CN118120310A

CN118120310A - Paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception

Info

Publication number: CN118120310A
Application number: CN202280040216.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: M·劳里德森; D·拉塞尔瓦; 吴春丽
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2022-09-29
Filing date: 2022-09-29
Publication date: 2024-05-31
Also published as: WO2024065401A1

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are provided for paging early indication monitoring in user equipment-specific discontinuous reception and cell-specific discontinuous reception. For example, the method may include determining at least one of: the overlap between the first paging frame of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the second paging frame of the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the relative length of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, or whether there is an indication of the transmission of the user equipment-specific paging early indication. The method may further include deciding to monitor for a paging early indication of the paging frame based on a result of the determining.

Description

Paging early indication monitoring in user equipment specific discontinuous reception

Technical Field

Some example embodiments may relate generally to communications including mobile or wireless telecommunication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or fifth generation (5G) radio access technology or New Radio (NR) access technology, or other communication systems including the same or similar standards for subsequent generations. For example, certain example embodiments may generally relate to paging early indication monitoring in user equipment-specific discontinuous reception and cell-specific discontinuous reception.

Background

Examples of mobile or wireless telecommunication systems may include Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), long Term Evolution (LTE) evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), multeFire, LTE-a Pro and/or fifth generation (5G) radio access technology or New Radio (NR) access technology. The 5G wireless system refers to the Next Generation (NG) radio system and network architecture. The 5G system is mainly built based on the 5G New Radio (NR), but the 5G (or NG) network may also be built based on the E-UTRA radio. Starting from version 18 (Rel-18), 5G is referred to as advanced 5G. It is estimated that NR provides bit rates on the order of 10-20Gbit/s or higher and can support at least service classes such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low-delay communications (URLLC) as well as large-scale machine type communications (mMTC). NR is expected to deliver ultra-wideband, ultra-robust, low latency connectivity, and large-scale networking to support internet of things (IoT). With the increasing expansion of IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, the demand for networks that meet low power consumption, low data rates, and long battery life requirements will continue to grow. The next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) represents a 5G RAN that can provide both NR and LTE (and LTE-advanced) radio access. Note that in 5G, a node that may provide radio access functionality to user equipment (i.e., similar to a Node B (NB) in UTRAN or an evolved NB (eNB) in LTE) may be referred to as a next generation NB (gNB) when established over an NR radio; and may be named next generation enbs (NG-enbs) when set up on an E-UTRA radio. 6G is currently under development, possibly replacing 5G and advanced 5G.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments may relate to an apparatus. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining at least one of: the overlap between the first paging frame of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the second paging frame of the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the relative length of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, or whether there is an indication of the transmission of the user equipment-specific paging early indication. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may further cause the apparatus to at least perform: based on the result of the determination, a determination is made as to the monitoring of the paging early indication for the paging frame.

Embodiments may relate to an apparatus. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus at least to perform: the relative length of the user equipment specific discontinuous reception period and the cell specific discontinuous reception period is determined. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may further cause the apparatus to perform: based at least on the result of the determination, a determination is made of monitoring of paging early indications for paging frames.

Embodiments may relate to an apparatus. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus at least to perform: it is determined whether the user equipment will monitor for a paging early indication in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment-specific discontinuous reception cycle. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may also cause the apparatus to at least perform: based on determining to indicate that the user equipment is to monitor for a paging early indication in a given paging frame, the paging early indication is sent.

Embodiments may relate to a method. The method may include determining at least one of: the overlap between the first paging frame of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the second paging frame of the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the relative length of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, or whether there is an indication of the transmission of the user equipment-specific paging early indication. The method may further include deciding to monitor for a paging early indication for the paging frame based on a result of the determining.

Embodiments may relate to a method. The method may include determining a relative length of a user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and a cell-specific discontinuous reception period. The method may further include deciding to monitor for a paging early indication for the paging frame based on a result of the determining.

Embodiments may relate to a method. The method may include determining whether the user equipment is to monitor for an early indication of paging in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment-specific discontinuous reception cycle. The method may also include transmitting a paging early indication based on a determination indicating that the user equipment is to monitor for the paging early indication in a given paging frame.

Embodiments may relate to an apparatus. The apparatus may include means for determining at least one of: the overlap between the first paging frame of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the second paging frame of the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the relative length of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, or whether there is an indication of the transmission of the user equipment-specific paging early indication. The apparatus may also include means for deciding, based on a result of the determining, monitoring of the paging early indication for the paging frame.

Embodiments may relate to an apparatus. The apparatus may include means for determining a relative length of a user equipment-specific discontinuous reception cycle and a cell-specific discontinuous reception cycle. The apparatus may also include means for deciding, based on a result of the determining, monitoring of the paging early indication for the paging frame.

Embodiments may relate to an apparatus. The apparatus may include means for determining whether a user equipment is to monitor for an early indication of paging in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment-specific discontinuous reception cycle. The apparatus may also include means for transmitting the paging early indication based on determining to indicate that the user equipment is to monitor for the paging early indication in a given paging frame.

