802, which restictec bit 802 may be used to indicate whether the UE supports the restriction on enhanced coverage. For example, when the restictec bit 802 is set, the UE network capability IE 800 indicates that the UE supports the restriction on the use of enhanced coverage. In contrast, when the restictec bit 802 is not set, the UE network capability IE 800 indicates that the UE does not support the restriction on the use of enhanced coverage. In some aspects, the restictec bit 802 may be located in bit No. 3 of byte 9 of the UE network capability IE 800.

Referring to fig. 7, at 710, an update location request may be communicated from MME 704 to HSS 706. The HSS 706 may obtain the value of the enhanced coverage allowance parameter for the particular UE 702 at 712. At 714, the HSS 706 may communicate an update location confirmation, which may include the enhanced coverage allowance parameter (or another type of indication, such as subscription information regarding whether the UE 702 is subscribed to enhanced coverage functionality or limitations on enhanced coverage functionality). At 716, MME 704 may set the value of the enhanced coverage allowance parameter in the MM context for UE 702 based on the parameter value received from HSS 706.

At 718, MME 704 may send an attach accept message, which may include an indication of whether enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE. More specifically, the MME 704 may send an EPS network feature support IE that may include a bit indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted or not restricted for the UE 702. Fig. 9 illustrates an example EPS network feature support information element, in accordance with some aspects. Referring to fig. 9, the EPS network feature support IE 900 may include a restictec bit 902, which restictec bit 902 may be used to indicate whether enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE. For example, when the RestrictEC bit 902 is set, enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE. In contrast, when the RestrictEC bit 902 is not set, the use of enhanced coverage is not restricted for the UE. In some aspects, the restictec bit 802 may be located in bit No. 5 of byte 4 of the EPS network feature support IE 900.

In some aspects, the UE may indicate its support for restricting the enhanced coverage feature in a Tracking Area Update (TAU) request message, which may be communicated at 708. In this case, the MME 704 may indicate in a Tracking Area Update (TAU) accept message, which is communicated at 718, whether enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE 702. More specifically, a UE network capability IE 800 (with a restictec bit indication of whether the UE supports use of enhanced coverage) is communicated in a TAU request message sent at 708, and an EPS network feature support IE 900 (with a restictec bit indication of whether use of enhanced coverage is limited for the UE) is communicated in a TAU accept message sent at 718.

In some aspects, CIoT architecture 140F may be associated with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). In this case, the UE 702 (which may be referred to as a mobile station or MS) may communicate with the SGSN 704 (in place of the MME) and a different information element may be used to convey an indication as to whether the MS supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage and whether enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS.

For example, referring to fig. 7, at 708, the MS702 may send an attach request to the SGSN 704. In one aspect, the attach request may include an MS network capabilities IE 1000, as shown in fig. 10. The MS network capability IE 1000 may include a bit 1002, which bit 1002 may be used to indicate whether the MS supports restrictions on the use of enhanced coverage. For example, when bit 1002 is set, MS network capability IE 1000 indicates that the MS supports the restriction on the use of enhanced coverage. In contrast, when bit 1002 is not set, MS network capability IE 1000 indicates that the MS does not support the restriction on the use of enhanced coverage.

At 710, an update location request may be communicated from the SGSN 704 to the HSS 706. The HSS 706 may obtain the value of the enhanced coverage allowance parameter for the particular MS702 at 712. At 714, the HSS 706 may communicate an update location confirmation, which may include the enhanced coverage allowance parameter (or another type of indication, such as subscription information regarding whether the MS702 is subscribed to enhanced coverage functionality or limitations on enhanced coverage functionality). At 716, the SGSN 704 may set a value of an enhanced coverage allowance parameter in the MM context for the MS702 based on the parameter value received from the HSS 706.

At 718, SGSN 704 may send an attach accept message that may include an indication of whether enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS. More specifically, the SGSN 704 may send an additional network feature support IE that may include a bit indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted or not restricted for the MS 702. Fig. 11 illustrates an example additional network feature support information element, in accordance with some aspects. Referring to fig. 11, the additional network feature support IE 900 may include a restictec bit 1102, which restictec bit 1102 may be used to indicate whether enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS 702. For example, when RestrictEC bit 1102 is set, enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS. In contrast, when the RestrictEC bit 1102 is not set, the use of enhanced coverage is not restricted for the MS. In some aspects, the restictec bit 1102 may be located in bit No. 2 of byte 3 of the additional network feature support IE 1100.

