EP4666656A1 - Ue reported ul buffer delay - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for indicating UL buffer delay between a UE and a network. For example, the UE can report information to the network about when the UE has data available for transmission. The network can receive this information about when the UE has data available for transmission and this information can be used by e.g., the gNB to attempt to reduce the delay for scheduling that data. In one embodiment the UE can measure one or more differences between burst arrival time and transmission time, the one or more differences comprising one or more UL buffer delays. The UE can then indicate to e.g., a network node, the one or more UL buffer delays.

Description

UE REPORTED UL BUFFER DELAY

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INFORMATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States of America priority application No. 63/446,195 filed on February 16, 2023, titled “UE Reported UL Buffer Delay.”

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of wireless communications and more particularly to the reduction of delay.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The 3 GPP SA2 group is discussing a solution for reducing the latency of uplink (UL) transmissions wherein the access stratum in the UE (user equipment) should inform the network of how long time UL data is buffered in the UE before it is transmitted. This would be indicated to the gNB (New Radio base station) on the network side who would pass the information onwards to other network nodes and eventually it would reach the AF (Application Function) entity in the network. The AF in the network would then communicate with an application in the UE so that the application would adjust its data generation to reduce the time that the UL data is buffered in the UE.

[0004] This is described in section 8.4 in 3GPP technical report 23.700-25, titled Key Issue #6: Adapting downstream scheduling based on RAN feedback for low latency communication.” This section lists principles for the way forward, principles for proactive feedback for BAT (burst arrival time), principles for proactive feedback for periodicity, and principles for reactive feedback.

[0005] Key issue #6 says that e.g., the following points summarize the principles for the way forward: Proactive feedback requires that 5GS and the AF receive time information from the same master clock. Since this assumption cannot hold in all deployments, both pro-active and reactive feedback mode shall be supported. The feedback is in order to align the burst arrive time and the next transmission opportunity on the respective direction (i.e. both UL and DL) of the traffic to reduce the potential buffering delay.

When the AF gets the feedback for BAT (in both modes), the AF adjusts the burst sending time accordingly.

When the AF gets the periodicity feedback (in proactive mode), the AF adjusts the periodicity accordingly.

NOTE: For both UL and DL direction, the AF adjusts the burst sending time and periodicity by using application layer mechanism, e.g. to notify the application in device side.

The AF provides adaptation capability information of the application to 5GS as described below.

[0006] Key issue #6 lays out the “Principles for Proactive feedback for BAT” as follows:

The AF may indicate its capability for BAT adaptation or a BAT window along with the BAT as specified in Rel-17. If the PCF receives a policy authorization request from the AF/NEF/TSCTSF that indicates that capability or a BAT window:

- the PCF sets a trigger to be notified for the "BAT offset" event for the corresponding PCC Rule via the SM policy control service to the SMF.

- If the SMF receives an indication for a BAT adaptation capability or a BAT window, in a TSCAC, the SMF includes that indication or a BAT window into TSCAI along with the QoS Flow establishment request. This indicates to the NG-RAN that the NG-RAN may provide a BAT offset in an N2 SM information as a response to the SMF.

- As a response to the QoS Flow establishment request, the NG-RAN may provide a "BAT offset" that is within the BAT window, if available, value. The BAT offset is provided from NG-RAN to SMF, eventually forwarded via PCF/TSCTSF/NEF to AF. - If the AF does not receive the BAT offset (e.g. NG-RAN did not provide it), the AF assumes that the 5GS does not support BAT adaptation and the initial BAT value is used as a Burst Arrival Time in 5GS.

- The SMF configures the UPF for clock drifting reports as specified in TS 23.502 [3], In a case the SMF receives a clock drifting report from UPF, if the SMF has received a BAT offset from the RAN, the SMF adjusts the BAT offset based on the existing procedures in TS 23.502 [3] and provides the updated BAT offset to the AF via PCF/TSCTSF/NEF.

[0007] Key issue #6 lays out the “Principles for Proactive feedback for Periodicity” as follows:

The AF may also indicate its capability for periodicity adaptation or a Periodicity Range in the AF Request along with the Periodicity as specified in Rel-17, together with the parameter for BAT adaptation mentioned above:

The RAN may provide a periodicity feedback together with a BAT offset mentioned above. The periodicity feedback shall be within the Periodicity Range (if available).

If the RAN provides feedback with proposed periodicity value and a BAT offset, the BAT offset is accepted based on the proposed periodicity.

If the RAN provides BAT offset and no proposed periodicity, the Periodicity as specified in Rel-17 is accepted and the BAT offset is processed as described for the proactive feedback for BAT.

The AF may attempt to update the Periodicity and/or BAT using the same procedure as described for initial proactive feedback.

If the interworking with TSN network deployed in the transport network is supported, the SMF/CUC uses the accepted periodicity and BAT offset to derive the Talker/Listener Group in IEEE 802.1Qcc [6] as described in clause 8.3.”

[0008] It should be noted that whether periodicity values are provided will be determined in a future meeting based on SAI feedback.