Drawings

For a proper understanding of the exemplary embodiments, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of user device behavior in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a method according to some embodiments; and

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a system according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

It will be readily understood that the components of certain example embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Accordingly, the following detailed description of some example embodiments of systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for providing early indication monitoring of paging in user equipment-specific discontinuous reception and cell-specific discontinuous reception is not intended to limit the scope of certain embodiments, but is representative of selected example embodiments.

The features, structures, or characteristics of the example embodiments described throughout the specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. For example, use of the phrases "certain embodiments," "some embodiments," or other similar language throughout this specification may, for example, mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in certain embodiments," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," or other similar language throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments.

As used herein, "at least one of: < list of two or more elements > "and" < at least one of list of two or more elements > ", and similar expressions in which the list of two or more elements are connected by" and "or", means at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

Certain embodiments may have various aspects and features. These aspects and features may be applied alone or in any desired combination with one another. Other features, processes, and elements may also be employed in combination with some or all of the aspects and features disclosed herein.

Additionally, if desired, different functions or processes discussed below may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, one or more of the described functions or processes may be optional or may be combined, if desired. Thus, the following description should be considered as illustrative of the principles and teachings of certain example embodiments, and not in limitation thereof.

Some embodiments may relate to User Equipment (UE) power saving. More particularly, certain embodiments may relate to early paging indication (PEI) for Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle and RRC inactive UEs. PEI is discussed in third generation partnership project (3 GPP) Technical Specifications (TS) 38.331 and 38.304.

The PEI may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based signal that the network may send before the Paging Frame (PF) of the UE to inform the UE whether to monitor paging Downlink Control Information (DCI) in the Paging Occasion (PO) of the PF. Obtaining this early information may allow the UE to save energy by skipping reception of Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) before the POs whenever the UE is not paged. In a legacy New Radio (NR), a UE may receive at least one SSB to obtain time and frequency synchronization prior to paging monitoring.

For example, according to 3GPP TS 38.304 section 7.2.1, a UE can monitor one PEI occasion (PEI-O) per Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle. PEI-O may be a set of PDCCH Monitoring Opportunities (MO). The time position of PEI-O of PO of the UE is determined by the reference point. The time position may also be determined by an offset from the reference point to the start of the first PDCCH monitoring occasion. The reference point may be a start of a reference frame determined by a frame level offset from a start of a first PF of the PF(s) associated with the PEI-O. The first PF of the PFs associated with PEI-O may be provided by the following equation: the SFN may be a sequence frame number and may be determined by 3gpp TS 38.304 section 7.1. The SFN of PF may be a DRX cycle of ue.pf is determined by (sfn+pf_offset) mod t= (T div N),. Index (i_s), index indicating PO determined by the following formula i_s=floor (ue_id/N) mod Ns. may be used for the calculation of the above PF and i_s i _PO = ((ue_id mod N) ns+i_s) mod PO-NumPerPEI, where PO-NumPerPEI may be configured via SIB, the DRX cycle of UE may be determined by the value (S) of DRX-if configured by RRC and/or upper layer and the value of drx_s may be determined by the default number of ue_s in the system information may be determined by the default value of pf_s, and may be the default number of pf_s may be determined if the value of drx_s is set in the system information is the default of the ue_s_p_s.

The UE may be configured with a DRX cycle for use in RRC inactive/idle states, which may be cell-specific/default DRX values, e.g., broadcast in system information, or may be UE-specific DRX values configured, e.g., by RRC and/or upper layers. The calculation of the SFN of the UE's PF for the UE in the DRX cycle may be determined based in part on T, which may be the shortest one of the UE-specific DRX cycle (if configured) and the cell-specific cycle broadcast in the system information (which may be the default).

Some embodiments address the issue of whether a UE is to monitor PEI when the UE is configured with a UE-specific DRX cycle. The DRX cycle in the case of UE-specific may be shorter than in the case of cell-specific, for example 32 radio frames compared to 128 radio frames in the case of cell-specific.

A given cell may transmit PEI only according to a cell-specific DRX cycle, which may be less frequent and common to most UEs. The UE-specific DRX cycle and the cell-specific DRX cycle may not have a common PF. Thus, the search space configured for PEI monitoring may not have PDCCH opportunity(s) associated with UE-specific POs and PFs. This may occur because the NW may not always configure a more frequent search space than the PF located in the cell, so a relatively small number of UEs with shorter periods may be paged in the cell.

Examples of cases when the UE-specific DRX cycle and the cell-specific DRX cycle do not have a common PF are provided below. According to the description of the SFN for PFs in section 38.304, section 7.1, PFs calculated using the UE-specific DRX cycle and the cell-specific DRX cycle may result in the same or different SFNs, depending on ue_id, the UE-specific cycle, the cell-specific DRX cycle, and the N configured for the cell. The oneT, halfT, quarterT equivalent in the RRC paging configuration may indicate how many PFs are configured within one cell-specific DRX cycle. For example, if the cell-specific DRX cycle is 128 radio frames and the UE-specific DRX cycle is 32 radio frames, "tdiv N" of 16 and 8, respectively, would result in a cell-specific PF once every 128/16=8 radio frames and a UE-specific PF every 32/16=2 radio frames. Thus, in this example, for a given UE, the UE-specific PF will coincide with 1 cell-specific PF of the 4 PFs.