In some aspects, the MS may indicate its support for the restricted enhanced coverage feature in a Routing Area Update (RAU) request message, which may be conveyed at 708. In this case, the SGSN 704 may indicate in a Routing Area Update (RAU) accept message, which is conveyed at 718, whether enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS 702. More specifically, an MS network capabilities IE 1000 (with a bit 1002 indicating whether the MS supports the restriction of use of enhanced coverage) is communicated in a TAU request message sent at 708, and an additional network feature support IE 1100 (with a restictec bit indication as to whether the MS restricts use of enhanced coverage) is communicated in a TAU accept message sent at 718.

In some aspects, the MME 704 may communicate the attach accept or TAU accept message at 718 in the form of a NAS message that is communicated to the eNB 703 at 717A and then forwarded by the eNB 703 to the UE 702 in communication 717B. In some aspects, the MME 704 may send one or more additional messages to the eNB 703 in communication 717A, which may include an enhanced coverage restriction parameter (e.g., indicating whether the UE is restricted from use for coverage enhancement). In some aspects, the messages communicated at 717A from the MME 704 to the eNB 703 may include one or more of an initial context setup request message, a handover request message, and a downlink NAS transport message.

Fig. 12 generally illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of operating a UE that supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage, in accordance with some aspects. Referring to fig. 12, an example method 1200 may be performed by a CIoT UE (e.g., 102) configured for Evolved Packet System (EPS) communications in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). At operation 1202, processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to encode an attach request message for sending to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in the EPS (e.g., conveyed at 708 in fig. 7). The attach request message may include a UE network capability Information Element (IE) (e.g., 800) indicating whether the UE supports the restriction of using enhanced coverage. In operation 1204, the processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to decode an attach accept message confirming attachment to the MME (e.g., communicated at operation 718 in fig. 7). The attach accept message may include an EPS network feature support IE (e.g., 900) indicating whether use of the enhanced coverage is restricted to the UE. In operation 1206, the processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to refrain from using the enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the UE supports restriction on using the enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates that the enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

Fig. 13 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device, such as an evolved node b (enb), next generation node b (gnb), Access Point (AP), wireless Station (STA), or User Equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects. In alternative aspects, the communication device 1300 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices.

A circuit (e.g., processing circuit) is a collection of circuits implemented in a tangible entity of device 1300 that includes hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, and so on). Circuit membership may be flexible over time. Circuits include those that when operated upon can perform specified operations either individually or in combination. In an example, the hardware of the circuit may be designed to perform certain operations forever (e.g., hardwired). In an example, the hardware of the circuit may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) including a machine-readable medium with instructions that are physically modified (e.g., magnetically modified, electrically modified, movable placement of invariant aggregate particles, etc.) to encode particular operations.

When connecting physical components, the underlying electrical properties of the hardware components are changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductor, or vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or a loading mechanism) to create members of a circuit in hardware via a variable connection to perform some portion of a particular operation when operating. Thus, in an example, a machine-readable medium element is part of a circuit or other component communicatively coupled to a circuit when a device is operating. In an example, any physical component may be used in more than one member of more than one circuit. For example, in operation, an execution unit may be used in a first circuit of a first circuitry at one point in time and reused by a second circuit in the first circuitry or by a third circuit in the second circuitry at another, different time. Additional examples of these components with respect to the device 1300 are as follows.

In some aspects, the device 1300 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, the communication device 1300 may operate in the capacity of a server communication device, a client communication device, or both, in a server-client network environment. In an example, the communications device 1300 can act as a peer-to-peer communications device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The communication device 1300 may be a UE, eNB, PC, tablet PC, STB, PDA, mobile phone, smartphone, web appliance, network router, switch or bridge, or any communication device capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by the communication device. Additionally, while only a single communication device is illustrated, the term "communication device" should also be understood to include any collection of communication devices, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations, that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

Examples as described herein may include or may operate on a logical or number of components, modules, or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example, the circuitry may be arranged as modules (e.g., internally or to an external entity, such as other circuitry) in a specified manner. In an example, all or portions of one or more computer systems (e.g., a stand-alone, client, or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application portions, or applications) to operate to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a communication device readable medium. In an example, software, when executed by underlying hardware of a module, causes the hardware to perform specified operations.

Thus, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity, whether physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., temporarily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform a portion or all of any of the operations described herein. Considering the example of temporarily configuring modules, each module need not be instantiated at any one time. For example, where the modules include a general purpose hardware processor configured with software, the general purpose hardware processor may be configured as various different modules at different times. The software may accordingly configure the hardware processor to, for example, constitute a particular module at one time and a different module at a different time.