[0009] Key issue #6 lays out the “Principles for Reactive feedback” as follows: The AF may request the 5GS to report the BAT offset; that is a time offset to the observed timing of the packet reception in the user plane in the NG-RAN. In this case the AF subscribes for the QoS notifications as described in the QoS notification control procedure in TS 23.501 [2] and includes an indication of "burst arrival time adaptation" in the QoS-request to the 5GC.

If the PCF receives indication for " burst arrival time adaptation" along a subscription for QoS notifications in policy authorization request from AF/NEF/TSCTSF, the PCF sets the QoS notification control parameter as described in TS 23.501 [2] and in addition sets a trigger to be notified for the "BAT offset" event for the corresponding PCC Rule via the SM policy control service to the SMF. The SMF provides the notification control parameter to the NG-RAN as described in TS 23.501, and in addition includes the indication of " burst arrival time adaptation" to the QoS profile.

If the Notification control is enabled and indication of " burst arrival time adaptation" is set in the TSCAI, and the NG-RAN determines that the PDB can no longer be guaranteed for a QoS Flow, the NG-RAN notifies the SMF as described in TS 23.501 [2] and in addition may include a BAT offset to the N2 SM information that is sent to SMF, eventually forwarded via PCF/TSCTSF/NEF to AF. o If the NG-RAN receives the indication for "burst arrival time adaptation", the NG-RAN indicates the parameter to the UE via RRC signalling. The NG- RAN indicates a threshold for the BAT offset reports to the UE. o If the UE receives the indication for "burst arrival time adaptation" from NG-RAN, the UE determines a relative BAT offset value in reference to the current Burst Arrival Time experienced by UE (i.e. in reference to when UE currently receives bursts) and the scheduling UL time slot at UE (e.g. in Configured Grants, as defined in TS 38.321 [11]). The UE sends the BAT offset to RAN when the time offset value reaches the configured threshold, and NG- RAN sends the BAT offset value to SMF.

[00010] It should be noted that the need for UL BAT adaptation and the associated RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling as described above is to be confirmed by RAN WG2. SUMMARY

[00011] One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a UE for indicating UL buffer delay to a network node. The method includes measuring, by the UE, one or more differences between burst arrival time and transmission time, the one or more differences comprising one or more UL buffer delays; and reporting, by the UE to the network node, the one or more UL buffer delays.

[00012] Another embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a UE for scheduling an UL transmission with a network node. The method includes being scheduled, by the network node, to transmit one or more relevant data traffic; and performing an UL transmission to the network node. If the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission, then the UE is scheduled by the network node for a subsequent UL transmission at a shorter time period. If the one or more relevant data traffic were not included in the UL transmission, then the UE is scheduled by the network node for the subsequent UL transmission at a longer time period.

[00013] Another embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a network node for receiving an UL buffer delay from a UE. The method includes receiving one or more reports from the UE, the one or more reports indicating one or more UL buffer delays.

[00014] Another embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a network node for detecting an UL buffer delay from a UE. The method includes scheduling the UE to transmit one or more relevant data traffic; receiving an UL transmission; and detecting if the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission. If the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission, then schedule a subsequent UL transmission at a shorter time period. If the one or more relevant data traffic were not included in the uplink transmission, then schedule the subsequent UL transmission at a longer time period.

[00015] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an indication of the scope of the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00016] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[00017] Fig. 1 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00018] Fig. 2 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00019] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00020] Fig. 4 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00021] Figs. 5-8 display portions of a proposed UEAssistancelnformation message under the present disclosure;

[00022] Fig. 9 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00023] Fig. 10 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00024] Fig. 11 shows a schematic of a network node embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00025] Fig. 12 shows a schematic of a host embodiment under the present disclosure;

[00026] Fig. 13 shows a schematic of a virtualization environment embodiment under the present disclosure; and

[00027] Fig. 14 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of communication amongst nodes, hosts, and user equipment under the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00028] Before describing various embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the parameters of the particularly exemplified systems, methods, apparatus, products, processes, and/or kits, which may, of course, vary. Thus, while certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail, with reference to specific configurations, parameters, components, elements, etc., the descriptions are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed embodiments. In addition, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments.

[00029] There currently exist certain challenges related to Key Issue #6, described above, dealing with buffer delays and adapting downstream scheduling based on RAN feedback for low latency communications. Triggers, detailed content, and granularity of the UE report are not defined meaning that there is no efficient way to provide the information from the UE to the network. Reports may be sent too often, too seldom, with the wrong content, etc. unless this is defined.

[00030] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Under certain embodiments of the present disclosure the UE reports information to the network about when the UE has data available for transmission.

[00031 ] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. The network can get information about when the UE has data available for transmission which can be used by the node (e.g., gNB) to attempt to reduce the delay for scheduling that data.

[00032] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

UE-Based Embodiments

[00033] Figure 1 displays a possible method embodiment under the present disclosure. Method 100 is a method performed by a UE for indicating UL buffer delay to a network node. Step 110 is measuring, by the UE, one or more differences between burst arrival time and transmission time, the one or more differences comprising one or more UL buffer delays. Step 120 is reporting, by the UE to the network node, the one or more UL buffer delays. The indicating or reporting of the UL buffer delay can comprise a report of various metrics. Method 100 can comprise a variety of additional or alternative steps. For example, some embodiments can further comprise receiving, from the network, a time duration configuration. Some embodiments can further comprise receiving, from the network, a configuration of the measuring or reporting.

