EP3777321A1

EP3777321A1 - Methods providing airborne status indication and related wireless devices and network nodes

Info

Publication number: EP3777321A1
Application number: EP19722191.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Helka-Liina Määttanen
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2018-04-05
Filing date: 2019-03-27
Publication date: 2021-02-17
Also published as: TW201944810A; WO2019193456A1

Abstract

A method may be provided to operate a wireless device in a wireless network. The method may include transmitting a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message to the wireless network, and the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may include an airborne status indication. A related method may be provided to operate a network node. The related method may include receiving a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message from a wireless device, and the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may include an airborne status indication associated with the wireless device. Related wireless devices and network nodes are also discussed.

Description

METHODS PROVIDING AIRBORNE STATUS INDICATION AND RELATED WIRELESS DEVICES AND NETWORK NODES

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to wireless communication methods, devices, and networks.

BACKGROUND

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features, and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

The present disclosure is described within the context of Long Term

Evolution LTE, i.e. Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network E-UTRAN. It should be understood that problems and solutions described herein may be equally applicable to wireless access networks and user equipments (UEs) implementing other access technologies and standards. LTE is used as an example technology where inventive concepts are suitable and using LTE in the description therefore may be particularly useful for understanding problems and solutions solving such problems.

In RAN#75, the Release-15 study item (SI) on enhanced support for aerial vehicles was approved (see RP-170779,“New SID on Enhanced Support for Aerial Vehicles,” NTT DOCOMO INC, Ericsson). As described in RP-170779, an air-borne UE may experience radio propagation characteristics that are likely to be different from those experienced by a UE on the ground. As long as an aerial vehicle is flying at low altitude, relative to the base station BS antenna height, it behaves like a conventional UE. However, once an aerial vehicle is flying well above the BS antenna height, the uplink UL signal from the aerial vehicle may become more visible to multiple cells due to line-of-sight propagation conditions. The UL signal from an aerial vehicle may increase interference in the neighbour cells and the increased interference may give a negative impact to other UEs on the ground, e.g. smartphones, InterNet of Things loT devices, etc. Similarly, line-of-sight conditions for an aerial UE to multiple cells may cause higher downlink DL interference at the aerial UE.

Further as the BS antennas are down tilted, a drone UE on the ground or below the BS height may likely be served by the main lobe of the antennas.

However, when the drone UE is flying above the BS antenna boresight, it is likely served by the side or back lobes of the antennas, which have reduced antenna gains compared to the antenna gain of the main lobe. Figure 1 depicts this situation. Note that a drone UE in the present disclosure may also be referred to using alternative terminologies such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), aerial UE, etc.

Figure 1 is a depiction of UAV flying above the BS antenna boresight being served by the sidelobe of the BS antenna.

The maps of Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C show that the coverage area of an eNB from the perspective of a drone UE in the sky may be fragmented into several discontinuous areas, while the coverage area of an eNB from the perspective of a UE on the ground may be an approximate closed set. Also, for a drone UE in the sky, a certain far away cell may appear as the best cell. This is different when compared to the case of terrestrial UEs on the ground, where the best cell is generally closer to the terrestrial UE on the ground. In these maps, locations that are served by the same site are indicated by a same shading, assuming that UEs connect to the strongest cell. Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C correspond to the situation at 0 m, 50 m and 300 m above ground, respectively. Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C are maps showing the best serving site as seen by aerial UEs at three different altitudes.

Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D illustrate the geometry signal-to-interference SIR at different heights. As expected, the higher the UE flying altitude, the lower the quality of the signal becomes. The outcome of the Release-15 SI is captured in TR 36.777,“Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Study on Enhanced LTE Support for Aerial Vehicles” (Release 15) V15.0.0 (2017-12), and it was concluded that there may be a number of possible standard-based enhancements that can be introduced to LTE.

Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D illustrate geometry Signal to Interference SIR at different heights.

In RAN#78, the work item (Wl) on enhanced support for aerial vehicles was approved (see RP-172826, New WID on Enhanced LTE Support for Aerial

Vehicles,” Ericsson). The objectives of the Wl are as below:

The objective is to specify the following improvements for enhanced LTE support for aerial vehicles. Note: Enhancements are built on existing mobility mechanisms and these mechanisms may be enhanced if identified to be needed.

• Specify enhancements to support improved mobility performance and interference detection in the following areas [RAN2]:

o Enhancements to existing measurement reporting mechanisms such as definition of new events, enhanced triggering conditions, mechanisms to control the amount of measurement reporting.

o Enhancements to mobility for Aerial UEs such as conditional HO and enhancements based on information such as location information, UE’s airborne status, flight path plan, etc.