The UE-specific paging cycle may be provided as part of an RRC release message, while the cell-specific paging cycle may be provided in both the RRC release message and the SIB. 3GPP TS 38.331 provides an example of a method for providing UE-specific paging cycles and cell-specific paging cycles. For example, the element RAN-paging cycle of the RRC release message may refer to a UE-specific period for RAN-initiated paging. The value rf32 may correspond to 32 radio frames, the value rf64 may correspond to 64 radio frames, and so on. Another element defaultPagingCycle of the RRC release message may be used to derive T in the above method. As with ran-PagingCycle, with defaultPagingCycle, the value rf32 may correspond to 32 radio frames, the value rf64 may correspond to 64 radio frames, and so on.

Some embodiments define PEI monitoring behavior for UEs configured with UE-specific DRX cycles.

Because the UE is aware of the cell-specific DRX configuration and the UE-specific DRX configuration, the UE may determine whether the PFs of the two configurations are inconsistent, partially consistent, or consistent in all instances. These three cases may be referred to as case 1 or no overlap case, case 2 or partially overlap case, and case 3 or fully overlap case. The numbering of these cases is for convenience only and not by preference, order or priority. The determination regarding overlap may refer to identifying which of these three cases applies when both cell-specific and UE-specific DRX configurations exist.

This determination may be based on, for example, an SFN determined as per 3gpp TS 38.304 section 7.1. The network or specification may control whether the UE should monitor PEI in each of cases 1, 2, and 3.

Based on the UE's determination of PFs for both UE-specific and cell-specific configurations (including all PFs in the cell when any potential UE IDs are considered), the UE may perform any of the following operations.

For example, if the PF of the UE related to the UE-specific DRX cycle in all instances coincides with the PF of the cell-specific DRX cycle, labeled case 3 above, the UE may monitor the PEI if configured prior to the PO.

In another example, in some, but not all instances, the PF of the UE related to the UE-specific DRX cycle may be consistent with the PF of the cell-specific DRX cycle, indicated as case 2 above. In this case, the UE may assume that there is PEI sent only for the cell-specific PF. That is, for a PF of a UE consistent with a cell-specific PF, the UE may monitor PEI before the corresponding PO. For PFs that are inconsistent with cell-specific PFs, the UE may instead monitor only paging DCI and not PEI. In another alternative, the UE may monitor the UE-specific PEI for PFs that are inconsistent with the cell-specific PFs. Alternatively, the UE may not monitor any PEI for the PF, whether or not a certain UE-specific PF is consistent with a cell-specific PF.

In further examples, the PF of the UE with the UE-specific DRX cycle may not coincide with the PF with the cell-specific DRX cycle in any instance, which may correspond to case 1 above. In this case, the UE may assume that there is no PEI sent for the UE-specific PF and may monitor only the paging DCI. Alternatively, the UE may monitor PEI in the UE-specific PF. PEI monitoring may provide any of the following indications based on the network: the UE-specific PEI configuration or flag indicating that the UE-specific PEI is sent based on the cell-specific PEI configuration. Using any of these indications may mean that the network transmits PEI at a UE-specific point in time rather than a cell-specific point in time. In this way, the UE may use a cell-specific PEI configuration, but the cell-specific PEI configuration may be applied to the UE-specific PF.

The UE may also choose to skip the calculation of consistent PFs and monitor only UE-specific PEIs if the network has provided any of the above indications.

The network may perform the same calculations for the consistent PFs. Thus, the network can know whether to send PEI before the PF. If the UE does not monitor PEI, the network may refrain from sending PEI.

In an alternative embodiment, the UE may avoid monitoring PEI if the UE-specific DRX cycle is shorter than the cell-specific DRX cycle. Thus, the UE may also skip the calculation of whether the PFs are consistent.

In another alternative embodiment, if the UE-specific DRX cycle is shorter than the cell-specific DRX cycle, the UE may be configured as to whether the UE should monitor PEI before each PO of the UE, without having to calculate whether the PFs are consistent. The UE may be so configured using a UE-specific PEI configuration or a flag indicating that the UE-specific PEI is sent based on the cell-specific PEI configuration.

In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the PF derived from the UE-specific DRX cycle is completely or partially identical to the cell-specific PF based on the cell-specific DRX cycle, the UE-specific DRX cycle of the UE, and the parameter N.

The cell-specific PF may cover any PF in a cell, including PFs of other UEs in addition to a given UE. Thus, when considering cell-specific PFs, the UE may consider all PFs, not only those calculated by the UE with its own ue_id, but also any potential ue_ids in the cell.

As mentioned above, the UE may determine which PFs are consistent based on a PF calculation formula using the UE-specific DRX cycle and the cell-specific DRX cycle. In one example, the UE-specific DRX cycle may have 32 RFs, the cell-specific DRX cycle may have 64 RFs, N may be 2, pf_offset may be 0, ns may be 2, and as a result the PFs of the UE-specific DRX cycle may be 0 and 16 SFNs, and the PFs of the cell-specific DRX cycle may be 0 and 32 SFNs. Thus, in this example, SFN 16 is inconsistent, while SFN 0 is consistent. Thus, using the above-mentioned labels, this provides an example of case 2.