The communication device (e.g., UE)1300 may include a hardware processor 1302 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination of these), a main memory 1304, a static memory 1306, and a mass storage device 1316 (e.g., a hard disk drive, a tape drive, flash memory, or other block or storage device), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnection link (e.g., bus) 1308.

The communication device 1300 may also include a display unit 1310, an alphanumeric input device 1312 (e.g., a keyboard), and a User Interface (UI) navigation device 1314 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 1310, input device 1312, and UI navigation device 1314 may be touch screen displays. The communication device 1300 may also include a signal generation device 1318 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1320, and one or more sensors 1321, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The communication device 1300 may include an output controller 1328, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., Infrared (IR), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 1316 may include a communication device readable medium 1322 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1324 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In some aspects, the registers of processor 1302, main memory 1304, static memory 1306, and/or mass storage 1316 may be or include (wholly or at least partially) device-readable media 1322 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1324 embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In an example, one of, or any combination of, hardware processor 1302, main memory 1304, static memory 1306, or mass storage device 1316 may constitute device-readable medium 1322.

As used herein, the term "device-readable medium" is interchangeable with "computer-readable medium" or "machine-readable medium". While the communication device-readable medium 1322 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "communication device-readable medium" can include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that are configured to store the one or more instructions 1324.

The term "communication device-readable medium" can include any medium that can store, encode or carry instructions for execution by communication device 1300 and that cause communication device 1300 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure or that can store, encode or carry data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of communication device readable media may include solid state memory, as well as optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of the communication device readable medium may include: nonvolatile memories such as semiconductor Memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only memories (EPROMs), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only memories (EEPROMs)) and flash Memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the communication device readable medium may include a non-transitory communication device readable medium. In some examples, the communication device readable medium may include a communication device readable medium that is not a transitory propagating signal.

Any of several transport protocols (e.g., frame relay, Internet Protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (tran) may also be utilizedsmision control protocol, TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.) transmit or receive the instructions 1324 over the communication network 1326 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 1320. Example communication networks may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the internet), a mobile Telephone network (e.g., a cellular network), a Plain Old Telephone (POTS) network, and a wireless data network (e.g., known as a wireless data network

Is known as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards, referred to as

IEEE802.16 family of standards), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, and so forth. In an example, the network interface device 1320 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 1326. In an example, the network interface device 1320 can include multiple antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, network interface device 1320 may utilize multi-user MIMO techniques to communicate wirelessly.

The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device 1300, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software. Herein, a transmission medium in the context of the present disclosure is a device-readable medium.

Supplementary noteExplanation and example:

example 1 is an apparatus of a cellular internet of things (CIoT) -capable User Equipment (UE) configured for Evolved Packet System (EPS) communication in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), the apparatus comprising: a processing circuit configured to: encoding an attach request message for sending to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in the EPS, the attach request message including a UE network capability Information Element (IE) indicating whether the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage; decoding an attach accept message confirming attachment to the MME, the attach accept message including an EPS network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE; and refrain from using enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit, the memory configured to store the EPS network feature support IE.

In example 2, the subject matter of example 1 includes, wherein to inhibit use of the enhanced coverage, the processing circuitry is further configured to: disabling one or more enhanced coverage functions in the PLMN when the UE supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

In example 3, the subject matter of examples 1-2 includes wherein the memory stores a list of equivalent PLMNs and the processing circuitry is further configured to: refraining from using enhanced coverage in any PLMN in the list of equivalent PLMNs when the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

In example 4, the subject matter of examples 1-3 includes wherein the UE network capability IE includes a bit indicating that the UE supports the limitation on use of enhanced coverage when the bit is set and indicates that the UE does not support the limitation on use of enhanced coverage when the bit is not set.

In example 5, the subject matter of example 4 includes, wherein the bit is a restrictive enhanced coverage (restictec) bit located in byte 9 of the UE network capability IE.

In example 6, the subject matter of examples 1-5 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: allowing use of enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the EPS network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is not restricted for the UE.

In example 7, the subject matter of examples 1-6 includes wherein the EPS network support IE includes a bit indicating that use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE when the bit is set and indicating that use of enhanced coverage is not restricted for the UE when the bit is not set.