• Specify enhancements to support indication of UE’s airborne status and indication of the UE’s support of UAV related functions in LTE network e.g. UE radio capability [RAN2]

• Signaling support for subscription based identification [RAN2 lead, o Specify S1/X2 signalling to support subscription based aerial UE identification

• Specify UL power control enhancements in the following areas [RAN1 , RAN2]

o UE specific fractional pathloss compensation factor

o Extending the supported range of UE specific Po parameter

In RAN2#101 , the discussion on UE flight mode detection started, and the following agreements were made:

=> Introduce new measurement event/modify existing measurement events for interference detection

Agreement:

Provide reference altitude information (including threshold) to UAV UE provided by eNB to assist UE to identify its status (i.e., airborne status).

The first agreement is about explicit flight mode detection where based on changed interference conditions, the UE triggers a measurement report. From that, the eNB can deduce a flight mode. There have also been proposals that the eNB could poll a flight mode of the UE. The second agreement can be used in several ways but basically it gives a common reference point for the UE and network to define flight status. It should be noted that it is optional for the network to configure the UE with the threshold value.

Notwithstanding current discussions regarding UAV UEs and/or related measurement reports, there continues to exist a need for improved management of aerial UEs.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments of inventive concepts, a method may be provided to operate a wireless device in a wireless network. In particular, a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may be transmitted from the wireless device to the wireless network, and the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may include an airborne status indication. For example, the wireless device may reside on or comprise a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV or drone, and/or the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may be a Radio Resource Control RRC connection and/or reconfiguration completion message.

According to some other embodiments of inventive concepts, a method may be provided to operate a network node in a wireless network. In particular, a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may be received from a wireless device, and the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may include an airborne status indication associated with the wireless device. As discussed above, the wireless device may reside on or comprise a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV or drone, and/or the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may be a Radio Resource Control RRC connection and/or reconfiguration completion message.

According to some embodiments, an airborne status of a wireless device may be provided at an early stage during connection setup. For example, a fast flight mode indication may be provided for idle to connected mode transitions for the wireless device. The network may thus be able to more quickly react to changes in airborne status of a wireless device

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a UAV flying above base station BS antenna boresights being served by a sidelobe of a BS antenna;

Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C are maps showing the best serving site as seen by aerial UEs at three different altitudes;

Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are maps illustrating geometry SIR at different heights;

Figure 4 illustrates a wireless network in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts; Figure 5 illustrates a User Equipment UE in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 6 illustrates a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 7 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an

intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 8 illustrates a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figures 9A, 9B, and 9C illustrate an RRCConnectionSetupComplete message in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figures 10A and 10B illustrate RRCConnectionSetupComplete field descriptions in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 11 illustrates an RRCConnectionResumeComplete message in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 12 illustrates RRCConnectionResumeComplete field descriptions in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 13A and 13B illustrate an RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 14 illustrates RCConnectionReestablishmentComplete field descriptions in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figures 15A, 15B, and 15C illustrate an

RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 16 illustrates RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete field descriptions in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts;

Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating wireless terminal operations according to some embodiments of inventive concepts; and

Figure 18 is a flowchart illustrating network node operations according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For aerial UEs, excessive downlink DL interference and/or down-titled BS antennas may contribute to a worse perceived signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio SINR, a fast-changing best cell, and/or possibly a faraway best cell, compared to the terrestrial UEs. That is, it may be likely that UEs in airborne mode should be configured differently compared to a terrestrial UE. For this reason, RAN2 has discussed both explicit and implicit flight mode indications. Implicit indication can be, for example, Radio Resource Management RRM measurement event matching interference condition in flight mode or location/height reporting by the UE.

There currently exist certain challenges. Mechanisms for reporting an airborne status or height related feedback should be made as simple as possible and possibly utilize existing mechanisms for ease of integration. However, the flight mode indication stage 3 details have not been yet discussed in RAN2. Especially the case when UE takes off when idle and attempts Radio Resource Control RRC connection while airborne has not been discussed at all.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may address these and/or other challenges. For instance, an aerial UE can take off while in IDLE mode and initiate RRC connection while airborne. According to certain

embodiments, to inform the network of the airborne status or height early in the connection setup, the UE may include the airborne status or height in an

RRCConnectionSetupComplete message. Further, the aerial UEs airborne status or height would be beneficial to add to RRCConnectionReestablishement message and RRCConnectionResume message. Similar messages exist in the New Radio NR specification 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.1.0 (2018-03) Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 15), where RRCConnectionSetupComplete message is renamed as RRCConnectionComplete message. Additions proposed in this disclosure may apply to both LTE and NR even though LTE messages are presented as examples in the following discussion.

There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein. According to certain embodiments, a method to provide airborne status indication, performed by a network node is disclosed. According to additional embodiments, a network node to perform associated methods is also disclosed. The network node may comprise processing circuitry (and any other suitable hardware) configured to perform the associated method(s).