[00034] Figure 2 displays another possible method embodiment 200 under the present disclosure. Method 200 is a method performed by a UE for scheduling an UL transmission with a network node. Step 210 is being scheduled, by the network node, to transmit one or more relevant data traffic. Step 220 is performing an UL transmission to the network node. At 230, if the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission, then the UE is scheduled by the network node for a subsequent UL transmission at a shorter time period. At 240, if the one or more relevant data traffic were not included in the UL transmission, then the UE is scheduled by the network node for the subsequent UL transmission at a longer time period. Method 200 can comprise a variety of additional or alternative steps. For example, some embodiments can further comprise receiving, from the network, a time duration configuration. Some embodiments can further comprise receiving, from the network, a configuration of the measuring or reporting.

Node-Based Embodiments

[00035] Other embodiments under the present disclosure can be node-based, e.g., gNB-based, network-based, base station, etc. Figure 3 displays one possible method embodiment 400 under the present disclosure. Method 400 is a method performed by a network node for receiving an UL buffer delay from a UE. Step 410 is receiving one or more reports from the UE, the one or more reports indicating one or more UL buffer delays. Method 400 can comprise various additional or alternative steps. Method 400 can comprise various additional or alternative steps. For example, in some embodiments method 400 can further include communicating to the UE a request for the one or more reports. In some embodiments method 400 can include communicating to the UE a time duration configuration. In some embodiments method 400 can include transmitting, to the UE, a configuration of the one or more reports.

[00036] Figure 4 displays another possible embodiment of a method 600 performed by a network node for detecting an UL buffer delay from a UE. Step 610 is scheduling the UE to transmit one or more relevant data traffic. Step 620 is receiving an UL transmission. Step 630 is detecting if the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission. At step 640, if the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission, then schedule a subsequent UL transmission at a shorter time period. At step 650, if the one or more relevant data traffic were not included in the uplink transmission, then schedule the subsequent UL transmission at a longer time period. Method 600 can comprise various additional or alternative steps. Method 600 can comprise various additional or alternative steps. For example, in some embodiments method 600 can further include communicating to the UE a request for the one or more reports. In some embodiments method 600 can include communicating to the UE a time duration configuration. In some embodiments method 600 can include transmitting, to the UE, a configuration of the one or more reports.

[00037] In certain embodiments that are node-based there may be no signaling over the Uu interface (interface between device and base station), that is, the UE does not have to directly indicate or signal the difference between BAT and the scheduling time, but instead the gNB attempts to reduce the UL buffer delay by adjusting how the gNB is scheduling the UE.

[00038] This can be achieved by the gNB scheduling the UE to perform an UL transmission. Consider that the relevant traffic is periodic. If the relevant traffic is included by the UE when the gNB has schedule the UE for an uplink transmission, it means that the traffic was available in the UE and hence the traffic must have been buffered in the UE at least some period of time before it was sent by the UE. The gNB would then schedule the UE earlier next time, i.e., next period. If the UE included the traffic also this period, it means again that the data was available in the UE. If the network advances the scheduling one more time and this time the UE does not include the relevant traffic, it means that the data had not yet been generated by the UE and hence the scheduling delay was negative. The gNB would then schedule the UE later the next period in order to know that the traffic generation happens close enough to the time that the uplink scheduling was done.

[00039] If the network has information of the UL buffer delay, as described earlier, provided by the UE through a reporting mechanism or alternatively if such delay has been deduced by the gNB through other available information (e.g. as described above), the NW/gNB/BS may, rather than providing this information to the core network (to eventually impact the application in the UE), use this information to alter or impact the scheduling decisions it makes. The network may determine whether it is possible for the gNB to reduce the UL buffer delay by itself and if so the gNB may do so. However, if the gNB is loaded, meaning that it cannot alter the scheduling of the UE to reduce the UL buffer delay (e.g. more than a threshold), the gNB may then provide the information from the UE to the core network such that the application in the UE can be informed and attempt to reduce the UL buffer delay.

[00040] Regardless of UE or node-based embodiments, various embodiments can utilize or comprise various metrics, triggers, or other variations, as described further below.

Metrics to Include in the Report

[00041] Different metrics can be used to calculate BAT, transmission time, and the difference between them. For example, UL buffer delay may be defined as:

• Arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in a burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of this packet.

• Arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in a burst of packets, until the UE completes transmission of this packet.

• Arrival in the uplink buffers of the last packet in a burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of this packet.

• Arrival in the uplink buffers of the last packet in a burst of packets, until the UE completes transmission of this packet.

• Arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in a burst of packets, until the UE starts the transmission of the last packet which arrived in the same burst of packets.

• Arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in a burst of packets, until the UE completes the transmission of the last packet which arrived in the same burst of packets.

[00042] If the definition used relies on completion, then “completes” transmission of a packet may mean:

• that the UE performs the transmission of the last part (e.g. last segment) of a packet; or

• that the UE has received an acknowledgement that the packet has been transmitted.

[00043] As the above metrics may vary between different bursts, e.g., for one burst the UL buffer delay may be Tl, and for another burst it is T2. In some embodiments the UE calculates and reports (and/or the NW/node/BS receives) at least one of the following: • an average UL buffer delay;

• a maximum UL buffer delay;

• a minimum UL buffer delay;

• a filtered value e.g., UL buffer delay N = UL buffer delay N-l * W1 + new sample * W2;

• the variance or standard deviation of the UL buffer delay;

• the jitter, that is, the deviation from periodicity of the different measured samples of the UL buffer delay.

[00044] In certain embodiments the reported value is an offset compared to a reference UL buffer delay value.

[00045] When calculating an average/maximum/minimum UL buffer delay the UE may in some cases consider only observations that happened recently. For example, the UE might only consider the observations that happened during the last X seconds. The value X may be configured for the UE by a network node. To only consider recent observation ensures that if a change is made in the scheduling/packet generation/etc. a report will not be affected by old and by then irrelevant observations.

[00046] In case a certain expected burst never arrives in the UE, e.g., because it is never generated by an application layer, the UE may ignore this observation when determining the UL buffer delay, e.g., not include it in an averaging calculation.

[00047] The UE may report the information only for certain types of traffic. For example, the UE may have different types of traffic that the UE may send. In one embodiment the UE will report information, as described herein, only for a subset of the traffic that the UE is communicating. This may be beneficial since there may be some background traffic for which this information is not relevant for the network to receive reports for, while the UE has some high priority traffic for which such reports are relevant.

Granularity of the Report

[00048] The granularity of the report can take a number of embodiments. For example, the UE may have different types of traffic that it is communicating. There could for example be different bearers that the UE is configured with, or different flows. Different flows can be attributed with different expectations for quality of service (QoS) etc. [00049] In one embodiment the UE calculates a UL buffer delay value by considering a subset of all traffic that the UE is communicating. For example, the UE may consider only traffic from a particular application, or a certain flow or only a certain bearer or logical channel when calculating the UL buffer delay.

[00050] The UE may calculate multiple UL buffer delay values. For example, the UE may have two (or more) different bearers/logical channels/flows/etc. and the UE can calculate one UL buffer delay for each of these two (or more) bearers/logical channel/flows/etc.

[00051 ] Which traffic the UE shall report UL buffer delay for may be configured by the network. The network may for example configure the UE to report UL buffer delay for bearer A but not for bearer B.

Triggers for Sending the Report

[00052] There may be various triggers for sending a report. The UE may trigger the report periodically, e.g., once every second. In other alternatives, the period may be configured for the UE by the network.

[00053] Another potential trigger for the report is that the UE sends a report only when the previously signaled value has become invalid. For example, the UE may have indicated a UL buffer delay of 30 milliseconds, and if the delay changes the UE would trigger a new report. While if it remains at 30 milliseconds the UE will not send another report. The UE may trigger a report if the measured or filtered or reported delay changes by more than a certain threshold. The threshold may be expressed as a percentage compared to the previous value, or the change is more than an absolute threshold, etc. The threshold may be specified in the specification or configured by the network for the UE or provided by the application (layer) to the 3 GPP network/system and thereafter configured by the network for the UE.

[00054] Another potential trigger for the UE to send the report is a network request. The network may indicate to the UE that the UE shall send a report and the UE would do so in response to the request.

[00055] The UE may refrain from sending the report too often. One approach to do so is to use a timer which, when running, the UE would refrain from sending the report. When the UE sends a report the UE would start the timer and hence the UE would not be able to send another report until the timer duration has passed. The timer duration may be configured for the UE by the network.

[00056] The UE may have independent triggers for different traffic, e.g., the UE may, as described above, send a report when the previously signaled value has become invalid for a certain bearer. In one embodiment the UE would in that case report only information related to the traffic that has triggered the report, e.g. the bearer. However, another approach is that the UE includes information for all relevant traffic, e.g., also other bearers, even if the trigger has not happened for that other traffic, e.g., for those other bearers.

Reporting the UL Buffer Delay

[00057] The UE can report (and/or the network can receive) the delay information discussed herein, for example, using the UEAssistancelnfromation message defined in the RRC protocol specification set forth in TS 38.331 vl7.3.0/Jan. 2023. The UEAssistancelnformation message is used for the indication of UE assistance information to the network and has the following characteristics:

• Signalling radio bearer: SRB1, SRB3

• RLC-SAP: AM

• Logical channel: DCCH

• Direction: UE to Network

[00058] Figures 5-8 illustrate one embodiment of an updated UEAssistancelnformation message 800 under the present disclosure. The UEAssistancelnformation message can be updated by defining a new Information Element (IE) for the UL buffer delay report. In this example, an IE is defined to contain the value for the filtered UL buffer delay measurements and average sampled jitter of the buffer delay. The changes to the specification are shown in underlined and bold text. The value ranges are exemplary and can be of different lengths and contain different value ranges:

[00059] Additionally, the procedural text in TS 38.331 (e.g., in clause 5.7.4 in TS 38.331) can be changed and updated to take into account the updated message contents and, for example, possible filtering of the UE sampled UE buffer delay values.

[00060] Configuration of the reporting specified in TS 38.331 can be according to one of the alternatives described above regarding various embodiments of reports and metrics. Additional Embodiments

[00061] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system 2100 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 2100 includes a telecommunication network 2102 that includes an access network 2104, such as a RAN, and a core network 2106, which includes one or more core network nodes 2108. The access network 2104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 2110a and 2110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 2110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 2110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UE, such as by connecting UEs 2112a, 2112b, 2112c, and 2112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 2112) to the core network 2106 over one or more wireless connections.

[00062] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, 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. The communication system 2100 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

[00063] The UEs 2112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 2110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 2110 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 2112 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 2102 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 2102.

[00064] In the depicted example, the core network 2106 connects the network nodes 2110 to one or more hosts, such as host 2116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 2106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 2108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 2108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[00065] The host 2116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 2104 and/or the telecommunication network 2102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 2116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[00066] As a whole, the communication system 2100 of Figure 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z- Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. [00067] In some examples, the telecommunication network 2102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 2102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 2102. For example, the telecommunications network 2102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[00068] In some examples, the UEs 2112 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 2104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 2104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[00069] In the example, the hub 2114 communicates with the access network 2104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and/or 2112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 2110b). In some examples, the hub 2114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 2114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 2106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 2114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 2110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 2114. As another example, the hub 2114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 2114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 2114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 2114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 2114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[00070] The hub 2114 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 2110b. The hub 2114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 2114 and UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and/or 2112d), and between the hub 2114 and the core network 2106. In other examples, the hub 2114 is connected to the core network 2106 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 2114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1104 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 2110 while still connected via the hub 2114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 2114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 2110b. In other embodiments, the hub 2114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 2110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

[00071] Figure 10 shows a UE 2200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[00072] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to- everything (V2X). In other examples, a 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 (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[00073] The UE 2200 includes processing circuitry 2202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2204 to an input/output interface 2206, a power source 2208, a memory 2210, a communication interface 2212, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 10. 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.

[00074] The processing circuitry 2202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine- readable computer programs in the memory 2210. The processing circuitry 2202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, 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 2202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[00075] In the example, the input/output interface 2206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include 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. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 2200. Examples of an input device 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 presencesensitive 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, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[00076] In some embodiments, the power source 2208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 2208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 2208 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 2200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 2208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 2208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 2200 to which power is supplied.

[00077] The memory 2210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 2210 includes one or more application programs 2214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 2216. The memory 2210 may store, for use by the UE 2200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[00078] The memory 2210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), 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 tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 2210 may allow the UE 2200 to access instructions, application programs and 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 as or in the memory 2210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[00079] The processing circuitry 2202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 2212. The communication interface 2212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 2222. The communication interface 2212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 2218 and/or a receiver 2220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 2218 and receiver 2220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 2222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[00080] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 2212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, 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. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[00081] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 2212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[00082] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[00083] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 2200 shown in Figure 10.

[00084] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE 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 UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[00085] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[00086] Figure 11 shows a network node 3300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication 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, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).

[00087] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may 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).

[00088] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSRBSs, 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), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support 1 System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[00089] The network node 3300 includes a processing circuitry 3302, a memory 3304, a communication interface 3306, and a power source 3308. The network node 3300 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 the network node 3300 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 NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 3304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 3310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 3300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) 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 1300.

[00090] The processing circuitry 3302 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 3300 components, such as the memory 3304, to provide network node 3300 functionality.

[00091] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and the baseband processing circuitry 3314 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 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[00092] The memory 3304 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), readonly 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 the processing circuitry 3302. The memory 3304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 3302 and utilized by the network node 3300. The memory 3304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 3302 and/or any data received via the communication interface 3306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 and memory 3304 is integrated.

[00093] The communication interface 3306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 3306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 3316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 3306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 3318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 3310. Radio front-end circuitry 3318 comprises filters 3320 and amplifiers 3322. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may be connected to an antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 3320 and/or amplifiers 3322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 3310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 3310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 3318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 3302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

[00094] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 3300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 3318, instead, the processing circuitry 3302 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 3310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 3312 is part of the communication interface 3306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 3306 includes one or more ports or terminals 3316, the radio front-end circuitry 3318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 3312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 3306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 3314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[00095] The antenna 3310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 3310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 3318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 3310 is separate from the network node 3300 and connectable to the network node 3300 through an interface or port.

[00096] The antenna 3310, communication interface 3306, and/or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 3310, the communication interface 3306, and/or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

[00097] The power source 3308 provides power to the various components of network node 3300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 3308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 3300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 3300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 3308. As a further example, the power source 3308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[00098] Embodiments of the network node 3300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 11 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, the network node 3300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 3300 and to allow output of information from the network node 3300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 3300.

[00099] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a host 4400, which may be an embodiment of the host 2116 of Figure 9, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 4400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 4400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[000100] The host 4400 includes processing circuitry 4402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 4404 to an input/output interface 4406, a network interface 4408, a power source 4410, and a memory 4412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 10 and 11, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 4400.

[000101] The memory 4412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 4414 and data 4416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 4400 or data generated by the host 4400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 4400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 4414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 4414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 4400 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 4414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[000102] Figure 13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 5500 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 any device described herein, 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. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 5500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

[000103] Applications 5502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 5500 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[000104] Hardware 5504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 5506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 5508a and 5508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 5508), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 5506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 5508.

[000105] The VMs 5508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 5506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 5502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 5508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. 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.

[000106] In the context of NFV, a VM 5508 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 the VMs 5508, and that part of hardware 5504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 5508 on top of the hardware 5504 and corresponds to the application 5502.

[000107] Hardware 5504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 5504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 5504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 5510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 5502. In some embodiments, hardware 5504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes 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 signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 5512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[000108] Figure 14 shows a communication diagram of a host 6602 communicating via a network node 6604 with a UE 6606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 2112a of Figure 9 and/or UE 2200 of Figure 10), network node (such as network node 2110a of Figure 9 and/or network node 3300 of Figure 11), and host (such as host 2116 of Figure 9 and/or host 4400 of Figure 12) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 14.

[000109] Like host 4400, embodiments of host 6602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 6602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 6602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 6606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 6650 extending between the UE 6606 and host 6602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 6650.

[000110] The network node 6604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 6602 and UE 6606. The connection 6660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 2106 of Figure 9) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[000111] The UE 6606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 6606 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 6606 with the support of the host 6602. In the host 6602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 6650 terminating at the UE 6606 and host 6602. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 6650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 6650.

[000112] The OTT connection 6650 may extend via a connection 6660 between the host 6602 and the network node 6604 and via a wireless connection 6670 between the network node 6604 and the UE 6606 to provide the connection between the host 6602 and the UE 6606. The connection 6660 and wireless connection 6670, over which the OTT connection 6650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 6602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 6604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[000113] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 6650, in step 6608, the host 6602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 6606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 6606 that shares data with the host 6602 without explicit human interaction. In step 6610, the host 6602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 6606. The host 6602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 6606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 6606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 6606. The transmission may pass via the network node 6604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 6612, the network node 6604 transmits to the UE 6606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 6602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 6614, the UE 6606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 6606 associated with the host application executed by the host 6602.

[000114] In some examples, the UE 6606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 6602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 6602. Accordingly, in step 6616, the UE 6606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 6606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 6606 initiates, in step 6618, transmission of the user data towards the host 6602 via the network node 6604. In step 6620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 6604 receives user data from the UE 6606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 6602. In step 6622, the host 6602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 6606. [000115] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 6606 using the OTT connection 6650, in which the wireless connection 6670 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and/or extended battery lifetime.

[000116] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 6602. As another example, the host 6602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 6602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 6602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 6602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 6602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.

[000117] In some examples, 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 the OTT connection 6650 between the host 6602 and UE 6606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 6602 and/or UE 6606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 6650 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 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 6650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 6604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 6602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 6650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[000118] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information 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. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[000119] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry 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 non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[000120] It will be appreciated that computer systems are increasingly taking a wide variety of forms. In this description and in the claims, the terms “controller,” “computer system,” or “computing system” are defined broadly as including any device or system — or combination thereof — that includes at least one physical and tangible processor and a physical and tangible memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that may be executed by a processor. By way of example, not limitation, the term “computer system” or “computing system,” as used herein is intended to include personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, hand-held devices (e.g., mobile telephones, PDAs, pagers), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, multi-processor systems, network PCs, distributed computing systems, datacenters, message processors, routers, switches, and even devices that conventionally have not been considered a computing system, such as wearables (e.g., glasses).

[000121] The computing system also has thereon multiple structures often referred to as an “executable component.” For instance, the memory of a computing system can include an executable component. The term “executable component” is the name for a structure that is well understood to one of ordinary skill in the art in the field of computing as being a structure that can be software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For instance, when implemented in software, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the structure of an executable component may include software objects, routines, methods, and so forth, that may be executed by one or more processors on the computing system, whether such an executable component exists in the heap of a computing system, or whether the executable component exists on computer-readable storage media. The structure of the executable component exists on a computer-readable medium in such a form that it is operable, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, to cause the computing system to perform one or more functions, such as the functions and methods described herein. Such a structure may be computer-readable directly by a processor — as is the case if the executable component were binary. Alternatively, the structure may be structured to be interpretable and/or compiled — whether in a single stage or in multiple stages — so as to generate such binary that is directly interpretable by a processor. [000122] The terms “component,” “service,” “engine,” “module,” “control,” “generator,” or the like may also be used in this description. As used in this description and in this case, these terms — whether expressed with or without a modifying clause — are also intended to be synonymous with the term “executable component” and thus also have a structure that is well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of computing.

[000123] In terms of computer implementation, a computer is generally understood to comprise one or more processors or one or more controllers, and the terms computer, processor, and controller may be employed interchangeably. When provided by a computer, processor, or controller, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated computer or processor or controller, by a single shared computer or processor or controller, or by a plurality of individual computers or processors or controllers, some of which may be shared or distributed. Moreover, the term “processor” or “controller” also refers to other hardware capable of performing such functions and/or executing software, such as the example hardware recited above.

[000124] In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, as nonlimiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[000125] While not all computing systems require a user interface, in some embodiments a computing system includes a user interface for use in communicating information from/to a user. The user interface may include output mechanisms as well as input mechanisms. The principles described herein are not limited to the precise output mechanisms or input mechanisms as such will depend on the nature of the device. However, output mechanisms might include, for instance, speakers, displays, tactile output, projections, holograms, and so forth. Examples of input mechanisms might include, for instance, microphones, touchscreens, projections, holograms, cameras, keyboards, stylus, mouse, or other pointer input, sensors of any type, and so forth.

Abbreviations and Defined Terms

[000126] To assist in understanding the scope and content of this written description and the appended claims, a select few terms are defined directly below. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

[000127] The terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially,” as used herein, represent an amount or condition close to the specific stated amount or condition that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount or condition that deviates by less than 10%, or by less than 5%, or by less than 1%, or by less than 0.1%, or by less than 0.01% from a specifically stated amount or condition.

[000128] Various aspects of the present disclosure, including devices, systems, and methods may be illustrated with reference to one or more embodiments or implementations, which are exemplary in nature. As used herein, the term “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments disclosed herein. In addition, reference to an “implementation” of the present disclosure or embodiments includes a specific reference to one or more embodiments thereof, and vice versa, and is intended to provide illustrative examples without limiting the scope of the present disclosure, which is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the present description.

[000129] As used in the specification, a word appearing in the singular encompasses its plural counterpart, and a word appearing in the plural encompasses its singular counterpart, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Thus, it will be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, reference to a singular referent (e.g., “a widget”) includes one, two, or more referents unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Similarly, reference to a plurality of referents should be interpreted as comprising a single referent and/or a plurality of referents unless the content and/or context clearly dictate otherwise. For example, reference to referents in the plural form (e.g., “widgets”) does not necessarily require a plurality of such referents. Instead, it will be appreciated that independent of the inferred number of referents, one or more referents are contemplated herein unless stated otherwise.

[000130] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[000131] It shall be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[000132] It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and/or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/ or combinations thereof.

Conclusion

[000133] The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. [000134] It is understood that for any given component or embodiment described herein, any of the possible candidates or alternatives listed for that component may generally be used individually or in combination with one another, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Additionally, it will be understood that any list of such candidates or alternatives is merely illustrative, not limiting, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise.

[000135] In addition, unless otherwise indicated, numbers expressing quantities, constituents, distances, or other measurements used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified by the term “about,” as that term is defined herein. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the subject matter presented herein. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the subject matter presented herein are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical values, however, inherently contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.

[000136] Any headings and subheadings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, it should be understood that although the present disclosure has been specifically disclosed in part by certain embodiments, and optional features, modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in the art, and such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this present description.

[000137] It will also be appreciated that systems, devices, products, kits, methods, and/or processes, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure may include, incorporate, or otherwise comprise properties or features (e.g., components, members, elements, parts, and/or portions) described in other embodiments disclosed and/or described herein. Accordingly, the various features of certain embodiments can be compatible with, combined with, included in, and/or incorporated into other embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, disclosure of certain features relative to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure should not be construed as limiting application or inclusion of said features to the specific embodiment. Rather, it will be appreciated that other embodiments can also include said features, members, elements, parts, and/or portions without necessarily departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[000138] Moreover, unless a feature is described as requiring another feature in combination therewith, any feature herein may be combined with any other feature of a same or different embodiment disclosed herein. Furthermore, various well-known aspects of illustrative systems, methods, apparatus, and the like are not described herein in particular detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the example embodiments. Such aspects are, however, also contemplated herein.

[000139] It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures, and techniques other than those specifically described herein can be applied to the practice of the described embodiments as broadly disclosed herein without resort to undue experimentation. All art-known functional equivalents of methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures, and techniques specifically described herein are intended to be encompassed by this present disclosure.

[000140] When a group of materials, compositions, components, or compounds is disclosed herein, it is understood that all individual members of those groups and all subgroups thereof are disclosed separately. When a Markush group or other grouping is used herein, all individual members of the group and all combinations and sub-combinations possible of the group are intended to be individually included in the disclosure.

[000141] The above-described embodiments are examples only. Alterations, modifications, and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the description, which is defined solely by the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for indicating uplink, UL, buffer delay to a network node, the method comprising: measuring, by the UE, one or more differences between burst arrival time and transmission time, the one or more differences comprising one or more UL buffer delays; and reporting, by the UE to the network node, the one or more UL buffer delays.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more UL buffer delay is defined as at least one of:

(a) arrival in an uplink buffer of a first packet in a burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of the first packet;

(b) arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in the burst of packets, until the UE completes transmission of the first packet;

(c) arrival in the uplink buffers of a last packet in the burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of the first packet;

(d) arrival in the uplink buffers of the last packet in the burst of packets, until the UE completes transmission of the first packet;

(e) arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in the burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of the last packet in the burst of packets; or

(f) arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in the burst of packets, until the UE completes the transmission of the last packet in the burst of packets.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein completes means at least one of: that the UE performs the transmission of a last part of a packet; or that the UE has received an acknowledgement that the packet has been transmitted.

4. The method of any of the previous claims, further comprising receiving, by the UE, a plurality of bursts.

5. The method of any of the previous claims, further comprising reporting, by the UE, at least one of: an average UL buffer delay; a maximum UL buffer delay; a minimum UL buffer delay; a filtered value; a variance or standard deviation of the UL buffer delay; and a jitter.

6. The method of any of the previous claims, wherein an indicated UL buffer delay includes an offset compared to a reference UL buffer delay value.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the UE considers only observations having occurred in a determined preceding time frame.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determined preceding time frame was received from a network node.

9. The method of any of the previous claims, wherein if an expected burst never arrived then the UE ignores the expected burst in any reporting.

10. The method of any of the previous claims, wherein the indicated UL buffer delay is only related to one or more subsets of all traffic that the UE sends or receives.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more subsets includes at least one of: one or more bearers; one or more logical channels; one or more applications; one or more flows.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the UE reports a UL buffer delay for each of the one or more subsets.

13. The method of claims 10, 11, or 12, wherein what UL buffer delay to report is configured by a network node.

14. The method of any of the previous claims, further comprising receiving, by the UE, a configuration of the measuring and/or reporting.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the configuration is received from at least one of: a network node; a gNB; a base station.

16. The method of any of the previous claims, wherein the reporting is triggered by one or more events.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more events comprise at least one of: a time period; an event configured by a network node; a previously signaled event becoming invalid; if a measure value changes by more than a certain threshold; a network request; a different event for different types of traffic.

18. The method of any of the previous claims, wherein the UE bases the reporting, at least in part, on a timer.

19. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for scheduling an uplink, UL, transmission with a network node, comprising: being scheduled, by the network node, to transmit one or more relevant data traffic; performing an UL transmission to the network node, wherein if the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission, then being scheduled by the network node for a subsequent UL transmission at a shorter time period; and if the one or more relevant data traffic were not included in the UL transmission, then being scheduled by the network node for the subsequent UL transmission at a longer time period.

20. A method performed by a network node for receiving an uplink, UL, buffer delay from a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: receiving one or more reports from the UE, the one or more reports indicating one or more UL buffer delays.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the one or more UL buffer delays were calculated by the UE as one or more differences between a burst arrival time and a transmission time.

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, further comprising communicating to the UE a request for the one or more reports.

23. The method of any of claims 20 to 22, further comprising communicating to the UE a time duration configuration.

24. The method of any of claims 20 to 23, wherein at least one of the one or more UL buffer delay is defined as at least one of:

(a) arrival in an uplink buffer of a first packet in a burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of the first packet;

(b) arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in the burst of packets, until the UE completes transmission of the first packet;

(c) arrival in the uplink buffers of a last packet in the burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of the first packet;

(d) arrival in the uplink buffers of the last packet in the burst of packets, until the UE completes transmission of the first packet;

(e) arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in the burst of packets, until the UE starts transmission of the last packet in the burst of packets; or

(f) arrival in the uplink buffers of the first packet in the burst of packets, until the UE completes the transmission of the last packet in the burst of packets.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein completes means at least one of: that the UE performs the transmission of a last part of a packet; or that the UE has received an acknowledgement that the packet has been transmitted.

26. The method of any of claims 20 to 25, wherein the one or more reports comprise at least one of: an average UL buffer delay; a maximum UL buffer delay; a minimum UL buffer delay; a filtered value; a variance or standard deviation of the UL buffer delay; and a jitter.

27. The method of any of claims 20 to 26, wherein a reported UL buffer delay includes an offset compared to a reference UL buffer delay value.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the UE considered only observations having occurred in a determined preceding time frame.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising transmitting to the UE the determined preceding time frame.

30. The method of any of claims 20 to 29, wherein if an expected burst never arrived then the UE ignored the expected burst in any reporting.

31. The method of any of claims 20 to 30, wherein the one or more reports are only related to one or more subsets of all traffic that the UE sent or received.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the one or more subsets includes at least one of: one or more bearers; one or more logical channels; one or more applications; one or more flows.

33. The method of claim 31 or 32, wherein the one or more reports comprise a UL buffer delay for each of the one or more subsets.

34. The method of claims 31, 32, or 33, wherein the one or more reports are configured by a network node.

35. The method of any of claims 20 to 34, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, a configuration of the one or more reports.

36. The method of any of claims 20 to 35, wherein the one or more reports are triggered by one or more events.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the one or more events comprise at least one of: a time period; an event configured by a network node; a previously signaled event becoming invalid; if a measure value changes by more than a certain threshold; a network request; a different event for different types of traffic.

38. A method performed by a network node for detecting an uplink, UL, buffer delay from a user equipment, UE, the method comprising: scheduling the UE to transmit one or more relevant data traffic; receiving an UL transmission; detecting if the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission; and if the one or more relevant data traffic were included in the UL transmission, then scheduling a subsequent UL transmission at a shorter time period; and if the one or more relevant data traffic were not included in the UL transmission, then scheduling the subsequent UL transmission at a longer time period.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein if the network node is loaded then the network node provides one or more data from the UE to the core network, wherein loaded means the network node cannot alter the scheduling of the UE to reduce the UL buffer delay.

40. A user equipment, UE, for indicating uplink, UL, buffer delay to a network node, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1 to 19; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

41. A network node for receiving or detecting an uplink, UL, buffer delay from a user equipment, UE, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 20 to 40; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.