In example 8, the subject matter of example 7 includes, wherein the bit is a restrictive enhanced override (restictec) bit located in byte 4 of the EPS network feature support IE.

In example 9, the subject matter of examples 1-8 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: encoding a tracking area update request message for transmission to an MME in the EPS, the tracking area update request message including a UE network capability IE indicating whether the UE supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage.

In example 10, the subject matter of example 9 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: decoding a tracking area update accept message confirming a UE location update, the tracking area update accept message further comprising an EPS network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

In example 11, the subject matter of examples 1-10 includes: transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

Example 12 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a cellular internet of things (CIoT) -capable Mobile Station (MS) configured for General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) communication in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), the instructions to configure the one or more processors to cause the MS to: encoding an attach request message for transmission to a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), the attach request message including an MS network capability Information Element (IE) indicating whether the MS supports restriction of using enhanced coverage; decoding an attach accept message confirming attachment to the SGSN, the attach accept message including an additional network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS; and refrain from using enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the MS supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the additional network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS.

In example 13, the subject matter of example 12 includes, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to: refraining from using enhanced coverage in any PLMN in the list of equivalent PLMNs when the MS supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the additional network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS.

In example 14, the subject matter of examples 12-13 includes wherein the MS network capability IE includes a bit indicating that the MS supports the restriction on use of enhanced coverage when the bit is set and indicates that the MS does not support the restriction on use of enhanced coverage when the bit is not set.

In example 15, the subject matter of examples 12-14 includes, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to: enabling use of enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the additional network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is not restricted for the MS.

In example 16, the subject matter of examples 12-15 includes wherein the additional network support IE includes a bit indicating that use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS when the bit is set and indicating that use of enhanced coverage is not restricted for the MS when the bit is not set.

In example 17, the subject matter of examples 12-16 includes wherein the bit is a restrictive enhanced override (restictec) bit located in a byte of the additional network feature support IE.

In example 18, the subject matter of example 17 includes wherein the restictec bit is located in byte 3 of the additional network feature support IE.

In example 19, the subject matter of examples 12-18 includes, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to: encoding a Routing Area Update (RAU) request message for transmission to an SGSN in the GPRS, the RAU request message including an MS network capability IE indicating whether the MS supports restriction on use of enhanced coverage.

In example 20, the subject matter of example 19 includes, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to: decoding a routing area update accept message acknowledging an MS location update, the RAU accept message further including an additional network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS.

Example 21 is an apparatus of a node b (nb), the apparatus comprising: a processing circuit configured to: decoding a configuration message from a Mobility Management Entity (MME), the configuration message including an enhanced coverage restriction Information Element (IE) indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for a User Equipment (UE); creating a context for the UE based on the configuration message; and forwarding a downlink Network Access Stratum (NAS) accept message for sending to the UE based on the UE context, the NAS accept message including an EPS network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit, the memory configured to store the enhanced overlay restriction IE.

In example 22, the subject matter of example 21 includes, wherein the configuration message is an initial context setup request message.

In example 23, the subject matter of examples 21-22 includes, wherein the configuration message is a handover request message.

In example 24, the subject matter of examples 21-23 includes, wherein the configuration message is a downlink NAS transport message.

In example 25, the subject matter of examples 21-24 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: encoding an uplink non-access stratum (NAS) message for sending to the MME, the NAS message including a UE network capability Information Element (IE) indicating whether the UE supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage.

In example 26, the subject matter of examples 21-25 includes: transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

Example 27 is at least one machine readable medium comprising instructions that when executed by processing circuitry cause the processing circuitry to perform operations to implement any of examples 1-26.

Example 28 is an apparatus comprising means for implementing any of examples 1-26.

Example 29 is a system to implement any of examples 1-26.

Example 30 is a method to implement any of examples 1-26.

While an aspect has been described with reference to specific example aspects, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these aspects without departing from the broader scope of the disclosure. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereof show by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specific aspects in which the subject matter may be practiced. The illustrated aspects are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other aspects may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various aspects is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Such aspects of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term "for convenience only and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single aspect or inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific aspects have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific aspects shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various aspects. Combinations of the above aspects, and other aspects not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the following understanding: it is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Moreover, in the foregoing detailed description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single aspect for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed aspects require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed aspect. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate aspect.