According to additional embodiments, a corresponding method, performed by a UE, is disclosed. According to additional embodiments, a UE to perform

corresponding methods is also disclosed. The UE may comprise processing circuitry (and any other suitable hardware) configured to perform the corresponding method(s). According to certain embodiments, the UE may be an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV or drone. According to alternative embodiments, the UE may be attached or otherwise coupled to a UAV or drone.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. To inform a network about an aerial UEs’ airborne status or height in an early phase during the connection setup, it may be beneficial to add this information in the 3GPP TS 36.331 v15.1.0 (2018-03) (Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E- UTRA); Radio Resource Control (RRC); Protocol specification (Release 15)) RRCConnectionSetupComplete message or the other RRC complete messages. If this is not included in this message, other options are that the network sends a separate RRC message to request the airborne status of the UE or configure measurements, and the UE reports airborne status/height in the measurement report. With a similar reasoning it may be beneficial to add to

RRCConnectioReestablishement message and RRCConnectionResume message in 3GPP TS 36.331 v15.1.0 (2018-03). Aerial UE height or flight status may change during RRC inactive mode or RRC IDLE mode and when the airborne status is added to these messages, the network receives the information of changed status or height faster than if it is sent via separate request response or in the

measurement report. Certain embodiments may provide some, none, or all of these technical advantages, and additional technical advantages may be apparent to one of skill in the art.

Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. Additional information may also be found in the documents/references identified at the end of this disclosure.

Here examples are given how a boolean airborne status is added to various existing messages, starting with RRCConnectionSetupComplete message shown in Figures 9A, 9B, and 9C and Figures 10A and 10B. The boolean airborne status is only an example, and changes to message structures according to some embodiments of inventive concepts are highlighted with bold underlined text in Figures 9C and 10B. The indication can also be height or there could be more than two different airborne statuses. Other changes to the messages below may provide the same functionality, albeit with different names.

The RRCConnectionSetupComplete message is used to confirm the successful completion of an RRC connection establishment.

Signalling radio bearer: SRB1

RLC-SAP: AM

Logical channel: DCCH

Direction: UE to E-UTRAN

The RRCConnectionSetupComplete message is illustrated in Figures 9A, 9B, and 9C according to some embodiments of inventive concepts, and related field descriptions are illustrated in Figures 10A and 10B.

The RRCConnectionResumeComplete message shown in Figures 11 and 12 is used to confirm the successful completion of an RRC connection resumption. Changes to message structures according to some embodiments of inventive concepts are highlighted with bold underlined text in Figures 11 and 12.

Signalling radio bearer: SRB1

RLC-SAP: AM

Logical channel: DCCH

Direction: UE to E-UTRAN

The RRCConnectionResumeComplete message is illustrated in Figures 11 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts, and related field descriptions are illustrated in Figure 12.

The RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message shown in Figures 13A and 13B and Figure 14 is used to confirm the successful completion of an RRC connection re-establishment. Changes to message structures according to some embodiments of inventive concepts are highlighted with bold underlined text in Figures 13B and 14.

Signalling radio bearer: SRB1

RLC-SAP: AM

Logical channel: DCCH

Direction: UE to E-UTRAN

The RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message is illustrated in Figures 13A and 13B according to some embodiments of inventive concepts, and related field descriptions are illustrated in Figure 14.

The RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message shown in Figures 15A, 15B, and 15C and Figure 16 is used to confirm the successful completion of an RRC connection reconfiguration. Changes to message structures according to some embodiments of inventive concepts are highlighted with bold underlined text in Figures 15C and 16.

Signalling radio bearer: SRB1

RLC-SAP: AM

Logical channel: DCCH

Direction: UE to E-UTRAN

The RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message is illustrated in Figures 15A, 15B, and 15C according to some embodiments of inventive concepts, and related field descriptions are illustrated in Figure 16. Operations of the wireless device 410 (implemented using the structure of the block diagram of Figure 4) will now be discussed with reference to the flow chart of Figure 17 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. For example, modules may be stored in device readable medium 430 of Figure 17, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective wireless device processing circuitry 420, processing circuitry 420 performs respective operations of the flow chart. According to some

embodiments, wireless device 410 may reside on or comprise a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV or drone.

At block 1701 , processing circuitry 420 may determine a height of the wireless device.

At block 1703, processing circuitry 420 may determine the airborne status indication based on the height. The airborne status indication may indicate a height of the wireless device. According to some embodiments, the airborne status indication may be equal to the height of the wireless device, and/or the airborne status indication may be determined based on a comparison of the height of the wireless device and a threshold height. For example, the airborne status indication may have one of a first value responsive to the wireless device being at a height above a threshold height or a second value responsive to the wireless device being at a height below the threshold height. In such embodiments, the airborne status indication may be a Boolean indicator having the first value or the second value.

At block 1705, processing circuitry 1705 may transmit a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message to the wireless network, with the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message including the airborne status indication.