In one example, if ue_id mod (cell-specific DRX cycle/UE-specific DRX cycle) =0, the UE may determine that the UE-specific PF is completely or partially identical to the cell-specific PF, otherwise it is determined that the UE-specific PF is not identical to the cell-specific PF.

In one example, if N ∈ (cell-specific DRX cycle/UE-specific DRX cycle), a UE with ue_id mod (cell-specific DRX cycle/UE-specific DRX cycle) =0 may determine that the PF of the UE-specific DRX is exactly identical to the PF of the cell-specific PF; and partially coincides with the cell-specific PF if N < (cell-specific DRX cycle/UE-specific DRX cycle).

In some example embodiments, the UE may consider the PEI configuration to determine whether to monitor the PEI prior to its PF. If the search space configuration of the PEI has a PDCCH occasion associated with a PF having a UE-specific DRX period, the UE can monitor the PEI of the PF regardless of whether the PF is consistent with a cell-specific PF.

Fig. 1 illustrates a flow chart of user device behavior in accordance with certain embodiments. As shown in fig. 1, at 110, a UE may have a configured cell-specific DRX cycle and a UE-specific DRX cycle.

At 120, the ue may determine whether PEI is configured for the cell. If not, the ue may simply monitor the paging DCI without monitoring any PEI at 170.

If the PEI is cell-configured, the UE may determine whether the UE-specific DRX period is less than the cell-specific DRX period at 130. If not, the UE may monitor PEI based on the cell-specific configuration at 180.

If the UE-specific DRX cycle is small, the UE may optionally calculate the next PF for both DRX configurations at 140. At 150, the UE may further determine whether the PF of the UE-specific DRX cycle is consistent with the PF of the cell-specific DRX cycle. If so, the UE may proceed again to 180.

If the two PFs do not coincide, or alternatively whenever the UE-specific DRX cycle is less than the cell-specific DRX cycle, then at 160 the UE may determine if there is a UE-specific PEI or if there is a flag indicating that the cell-specific PEI is reused for the UE-specific PEI. This may be an indication to monitor PEI with a UE-specific periodicity based on the cell-specific PEI configuration discussed above. If any such indication is present, the UE may proceed again to 180. If none of such indications is present, the UE may monitor paging DCI without monitoring PEI at 170. If the UE-specific PEI is configured, the UE may therefore monitor based on the fact that the UE-specific PEI is configured.

UE behavior may be hard coded in the specification or controlled by the network. For example, in case 3, the network may define whether the UE monitors PEI or legacy paging DCI. For example, the network may provide a flag in the paging configuration System Information (SI). In case 1, the network may control UE behavior by providing UE-specific PEI configurations and/or flags indicating whether to reuse cell-specific PEI configurations. The network configuration may be provided as UE-specific signaling, e.g. via RRC, or broadcast in the cell, e.g. as part of a paging/PEI configuration.

If one PEI-O is associated with the PO of two PFs, then the two PFs may be consecutive PFs calculated by the parameters PF_ offset, T, ns and N. Thus, the UE's calculation of a consistent PF may cover two cell-specific consecutive PFs instead of just one.

Fig. 2 illustrates a method according to some embodiments. As shown in fig. 2, the method may include determining a degree of overlap between a first paging frame of a discontinuous reception cycle specific to a user equipment and a second paging frame of a discontinuous reception cycle specific to a cell at 210. The degree of overlap may be no overlap, partial overlap, or complete overlap. The determination at 210 may correspond to the calculation at 140 and the determination at 150 in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 2, the method may further include, at 220, deciding, based on the result of the determining, monitoring for a paging early indication for a paging frame.

When the determination results in complete overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame, the decision to monitor may include: when the paging early indication is configured, a decision is made to monitor the paging early indication prior to the first paging frame.

When the determination results in a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame, the decision to monitor may include: when a given paging frame of the second paging frame coincides with a corresponding paging frame from among the first paging frames, a decision is made to monitor for an early paging indication prior to the second paging frame.

When the result of the determination is a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame, determining to monitor may include determining to skip monitoring for an early indication of paging. In this case, the user equipment may monitor for pages without monitoring for early page indications.

When the result of the determination is that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame, determining monitoring may include determining to skip monitoring for an early indication of paging.

When the result of the determination is that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame, determining to monitor may include determining to monitor for an early indication of paging prior to the first paging frame.

The decision to monitor may also be based on an indication from the network. The indication from the network may be a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or an indication indicating that a user equipment specific paging early indication is sent based on a cell specific paging early indication configuration.

The method may further include determining a relative length of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception cycle and the cell-specific discontinuous reception cycle at 215. For example, the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period may be shorter, equal to, or longer than the cell-specific discontinuous reception period. If the UE-specific DRX cycle is less than the cell-specific cycle, the UE may skip monitoring PEI without checking whether the two cycles overlap.

The method may further include, at 225, deciding to monitor for an early indication of paging of the paging frame based on the result of determining the relative length. This decision may correspond to the determination at 130 in fig. 1.

When the user equipment specific discontinuous reception period is shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception period, determining monitoring may include determining to skip monitoring for an early indication of paging.

