CN111357351A

CN111357351A - Uninterruptible SCell operation in NR

Info

Publication number: CN111357351A
Application number: CN201780096923.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: L·达尔斯加德; R·K·尼米南; 张力
Original assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Alcatel Lucent SAS
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Alcatel Lucent SAS
Priority date: 2017-11-17
Filing date: 2017-11-17
Publication date: 2020-06-30
Also published as: WO2019095329A1

Abstract

An apparatus and method are provided by which a user equipment receives an instruction from a network control element, the instruction including information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier are to be used for performing synchronization signal block-based measurements, and the user equipment performs the measurements according to the received instruction.

Description

Uninterruptible SCell operation in NR

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus, method and computer program product by which an uninterrupted SCell operation may be achieved.

Background

The following meanings apply to the abbreviations in this specification:

3GPP third generation partnership project

BW bandwidth

BWP bandwidth portion

CA carrier aggregation

DC dual connection

DRX discontinuous reception

E-UTRA evolved universal terrestrial radio access

gNB 5G base station

LTE Long term evolution (4G)

MGL measurement gap length

MGRP measurement gap repetition period

NR new radio

NCSG network controlled minislots

PBCH physical broadcast channel

PCell primary cell

RF radio frequency

RRC radio resource control

SCell secondary cell

SSB synchronization signal block

TTI Transmission time Interval

UE user equipment

Although not limited thereto, embodiments of the present invention relate to a New Radio (NR). In particular, NR is currently being discussed and defined by 3GPP, and as part thereof, UE measurements, measurement performance, gap and non-gap auxiliary measurements, intra-frequency and inter-frequency measurements, and measurements on deactivated scells are also being discussed and defined.

In addition, the UE interruption requirement introduced in LTE release 10 is also discussed. Some UEs in LTE must do such an interruption when operating in CA or DC due to UE implementation. Currently, introduction of the interruption requirement for NR is also discussed.

However, such UE interruption is problematic.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention address this situation and aim to reduce UE interruption.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, configured to cause the apparatus at least to perform

Generating an instruction for the user equipment to perform a synchronization signal block based measurement, the instruction comprising information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for the measurement, an

Transmitting the instruction to the user equipment.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method comprising:

Transmitting the instruction to the user equipment.

The first and second aspects may be modified as follows:

for example, the information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for measurements may comprise an indication of the periodicity of the synchronization signal blocks to be used for measurements.

The information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for measurements may comprise an indication comprising the period, offset and duration of a synchronization signal block measurement window defining the position on the carrier on which the synchronization block measurements are located.

The indication may include a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration (SMTC).

The user equipment may be scheduled based on information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for measurements.

A given carrier may contain a deactivated SCell.

When configuring the user equipment with the SCell, an instruction for the user equipment may be included.

Furthermore, there may be a plurality of given carriers and the instructions for the user equipment may be generated such that for different carriers, synchronization signal blocks at the same location or at different locations will be instructed for measurement.

Further, information from the user equipment may be received indicating which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal will preferably be used for measurements, and the instructions may be generated based on the information received from the user equipment.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is arranged to cause the apparatus to at least perform: receiving an instruction from a network control element, the instruction comprising information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier are to be used for performing synchronization signal block based measurements, and performing the measurements according to the received instruction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising:

receiving an instruction from a network control element, the instruction comprising information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier are to be used for performing synchronization signal block based measurements, and

the measurement is performed according to the received instruction.

The third and fourth aspects may be modified as follows:

the information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for measurements may comprise an indication of the periodicity of the synchronization signal blocks to be used for measurements.

The information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for measurements may include the period, offset and duration of the synchronization signal block window.

A given carrier may contain a deactivated SCell.

Further, the instruction may be received when the instruction is to utilize SCell configuration by a network control element.

There may be a plurality of given carriers and the instructions may include information instructing synchronization signal blocks at the same location or at different locations for different carriers to be instructed to be used for measurements.

Information may be generated indicating which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal will preferably be used for measurements, and the information may be transmitted to a network control element.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer program product comprising code means which, when run on a processing means or module, performs a method according to the second and/or fourth aspect and/or modifications thereof. The computer program product may be embodied on a computer readable medium and/or the computer program product may be directly loadable into an internal memory of a computer and/or transmittable via a network over at least one of upload, download and push procedures.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising

Means for generating an instruction for a user equipment to perform a synchronization signal block based measurement, the instruction comprising information on which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for the measurement, an

Means for transmitting the instruction to the user equipment.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising

Means for receiving an instruction from a network control element, the instruction comprising information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier are to be used for performing synchronization signal block-based measurements, an

Means for performing measurements according to the received instructions.