According to some embodiments, the connection and/or reconfiguration message may be one of: a connection setup complete message to confirm successful completion of connection establishment; a connection complete message to confirm successful completion of connection establishment; a connection resume complete message to confirm successful completion of connection resumption; a connection reestablishment complete message to confirm successful completion of connection reestablishment; and/or a connection reconfiguration complete message to confirm successful completion of connection reconfiguration. For example, the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message may be a Radio Resource Control RRC connection and/or reconfiguration completion message such as: an RRCConnectionSetupComplete message; an RRCConnectionComplete message; an RRCConnectionResumeComplete message; an

RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message; and/or an

RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message.

Various operations from the flow chart of Figure 17 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of wireless devices and related methods. According to some embodiments, for example, operations of blocks 1701 and 1703 of Figure 17 may be optional.

Operations of a network node 460 (implemented using the structure of Figure 4, also referred to as a base station) will now be discussed with reference to the flow chart of Figure 18 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. For example, modules may be stored in device readable medium 480 of Figure 4, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective network node processing circuitry 470, processing circuitry 470 performs respective operations of the flow chart. As discussed above, wireless device 410 may reside on or comprise a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV or drone.

At block 1801 , processing circuitry 470 may receive a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message from a wireless device 410, with the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message including an airborne status indication associated with the wireless device 410. The airborne status indication may indicate a height of the wireless device. According to some embodiments, the airborne status indication may be equal to a height of the wireless device. According to some embodiments, the airborne status indication may have one of a first value responsive to the wireless device being at a height above a threshold height or a second value responsive to the wireless device being at a height below the threshold height. In such embodiments, the airborne status indication may be a Boolean indicator having the first value or the second value.

RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message; and/or an

RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message.

At block 1803, processing circuitry 470 may perform handover for the wireless device based on the airborne status indication.

Various operations from the flow chart of Figure 18 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of wireless devices and related methods. According to some embodiments, for example, operations of block 1803 of Figure 18 may be optional.

The various embodiments described herein have been discussed in terms of UEs and various network nodes operating in a radio access network. These aspects will be described in more detail below, keeping in mind that the UEs or wireless devices in the following diagrams would correspond to a UE residing on or comprising part of a UAV or drone. Any UAV-specific hardware will not be described in detail, so as not to obscure discussion of the proposed solutions.

Figure 4 illustrates a wireless network in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in Figure 4. For simplicity, the wireless network of Figure 4 only depicts network 406, network nodes 460 and 460b, and WDs 410, 410b, and 410c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 460 and wireless device (WD) 410 are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.

The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile

Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 406 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks,

IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node 460 and WD 410 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, and evolved Node Bs (eNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base

transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.

In Figure 4, network node 460 includes processing circuitry 470, device readable medium 480, interface 490, auxiliary equipment 484, power source 486, power circuitry 487, and antenna 462. Although network node 460 illustrated in the example wireless network of Figure 4 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 460 are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 480 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 460 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective

components. In certain scenarios in which network node 460 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB’s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 460 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some

components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 480 for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 462 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 460 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 460, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or

Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 460.

Processing circuitry 470 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 470 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 470 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Processing circuitry 470 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 460 components, such as device readable medium 480, network node 460 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 470 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 480 or in memory within processing circuitry 470. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 470 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 470 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 472 and baseband processing circuitry 474. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 472 and baseband processing circuitry 474 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 472 and baseband processing circuitry 474 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 470 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 480 or memory within processing circuitry 470. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 470 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 470 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 470 alone or to other components of network node 460, but are enjoyed by network node 460 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 480 may comprise any form of volatile or non volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 470. Device readable medium 480 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 470 and, utilized by network node 460. Device readable medium 480 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 470 and/or any data received via interface 490. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 470 and device readable medium 480 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 490 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node 460, network 406, and/or WDs 410. As illustrated, interface 490 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 494 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 406 over a wired connection. Interface 490 also includes radio front end circuitry 492 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 462. Radio front end circuitry 492 comprises filters 498 and amplifiers 496. Radio front end circuitry 492 may be connected to antenna 462 and processing circuitry 470. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 462 and processing circuitry 470. Radio front end circuitry 492 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 492 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 498 and/or amplifiers 496. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 462. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 462 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 492. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 470. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 460 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 492, instead, processing circuitry 470 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 462 without separate radio front end circuitry 492. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 472 may be considered a part of interface 490. In still other embodiments, interface 490 may include one or more ports or terminals 494, radio front end circuitry 492, and RF transceiver circuitry 472, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 490 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 474, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 462 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 462 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 490 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 462 may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 462 may be separate from network node 460 and may be connectable to network node 460 through an interface or port.

Antenna 462, interface 490, and/or processing circuitry 470 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 462, interface 490, and/or processing circuitry 470 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

Power circuitry 487 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 460 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 487 may receive power from power source 486. Power source 486 and/or power circuitry 487 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 460 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 486 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 487 and/or network node 460. For example, network node 460 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 487. As a further example, power source 486 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 487. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node 460 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 4 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 460 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 460 and to allow output of information from network node 460. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 460.