Claims (25)

1. An apparatus of a cellular internet of things, CIoT, capable user equipment, UE, configured for evolved packet system, EPS, communication in a public land mobile network, PLMN, the apparatus comprising:

a processing circuit configured to:

encoding an attach request message for sending to a mobility management entity, MME, in the EPS, the attach request message including a UE network capability information element, IE, indicating whether the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage;

decoding an attach accept message confirming attachment to the MME, the attach accept message including an EPS network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE; and is

Refraining from using enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates restriction of enhanced coverage for the UE; and

a memory coupled to the processing circuit, the memory configured to store the EPS network feature support IE.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to inhibit use of enhanced coverage, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

disabling one or more enhanced coverage functions in the PLMN when the UE supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

3. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, wherein the memory stores a list of equivalent PLMNs, and the processing circuitry is further configured to:

refraining from using enhanced coverage in any PLMN in the list of equivalent PLMNs when the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the EPS network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, wherein the UE network capability IE includes a bit indicating that the UE supports the restriction of use of enhanced coverage when the bit is set and that the UE does not support the restriction of use of enhanced coverage when the bit is not set.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the bit is a restrictive enhanced coverage RestrictEC bit located in byte 9 of the UE network capability IE.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

allowing the enhanced coverage to be used in the PLMN when the EPS network feature support IE indicates that the enhanced coverage is not restricted for the UE.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, wherein the EPS network support IE comprises a bit indicating that use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE when the bit is set and indicating that use of enhanced coverage is not restricted for the UE when the bit is not set.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the bit is a restricted enhanced coverage RestrictEC bit located in byte 4 of the EPS network feature support IE.

9. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

encoding a tracking area update request message for sending to an MME in the EPS, the tracking area update request message including a UE network capability IE indicating whether the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

decoding a tracking area update accept message confirming a UE location update, the tracking area update accept message further including the EPS network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE.

11. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, further comprising: transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of an apparatus of a cellular internet of things, CIoT, capable mobile station, MS, configured for general packet radio service, GPRS, communication in a public land mobile network, PLMN, the instructions for configuring the one or more processors to cause the MS to:

encoding an attach request message for transmission to a serving GPRS support node, SGSN, the attach request message including a MS network capability information element, IE, indicating whether the MS supports restriction on use of enhanced coverage;

decoding an attach accept message confirming attachment to the SGSN, the attach accept message including an additional network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS; and is

Refraining from using enhanced coverage in the PLMN when the MS supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the additional network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to:

refraining from using enhanced coverage in any PLMN in the list of equivalent PLMNs when the MS supports restriction of using enhanced coverage and the additional network feature support IE indicates that enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 12-13, wherein the MS network capability IE includes a bit that indicates that the MS supports restriction of use of enhanced coverage when the bit is set and indicates that the MS does not support restriction of use of enhanced coverage when the bit is not set.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 12-13, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to:

allowing the enhanced coverage to be used in the PLMN when the additional network feature support IE indicates that the enhanced coverage is not restricted for the MS.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 12-13, wherein the additional network support IE includes a bit that indicates that use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS when the bit is set and indicates that use of enhanced coverage is not restricted for the MS when the bit is not set.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the bit is a restrictive enhanced override restictec bit located in a byte of the additional network feature support IE.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the RestrictEC bit is located in byte 3 of the additional network feature support IE.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 12-13, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to:

encoding a routing area update, RAU, request message for transmission to an SGSN in the GPRS, the RAU request message including the MS network capability IE indicating whether the MS supports restriction of using enhanced coverage.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors further cause the MS to:

decoding a routing area update accept message acknowledging an MS location update, the RAU accept message further including an additional network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the MS.

21. An apparatus of a node, BNB, the apparatus comprising:

a processing circuit configured to:

decoding a configuration message from a mobility management entity, MME, the configuration message comprising an enhanced coverage restriction information element, IE, the enhanced coverage restriction IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for a user equipment, UE;

creating a context for the UE based on the configuration message; and is

Forwarding a downlink Network Access Stratum (NAS) accept message for sending to the UE based on the UE context, the NAS accept message including an EPS network feature support IE indicating whether use of enhanced coverage is restricted for the UE; and

a memory coupled to the processing circuit, the memory configured to store the enhanced overlay restriction IE.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the configuration message is an initial context setup request message.

23. The apparatus of any of claims 21-22, wherein the configuration message is a handover request message.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 21-22, wherein the configuration message is a downlink NAS transport message.

25. The apparatus of any of claims 21-22, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

encoding an uplink non-access stratum (NAS) message for sending to the MME, the NAS message comprising a UE network capability Information Element (IE) indicating whether the UE supports restriction of using enhanced coverage.

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