Drawings

These and other objects, features, details and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1A shows a gNB according to an embodiment of the invention,

figure 1B shows a flowchart of a process performed by a gNB according to an embodiment of the invention,

figure 2A shows a UE according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2B shows a flowchart of a process performed by a UE, according to an embodiment of the invention, an

Fig. 3 shows a diagram illustrating SSB/SMTC on the PCell and the two scells and which SSB/SMTC is actually to be used for measurement according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. It should be understood, however, that the description is given by way of example only and that the described embodiments should in no way be construed as limiting the invention thereto.

However, before describing the embodiments, the fundamental problems of the present application will be described in more detail.

As described above, UE interruption can be problematic. For example, in conjunction with the introduction of CA, it turns out that a PCell may potentially be interrupted once operation on an SCell is initiated-e.g., RF for the SCell must be started. That is, the UE will not be able to start the second RF chain (i.e., on the SCell) without affecting the performance of the existing active RF chain (e.g., on the PCell). Such an effect may result in a loss of scheduling opportunities, e.g. receiving one or more TTIs each time the RF chain is started or shut down.

However, in LTE, the UE is allowed to perform such interruption when necessary by considering certain rules. Roughly, the rules indicate that if the measurement period of the deactivated SCell is 640ms or longer, the UE is allowed to cause up to 0.5% interruption. If the measurement period of the deactivated SCell (which is configured by the network — measCycleScell) is less than 640ms, the UE is not allowed to cause an interruption unless explicitly allowed by the network. That is, the UE will indicate to the network that it will benefit from the interruption, and when the measCycleScell is below 640ms, then the network will allow or disallow the UE to cause the interruption.

However, as noted above, allowing for such interruptions can be problematic. In particular, in NRs where CA and DC may also be applied, it is also likely that in NR there will be UEs that will cause an interruption on one active RF chain when activating/deactivating the second RF chain. It is therefore beneficial that the NR does not introduce UE autonomous interruption, but has a controlled approach on how to handle such failures in reception on the active RF chain due to state changes (activation or deactivation) in the other RF chain.

Currently, the measurement gap is discussed as follows:

measurement Gap Repetition Periods (MGRPs) of-20 ms, 40ms, 80ms and 160ms may be configured as specified by LTE RRC signaling specified in 36.331, and may also be configured by NR RRC specified in 38.331

There may be 6 options for Measurement Gap Length (MGL) for NR

Thus, there may be 6 potential MGL options × 4 in total, four of these options are expected to correspond to the already existing LTE

gap patterns ID

0, 1, 2 and 3 for the 24 gap patterns ID. of NR some of the existing LTE gap patterns (e.g. non uniformity 1, non uniformity 2, non uniformity 3, non uniformity 4 and

NCSG patterns ID

0, 1, 2 and 3) are not expected to be used for NR target cell measurements in release 15 possibly only a subset of the 24 gap pattern IDs may be defined in 38.133 to be applicable for measurements in certain scenarios identified and defined by RAN 4.

The measurement gap offset may be configured at a granularity based on the maximum slot length of all UE serving cells for which gaps have been configured.

In summary, the signaling for the UE to indicate the "outage benefit" is defined in section 5.5.2.1 "measurement configuration" and section 6.3.5 "measurement information element" of 36.331.

The UE requirements related to the maximum number of interruptions are defined in section 7.8 "interruptions with carrier aggregation" and section 7.12 "interruptions with dual connectivity" of 36.133.

Release 14 measurement enhancement WI then introduces a new gap pattern to cope with the interruption, called Network Controlled Small Gap (NCSG). These are defined in 36.133.

Release 15NR discussion has assumed the introduction of UE autonomous interruption and related requirements.

Therefore, there is clearly a need for a new solution on how to remove potential interruptions caused by UE implementation.

In the following, a general overview of embodiments of the present invention is described by referring to fig. 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B, wherein fig. 1A shows a gNB 1 and fig. 2A shows a UE 2.