As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE) a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc.. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (loT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

As illustrated, wireless device 410 includes antenna 411 , interface 414, processing circuitry 420, device readable medium 430, user interface equipment 432, auxiliary equipment 434, power source 436 and power circuitry 437. WD 410 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 410, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 410.

Antenna 411 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 414. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 411 may be separate from WD 410 and be connectable to WD 410 through an interface or port. Antenna 411 , interface 414, and/or processing circuitry 420 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 411 may be considered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 414 comprises radio front end circuitry 412 and antenna 411. Radio front end circuitry 412 comprise one or more filters 418 and amplifiers 416. Radio front end circuitry 414 is connected to antenna 411 and processing circuitry 420, and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 411 and processing circuitry 420. Radio front end circuitry 412 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 411. In some embodiments, WD 410 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 412; rather, processing circuitry 420 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 411.

Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 422 may be considered a part of interface 414. Radio front end circuitry 412 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 412 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 418 and/or amplifiers 416. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 411. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 411 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 412. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 420. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 420 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 410 components, such as device readable medium 430, WD 410 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 420 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 430 or in memory within processing circuitry 420 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 420 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 422, baseband processing circuitry 424, and application processing circuitry 426. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry 420 of WD 410 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 422, baseband processing circuitry 424, and application processing circuitry 426 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 424 and application processing circuitry 426 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 422 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 422 and baseband processing circuitry 424 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 426 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 422, baseband processing circuitry 424, and application processing circuitry 426 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 422 may be a part of interface 414. RF transceiver circuitry 422 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 420.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry 420 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 430, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 420 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 420 can be configured to perform the described functionality.

The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 420 alone or to other components of WD 410, but are enjoyed by WD 410 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 420 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 420, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 420 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 410, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Device readable medium 430 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 420. Device readable medium 430 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 420. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 420 and device readable medium 430 may be considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 432 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 410. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 432 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 410. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 432 installed in WD 410. For example, if WD 410 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD 410 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment 432 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 432 is configured to allow input of information into WD 410, and is connected to processing circuitry 420 to allow processing circuitry 420 to process the input information. User interface equipment 432 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 432 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 410, and to allow processing circuitry 420 to output information from WD 410. User interface equipment 432 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 432, WD 410 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 434 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 434 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 436 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD 410 may further comprise power circuitry 437 for delivering power from power source 436 to the various parts of WD 410 which need power from power source 436 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 437 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry 437 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 410 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry 437 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 436. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 436. Power circuitry 437 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 436 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 410 to which power is supplied.

Figure 5 illustrates a user Equipment in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts.

Figure 5 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user. A UE may also comprise any UE identified by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-loT UE that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user. UE 500, as illustrated in Figure 5, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable.

Accordingly, although Figure 5 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa.

In Figure 5, UE 500 includes processing circuitry 501 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 505, radio frequency (RF) interface 509, network connection interface 511 , memory 515 including random access memory (RAM) 517, read-only memory (ROM) 519, and storage medium 521 or the like, communication subsystem 531 , power source 533, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 521 includes operating system 523, application program 525, and data 527. In other embodiments, storage medium 521 may include other similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in Figure 5, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

In Figure 5, processing circuitry 501 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 501 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 501 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 505 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE 500 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 505. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 500. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE 500 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 505 to allow a user to capture information into UE 500. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

In Figure 5, RF interface 509 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna.

Network connection interface 511 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 543a. Network 543a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 543a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 511 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface 511 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM 517 may be configured to interface via bus 502 to processing circuitry 501 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 519 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 501. For example, ROM 519 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 521 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium 521 may be configured to include operating system 523, application program 525 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 527. Storage medium 521 may store, for use by UE 500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

Storage medium 521 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity

(SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 521 may allow UE 500 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 521 , which may comprise a device readable medium.

In Figure 5, processing circuitry 501 may be configured to communicate with network 543b using communication subsystem 531. Network 543a and network 543b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks.

Communication subsystem 531 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 543b. For example, communication subsystem 531 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.5, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver may include transmitter 533 and/or receiver 535 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 533 and receiver 535 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately. In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem 531 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 531 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth

communication, and GPS communication. Network 543b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 543b may be a cellular network, a W-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source 513 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 500.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 500 or partitioned across multiple components of UE 500. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 531 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry 501 may be configured to

communicate with any of such components over bus 502. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 501 perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 501 and communication subsystem 531. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

Figure 6 illustrates a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts.

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 600 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the

functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 600 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 630. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 620 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 620 are run in virtualization environment 600 which provides hardware 630 comprising processing circuitry 660 and memory 690. Memory 690 contains instructions 695 executable by processing circuitry 660 whereby application 620 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 600, comprises general-purpose or special- purpose network hardware devices 630 comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 660, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 690-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 695 or software executed by processing circuitry 660. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 670, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 680. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media 690-2 having stored therein software 695 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 660. Software 695 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 650 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 640 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 640, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 650 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 620 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 640, and the implementations may be made in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 660 executes software 695 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 650, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 650 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 640.