When the user equipment specific discontinuous reception period is shorter than the cell specific discontinuous reception period, deciding to monitor may comprise following a configuration for monitoring or skipping monitoring. This decision may correspond to the decision at 160 in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 2, whether the method is based on an overlap-based or relative length-based decision, the method may include monitoring paging DCI/paging occasions and/or PEI at 230. For example, as described above and illustrated in fig. 1, PEI may not be monitored in some cases. In other cases, the monitoring of PEI may be at overlapping or joint paging frames, or the like.

The process of fig. 2, including the determinations at 210 and 215 and the decision monitoring at 220 and 225, may be performed by a terminal device or a user device. The method of fig. 2 may also include actions taken by network elements such as base stations. For example, at 240, the method may include determining whether the user equipment will monitor for an early indication of paging in a given paging frame. This determination may be made by following the decision flow of fig. 1 or any similar decision flow that the UE is expected to follow.

The method may further include, at 250, transmitting the paging early indication on condition that it is determined to indicate that the user equipment will monitor for the paging early indication in a given paging frame. In this way, for example, early indications of paging may be avoided unless they may be helpful to the user equipment, thereby saving power.

At 260, the method may include configuring the user equipment for paging early indication. For example, the configuring may include configuring the user equipment by providing the user equipment with a flag indicating that the cell-specific discontinuous reception paging early indication is reused for the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception paging early indication. As another example, the configuration may include providing an indication to the user equipment that the paging early indication was received using a user equipment specific discontinuity.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a system including the apparatus 10 according to an embodiment. In embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be a node, host, or server in a communication network or serving such a network. For example, the apparatus 10 may be a network node, satellite, base station, node B, evolved node B (eNB), 5G node B or access point, next generation node B (NG-NB or gNB), TRP, HAPS, integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, and/or WLAN access point associated with a radio access network (e.g., LTE network, 5G, or NR). In some example embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be, for example, a gNB or other similar radio node.

It should be appreciated that in some example embodiments, the apparatus 10 may comprise an edge cloud server as a distributed computing system, where the server and the radio node may be separate apparatuses that communicate with each other via a radio path or via a wired connection, or they may be located in the same entity that communicates via a wired connection. For example, in some example embodiments where apparatus 10 represents a gNB, it may be configured in a Central Unit (CU) and Distributed Unit (DU) architecture that partitions gNB functionality. In such an architecture, a CU may be a logical node including the gNB functionality, such as transmission of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning and/or session management, etc. The CU may control the operation of the DU(s) through a legacy interface called F1 interface, and the DU(s) may have one or more Radio Units (RU) connected to the DU(s) through a legacy interface. The DU may be a logical node comprising a subset of the gNB functions, depending on the function split option. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the apparatus 10 may include components or features not shown in fig. 3.

As an example illustrated in fig. 3, the apparatus 10 may include a processor 12 for processing information and performing instructions or operations. The processor 12 may be any type of general purpose or special purpose processor. In fact, for example, the processor 12 may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture or any other processing device. Although a single processor 12 is shown in fig. 3, multiple processors may be utilized according to other embodiments. For example, it should be appreciated that in some embodiments, apparatus 10 may comprise two or more processors, which may form a multiprocessor system that may support multiple processing (e.g., processor 12 may represent multiple processors in this case). In some embodiments, the multiprocessor system may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster).

Processor 12 may perform functions associated with the operation of apparatus 10, which may include, for example, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of the various bits forming the communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of apparatus 10, including processes related to paging early indication monitoring in user equipment-specific and cell-specific discontinuous reception.

The apparatus 10 may also include or be coupled to a memory 14 (internal or external), the memory 14 may be coupled to the processor 12 for storing information and instructions executable by the processor 12. Memory 14 may be one or more memories and may be of any type suitable to the local application environment and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or non-volatile data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, memory 14 may include any combination of Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), static memory such as a magnetic or optical disk, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable medium or other suitable storage device. The instructions stored in the memory 14 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by the processor 12, enable the apparatus 10 to perform tasks as described herein. The term "non-transitory" as used herein may correspond to limitations of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signals) rather than limitations of data storage persistence (e.g., RAM and ROM).

In one embodiment, the apparatus 10 may also include or be coupled to a (internal or external) drive or port configured to accept and read external computer-readable storage media, such as an optical disk, USB drive, flash drive, or any other storage medium. For example, an external computer readable storage medium may store computer programs or software for execution by processor 12 and/or apparatus 10.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas 15 for transmitting signals and/or data to the apparatus 10 and receiving signals and/or data from the apparatus 10. The apparatus 10 may also include or be coupled to a transceiver 18, the transceiver 18 being configured to transmit and receive information. The transceiver 18 may comprise, for example, a plurality of radio interfaces that may be coupled to the antenna(s) 15, or may comprise any other suitable transceiving means. The radio interface may correspond to a variety of radio access technologies including one or more of global system for mobile communications (GSM), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), LTE, 5G, WLAN, bluetooth (BT), bluetooth low energy (BT-LE), near Field Communication (NFC), radio Frequency Identifier (RFID), ultra Wideband (UWB), multeFire, and so on. The radio interface may include components such as filters, converters (e.g., digital-to-analog converters, etc.), mappers, fast Fourier Transform (FFT) modules, etc., to generate symbols for transmission via one or more downlinks and to receive symbols (e.g., via an uplink).

As such, transceiver 18 may be configured to modulate information onto a carrier waveform for transmission by antenna(s) 15, and demodulate information received via antenna(s) 15 for further processing by other elements of apparatus 10. In other embodiments, the transceiver 18 may be capable of directly transmitting and receiving signals or data. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may include input and/or output devices (I/O devices) or input/output components.

In one embodiment, memory 14 may store software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor 12. These modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for the device 10. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as applications or programs, to provide additional functionality to the apparatus 10. The components of apparatus 10 may be implemented in hardware or as any suitable combination of hardware and software.

According to some embodiments, the processor 12 and the memory 14 may be included in or may form part of processing circuitry/components or control circuitry/components. Additionally, in some embodiments, the transceiver 18 may be included in or may form part of transceiver circuitry/components.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to a pure hardware circuit implementation (e.g., analog and/or digital circuitry), a combination of hardware circuitry and software, a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor (s)) that work together to cause an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 10) to perform various functions, and/or a hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s) operating with software or portions thereof, but that software may not be present when operation is not required. As yet another example, as used herein, the term "circuitry" may also encompass an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and accompanying software and/or firmware. The term "circuitry" may also encompass baseband integrated circuits in, for example, a server, a cellular network node or device, or other computing or network device.

As introduced above, in some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be or may be part of a network element or RAN node, such as a base station, an access point, a node B, eNB, gNB, TRP, HAPS, IAB node, a relay node, a WLAN access point, a satellite, or the like. In an example embodiment, the apparatus 10 may be a gNB or other radio node, or may be a CU and/or DU of a gNB. According to some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be controlled by the memory 14 and the processor 12 to perform the functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein. For example, in some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be configured to perform one or more processes depicted in any of the flowcharts or signaling diagrams described herein (such as those illustrated in fig. 1-2), or any other method described herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be configured to perform processes related to providing paging early indication monitoring, e.g., in user equipment-specific discontinuous reception and cell-specific discontinuous reception, as discussed herein.

Fig. 3 further illustrates an example of an apparatus 20 according to an embodiment. In one embodiment, the apparatus 20 may be a node or element in or associated with a communication network, such as a UE, a communication node, a mobile device (ME), a mobile station, a mobile device, a fixed device, an IoT device, or other device. As described herein, a UE may alternatively be referred to as, for example, a mobile station, mobile device, mobile unit, mobile apparatus, user device, subscriber station, wireless terminal, tablet, smart phone, ioT device, sensor or NB-IoT device, watch or other wearable device, head Mounted Display (HMD), vehicle, drone, medical device and applications thereof (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial device and applications thereof (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or automated processing chain environment), consumer electronics device, devices operating on a commercial and/or industrial wireless network, and so forth. As one example, the apparatus 20 may be implemented in, for example, a wireless handheld device, a wireless plug-in accessory, or the like.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 20 may include one or more processors, one or more computer-readable storage media (e.g., memory, storage, etc.), one or more radio access components (e.g., modem, transceiver, etc.), and/or a user interface. In some embodiments, the apparatus 20 may be configured to operate using one or more radio access technologies, such as GSM, LTE, LTE-A, NR, 5G, WLAN, wiFi, NB-IoT, bluetooth, NFC, multeFire, and/or any other radio access technology. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the apparatus 20 may include components or features not shown in fig. 3.

As in the example illustrated in fig. 3, the apparatus 20 may include or be coupled to a processor 22 for processing information and performing instructions or operations. The processor 22 may be any type of general purpose or special purpose processor. In fact, the processor 22 may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. Although a single processor 22 is shown in fig. 3, multiple processors may be utilized according to other embodiments. For example, it should be appreciated that in some embodiments, apparatus 20 may comprise two or more processors, which may form a multiprocessor system that may support multiple processing (e.g., processor 22 may represent multiple processors in this case). In some embodiments, the multiprocessor system may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster).

The processor 22 may perform functions associated with the operation of the apparatus 20 including, as some examples, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of the individual bits forming the communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of the apparatus 20 including processes related to communication resource management.

The apparatus 20 may also include or be coupled to a memory 24 (internal or external), and the memory 24 may be coupled to the processor 22 for storing information and instructions executable by the processor 22. Memory 24 may be one or more memories and may be of any type suitable to the local application environment and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or non-volatile data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, the memory 24 may include any combination of Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), static memory such as a magnetic or optical disk, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable medium. The instructions stored in the memory 24 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by the processor 22, enable the apparatus 20 to perform tasks as described herein.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 20 may also include or be coupled to a (internal or external) drive or port configured to accept and read external computer-readable storage media, such as an optical disk, USB drive, flash drive, or any other storage medium. For example, an external computer readable storage medium may store computer programs or software for execution by processor 22 and/or apparatus 20.

In some embodiments, apparatus 20 may further comprise or be coupled to one or more antennas 25 for receiving downlink signals and for transmitting signals from apparatus 20 via the uplink. The apparatus 20 may also include a transceiver 28 configured to transmit and receive information. Transceiver 28 may also include a radio interface (e.g., a modem) coupled to antenna 25. The radio interface may correspond to a variety of radio access technologies including GSM, LTE, LTE-a, 5G, NR, WLAN, NB-IoT, bluetooth, BT-LE, NFC, RFID, UWB, and so on. The radio interface may include other components such as filters, converters (e.g., digital-to-analog converters, etc.), symbol demappers, signal shaping components, inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) modules, etc., to process symbols carried by the downlink or uplink, such as OFDM symbols.

For example, transceiver 28 may be configured to modulate information onto a carrier wave for transmission by antenna(s) 25, and demodulate information received via antenna(s) 25 for further processing by other elements of apparatus 20. In other embodiments, transceiver 28 may be capable of directly transmitting and receiving signals or data. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, apparatus 20 may include input and/or output devices (I/O devices). In some embodiments, the apparatus 20 may also include a user interface, such as a graphical user interface or a touch screen.

In one embodiment, memory 24 stores software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor 22. These modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for device 20. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as applications or programs, to provide additional functionality to the apparatus 20. The components of apparatus 20 may be implemented in hardware or as any suitable combination of hardware and software. According to an example embodiment, apparatus 20 may optionally be configured to communicate with apparatus 10 via a wireless or wired communication link 70 according to any radio access technology (such as NR).

According to some embodiments, the processor 22 and the memory 24 may be included in or form part of processing circuitry or control circuitry. Additionally, in some embodiments, transceiver 28 may be included in or may form part of transceiver circuitry.

As discussed above, according to some embodiments, the apparatus 20 may be, for example, a UE, a SLUE, a relay UE, a mobile device, a mobile station, an ME, an IoT device, and/or an NB-IoT device, among others. According to certain embodiments, the apparatus 20 may be controlled by the memory 24 and the processor 22 to perform functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein, such as one or more of the operations illustrated in fig. 1-2 or described with respect to fig. 1-2, or any other method described herein. For example, in one embodiment, apparatus 20 may be controlled to perform processes related to providing paging early indication monitoring in user equipment-specific discontinuous reception and cell-specific discontinuous reception, as described in detail elsewhere herein.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 10 and/or apparatus 20) may comprise means for performing the methods, processes, or any variations discussed herein. Examples of such components may include one or more processors, memories, controllers, transmitters, receivers, and/or computer program code to cause performance of any of the operations discussed herein.

In view of the foregoing, certain example embodiments provide several technical improvements, enhancements and/or advantages over prior art processes, and constitute an improvement in at least the art of wireless network control and/or management. Certain embodiments provide various benefits and/or advantages. For example, some embodiments may enable a UE to monitor PEI in a predictable manner. Likewise, the network emissions of PEI are also predictable. Thus, the UE may obtain the greatest power saving benefit provided by PEI. Some embodiments may provide flexibility to the network in terms of whether to provide UE-specific PEI or reuse PEI from cell-specific PFs. This flexibility may be useful for controlling PDCCH load, as both PEI and paging DCI may rely on PDCCH resources.

In some example embodiments, the functionality of any of the methods, processes, signaling diagrams, algorithms, or flowcharts described herein may be implemented by software and/or computer program code or portions of code stored in a memory or other computer readable or tangible medium and executable by a processor.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus may include or be associated with at least one software application, module, unit, or entity configured as arithmetic operation(s), or as a program or portion of a program (including added or updated software routines), that may be executed by at least one operating processor or controller. Programs, also referred to as program products or computer programs, include software routines, applets, and macros, can be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and can include program instructions for performing particular tasks. The computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components configured to perform some example embodiments when the program is run. One or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portion of code. Modifications and configurations required to implement the functionality of the example embodiments may be performed as routine(s), which may be implemented as added or updated software routines. In one example, the software routine(s) may be downloaded into the device.

By way of example, software or computer program code or code portions may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form and may be stored in some carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers may include, for example, recording media, computer memory, read-only memory, electro-optical and/or electrical carrier signals, telecommunications signals, and/or software distribution packages. Depending on the processing power required, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or it may be distributed among multiple computers. The computer readable medium or computer readable storage medium may be a non-transitory medium.

In other example embodiments, the functionality of the example embodiments may be performed by hardware or circuitry included in an apparatus, such as by using an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Gate Array (PGA), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other combination of hardware and software. In yet another example embodiment, the functionality of the example embodiment may be implemented as a signal, such as a non-tangible device, that may be carried by an electromagnetic signal downloaded from the internet or other network.

According to example embodiments, an apparatus, such as a node, device, or corresponding component, may be configured as circuitry, a computer, or a microprocessor, such as a single-chip computer element, or as a chipset, which may include at least a memory for providing storage capacity used for arithmetic operations and/or an operation processor for performing arithmetic operations.

Example embodiments described herein may be applied to both singular and plural implementations, whether singular or plural language is used in connection with describing certain embodiments. For example, embodiments describing the operation of a single network node may also be applied to example embodiments that include multiple instances of a network node, and vice versa.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that example embodiments as discussed above may be practiced with processes in a different order and/or with hardware elements that are configured differently than as disclosed. Thus, while some embodiments have been described based on these example embodiments, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions will be apparent while remaining within the spirit and scope of the example embodiments.

Partial vocabulary:

DCI downlink control information

DRX discontinuous reception

PBCH physical broadcast channel

PDCCH physical downlink control channel

PEI paging early indication

PF paging frame

PO paging occasion

RRC radio resource control

SFN system frame number

SI system information

SSB synchronization signal and PBCH block

UE user equipment

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

At least one processor; and

At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform

Determining at least one of: an overlap between a first paging frame of a user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and a second paging frame of a cell-specific discontinuous reception period, a relative length of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, or whether there is an indication of transmission of a user equipment-specific paging early indication; and

Based on the result of the determination, a determination is made of monitoring of paging early indication for a paging frame.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to a result of the determination comprising a complete overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: based on the paging early indication being configured, a decision is made to monitor the paging early indication prior to the first paging frame.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that the result is a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: based on a given one of the second paging frames coinciding with a corresponding one of the first paging frames, it is decided to monitor the paging early indication prior to the second paging frame.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that the result is a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to monitor the paging early indication prior to the first paging frame.

7. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the indication comprises a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or the indication indicates that a user equipment specific paging early indication is sent based on a cell specific paging early indication configuration.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

At least one processor; and

Determining a relative length of a discontinuous reception period specific to the user equipment and a discontinuous reception period specific to the cell; and

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein in response to the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period being shorter than the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the decision monitoring comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein in response to the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period being shorter than the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the decision monitoring comprises: follow the configuration for monitoring, or skip the monitoring.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

At least one processor; and

Determining whether the user equipment will monitor for an early indication of paging in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment-specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

The paging early indication is sent based on determining to indicate that the user equipment is to monitor for the paging early indication in a given paging frame.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least perform

The user equipment is configured with a user equipment specific configuration indicated early in paging.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein configuring the user equipment comprises: an indication of a user equipment-specific paging early indication to the user equipment is sent based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein configuring the user equipment comprises: the user equipment is indicated to use a user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication configuration.

15. A method, comprising:

16. The method of claim 15, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to a result of the determination comprising a complete overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: based on the paging early indication being configured, a decision is made to monitor the paging early indication prior to the first paging frame.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that the result is a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: based on a given one of the second paging frames coinciding with a corresponding one of the first paging frames, it is decided to monitor the paging early indication prior to the second paging frame.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that the result is a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to monitor the paging early indication prior to the first paging frame.

21. The method of any of claims 15 to 20, wherein the indication comprises a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or the indication is sent based on a cell specific paging early indication configuration based on a user equipment specific paging early indication.

22. A method, comprising:

23. The method of claim 22, wherein in response to the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period being shorter than the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the decision monitoring comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein in response to the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period being shorter than the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, the decision monitoring comprises: follow the configuration for monitoring, or skip the monitoring.

25. A method, comprising:

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

27. The method of claim 26, wherein configuring the user equipment comprises: an indication of a user equipment-specific paging early indication to the user equipment is sent based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein configuring the user equipment comprises: the user equipment is indicated to use a user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication configuration.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining at least one of: an overlap between a first paging frame of a user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and a second paging frame of a cell-specific discontinuous reception period, a relative length of the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period and the cell-specific discontinuous reception period, or whether there is an indication of transmission of a user equipment-specific paging early indication; and

Means for deciding, based on a result of the determining, monitoring of paging early indication for a paging frame.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to a result of the determination comprising a complete overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: based on the paging early indication being configured, a decision is made to monitor the paging early indication prior to the first paging frame.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that the result is a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: based on a given one of the second paging frames coinciding with a corresponding one of the first paging frames, it is decided to monitor the paging early indication prior to the second paging frame.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that the result is a partial overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring for the paging early indication.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein deciding the monitoring in response to the determination that there is no overlap between the first paging frame and the second paging frame comprises: it is decided to monitor the paging early indication prior to the first paging frame.

35. The apparatus according to any of claims 29-34, wherein the indication comprises a user equipment specific paging early indication configuration or the indication indicates that a user equipment specific paging early indication is sent based on a cell specific paging early indication configuration.

36. An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining a user equipment specific discontinuous reception period and a relative length of a cell specific discontinuous reception period; and

Means for deciding on monitoring of paging early indication for a paging frame based on a result of the determining.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the decision monitoring in response to the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period being shorter than the cell-specific discontinuous reception period comprises: it is decided to skip monitoring of the paging early indication.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the decision monitoring in response to the user equipment-specific discontinuous reception period being shorter than the cell-specific discontinuous reception period comprises: following a configuration that monitors or skips the monitoring.

39. An apparatus, comprising:

Means for determining whether the user equipment is to monitor for an early indication of paging in a given paging frame associated with at least one user equipment-specific discontinuous reception cycle; and

Means for determining to send a paging early indication based on indicating that the user equipment is to monitor for the paging early indication in a given paging frame.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising:

Means for configuring the user equipment with a user equipment specific configuration indicated early in paging.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein configuring the user equipment comprises: an indication of a user equipment-specific paging early indication to the user equipment is sent based on a cell-specific paging early indication configuration.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein configuring the user equipment comprises: the user equipment is indicated to use a user equipment specific discontinuous reception paging early indication configuration.

43. A computer program product encoding instructions for performing the method according to any of claims 15-28.

44. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform the method of any of claims 15-28.