In particular, fig. 1A shows a gNB 1 as an example for a first apparatus such as a network control element according to the present embodiment. The gNB 1 comprises at least one processor 11 and at least one memory 12, the at least one memory 12 containing computer program code. The at least one processor 11, together with the at least one memory 12 and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus at least to perform: generating an instruction for a user equipment (e.g. UE2 shown in fig. 2A) to perform synchronization signal block based measurements, the instruction comprising information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for measurements, and transmitting the instruction to the user equipment.

In other words, by referring to the flowchart shown in fig. 1B, in step S11, an instruction for the user equipment to perform synchronization signal block-based measurements is generated, the instruction including information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for measurements. In step S12, the instruction is transmitted to the user equipment.

Fig. 2A shows the UE2 as an example for the second apparatus according to the present embodiment. The UE2 comprises at least one processor 21 and at least one memory 22, the at least one memory 22 containing computer program code. The at least one processor 21, together with the at least one memory 22 and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving an instruction from a network control element (e.g., a gNB 1 as shown in FIG. 1A), the instruction including information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier are to be used for performing synchronization signal block-based measurements, and performing the measurements in accordance with the received instruction.

In other words, by referring to the flowchart shown in fig. 2B, in step S1, an instruction is received from the network control element, wherein the instruction comprises information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier are to be used for performing synchronization signal block based measurements. In step S22, the measurement is performed according to the received instruction, i.e. only for the indicated Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

Thus, according to embodiments of the present invention, the UE is configured with information indicating which SSBs on a given carrier (such as SCell) are to be used for measurements (i.e. SSB-based measurements).

In this way, the network can control on which SSBs the UE will perform measurements, and thus the number of gaps or interruptions due to SSB-based measurements can be reduced. Furthermore, the network knows which SSBs are used by the UE for measurements, so that the network can schedule the UE accordingly, thereby avoiding scheduling when the UE cannot receive.

The gNB 1 may further comprise a transmitter 13 connected to the processor 11, by which transmitter 13 instructions are transmitted to the user equipment. In addition, the gNB 1 may also include an input/output (I/O) unit or function (interface) connected to the processor 11, for example, to provide connectivity to other elements, such as the UE2 and other network elements. In particular, the I/O unit or function may also comprise a receiver.

Similarly, the UE2 may further comprise a receiver 23 connected to the processor 21 for receiving instructions from a network control element. In addition, the UE2 may also comprise an input/output (I/O) unit or function (interface) connected to the processor 21. For example, the I/O unit or function 23 may include a transmitter.

In the following, some more details of embodiments of the invention are described.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method is proposed that can address both certain UE types causing pulling of active RF chains when the operational state of another RF chain changes, and also this impact on the system level in a controlled way without introducing UE autonomous gaps.

This is done by having the network indicate to the UE: the UE should use which SSB on a given deactivated SCell (or basically which SMTC on a given carrier) for SSB-based measurements. Alternatively, the network may also indicate to the UE an SMTC that includes the period, offset, and duration of an SSB measurement window dedicated to measurement of the deactivated SCell. For example, the SSB measurement window may define the location on the carrier where the synchronization block measurement is located. Regardless of whether SS blocks will occur more frequently, upon receiving such an indication, the UE should use the SMTC and SCell measurements periodically for deactivation. Once the network has configured such instances to the UE, the UE should perform measurements in the time domain using the indicated SSB or SMTC instances.

At least UEs that have indicated that they cause a change in the pull RF chain state may obtain such a measurement instance indication from the network. Since the network now knows which UEs are causing the pull and when they are measuring, the network will know when the UEs will not be able to receive (or transmit) due to the pull. The network may then omit scheduling the UE in this case. Further, it should be noted that all of these may be network configurable. For example, the configuration may be as part of an SCell configuration.

According to embodiments of the present invention, well-defined rules and requirements are introduced that relate to potential reception (and transmission) failures on a UE on one RF chain side due to a change of operating state on the second RF chain.

In NR, except in some special cases (e.g. asynchronous networks of lower frequency bands), it is not assumed that the synchronization signals are transmitted in a continuous manner as known in legacy systems (e.g. LTE). The synchronization signal containing the PBCH is transmitted periodically in a DTX or periodic manner each time in accordance with the SSB (SS block). The SSB periodicity is network configurable and can vary and can be as long as 160ms (e.g., 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 ms). The SSB periodicity needs to be at least 20ms for the carrier that the network can use for initial access. Otherwise, the network is free to configure any suitable SSB periodicity.

The UE will need to perform SSB-based measurements on the deactivated SCell, and such measurements may be made on the SSB. Since the SSB is fixed in time, the UE measurements will be limited in time opportunity to the SSB time opportunity. However, if not defined, when to use which SSB of the measured SCell(s) to measure which deactivated SCell depends on the UE implementation. In this case, there will be a similar situation as in LTE, and the UE will malfunction due to pulling when changing the state of the RF chain will cause interference to the active RF chain — the UE is autonomously interrupted.

By instructing the UE when to measure a given SCell on which SSB, the time domain uncertainty will disappear from the equation, and any interference on the active RF chain (in the time domain) will be known to the gNB-i.e., the UE autonomous outage has been eliminated.

In fig. 3, one such method is shown. Fig. 3 shows a diagram illustrating SSB/SMTC on the PCell and two scells (SCell1 and SCell2) and which SSB/SMTC will actually be used for measurement according to an embodiment of the invention.

Here, the SSB periodicity on all cells is set to 20 ms. The network has indicated measCycleScell as 160ms and also indicates which SSB on each SCell of the UE that the UE should use for measuring the deactivated SCell.

Potential failures on the active RF chain (PCell) caused by, for example, a change in state of the second receiver (SCell1 or SCell2) are also shown. These are shown as gaps (not all shown, but indicated by arrows).

Alternatively, the network may indicate to the UE that a certain SMTC with a 160ms period (i.e., the first of the eight SSBs) is used for measurement of all deactivated scells. The UE may then decide which SCell (e.g., SCell1 or SCell2) to measure in each SMTC instance. The measurement performance of the deactivated SCell will be defined based on the SMTC period (160 ms in this example) and the number of deactivated scells (2 in this example). In the figure, this means that the network indicates to the UE that all deactivated scells should be measured based on the 160ms SMTC period (and the measured SSB/SMTC will be aligned). Even if SSB/SMTC occurs more frequently, the UE should observe a measurement periodicity of 160 ms.

Since the SSB location and UE measurement time are known to the network, any impact of activating/deactivating the second RF chain on the active RF chain is predictable and can be considered in the gNB scheduler. How to take such effects into account in the gbb scheduler may be left to the gbb implementation. An example would be to schedule the UE not in the interfered position, another example would be to rely on retransmissions, and furthermore, the coding may also ensure reduced impact. These are merely examples-however, all of these rely on the gNB having knowledge of when the UE performs measurements on the deactivated SCell.

Thus, the "gaps" in fig. 3 should not be considered as gaps known to conventional systems in which the gaps are configured by a network. Allocating explicit gaps to handle the above problem would be an option-however, this may be quite complex. As mentioned earlier, the implicit gap is simpler. This would indicate that the network can know when failures occur and can handle these accordingly.

In practice, the measurement opportunities related to a given SCell (or carrier) may be configured in many different ways. Some examples are:

when the UE is configured with an SCell, the network may include SSB measurement time information

Different scells may or may not have the same measurement time opportunity (different measurement time opportunities are shown in fig. 3).

The related signaling will need to be supported by RRC signaling (38.331), while UE requirements need to be defined (38.133).

Another alternative is to let the UE indicate to the network a favorable SCell measurement opportunity. Such indication may be implemented based on optimized UE measurements.

Similar approaches may be applied to other SCell operations, in addition to knowing the activated SCell measurements. For example. It may also be applied to addition/removal of scells and activation/deactivation of scells.

One significant advantage of this solution is that it removes any UE autonomous interruption and thus removes the system impact. At the same time, it allows for UE implementations that require such a transition failure-which in some cases cannot be avoided or benefited from a power saving perspective. In the future, with more integrated implementations, situations may become more common where a state change on one RF chain interferes with reception/transmission on another RF chain.

The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible.

For example, in the above embodiment, the process is described for NR. However, the procedure can be applied to any radio technology as long as different synchronization signal blocks on the carrier can be used for the measurements. In particular, the procedure may also be applied to LTE.

Further, in the above embodiment, two RF chains are shown as an example. However, the invention is not limited thereto and more than two RF chains are possible.

In general, the various embodiments of the UE can include, but are not limited to, mobile stations, cellular telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, internet appliances permitting wireless internet access and browsing, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate such functions.

The

memories

12 and 22 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The

processors

11 and 21 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture.

Further, the term "circuitry" as used in this application refers to all of the following:

(a) a purely hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation in analog and/or digital circuitry only), and

(b) combinations of circuitry and software (and/or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s), or (ii) a processor (s)/part of software (including digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(s) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions), and

(c) circuits, such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present.

The definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would also encompass an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term "circuitry" shall also cover (e.g., and if applicable to the particular claim element) a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other network device.

It is to be understood that the above description is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications and applications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, configured to cause the apparatus to at least perform:

generating an instruction for a user equipment for performing a synchronization signal block based measurement, the instruction comprising information on which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for the measurement, an

Transmitting the instruction to the user equipment.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal are to be used for the measurement comprises an indication of a periodicity of the synchronization signal blocks to be used for the measurement.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal are to be used for the measurements comprises an indication including a period, an offset, and a duration of a synchronization signal block measurement window defining a location on the carrier on which the synchronization block measurements are located.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 or 3, wherein the indication comprises a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

scheduling the user equipment based on the information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier signal are to be used for the measurements.

6. The device of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein

The given carrier includes a deactivated SCell.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

when configuring the user equipment with the SCell, including the instruction for the user equipment.

8. The device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein

There are a plurality of given carriers, an

The at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

generating the instructions for the user equipment such that synchronization signal blocks at the same location or different locations are instructed for the measurements for different carriers.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

receiving information from the user equipment indicating which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal will preferably be used for the measurement, and

generating the instruction based on the information received from the user device.

10. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the apparatus is or is part of a network control element.

11. An apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is arranged to cause the apparatus to at least perform:

receiving instructions from a network control element, the instructions comprising information about which synchronization signal blocks on a given carrier are to be used for performing synchronization signal block-based measurements, and

performing the measurement according to the received instruction.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier to use for the measurement comprises an indication of a periodicity of the synchronization signal blocks to be used for the measurement.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier are to be used for the measurement comprises a period, an offset, and a duration of a synchronization signal block window.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the indication comprises a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration.

15. The apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein

The given carrier includes a deactivated SCell.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

receiving the instruction when the apparatus utilizes the SCell configuration by the network control element.

17. The apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein

There are a plurality of given carriers, an

The instructions include information instructing synchronization signal blocks at the same location or different locations for different carriers to be instructed for the measurements.

18. The apparatus according to any of claims 11 to 17, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, is configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

generating information indicating which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal will preferably be used for the measurement, an

Transmitting the information to the network control unit.

19. The apparatus according to any of claims 11 to 18, wherein the apparatus is or is part of a user equipment.

20. A method, comprising:

Transmitting the instruction to the user equipment.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal are to be used for the measurement comprises an indication of a periodicity of the synchronization signal blocks to be used for the measurement.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal are to be used for the measurements comprises an indication including a period, an offset, and a duration of a synchronization signal block measurement window, the measurement window of the synchronization signal block defining a location on the carrier on which the synchronization block measurements are located.

23. The method of claim 21 or 22, wherein the indication comprises a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration.

24. The method of any of claims 20 to 23, further comprising:

25. The method of any one of claims 20 to 24, wherein

The given carrier includes a deactivated SCell.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

27. The method of any one of claims 20 to 26, wherein

There are a plurality of given carriers, an

The method further comprises the following steps:

28. The method of any of claims 20 to 27, further comprising:

29. The method of any of claims 20 to 28, wherein the method is performed by a network control element.

30. A method, comprising:

performing the measurement according to the received instruction.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal are to be used for the measurements comprises an indication of a periodicity of the synchronization signal blocks to be used for the measurements.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the information regarding which synchronization signal blocks on the given carrier signal are to be used for the measurement comprises a period, an offset, and a duration of a synchronization signal block window.

33. The method of claim 31 or 32, wherein the indication comprises a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration.

34. The method of any one of claims 30 to 33, wherein

The given carrier includes a deactivated SCell.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

the instructions are received when an apparatus performing the method utilizes the SCell configuration by the network control element.

36. The method of any one of claims 30 to 35, wherein

There are a plurality of given carriers, an

37. The method of any of claims 30 to 36, further comprising:

Transmitting the information to the network control element.

38. The method of any of claims 30-37, wherein the method is performed by a user equipment.

39. A computer program product comprising code means for performing a method according to any one of claims 20 to 38 when run on a processing means or module.

40. The computer program product according to claim 39, wherein the computer program product is embodied on a computer readable medium and/or the computer program product is directly loadable into an internal memory of the computer and/or transmittable via a network by at least one of upload, download and push procedures.