As shown in Figure 6, hardware 630 may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 630 may comprise antenna 6225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 630 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 6100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 620.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. In the context of NFV, virtual machine 640 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines 640, and that part of hardware 630 that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 640, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines 640 on top of hardware networking infrastructure 630 and corresponds to application 620 in Figure 6.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 6200 that each include one or more transmitters 6220 and one or more receivers 6210 may be coupled to one or more antennas 6225. Radio units 6200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 630 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system 6230 which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 630 and radio units 6200.

Figure 7 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an

intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts.

With reference to Figure 7, in accordance with an embodiment, a

communication system includes telecommunication network 710, such as a 3GPP- type cellular network, which comprises access network 711 , such as a radio access network, and core network 714. Access network 711 comprises a plurality of base stations 712a, 712b, 712c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 713a, 713b, 713c.

Each base station 712a, 712b, 712c is connectable to core network 714 over a wired or wireless connection 715. A first UE 791 located in coverage area 713c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 712c. A second UE 792 in coverage area 713a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 712a. While a plurality of UEs 791 , 792 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 712.

Telecommunication network 710 is itself connected to host computer 730, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 730 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 721 and 722 between telecommunication network 710 and host computer 730 may extend directly from core network 714 to host computer 730 or may go via an optional intermediate network 720. Intermediate network 720 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 720, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 720 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of Figure 7 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 791 , 792 and host computer 730. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 750. Host computer 730 and the connected UEs 791 , 792 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 750, using access network 711 , core network 714, any intermediate network 720 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection 750 may be transparent in the sense that the participating

communication devices through which OTT connection 750 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station 712 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 730 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 791. Similarly, base station 712 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 791 towards the host computer 730. Figure 8 illustrates a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of inventive concepts.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 8. In communication system 800, host computer 810 comprises hardware 815 including communication interface 816 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 800. Host computer 810 further comprises processing circuitry 818, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 818 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field

programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 810 further comprises software 811 , which is stored in or accessible by host computer 810 and executable by processing circuitry 818. Software 811 includes host application 812. Host application 812 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE 830 connecting via OTT connection 850 terminating at UE 830 and host computer 810. In providing the service to the remote user, host application 812 may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 850.

Communication system 800 further includes base station 820 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 825 enabling it to communicate with host computer 810 and with UE 830. Hardware 825 may include communication interface 826 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 800, as well as radio interface 827 for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection 870 with UE 830 located in a coverage area (not shown in Figure 8) served by base station 820. Communication interface 826 may be configured to facilitate connection 860 to host computer 810. Connection 860 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Figure 8) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system.

In the embodiment shown, hardware 825 of base station 820 further includes processing circuitry 828, which may comprise one or more programmable

processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 820 further has software 821 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system 800 further includes UE 830 already referred to. Its hardware 835 may include radio interface 837 configured to set up and maintain wireless connection 870 with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE 830 is currently located. Hardware 835 of UE 830 further includes processing circuitry 838, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or

combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 830 further comprises software 831 , which is stored in or accessible by UE 830 and executable by processing circuitry 838. Software 831 includes client application 832. Client application 832 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 830, with the support of host computer 810. In host computer 810, an executing host application 812 may communicate with the executing client application 832 via OTT connection 850 terminating at UE 830 and host computer 810. In providing the service to the user, client application 832 may receive request data from host application 812 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 850 may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application 832 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer 810, base station 820 and UE 830 illustrated in Figure 8 may be similar or identical to host computer 730, one of base stations 712a, 712b, 712c and one of UEs 791 , 792 of Figure 7, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 8 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 7.

In Figure 8, OTT connection 850 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer 810 and UE 830 via base station 820, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE 830 or from the service provider operating host computer 810, or both. While OTT connection 850 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection 870 between UE 830 and base station 820 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 830 using OTT connection 850, in which wireless connection 870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and power consumption, and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, and extended battery lifetime.

A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 850 between host computer 810 and UE 830, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 850 may be implemented in software 811 and hardware 815 of host computer 810 or in software 831 and hardware 835 of UE 830, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection 850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 811 , 831 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection 850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station 820, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 820. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer 810’s measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software 811 and 831 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 850 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special- purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more

telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some

implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more

embodiments of the present disclosure.

The following documents/references are cited herein:

1. RP-170779,“Study on Enhanced Support for Aerial Vehicles,” NTT DOCOMO INC, Ericsson, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #75, Dubrovnik, Croatia, March 6 - 9, 2017;

2. 3GPP TR 36.777 V15.0.0 (2017-12), Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Study on Enhanced LTE Support for Aerial Vehicles

(Release 15)

3. RP-172826,“Enhanced LTE Support for Aerial Vehicles,” Ericsson, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #78, Lisbon, Portugal, December 18 - 21 , 2017;

4. 3GPP TS 38.331 V15.1.0 (2018-03), Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 15); 5. Tdoc R2-1805609,“Airborne status/height information upon RRC

configuration setup/ reestablishment,” 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 #101 bis, Sanya, China, 16^th - 20^th April 2018;

6. Tdoc R2-1805647, Change Request CR 3349 for TS 36.331 , 3GPP TSG- RAN WG2 #101 bis, Sanya, China, 16th - 20th April 2018.

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

1x RTT CDMA2000 1x Radio Transmission Technology

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

5G 5th Generation

ABS Almost Blank Subframe

ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

BCH Broadcast Channel

BS Base Station

CA Carrier Aggregation

CBR Constant Bit Rate

CC Carrier Component

CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU

CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access

CGI Cell Global Identifier

CIR Channel Impulse Response

CP Cyclic Prefix

CPICH Common Pilot Channel

CPICH Ec/No CPICH Received energy per chip divided by the power

density in the band

CQI Channel Quality information

C-RNTI Cell RNTI CSI Channel State Information

DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

DL Downlink

DM Demodulation

DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

DRX Discontinuous Reception

DTX Discontinuous Transmission

DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel

DUT Device Under Test

E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)

E-SMLC Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre

ECGI Evolved CGI

eNB E-UTRAN NodeB

ePDCCH enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

E-SMLC evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

E-UTRA Evolved UTRA

E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN

FDD Frequency Division Duplex

FFS For Further Study

GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network

gNB Base station in NR (corresponding to eNB in LTE)

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

GSM Global System for Mobile communication

HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

HO Handover

HSPA High Speed Packet Access

HRPD High Rate Packet Data

IE Information element

loT Internet of Things

LOS Line of Sight

LPP LTE Positioning Protocol

LTE Long-Term Evolution MAC Medium Access Control

MBMS Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services

MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network

MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe

MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

MIB Master Information Block

MME Mobility Management Entity

MO Measurement object

MSC Mobile Switching Center

NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel

NR New Radio

OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator

OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

OSS Operations Support System

OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival

O&M Operation and Maintenance

PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel

PCell Primary Cell

PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

PDP Profile Delay Profile

PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

PGW Packet Gateway

PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel

PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

PM I Precoder Matrix Indicator

PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

PRS Positioning Reference Signal

PSS Primary Synchronization Signal PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

RACH Random Access Channel

QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

QCI Quality of Service Class Indicator

RAN Radio Access Network

RAT Radio Access Technology

RLF Radio Link Failure

RLM Radio Link Management

RNC Radio Network Controller

RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

RRC Radio Resource Control

RRM Radio Resource Management

RS Reference Signal

RSCP Received Signal Code Power

RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR

Reference Signal Received Power

RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR

Reference Symbol Received Quality

RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

SCH Synchronization Channel

SCell Secondary Cell

SDU Service Data Unit

SFN System Frame Number

SGW Serving Gateway

SI System Information or Study Item

SIB System Information Block

SINR Signal to Interference Plus Noise Ratio

SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

SON Self Optimized Network

SS Synchronization Signal sss Secondary Synchronization Signal

TDD Time Division Duplex

TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

TOA Time of Arrival

TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

TTI Transmission Time Interval

Time to Trigger

UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

UE User Equipment

UL Uplink

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System

USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module

UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival

UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

WCDMA Wide CDMA

WLAN Wide Local Area Network

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of operating a wireless device (410) in a wireless network, the method comprising:

transmitting (1705) a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message to the wireless network, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message includes an airborne status indication.

2. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the airborne status indication indicates a height of the wireless device.

3. The method of any of Claims 1-2, wherein the airborne status indication has one of a first value responsive to the wireless device being at a height above a threshold height or a second value responsive to the wireless device being at a height below the threshold height.

4. The method of Claim 3, wherein the airborne status indication is a Boolean indicator having the first value or the second value.

5. The method of any of Claims 1-4 further comprising:

determining (1701) a height of the wireless device; and

determining (1703) the airborne status indication based on the height.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein the airborne status indication is equal to the height of the wireless device.

7. The method of Claim 5, wherein the airborne status indication is determined based on a comparison of the height of the wireless device and a threshold height.

8. The method of any of Claims 1-7, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration message comprises one of, • a connection setup complete message to confirm successful completion of connection establishment,

• a connection complete message to confirm successful completion of connection establishment,

• a connection resume complete message to confirm successful completion of connection resumption,

• a connection reestablishment complete message to confirm successful completion of connection reestablishment, and/or

• a connection reconfiguration complete message to confirm successful completion of connection reconfiguration.

9. The method of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection and/or reconfiguration completion message.

10. The method of Claim 9, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises one of,

• an RRCConnectionSetupComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionResumeComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message, and/or

• an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message.

11. The method of any of Claims 1-10, where the wireless device resides on or comprises a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, or drone.

12. A method of operating a network node (460) in a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving (1801) a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message from a wireless device (410), wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message includes an airborne status indication associated with the wireless device (410).

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein the airborne status indication indicates a height of the wireless device.

14. The method of any of Claims 12-13, wherein the airborne status indication has one of a first value responsive to the wireless device being at a height above a threshold height or a second value responsive to the wireless device being at a height below the threshold height.

15. The method of Claim 14, wherein the airborne status indication is a Boolean indicator having the first value or the second value.

16. The method of any of Claims 12-15 further comprising:

performing (1803) handover for the wireless device based on the airborne status indication.

17. The method of any of Claims 12-16, wherein the airborne status indication is equal to a height of the wireless device.

18. The method of any of Claims 12-17, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration message comprises one of,

• a connection setup complete message to confirm successful completion of connection establishment,

19. The method of any of Claims 12-18, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection and/or reconfiguration completion message.

20. The method of Claim 19, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises one of,

• an RRCConnectionSetupComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionResumeComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message, and/or

• an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message.

21. The method of any of Claims 12-20, where the wireless device resides on or comprises a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, or drone.

22. A wireless device (410) configured to operate in a wireless network, wherein the wireless device is adapted to:

transmit a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message to the wireless network, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message includes an airborne status indication.

23. The wireless device (410) of Claim 22, wherein the airborne status indication indicates a height of the wireless device.

24. The wireless device (410) of any of Claims 22-23, wherein the airborne status indication has one of a first value responsive to the wireless device being at a height above a threshold height or a second value responsive to the wireless device being at a height below the threshold height.

25. The wireless device (410) of Claim 24, wherein the airborne status indication is a Boolean indicator having the first value or the second value.

26. The wireless device (410) of any of Claims 22-25, wherein the wireless device is further adapted to:

determine a height of the wireless device; and

determine the airborne status indication based on the height.

27. The wireless device (410) of Claim 26, wherein the airborne status indication is equal to the height of the wireless device.

28. The wireless device (410) of Claim 26, wherein the airborne status indication is determined based on a comparison of the height of the wireless device and a threshold height.

29. The wireless device (410) of any of Claims 22-28, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration message comprises one of,

30. The wireless device (410) of any of Claims 22-29, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection and/or reconfiguration completion message.

31. The wireless device (410) of Claim 30, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises one of,

• an RRCConnectionSetupComplete message, • an RRCConnectionComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionResumeComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message, and/or

• an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message.

32. The wireless device (410) of any of Claims 22-31 , where the wireless device resides on or comprises a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, or drone.

33. A network node (460) configured to operate in a wireless network, wherein the network node is adapted to:

receive a connection and/or reconfiguration completion message from a wireless device, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message includes an airborne status indication associated with the wireless device.

34. The network node (460) of Claim 33, wherein the airborne status indication indicates a height of the wireless device.

35. The network node (460) of any of Claims 33-34, wherein the airborne status indication has one of a first value responsive to the wireless device being at a height above a threshold height or a second value responsive to the wireless device being at a height below the threshold height.

36. The network node (460) of Claim 35, wherein the airborne status indication is a Boolean indicator having the first value or the second value.

37. The network node (460) of any of Claims 33-36, wherein the network node is further adapted to:

perform handover for the wireless device based on the airborne status indication.

38. The network node (460) of any of Claims 33-37, wherein the airborne status indication is equal to a height of the wireless device.

39. The network node (460) of any of Claims 33-38, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration message comprises one of,

40. The network node (460) of any of Claims 33-39, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, connection and/or reconfiguration completion message.

41. The network node (460) of Claim 40, wherein the connection and/or reconfiguration completion message comprises one of,

• an RRCConnectionSetupComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionResumeComplete message,

• an RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete message, and/or

• an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message.

42. The network node (460) of any of Claims 33-41 , where the wireless device resides on or comprises a part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, or drone.

43. A wireless device (410) configured to operate in a wireless network, the wireless device comprising:

processing circuitry (420); and device readable medium (430) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the device readable medium comprises instructions stored therein, where the instructions are executable by the processing circuitry to cause the processing circuitry to,

44. A network node (460) configured to operate in a wireless network, the network node comprising:

processing circuitry (470); and

device readable medium (480) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the device readable medium comprises instructions stored therein, where the instructions are executable by the processing circuitry to cause the processing circuitry to,

45. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory device readable storage medium including program code executable by processing circuitry (420) of a wireless device (410), whereby execution of the program code by the processing circuitry causes the wireless device (410) to:

46. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory device readable storage medium including program code executable by processing circuitry (420) of a network node (460), whereby execution of the program code by the processing circuitry causes the network node (460) to: