EP4684475A1

EP4684475A1 - Radio network node, first node, second node, and methods performed thereby, for handling exchange of information between the first node managing a radio equipment and the second node managing a controller of the radio equipment

Info

Publication number: EP4684475A1
Application number: EP24714878.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jonas Karlsson
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2023-03-21
Filing date: 2024-03-21
Publication date: 2026-01-28
Also published as: WO2024194410A1

Abstract

A method, performed by a radio network node (110), comprising a first node (111) managing a Radio equipment and a second node (112) managing a controller of the Radio equipment. The radio network node (110) sends (701), by the second node (112), first control information to the first node (111), indicating that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node (112). The radio network node (110) determines (703), by the first node (111), beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal. The radio network node (110) beamforms (704), by the first node (111), the reference signal using the beamforming weights, equalizes (705), by the first node (111), the beamformed reference signal, using the equalizing weights, and transfers (706), by the first node (111), the equalized reference signal to the second node (112).

Description

RADIO NETWORK NODE, FIRST NODE, SECOND NODE, AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREBY, FOR HANDLING EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN THE FIRST NODE MANAGING A RADIO EQUIPMENT AND THE SECOND NODE MANAGING A CONTROLLER

OF THE RADIO EQUIPMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a radio network node and methods performed thereby for handling exchange of information between a first node managing a radio equipment and a second node managing a controller of the radio equipment. The present disclosure further relates generally to the first node and methods performed thereby, for handling the exchange of information between the first node and the second node managing the controller of the radio equipment. The present disclosure further relates generally to the second node and methods performed thereby, for handling the exchange of information between the second node and the first node managing the radio equipment.

BACKGROUND

A wireless communications network covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, each cell area being served by a network node, which may be an access node such as a radio network node, radio node or a base station, e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g., gNB, evolved Node B (“eNB”), “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “B node”, Transmission Point (TP or TRP), or Base Transceiver Station (BTS), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g., Wide Area Base Stations, Medium Range Base Stations, Local Area Base Stations, Home Base Stations, pico base stations, etc..., based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell is the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station or radio node at a base station site, or radio node site, respectively. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the terminals within range of the base stations. The wireless communications network may also be a non-cellular system, comprising network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as wireless devices, with serving beams.

Wireless devices within the wireless communications network may be e.g., User Equipments (UEs), stations (ST As), mobile terminals, wireless terminals, terminals, and/or Mobile Stations (MS). Wireless devices are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a cellular communications network or wireless communication network, sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system, cellular system, or cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g., between two wireless devices, between a wireless device and a regular telephone and/or between a wireless device and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN) and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the wireless communications network. Wireless devices may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops, or tablets with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless devices in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as another terminal or a server.

The standardization organization 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently in the process of specifying a New Radio Interface called NR or 5G-UTRA, as well as a Fifth Generation (5G) Packet Core Network (CN), which may be referred to as Next Generation (NG) Core Network, abbreviated as NG-CN, NGC, 5G CN or 5G Core (5GC). NG may be understood to refer to the interface/reference point between the RAN and the CN in 5G/NR. In a 5G System (5GS), a radio base station in NR may be referred to as a gNB or 5G Node B. An NR UE may be referred to as an nUE.

In NR, base stations, which may be referred to as gNBs, may be directly connected to one or more core networks. In the context of this disclosure, the expression Downlink (DL) may be used for the transmission path from the base station to the wireless device. The expression Uplink (UL) may be used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e., from the wireless device to the base station.

One of the aims of the Open RAN Alliance eingetragener Verein (O-RAN), referred to also simply as O-RAN, may be understood to be to standardize a so-called lower layer split, see O- RAN Working group (WG) 4 in [1], This split may be understood to define an interface between radio equipment controller (REC) and radio equipment (RE) in a RAN communication system. There may be several different ways the functional division may be done between the REC and RE, see [2], 3GPP Technical report (TR) 38.816, v. 15.0.0, Section 4.2.

The O-RAN specification has chosen a split that may be understood to be close to the 7-2 functional split, as defined in [1], Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing approach without Demodulation reference signal (DMRS) channel estimation in the RE. Particularly, Figure 1 depicts a low layer split of an O-RAN communication system as an interface 1 between an O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) radio equipment controller (REC) 2 and an O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) radio equipment (RE) 3 in a RAN communication system. For the uplink, this may be understood to mean that Fast Fourier transform (FFT)/Cyclic prefix (CP) removal 4, beamforming 5 and resource element de-mapping 6 may be located in the RE 3, and that channel estimation 7, 8 equalization 9, de-modulation and decoding 10 may be located in the REC 2. As depicted in Figure 1 , after the FFT/CP removal 4 in the RE, 3, the DMRS-Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) extraction 11 , the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), PUSCH, DMRS-PUCCH extraction 12 and the Sounding reference signal (SRS) extraction 13 may be performed in the RE 3. After the SRS channel estimation 8, the SRS Beamforming weights (BFW) calculation 14 may be performed in the REC 2. The BFW for PUCCH, PUSCH and DMRS 15 may then be fed back to the beamforming 5 block in the RE 3. The DMRS extraction 16 for PUCCH may be performed in the REC 2, and after DMRS channel estimation 7, the weights calculation 17 after the DMRS channel estimation 7 may be also performed in the REC 2, as well as the combination 18 that may take place before the equalization 9 and the layer demapping 19 that may take place after the equalization 9. After the beamforming 5 in the RE 3, the extracted PUCCH and PUSCH 20 may be input into the combining 18 block at the REC 2. From the equalization 9 block, the Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) 21 may be input into the demodulation and decoding 10 block.

It may be noted that that DMRS-PUSCH may be understood to be the DMRS used to detect PUSCH, and DMRS-PUCCH may be understood to be the DMRS used to detect PUCCH.

One possible improvement may involve moving channel estimation, beamforming weight calculation, and potentially also equalization to the RE [3], This may be understood to be an improvement as moving channel estimation to RE may be understood to give the RE knowledge about the instantaneous radio channel properties, which may be used to calculate the beamforming weights and apply them directly. In the Figure 1 solution there is a loop from the RE to the REC and back to the RE that may be understood to create a delay from receiving the SRS (13) until the beamforming weights may be applied (5).

There may be two possible improvements. Solution A, which may be understood to move channel estimation, beamforming weight calculation and equalization to the RE, and Solution B, which may be understood to move channel estimation and beamforming weight calculation to the RE, but not the equalization.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing approach B, also referred to as “Solution B”, with DMRS channel estimation 22 and beamforming weight calculation 23 in RE 3, and with EQ 9 in the O-DU 2. For Solution B, DMRS channel estimation and weight calculation may be understood to be performed both in the RE and REC. The BFW for PUSCH and DMRS- PUSCH 24 may then be fed to the beamforming 5 block in the RE 3. The rest of the elements in Figure 2 correspond to those with the same reference numbers in Figure 1 .

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing approach A, also referred to as “Solution A”, with DMRS channel estimation 23, beamforming weight calculation 24, and equalization 30 in RE 3. That is, equalization of the PUSCH. Equalization of the PUCCH may be understood to be performed by the equalizer in the REC 9. The BFW for PUSCH 31 may then be fed to the beamforming 5 block in the RE 3, and then to the equalization 30 block at 32. In the REC 2, the DMRS-PUCCH 33 may be fed to the DMRS extraction 16 block, the PUCCH 34 may be fed to the combination 18 block, The PUSCH 35 may be fed to the layer demapping 20 block and the SINR 36 may be fed to the demodulation and decoding 10 block. The rest of the elements in Figure 3 correspond to those with the same reference numbers in Figure 2.

The figures just described show the original uplink solution by O-RAN WG4 in Figure 1 , and two proposed solutions to improve the uplink performance. Figure 2 illustrates solution B with DMRS channel estimation 23, weight calculation 24 and beamforming 5 in RE 3. Figure 3 illustrates solution A with DMRS channel estimation 23, weight calculation 24, beamforming 5 and equalization 30 in RE 3.

These two proposed solutions are currently under consideration by O-RAN WG4. They both have channel estimation 23, weight calculation 24 and beamforming 5 in the RE 3, and demodulation and decoding 10 in the REC 2. Solution A has equalization 30 in the RE 3, and Solution B as equalization 9 in the REC 2. It may be noted that in O-RAN, the REC 2 may be called O-DU and the RE 3 may be called O-RU.

From the right, one In-phase and quadrature (IQ)-data stream for each of the receiver antennas may be the input to the FFT and cyclic prefix removal block 4. For a typical Massive Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) product in the 2-3.5 GHz frequency range, the number of antenna IQ-data streams may be in the order of 64. After beamforming, the number of IQ- data streams may be reduced to the number of layers scheduled.

It may be noted that the blocks in the figures herein may be seen as conceptional or functional blocks. What may be understood to be significant is the interface between the REC 2 and the RE 3, shown as the dash-dotted line in the figures.

An actual implementation may for example implement beamforming and equalization as one unit. And similarly, the beamforming weights calculation and the equalizer weights calculation may be implemented as two units.

Solution B has support for so-called advanced receivers, such as Successive interference cancellation (SIC) receivers and Interference rejection combining (IRC) Coordinated multi-point (CoMP) receivers.

Advanced receivers may be understood to be non-linear receivers, such as SIC, or multi-TRP receivers, such as IRC-CoMP, which may typically have higher throughput performance but may be understood to be of higher complexity than linear single-TRP receivers.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing configuration with advanced receiver, a SIC receiver 40 in this example, for solution B. Figure 4 illustrates how an advanced receiver, in this case a SIC receiver 40, may be used with solution B. The same configuration of the RE 3 may be used both for a normal receiver in the REC 2 and for an advanced receiver in the REC 2. As depicted in Figure 4, the PUCCH 41 may be fed from the beamforming 5 block on the RE 3 to the combine 18 block in the REC 2. The DMRS-PUCCH 42 may be fed to the DMRS extraction 16 block in the REC 2. The PUSCH and the DMRS- PUSCH 43 may be fed to the SIC receiver 40 in the REC 2. The rest of the elements in Figure 4 correspond to those with the same reference numbers in Figure 2. As indicated in Figure 4, Solution B has the EQ 9 for PUCCH in the O-DU and a SIC receiver for PUSCH.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing SIC receiver example for three layers with two stages. The three layers are Layer 1 50, Layer 2 51 and Layer 3 52. The two stages are Stage 1 53 and Stage 2 54. A layer may be understood to be a stream of data transmitted from a UE. An UE may transmit one or more layers. Multiple UEs may transmit one or multiple layers, each using the same time- and frequency resource. The purpose of the stages may be understood to be iterations of an iterative method, where multiple iterations may improve the performance. There may be several examples of advanced receivers. One example may be SIC receivers, as the example depicted in Figure 5, which may detect, e.g., equalize 55, demodulate 56, decode 57 the first layer 50, regenerate 58 its contribution to the received signal, and subtract it from the received signal from the O-RU, as indicated by the minus sign, and then continue with the second layer 51 . After all layers may have been detected and regenerated a first time, at stage 1 53, the process may be repeated multiple times, stage 2 54, stage 3, .... At the latest stage, each layer may output decoded data, as Layer 1 decoded data 59, Layer 2 decoded data 60 and Layer 3 decoded data 61. It may be noted that Figure 4 is a simplified illustration. For example, in Figure 4, DMRS channel estimation is not shown.

Another example of advanced receiver may be the IRC CoMP receiver, which may take the PUSCH and DMRS-PUSCH signal from multiple REs as input to the receiver.

In the examples above, the advanced receiver has been used to receive PUSCH. Advanced receivers may also be used to receive other uplink channels, such as PUCCH and Physical random access channel (PRACH).

SUMMARY

As part of the development of embodiments herein, one or more challenges with the existing technology will first be identified and discussed.

Solution A may be understood to have several advantages compared with Solution B, such as a more robust interface, as all the functions of channel estimation, beamforming weight calculation and equalization are located in the same unit, the RE, and less fronthaul bitrates, since the DMRS symbols, that is, for PUSCH, may be understood to not need to be transferred. It may be noted that DMRS extraction 16 in Figure 3 may be understood to be for PUCCH. However, Solution B has support for so-called advanced receivers, such as SIC receivers and Interference rejection combining (IRC) Coordinated multi-point (CoMP) receivers. This is a disadvantage of Solution A. Supporting advanced receivers may be understood to be advantageous as they may be understood to be expected to provide better throughput performance.

According to the foregoing, it is an object of embodiments herein to improve the handling of exchange of information between a first node managing a Radio equipment, and a second node managing a controller of the Radio equipment.

According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by a radio network node. The method is for handling exchange of information between a first node managing a Radio equipment, and a second node managing a controller of the Radio equipment. The first node and the second node are comprised in the radio network node. The radio network node operates in a wireless communications network. The radio network node sends, by the second node, first control information, to the first node. The first control information indicates that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node. The radio network node then determines, by the first node, beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal. The radio network node beamforms, by the first node, the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights. The radio network node equalizes, by the first node, the beamformed reference signal using the determined equalizing weights. The radio network node then transfers, by the first node, the equalized reference signal to the second node.

According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by the first node. The first node manages the Radio equipment. The method is for handling the exchange of information between the first node and the second node managing the controller of the Radio equipment. The first node and the second node are comprised in the radio network node. The first node operates in the wireless communications network. The first node receives, from the second node, the first control information. The first control information indicates that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node. The first node determines the beamforming weights and equalizing weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and the equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal. The first node beamforms the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights. The first node equalizes the beamformed reference signal using the determined equalizing weights. The first node transfers the equalized reference signal to the second node.

According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by the second node. The second node manages the controller of the Radio equipment. The method is for handling the exchange of information between the second node and the first node managing the Radio equipment. The second node and the first node are comprised in the radio network node. The second node operates in the wireless communications network. The second node sends, to the first node, the first control information. The first control information indicates that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node. The second node receives the reference signal, equalized by the first node, from the first node.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the radio network node, configured to perform the method. The radio network node is for handling the exchange of information between the first node configured to manage the Radio equipment and the second node configured to manage the controller of the Radio equipment. The first node and the second node are configured to be comprised in the radio network node. The radio network node is configured to operate in the wireless communications network. The radio network node is to send, by the second node, the first control information to the first node. The first control information is configured to indicate that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node. The radio network node is configured to determine, by the first node, the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and the equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal. The radio network node is also configured to beamform, by the first node, the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights. The radio network node is further configured to equalize, by the first node, the beamformed reference signal, using the equalizing weights configured to be determined. The radio network node is also configured to transfer, by the first node, the equalized reference signal to the second node.

According to a fifth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the first node, configured to perform the method. The first node is configured to manage the Radio equipment. The first node is configured to be for handling the exchange of information between the first node and the second node configured to manage the controller of the Radio equipment. The first node and the second node are configured to be comprised in the radio network node. The first node is configured to operate in the wireless communications network. The first node is configured to receive, from the second node, the first control information. The first control information is configured to indicate that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node. The first node is configured to, determine, the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and the equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal. The first node is further configured to, beamform the reference signal using the beamforming weights configured to be determined. The first node is configured to, equalize the beamformed reference signal, using the equalizing weights configured to be determined. The first node is further configured to, transfer the equalized reference signal to the second node.

According to a sixth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the second node, configured to perform the method. The second node is configured to manage the controller of the Radio equipment. The second node is configured to be for handling exchange of information between the second node and the first node configured to manage the Radio equipment. The second node and the first node are configured to be comprised in the radio network node. The second node is configured to operate in the wireless communications network. The second node is configured to, send, to the first node, the first control information. The first control information is configured to indicate that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node. The second node is further configured to, receive the reference signal, equalized by the first node, from the first node.

By the first node in the radio network node enabling the reference signal to also be processed by the beamformer and equalizer (EQ) in the first node, e.g., the RE, the equalized reference signal may then be enabled to be sent to the second node, e.g., the REC.

By the first node in the radio network node, e.g., the RE, sending the equalized reference signal to the second node, e.g., the REC, the first node may enable that a new advanced receiver mode may be achieved of Solution A for the lower layer split, that is, of the interface between the second node, e.g., the REC, and first node, e.g., the RE, in the radio network node. This new advanced receiver mode, may enable advanced receivers, but may give the same robustness and fronthaul bitrates as Solution B of existing methods.

As a summarized overview of the foregoing, embodiments herein, by adding a second mode for Solution A, comprising having the equalizer in RE, may be understood to make it possible to support advanced receivers in the same way as for Solution B, that is, that having the equalizer in REC.

The theoretical performance of advanced receivers may be expected to be the same for Solution A and Solution B.

The equalization step for Solution A in the first node, e.g., the RE, may remove a large part of the inter-layer interference, giving the second node, the REC, advanced receiver a better starting point, and therefore it may be expected that SIC receivers for Solution A may achieve the same performance as for Solution B using fewer stages in the SIC algorithm, than what may be required by Solution B.

By enabling to have two modes for Solution A, comprising having the equalizer in RE, it may be possible to both get the advantages of having the equalizer in the RU, in the normal mode, and support advanced receivers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, according to the following description.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing approach without DMRS channel estimation in the RE. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing approach B with DMRS channel estimation and beamforming weight calculation in RE.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing approach A with DMRS channel estimation, beamforming weight calculation, and equalization in RE.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing configuration with advanced receiver, a SIC receiver in this example, for solution B.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing SIC receiver example for three layers with two stages.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 7 is a flowchart depicting a method in a radio network node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 8 is a flowchart depicting a method in a first node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 9 is a flowchart depicting a method in a second node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of methods disclosed herein, according to some examples.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of aspects of methods disclosed herein, according to other examples.

Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a radio network node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a first node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a second node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 15 is a flowchart depicting a method in a radio network node, according to examples related to embodiments herein.

Figure 16 is a flowchart depicting a method in a first node, according to examples related to embodiments herein.

Figure 17 is a flowchart depicting a method in a second node, according to examples related to embodiments herein.

Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a communication system 1800 in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 19 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a UE 1900 in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 20 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a network node 2000 in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 21 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a host 2100, which may be an embodiment of the host 1816 of Figure 18, in accordance with various aspects described herein. Figure 22 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a virtualization environment 2200 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

Figure 23 shows a communication diagram of a host 2302 communicating via a network node 2304 with a UE 2306 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the challenges described in the Background section and in the Summary section or other challenges. Embodiments herein may be generally understood relate to advanced receiver support. Particularly, embodiments herein may relate to an approach that, to enable advanced receivers for Solution A, may define two different modes. One normal mode, that does not support advanced receivers, but that may be understood to have the advantages mentioned before, that is, robust interface, less fronthaul bitrates, and a new advanced receiver mode, which may enable advanced receivers, but which may give the same robustness and fronthaul bitrates as Solution B. This advanced receiver mode may be achieved by processing the DMRS symbols in the same way as the PUSCH symbols, that is, they may also be processed by the beamformer and equalizer (EQ) in the RE. And then, both the processed PUSCH and DMRS symbols may be sent to the REC. The Equalize 55 block in Figure 5 may be understood to comprise DMRS channel estimation as well. For the channel estimates in the REC to be meaningful, the DMRS that may be used to perform channel estimation may have to be processed in the same way in RE as the PUSCH data. Otherwise, it may not be able to use the DMRS to estimate the channel that the PUSCH data may have travelled through.

Some of the embodiments contemplated will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, the embodiments herein will be illustrated in more detail by a number of exemplary embodiments. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

Figure 6 depicts a non-limiting example of a wireless network or wireless communications network 100, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communications system, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which embodiments herein may be implemented. The wireless communications network 100 may be a 5G system, 5G network, or Next Gen System or network. In other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may in addition or alternatively, support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), e.g. LTE-M, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, such as LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced eLAA (eLAA), further enhanced LAA (feLAA) and/or MulteFire. Yet in other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may further support other technologies such as, for example Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) TDD, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network, GSM/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN) network, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), EDGE network, network comprising any combination of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as e.g. Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) base stations, multi-RAT base stations etc., any 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular network, WiFi networks, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or any cellular network or system. The wireless communications network 100 may typically support Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), Internet of Things (loT) and/or NarrowBand loT (NB-loT). Thus, although terminology from 5G/NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system. The communications network 100 may support or be a younger system than a 5G system, such as, for example a sixth generation (6G) system. In future telecommunication networks, e.g., in 6G, the terms used herein may need to be reinterpreted in view of possible terminology changes in future technologies.

The wireless communications network 100 may comprise a plurality of network nodes, whereof a radio network node 110 is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 6. The radio network node 100 may be, e.g., a transmission point such as a radio base station, for example a gNB, or any other network node with similar features capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the wireless communications network 100. In some examples, the radio network node 110 may be a distributed node, and may partially perform its functions in collaboration with a virtual node in a cloud. The radio network node 110 may be directly connected to one or more core networks, e.g., to one or more network nodes in the one or more core networks. The radio network node 110 may be also referred to as an access node.

The radio network node 110 may comprise a first node 111 and a second node 112. The first node 111 may manage a first entity, e.g., a Radio equipment (RE). The second node 112 may manage a controller of the first entity, e.g., a controller of the Radio equipment (REC). The radio network node 110 may comprise a plurality of first nodes 111 , e.g., a plurality of first entities 111. In the non-limiting example depicted in Figure 6, the radio network node 110 comprises two different first nodes 111. Each first node 111 may comprise one or more antennas 120, e.g., an antenna array. The radio network node 110 may serve receiving nodes with serving beams 125. The serving beams 125 may be transmitted and/or received by the one or more antennas 120. The serving beams 125 may be beamforming beams.

It may be understood that any of the first node 111 , the second node 112 and the radio network node 110 may be, e.g., manufactured separately, and combined at a later stage.

The wireless communications network 100 may cover a geographical area, which in some embodiments may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a radio network node, although, one radio network node may serve one or several cells. The radio network node 110 may be of different classes, such as, e.g., macro base station, home base station or pico base station, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. The network node 100 may support one or several communication technologies, and its name may depend on the technology and terminology used.

One or more wireless devices 130 may be located in the wireless communication network 100. Any of the one or more wireless devices 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be a wireless communication device such as a 5G User Equipment (UE) or nUE, or a UE, which may also be known as e.g., mobile terminal, wireless terminal and/or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. Any of the one or more wireless devices 130 may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or a vehiclemounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to- Machine (M2M) device, a sensor, loT device, NB-loT device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in a communications system. Any of the one or more wireless devices 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be enabled to communicate wirelessly in the wireless communications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g., via a RAN, and possibly the one or more core networks, which may be comprised within the wireless communications network 100.

Each first node 111 may be configured to communicate within the radio network node 110 with the second node 112 over a respective interface 141 , e.g., a lower layer split interface.

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

In general, the usage of “first” and/or “second” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify, unless otherwise noted, based on context.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

More specifically, the following are embodiments related to a radio network node, such as the radio network node 110, e.g., a gNB, a first node, such as the first node 111 , e.g., and RE, and a second node, such as the second node 112, e.g., a REC.

Embodiments of a method, performed by a radio network node, such as the radio network node 110, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 7. The method may be understood to be handling exchange of information between a first node, such as the first node 111 managing a Radio equipment, and a second node, such as the second node 112 managing a controller of the Radio equipment. The first node 111 and the second node 112 are comprised in the radio network node 110. The radio network node 110 operates in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100. The method may be understood to be computer-implemented.

In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may support New Radio (NR).

Several embodiments are comprised herein The method may comprise five or more of the following actions. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein may be not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the radio network node 110 is depicted in Figure 7. In Figure 7, optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. In some embodiments, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 7.

Action 701

In this Action 701 , the radio network node 110 sends, by the second node 112, first information, particularly, first control information, to the first node 111.

The sending in this Action 701 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

The first control information indicates that a reference signal, e.g., DMRS, is to be transferred to the second node 112.

In some embodiments, the reference signal may be a DMRS.

In some embodiments, the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUSCH, that is, the reference signal may be DMRS-PUSCH. Accordingly, in some embodiments, according to this Action 701 , the second node 112, e.g., the REC, may send control information to the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, that DMRS-PUSCH may have to be transferred to the second node 112, that is, the REC.

In some embodiments, the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUCCH, that is, the reference signal may be DMRS-PUCCH.

Action 702

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise this action 702. In this Action 702, the radio network node 110 may send, by the second node 112, second control information to the first node 111. The receiving in this Action 702 may be from the network node 110.

The sending in this Action 702 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

The second control information may indicate whether SINR information about equalized signal bearing data may have to be transferred to the second node 112 or not.

The first node 111 may send, or refrain from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information received from the second node 112.

The signal bearing data may be one of: PUSCH and PUCCH.

In some embodiments, at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be an LTE signal

In some embodiments, at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be an NR signal. Action 703

In this Action 703, the radio network node 110 determines, by the first node 111 , beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal.

Determining may be understood as calculating, deriving, or similar.

The beamforming weights may be determined by performing a beamforming weight calculation.

The equalizing weights may be determined by performing an equalizer weight calculation.

In some embodiments, according to this Action 703, beamforming weight calculation and equalizer weight calculation for DMRS-PUSCH may be done in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE.

In some embodiments, according to this Action 703, equalizer weight calculation for DMRS-PUSCH may be done in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE.

Action 704

In this Action 704, the radio network node 110 beamforms, by the first node 111 , the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights.

Beamforming may be understood as a process to combine multiple antenna signals using complex weights to form desired radiation patterns.

The beamforming in this Action 704 may be performed to create the serving beams 125. Embodiments herein may be understood to be performed on the receiver side.

In some embodiments, according to this Action 704, DMRS-PUSCH may be beamformed in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE.

In some embodiments, the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and the beamforming in this Action 704 may comprise beamforming the signal bearing data.

Action 705

In this Action 705, the radio network node 110 equalizes, by the first node 111 , the beamformed reference signal using the determined equalizing weights.

Equalizing may be understood as a process to remove amplitude and phase impacts from a radio channel.

In some embodiments, the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and the equalizing in this Action 705 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

In some embodiments, the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal may be determined in a combined way, and the beamforming in Action 704 of the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights, and the equalizing in this Action 705 of the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, may be performed in one combined operation.

In some embodiments, according to this Action 705, DMRS-PUSCH may be equalized in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE.

By the first node 111 in the radio network node 111 processing the reference signal, e.g., DMRS symbols, in the same way as the PUSCH symbols, that is, by enabling the reference signal, e.g., the DMRS symbols, to also be processed by the beamformer and equalizer (EQ) in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, the equalized reference signal, e.g., the processed DMRS symbols, may then be enabled to be sent to the second node 112, e.g., the REC in Action 706. This may enable that a new advanced receiver mode may be achieved of Solution A for the lower layer split, that is, of the interface between the second node 112, e.g., the REC, and first node 111 , e.g., the RE, in the radio network node 110. This new advanced receiver mode, may enable advanced receivers, but may give the same robustness and fronthaul bitrates as Solution B of existing methods.

As a summarized overview of the foregoing, embodiments herein, by adding a second mode for Solution A, comprising having the equalizer in the first node 111 , e.g., RE, may be understood to make it possible to support advanced receivers in the same way as for Solution B, that is, that having an equalizer in REC.

The first node 111 may support the receiver and the second node 112 may support the receiver. The advanced receiver may be comprised in the second node 112.

The advanced receiver in the the second node 112, e.g., the REC, may be single RE receivers, such as SIC receivers, Parallel interference cancellation (PIC) receivers, combinations of SIC/PIC receivers. For single RE receivers, the input to the REC receiver may come from only one first node 111 , e.g., RE.

The advanced receiver in the REC may be multi-RE receivers, such as Maximum ratio combining (MRC) CoMP, IRC CoMP, multi- Transmission point (TRP) beamforming, multi- TRP nulling. For multi-RE receivers, the input to the REC receiver may come from more than one first node 111 , e.g., RE.

All these advanced receivers may be known for those skilled in the art.

Comparing Solution A, with the advanced receiver mode according to embodiments herein, with Solution B, the following aspects may be observed: the equalization step for Solution A in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, may be understood to be a lossless linear operation. Linear operation here may be understood to refer to a solution where M input signals may be processed jointly using a NxM size matrix to produce N output signals. Lossless may be understood to refer to the case where this matrix may be an invertible square matrix, square may be understood to imply M=N. The theoretical performance of advanced receivers may therefore be expected to be the same for Solution A and Solution B.

The equalization step for Solution A in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, may remove a large part of the inter-layer interference, giving the second node 112, the REC, advanced receiver a better starting point, and therefore it may be expected that SIC receivers for Solution A may achieve the same performance as for Solution B using fewer stages in the SIC algorithm, than what may be required by Solution B.

Action 706

In this Action 706, the radio network node 110 transfers, by the first node 111 , the equalized reference signal to the second node 112. Transferring may be understood as sending.

The transferring in this Action 706 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

In some embodiments, according to this Action 706, equalized DMRS-PUSCH may be transferred from the first node 111 , e.g., the RE to the second node 112, e.g., the REC.

By the first node 111 in the radio network node 111 , e.g., the RE, sending the equalized reference signal, e.g., the processed DMRS symbols, to the second node 112 in Action this 706, the first node 111 may enable that the new advanced receiver mode may be achieved of Solution A in the radio network node 110. This new advanced receiver mode, may enable advanced receivers, but may give the same robustness and fronthaul bitrates as Solution B of existing methods.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the radio network node 110 may support a receiver selected from: a SIC receiver, a PIC receiver, and a combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver; b) the receiver supported by the radio network node 110 may be one of: a single RE receiver and a multi-RE receiver; c) the multi-RE receiver may be one of: Maximum ratio combining Coordinated multi-point (MRC CoMP), IRC CoMP, multi- TRP, beamforming, and multi-TRP nulling; d) the first node 111 may support the receiver and the second node 112 may support the receiver, e) the reference signal may be a DMRS; f) the signal bearing data may be one of: PUSCH, and PUCCH; g) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be an LTE signal; h) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be a NR signal; i) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and j) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

In some embodiments, the method may comprise one of the following two actions.

Action 707

In this Action 707, the radio network node 110 may refrain, by the first node 111 , from sending the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.. The refraining in this Action 707 may be performed in embodiments wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 705 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

In some embodiments, according to this Action 707, SINR information about the equalized PUSCH may not be transferred from the first node 111 , e.g., the RE to the second node 112, e.g., the REC.

In first example of what may be considered according to embodiments herein an advanced receiver mode for Solution A, without SINR information, the following may apply: a) the second node 112, e.g., the REC, may send control information to the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, that DMRS-PUSCH may have to be transferred to the second node 112, e.g., the REC, b) beamforming weight calculation and equalizer weight calculation for DMRS-PUSCH may be done in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, c) DMRS-PUSCH may be beamformed in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, d) DMRS-PUSCH may be equalized in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, e) equalized DMRS-PUSCH may be transferred from the first node 111 , e.g., the RE to the second node 112, e.g., the REC, and f) SINR information about the equalized PUSCH may not be transferred from the first node 111 , e.g., the RE to the second node 112, e.g., the REC.

The advanced receiver mode according to embodiments herein, without SINR information, as a result of this Action 707, may have: i) medium fronthaul bit rates, as the DMRS-PUSCH may be transferred, and the SINR information may be understood to not be transferred, and ii) support for advanced receivers.

Action 708

In this Action 708, the radio network node 110 may send, by the first node 111 , the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

The sending in this Action 708 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

The sending in this Action 708 may be performed in embodiments wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 705 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

In second example of what may be considered according to embodiments herein an advanced receiver mode for Solution A, with SINR information, the following may apply: a) the second node 112, e.g., the REC, may send control information to the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, that DMRS-PUSCH may have to be transferred to the second node 112, e.g., the REC, b) beamforming weight calculation and equalizer weight calculation for DMRS-PUSCH may be done in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, c) DMRS-PUSCH may be beamformed in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, d) DMRS-PUSCH may be equalized in the first node 111 , e.g., the RE, e) equalized DMRS-PUSCH may be transferred from the first node 111 , e.g., the RE to the second node 112, e.g., the REC, and f) SINR information about the equalized PUSCH may be transferred from the first node 111 , e.g., the RE to the second node 112, e.g., the REC.

For the first and second examples, the the second node 112, e.g., the REC may, in Action 702, send control information to the first node 111 , e.g., the RE to control whether the SINR information about the equalized PUSCH may have to be transferred to the second node 112, e.g., the REC or not.

DMRS-PUSCH, typically 2-4 symbols per time slot and 6 subcarriers per Physical Resource Block (PRB), e.g., 12-24 values per time slot per PRB per layer, may require more fronthaul bitrate to transfer than the SINR information, typically 1 value per time slot per PRB per layer.

The advanced receiver mode according to embodiments herein, with SINR information, as e.g., enabled by this Action 708, may have: i) highest fronthaul bit rates, the DMRS- PUSCH may be understood to be transferred, and the SINR information may be transferred, and ii) support for advanced receiver that may use SINR information.

Embodiments of a method, performed by a first node, such as the first node 111 will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 8. The first node 111 manages the Radio equipment. The method is for handling the exchange of information between the first node 111 and a second node, such as the second node 112 managing the controller of the Radio equipment. The first node 111 and the second node 112 are comprised in the radio network node 110. The first node 111 operates in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100. The method may be understood to be computer- implemented.

The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein may be not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the first node 111 is depicted in Figure 8. In Figure 8, optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. In some embodiments, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 8. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the radio network node 110 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, the reference signal may be DMRS-PUSCH.

Action 801

In this Action 801 , the first node 111 receives, from the second node 112, the first information, e.g., the first control information.

The receiving in this Action 801 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

The first control information indicates that the reference signal, e.g., DMRS, is to be transferred to the second node 112.

Action 802

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise this action 802.

In this Action 802, first node 111 may receive, from the second node 112, the second control information.

The second control information may indicate whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data may have to be transferred to the second node 112 or not.

The receiving in this Action 802 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

Action 803

In this Action 803, the first node 111 determines the beamforming weights and equalizing weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and the equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal.

Determining may be understood as calculating, deriving, or similar.

Action 804

In this Action 804, the first node 111 beamforms the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights.

The beamforming in this Action 804 may be performed to create the serving beams 125. Embodiments herein may be understood to be performed on the receiver side. Action 805

In this Action 805, the first node 111 equalizes the beamformed reference signal using the determined equalizing weights.

In some embodiments, the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal may be determined in a combined way, and the beamforming in Action 804 of the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights, and the equalizing in this Action 805 of the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, may be performed in one combined operation.

Action 806

In this Action 806, the first node 111 transfers the equalized reference signal to the second node 112.

The transferring in this Action 806 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

In some embodiments, the method may comprise one of the following two actions.

Action 807

In this Action 807, the first node 111 may refrain from sending the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

The refraining in this Action 807 may be performed in embodiments wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 805 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

Action 808

In this Action 808, the first node 111 may send the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

The sending in this Action 808 may be performed in embodiments wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 805 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

The sending in this Action 808 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the radio network node 110 may support the receiver selected from: the SIC receiver, the PIC receiver, and the combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver; b) the receiver supported by the radio network node 110 may be one of: the single RE receiver and the multi-RE receiver; c) the multi- RE receiver may be one of: MRC CoMP, IRC CoMP, multi-TRP beamforming, and multi-TRP nulling; d) the first node 111 may support the receiver, e) the second node 112 may support the receiver, f) the reference signal may be a DM RS; g) the signal bearing data may be one of: PUSCH, and PUCCH; h) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be an LTE signal; i) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be an NR signal; j) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and i) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

Embodiments of a method, performed by a second node, such as the second node 112 will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 9. The second node 112 manages the controller of the Radio equipment. The method is for handling the exchange of information between the second node 112 and the first node 111 managing the Radio equipment. The second node 112 and the first node 111 are comprised in the radio network node 110. The second node 112 operates in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100. The method may be understood to be computer- implemented.

The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein may be not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the second node 112 is depicted in Figure 9. In Figure 9, optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. In some embodiments, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 9. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the radio network node 110 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, the reference signal may be DMRS-PUSCH.

Action 901

In this Action 901 , the second node 112 sends, to the first node 111 , the first information, e.g., the first control information.

The sending in this Action 901 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

The first control information indicates that the reference signal, e.g., DMRS, is to be transferred to the second node 112. Action 902

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise this action 902.

In this Action 902, second node 112 may send, to the first node 111 , the second control information.

The second node 112 may receive, or not, the SINR information, based on the second control information sent by from the second node 112.

The sending in this Action 902 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

Action 903

In this Action 903, the second node 112 receives the reference signal, equalized by the first node 111 , from the first node 111.

The receiving in this Action 903 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

In some embodiments, the method may comprise the following action.

Action 904

In this Action 904, the second node 112 may receive the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data from the first node 111.

The receiving in this Action 904 may be performed in embodiments wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing of the reference signal may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

The receiving in this Action 904 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the radio network node 110 may support the receiver selected from: the SIC receiver, the PIC receiver, and the combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver; b) the receiver supported by the radio network node 110 may be one of: the single RE receiver and the multi-RE receiver; c) the multi- RE receiver may be one of: MRC CoMP, IRC CoMP, multi-TRP beamforming, and multi-TRP nulling; d) the first node 111 may support the receiver, e) the second node 112 may support the receiver, f) the reference signal may be a DMRS; g) the signal bearing data may be one of: PUSCH, and PUCCH; h) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be an LTE signal; i) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be an NR signal; j) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and i) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

Some embodiments herein will now be further described with some non-limiting examples, which may be combined with the embodiments just described. In the following description, in reference to Figure 10 and Figure 11 : any reference to a/the UE, or simply “UE” may be understood to equally refer to any of the one or more wireless device 130s; any reference to a/the RE may be understood to equally refer to the first node 111 ; any reference to a/the REC may be understood to equally refer to the second node 112; any reference to a/the gNB may be understood to equally refer to the radio network node 110.

To better understand the benefits granted by the embodiments herein a comparison of embodiments herein with the existing approach of the normal receiver mode for Solution A may be useful.

The normal receiver mode according to existing methods is schematically illustrated by Figure 3 wherein: a) REC sends control information to RE about the scheduled layers and the DMRS information; b) REC sends control information to RE that DMRS-PUSCH should not be transferred to REC; c) DMRS-PUSCH is used in RE to do DMRS channel estimation; d) Beamforming weight calculation, equalizer weight calculation, beamforming and equalizing of PUSCH are done in RE; e) Equalized PUSCH is transferred from RE to REC; f) DMRS-PUSCH is not beamformed in RE; g) DMRS-PUSCH is not equalized in RE; h) DMRS-PUSCH is not transferred from RE to REC; and i) SINR information about the equalized PUSCH is transferred from RE to REC.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of an advanced receiver mode for Solution A, without SINR information, according to embodiments herein. A first example of the advanced receiver mode for Solution A is illustrated in Figure 10 wherein: a) REC may send control information to RE that DMRS-PUSCH may have to be transferred to REC, according to Action 701 ; b) Beamforming weight calculation and equalizer weight calculation for DMRS-PUSCH 1001 may be done in RE, according to Action 703; c) DMRS-PUSCH 1001 may be beamformed in RE, according to Action 704; d) DMRS-PUSCH 1002 may be equalized in RE, according to Action 705; d) Equalized DMRS-PUSCH 1003 may be transferred from RE to REC, according to Action 706; and e) SINR information about the equalized PUSCH may not be transferred from RE to REC, according to Action 707. As depicted in Figure 10, the Solution A in this non-limiting example, has a SIC receiver 1004 in the REC, supporting a SIC configuration for PUSCH. The rest of the elements depicted in Figure 10 may be understood to correspond to those described in Figure 3.

According to some examples of embodiments herein, the radio network node 110 may comprise the first node 111 and the second node 112, as depicted in Figure 10.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of an advanced receiver mode for Solution A, with SINR information, according to embodiments herein. A second example of the advanced receiver mode for Solution A is illustrated in Figure 11 wherein: a) REC may send control information to RE that DMRS-PUSCH may have to be transferred to REC, according to Action 701 ; b) Beamforming weight calculation and equalizer weight calculation for DMRS-PUSCH 1001 may be done in RE, according to Action 703; c) DMRS-PUSCH 1001 may be beamformed in RE, according to Action 704; d) DMRS-PUSCH 1002 may be equalized in RE, according to Action 705; e) Equalized DMRS-PUSCH 1003 may be transferred from RE to REC, according to Action 706; and f) SINR information 1101 about the equalized PUSCH may be transferred from RE to REC, according to Action 708.

As depicted in Figure 11 , the Solution A in this non-limiting example, has the SIC receiver 1004 in the REC, supporting the SIC configuration for PUSCH with SINR. The rest of the elements depicted in Figure 11 may be understood to correspond to those described in Figure 3.

According to some examples of embodiments herein, the radio network node 110 may comprise the first node 111 and the second node 112, as depicted in Figure 11 .

For the first and second examples, depicted in Figure 10 and Figure 11 respectively, the REC may send control information to the RE to control whether the SINR information about the equalized PUSCH may have to be transferred to the REC or not.

Comparing the three example configurations, the following aspects may be observed:

The normal receiver mode may have: i) lowest fronthaul bit rates, the DMRS-PUSCH may be understood to not be transferred, and the SINR information may be transferred, and ii) no support for advanced receivers.

The advanced receiver mode according to embodiments herein, without SINR information, as e.g., depicted in Figure 10, may have: i) medium fronthaul bit rates, the DMRS-PUSCH may be transferred, and the SINR information may be understood to not be transferred, and ii) support for advanced receivers.

The advanced receiver mode according to embodiments herein, with SINR information, as e.g., depicted in Figure 11 , may have: i) highest fronthaul bit rates, the DMRS-PUSCH may be understood to be transferred, and the SINR information may be transferred, and ii) support for advanced receiver that may use SINR information.

Comparing Solution A, with the advanced receiver mode according to embodiments herein, with Solution B, the following aspects may be observed: the equalization step for Solution A in the RE may be understood to be a lossless linear operation. The theoretical performance of advance receivers may therefore be expected to be the same for Solution A and Solution B.

The equalization step for Solution A in the RE may remove a large part of the inter-layer interference, giving the REC advance receiver a better starting point, and therefore it may be expected that SIC receivers for Solution A may achieve the same performance as for Solution B using fewer stages in the SIC algorithm, than what may be required by Solution B.

In some examples, the RE as depicted in any of Figure 10 and Figure 11 may be used with a REC wherein the advanced receiver may have been replaced with a simple equalizer, e.g., a REC with similar components to that of Solution B as depicted in Figure 2, e.g., by the first node 111 , the second node 112 and/or the radio network node 110. That is, the first node 111 may manage the RE of any of Figure 10 and Figure 11 , which may be used with a REC, managed by the second node 112, the REC comprising a simple equalizer. Such a combination may be comprised in some examples of the radio network node 110.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s), which may be summarized as follows.

By having two modes for Solution A, comprising having the equalizer in RE, it may be possible to both get the advantages of having the equalizer in the RU, in the normal mode, and support advanced receivers. Figure 12 depicts an example of the arrangement that the radio network node 110 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 7, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 . The radio network node 110 may be understood to be for handling the exchange of information between the first node 111 configured to manage the Radio equipment and the second node 112 configured to manage the controller of the Radio equipment. The first node 111 and the second node 112 are configured to be comprised in the radio network node 110. The radio network node 110 is configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100.

In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may be configured to support NR.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the radio network node 110 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, the reference signal may be configured to be DMRS-PUSCH.

The radio network node 110 is configured and/or operable to perform the sending in Action 701 , e.g. by means of a processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, send, by the second node 112, the first control information to the first node 111. The first control information is configured to indicate that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node 112.

The radio network node 110 is configured and/or operable to perform the determining in Action 703, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, determine, by the first node 111 , the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and the equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal.

The radio network node 110 is configured and/or operable to perform the beamforming in Action 704, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, beamform, by the first node 111 , the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights.

The radio network node 110 is configured and/or operable to perform the equalizing in Action 705, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, equalize, by the first node 111 , the beamformed reference signal, using the equalizing weights configured to be determined. The radio network node 110 is configured and/or operable to perform the transferring in Action 706, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, transfer, by the first node 111 , the equalized reference signal to the second node 112.

In some embodiments wherein the reference signal may be configured to be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing may be configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, the radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the refraining in Action 707, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, refrain, by the first node 111 , from sending the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

In some embodiments, the radio network node 110 may be configured with the following configuration.

In some embodiments wherein the reference signal may be configured to be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing may be configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, the radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in Action 708, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, send, by the first node 111 , the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

In some embodiments, the radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in Action 702, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1201 within the radio network node 110 configured to, send, by the second node 112, the second control information to the first node 111. The second control information may be configured to indicate whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node 112 or not, and wherein the first node 111 may be configured to send, or refrain from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information configured to be received from the second node 112.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the radio network node 110 may be configured to support the receiver configured to be selected from: the SIC receiver, the PIC receiver, and the combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver, b) the receiver configured to be supported by the radio network node 110 may be configured to be one of: the single RE receiver and the multi-RE receiver, c) the multi-RE receiver may be configured to be one of: the MRC CoMP, the IRC CoMP, the multi-TRP beamforming, and the multi-TRP nulling, d) the first node 111 may be configured to support the receiver and the second node 112 may be configured to support the receiver, e) the reference signal may be configured to be a DMRS, f) the signal bearing data may be configured to be one of: PUSCH and PUCCH, g) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be configured to be an LTE signal, h) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be configured to be an NR, signal, i) the DMRS may be configured to be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and j) the DMRS may be configured to be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

In some embodiments, the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and the equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal may be configured to be determined in a combined way, and the beamforming of the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights, and the equalizing of the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, may be configured to be performed in one combined operation.

The embodiments herein in the radio network node 110 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1201 in the radio network node 110 depicted in Figure 12a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the network node 110. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the network node 110.

The processing circuitry 1201 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 7, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 .

The radio network node 110 may further comprise a memory 1202 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1202 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the network node 110.

In some embodiments, the radio network node 110 may receive information from, e.g., the first node 111 , the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 1203. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1203 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in the radio network node 110. In other embodiments, the radio network node 110 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 1203. Since the receiving port 1203 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1201 , the receiving port 1203 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1201. The receiving port 1203 may also be configured to receive other information. The processing circuitry 1201 in the radio network node 110 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the first node 111 , the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 1204, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1201 , and the memory 1202.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 1201 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1201 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the radio network node 110 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 7, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1201.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the radio network node 110 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1205 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1201 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1201 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 110. The computer program 1205 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1206. The computer- readable storage medium 1206, having stored thereon the computer program 1205, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1201 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1201 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the radio network node 110. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1205 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1205 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1206, as described above.

The radio network node 110 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the radio network node 110 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the first node 111 , the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In other embodiments, the radio network node 110 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1207, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1203 and the sending port 1204. The radio circuitry 1207 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the first node 111 , the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the radio network node 110 comprising the processing circuitry 1201 and the memory 1202, said memory 1202 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1201 , whereby the radio network node 110 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the network node 110, e.g., in Figure 7, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 .

Figure 13 depicts an example of the arrangement that the first node 111 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 8, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11. The first node 111 is configured to manage the Radio equipment. The first node 111 is configured to be for handling the exchange of information between the first node 111 and the second node 112 configured to manage the controller of the Radio equipment. The first node 111 and the second node 112 are configured to be comprised in the radio network node 110. The first node 111 is configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first node 111 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, the reference signal may be configured to be DMRS- PUSCH.

The first node 111 is configured and/or operable to perform the receiving in Action 801 , e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, receive, from the second node 112, the first control information. The first control information is configured to indicate that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node 112. The first node 111 is configured and/or operable to perform the determining in Action 803, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, determine, the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and the equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal.

The first node 111 is configured and/or operable to perform the beamforming in Action 804, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, beamform the reference signal using the beamforming weights configured to be determined.

The first node 111 is configured and/or operable to perform the equalizing in this 805, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, equalize the beamformed reference signal, using the equalizing weights configured to be determined.

The first node 111 is configured and/or operable to perform the transferring in this 806, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, transfer the equalized reference signal to the second node 112.

In some embodiments, the reference signal may be configured to be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and the equalizing may be configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data and the first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the refraining in Action 807, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, refrain from sending the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

In some embodiments, the reference signal may be configured to be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and the equalizing may be configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data and the first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in Action 808, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, send the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

In some embodiments, the first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the receiving in Action 802, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1301 within the first node 111 configured to, receive, from the second node 112, the second control information. The second control information may be configured to indicate whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node 112 or not, and the first node 111 may be configured to send, or refrain from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information configured to be received from the second node 112.

In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the radio network node 110 may be configured to support the receiver configured to be selected from: the SIC receiver, the PIC receiver, and the combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver, b) the receiver configured to be supported by the radio network node 110 may be configured to be one of: the single RE receiver and the multi-RE receiver, c) the multi-RE receiver may be configured to be one of: the MRC CoMP, the IRC CoMP, the multi-TRP beamforming, and the multi-TRP nulling, d) the first node 111 may be configured to support the receiver, e) the second node 112 may be configured to support the receiver, f) the reference signal may be configured to be a DMRS, g) the signal bearing data may be configured to be one of: PUSCH and PUCCH, h) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be configured to be an LTE signal, i) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be configured to be an NR, signal, j) the DMRS may be configured to be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and k) the DMRS may be configured to be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

The embodiments herein in the first node 111 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1301 in the first node 111 depicted in Figure 13a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the network node 110. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the network node 110.

The processing circuitry 1301 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 8, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 .

The first node 111 may further comprise a memory 1302 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1302 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the network node 110.

In some embodiments, the first node 111 may receive information from, e.g., the radio network node 110, the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 1303. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1303 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in the first node 111. In other embodiments, the first node 111 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 1303. Since the receiving port 1303 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1301 , the receiving port 1303 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1301. The receiving port 1303 may also be configured to receive other information.

The processing circuitry 1301 in the first node 111 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the radio network node 110, the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 1304, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1301 , and the memory 1302.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 1301 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1301 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the first node 111 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 8, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1301.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first node 111 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1305 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1301 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1301 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 110. The computer program 1305 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1306. The computer-readable storage medium 1306, having stored thereon the computer program 1305, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1301 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1301 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first node 111. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1306 may be a non- transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1305 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1305 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1306, as described above.

The first node 111 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the first node 111 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the radio network node 110, the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In other embodiments, the first node 111 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1307, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1303 and the sending port 1304. The radio circuitry 1307 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the radio network node 110, the second node 112, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the first node 111 comprising the processing circuitry 1301 and the memory 1302, said memory 1302 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1301 , whereby the first node 111 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the network node 110, e.g., in Figure 8, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11.

Figure 14 depicts an example of the arrangement that the second node 112 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 9, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11. The second node 112 is configured to manage the controller of the Radio equipment. The second node 112 is configured to be for handling exchange of information between the second node 112 and the first node 111 configured to manage the Radio equipment. The second node 112 and the first node 111 are configured to be comprised in the radio network node 110. The second node 112 is configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the second node 112 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, the reference signal may be configured to be DMRS- PUSCH.

The second node 112 is configured and/or operable to perform the sending in Action 901 , e.g. by means of a processing circuitry 1401 within the second node 112 configured to, send, to the first node 111 , the first control information. The first control information is configured to indicate that the reference signal is to be transferred to the second node 112. The second node 112 is configured and/or operable to perform the receiving in Action 903, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1401 within the second node 112 configured to, receive the reference signal, equalized by the first node 111 , from the first node 111.

In some embodiments, the reference signal may be configured to be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, the equalizing of the reference signal may be configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, and the second node 112 may be configured and/or operable to perform the receiving in Action 904, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1401 within the second node 112 configured to, receive the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data from the first node 111.

The second node 112 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in Action 902, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 1401 within the second node 112 configured to, send, to the first node 111 , the second control information. The second control information is configured to indicate whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node 112 or not, and the second node 112 is configured to receive, or not, the SINR information, based on the second control information configured to be sent by the second node 112.

The embodiments herein in the second node 112 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1401 in the second node 112 depicted in Figure 14a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the network node 110. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the network node 110.

The processing circuitry 1401 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 9, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 .

The second node 112 may further comprise a memory 1402 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1402 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the network node 110.

In some embodiments, the second node 112 may receive information from, e.g., the first node 111 , the radio network node 110, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 1403. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1403 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in the second node 112. In other embodiments, the second node 112 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 1403. Since the receiving port 1403 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1401 , the receiving port 1403 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1401. The receiving port 1403 may also be configured to receive other information.

The processing circuitry 1401 in the second node 112 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the first node 111 , the radio network node 110, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 1404, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1401 , and the memory 1402.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 1401 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1401 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC). Also, in some embodiments, the second node 112 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 9, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1401.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the second node 112 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1405 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1401 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1401 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 110. The computer program 1405 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1406. The computer- readable storage medium 1406, having stored thereon the computer program 1405, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1401 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1401 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second node 112. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1406 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1405 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1405 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1406, as described above.

The second node 112 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the second node 112 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the first node 111 , the radio network node 110, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In other embodiments, the second node 112 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1407, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1403 and the sending port 1404. The radio circuitry 1407 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the first node 111 , the radio network node 110, the one or more wireless devices 130 and/or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the second node 112 comprising the processing circuitry 1401 and the memory 1402, said memory 1402 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1401 , whereby the second node 112 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the network node 110, e.g., in Figure 9, Figure 10 and/or Figure 11 . Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

As used herein, the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “and” term, may be understood to mean that only one of the list of alternatives may apply, more than one of the list of alternatives may apply or all of the list of alternatives may apply. This expression may be understood to be equivalent to the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “or” term.

EXAMPLES related to embodiments herein

The following are examples related to embodiments herein. Any of the features described in relation to Figures 7-13 may be combined with the actions of the examples related to embodiments herein, described in relation to Figures 15-17.

The radio network node 110 examples relate to Figure 15, Figures 8-11, Figure 12, and Figures 18-23.

A method, performed by a radio network node, such as the radio network node 110 is described herein. The method may be understood to be for handling exchange of information between a first node, such as the first node 111 managing a Radio equipment, and a second node, such as the second node 112 managing a controller of the Radio equipment. The first node 111 and the second node 112 are comprised in the radio network node 110. The radio network node 110 may be operating in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100.

In some examples, the wireless communications network 100 may support New Radio (NR).

The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some examples, all the actions may be performed. One or more examples may be combined, where applicable. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary examples. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the radio network node 110 is depicted in Figure 15. In Figure 15, optional actions in some examples may be represented with dashed lines. In some examples, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 15. o Sending 701 first information, e.g., first control information. The radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in this Action 701 .

The sending in this Action 701 may be by the second node 112.

The sending in this Action 701 may be to the first node 111.

The sending in this Action 701 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

The first control information may indicate that a reference signal, e.g., DMRS, may have to be transferred to the second node 112. o Determining 703 beamforming weights and equalizing weights. The radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the determining in this Action 703.

The determining in this Action 703 may be by the first node 111.

The beamforming weights may be to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights may be to be used for equalizing the reference signal.

Determining may be understood as calculating, deriving, or similar.

The equalizing weights may be determined by performing an equalizer weight calculation. o Beamforming 704 the reference signal. The radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the beamforming in this Action 704.

The beamforming in this Action 704 may be by the first node 111.

The beamforming in this Action 704 of the reference signal may be using the determined beamforming weights.

The beamforming in this Action 704 may be performed with the serving beams 125. o Equalizing 705 the beamformed reference signal. The radio network node

110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the equalizing in this Action 705.

The equalizing in this Action 705 may be by the first node 111.

The equalizing in this Action 705 of the beamformed reference signal may be using the determined equalizing weights. o Transferring 706 the equalized reference signal. The radio network node

110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the transferring in this Action 706. The transferring in this Action 706 may be by the first node 111.

The transferring in this Action 706 of the equalized reference signal may be to the second node 112.

In some examples, the method may comprise one of the following two actions. o Refraining 707 from sending Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) information. The radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the refraining in this Action 707.

The refraining in this Action 707 may be by the first node 111.

The refraining in this Action 707 may be performed in examples wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 705 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

The refraining in this Action 707 may be from sending SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112. o Sending 708 the SINR information. The radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in this Action 708.

The sending in this Action 708 may be by the first node 111.

The sending in this Action 708 may be performed in examples wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 705 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

The sending in this Action 708 may be of SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

The sending in this Action 708 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

In some examples, the method may further comprise the following action. o Sending 702 second control information. The radio network node 110 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in this Action 702.

The sending in this Action 702 may be by the second node 112.

The sending in this Action 702 may be to the first node 111.

The sending in this Action 702 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

The first node 111 may send, or refrain from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information received from the second node 112

In some examples, at least one of the following may apply: a) the radio network node 110 may support a receiver selected from: a Successive interference cancellation (SIC) receiver, a Parallel interference cancellation (PIC) receiver, and a combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver; b) the receiver supported by the radio network node 110 may be one of: a single Radio equipment (RE) receiver and a multi-RE receiver; c) the multi-RE receiver may be one of: Maximum ratio combining Coordinated multi-point (MRC CoMP), Interference rejection combining Coordinated multi-point (IRC CoMP), multi-Transmission point (TRP), beamforming, and multi-TRP nulling; d) the reference signal may be a Demodulation refence signal (DMRS); e) the signal bearing data may be one of: Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH); at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) signal; f) at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data may be a New Radio (NR) signal; g) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and h) the DMRS may be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

In Figure 15, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

The radio network node 110 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 12 or in Figure 23.

The first node 111 examples relate to Figure 16, Figures 10-11, Figure 13, and Figures 18-23.

A method, performed by a first node, such as the first node 111 is described herein. The first node 111 may manage a Radio equipment. The method may be understood to be for handling exchange of information between first node 111 and a second node, such as the second node 112 managing a controller of the Radio equipment. The first node 111 and the second node 112 may be comprised in the radio network node 110. The first node 111 may be operating in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100.

The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some examples, all the actions may be performed. One or more examples may be combined, where applicable. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary examples. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the first node 111 is depicted in Figure 16. In Figure 16, optional actions in some examples may be represented with dashed lines. In some examples, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 16. o Receiving 801 first information, e.g., first control information. The first node

111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the receiving in this Action 801 .

The receiving in this Action 801 may be from the second node 112.

The receiving in this Action 801 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141. The first control information may indicate that a reference signal, e.g., DMRS, may have to be transferred to the second node 112. o Determining 803 beamforming weights and equalizing weights. The first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the determining in this Action 803.

Determining may be understood as calculating, deriving, or similar.

The equalizing weights may be determined by performing an equalizer weight calculation. o Beamforming 804 the reference signal. The first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the beamforming in this Action 804.

The beamforming in this Action 804 of the reference signal may be using the determined beamforming weights.

The beamforming in this Action 804 may be performed with the serving beams 125. o Equalizing 805 the beamformed reference signal. The first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the equalizing in this Action 805.

The equalizing in this Action 805 of the beamformed reference signal may be using the determined equalizing weights. o Transferring 806 the equalized reference signal. The first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the transferring in this Action 806.

The transferring in this Action 806 of the equalized reference signal may be to the second node 112.

In some examples, the method may comprise one of the following two actions. o Refraining 807 from sending Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) information. The first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the refraining in this Action 807.

The refraining in this Action 807 may be performed in examples wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 805 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

The refraining in this Action 807 may be from sending SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112. o Sending 808 the SINR information. The first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in this Action 808. The sending in this Action 808 may be performed in examples wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing in Action 805 may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

The sending in this Action 808 may be of SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node 112.

The sending in this Action 808 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

In some examples, the method may further comprise the following action. o Receiving 802 second control information. The first node 111 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in this Action 802.

The receiving in this Action 802 may be from the second node 112.

The receiving in this Action 802 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

In Figure 16, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

The receiving may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 13 or in Figure 23.

The second node 112 examples relate to Figure 17, Figures 10-11, Figure 14, and Figures 18-23.

A method, performed by a second node, such as the second node 112 is described herein. The second node 112 may manage a controller of a Radio equipment. The method may be understood to be for handling exchange of information between the second node 112 and the first node 111 managing the Radio equipment. The second node 112 and the first node 111 are comprised in the radio network node 110. The radio network node 110 may be operating in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100.

The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some examples, all the actions may be performed. One or more examples may be combined, where applicable. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary examples. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the second node 112 is depicted in Figure 17. In Figure 17, optional actions in some examples may be represented with dashed lines. In some examples, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 17. o Sending 901 first information, e.g., first control information. The second node 112 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in this Action 901 .

The sending in this Action 901 may be to the first node 111.

The sending in this Action 901 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

The first control information may indicate that a reference signal, e.g., DMRS, may have to be transferred to the second node 112. o Receiving 903 the reference signal. The second node 112 may be configured and/or operable to perform the receiving in this Action 903.

The receiving in this Action 903 may be from the first node 111.

The receiving in this Action 903 of the reference signal, equalized by the first node 111.

The receiving in this Action 903 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

In some examples, the method may comprise the following action. o Receiving 904 the SINR information. The second node 112 may be configured and/or operable to perform the receiving in this Action 904.

The receiving in this Action 904 may be from the first node 111.

The receiving in this Action 904 may be performed in examples wherein the reference signal may be transmitted together with the signal bearing data, and wherein the equalizing of the reference signal may comprise equalizing the signal bearing data.

The receiving in this Action 904 may be of SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data from the first node 111.

The receiving in this Action 904 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141.

In some examples, the method may further comprise the following action. o Sending 902 second control information. The second node 112 may be configured and/or operable to perform the sending in this Action 902.

The sending in this Action 902 may be to the first node 111. The sending in this Action 902 may be performed, e.g., via the interface 141 .

The second node 112 may receive, or not, the SINR information, based on the second control information sent by the second node 112

In Figure 17, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

The second node 112 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 12 or in Figure 23.

Further Extensions And Variations

Figure 18 shows an example of a communication system 1800 in accordance with some embodiments.

In the example, the communication system 1800, such as the wireless communications network 100, includes a telecommunication network 1802 that includes an access network 1804, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1806, which includes one or more core network nodes 1808. The access network 1804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as the radio network node 110. For example, network nodes 1810a and 1810b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1810), or any other similar 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1802 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1802 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1802, including one or more network nodes 1810 and/or core network nodes 1808.

Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O- CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non- real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1812a, 1812b, 1812c, and 1812d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1812) to the core network 1806 over one or more wireless connections. Any of the UEs 1812a, 1812b, 1812c, and 1812d are examples of the one or more wireless devices 130.

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 1800 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 1800 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

The one or more wireless device 130, exemplified in Figure 18 as the UEs 1812 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the radio network node 110, exemplified in Figure 18 as network nodes 1810 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1810 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1812 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1802 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 1802.

In the depicted example, the core network 1806 connects the network nodes 1810 to one or more hosts, such as host 1816. 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 1806 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1808) 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 1808. 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 Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

The host 1816 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1804 and/or the telecommunication network 1802, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1816 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.

As a whole, the communication system 1800 of Figure 18 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. In some examples, the telecommunication network 1802 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1802. For example, the telecommunications network 1802 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)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

In some examples, the UEs 1812 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 1804 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1804. 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).

In the example, the hub 1814 communicates with the access network 1804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and/or 1812d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1810b). In some examples, the hub 1814 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1814 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1806 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1814 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 1810, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1814. As another example, the hub 1814 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 1814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1814 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

The hub 1814 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1810b. The hub 1814 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 1814 and UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and/or 1812d), and between the hub 1814 and the core network 1806. In other examples, the hub 1814 is connected to the core network 1806 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1814 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1804 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1810 while still connected via the hub 1814 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1814 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 1810b. In other embodiments, the hub 1814 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1810b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

Figure 19 shows a UE 1900 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, 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-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP 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).

The UE 1900 includes processing circuitry 1902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1904 to an input/output interface 1906, a power source 1908, a memory 1910, a communication interface 1912, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 19. 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.

The processing circuitry 1902 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 1910. The processing circuitry 1902 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 1902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

In the example, the input/output interface 1906 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 1900. 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 presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, 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.

In some embodiments, the power source 1908 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 1908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1908 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1900 to which power is supplied.

The memory 1910 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 1910 includes one or more application programs 1914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1916. The memory 1910 may store, for use by the UE 1900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. The memory 1910 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 (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1910 may allow the UE 1900 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 1910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

The processing circuitry 1902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1912. The communication interface 1912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1922. The communication interface 1912 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 1918 and/or a receiver 1920 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1918 and receiver 1920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1922) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1912 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. Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1912, 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).

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.

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 1900 shown in Figure 19.

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 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT 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.

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.

Figure 20 shows a network node 2000 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)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

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, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) 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).

Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support 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).

The network node 2000 includes a processing circuitry 2002, a memory 2004, a communication interface 2006, and a power source 2008. The network node 2000 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 2000 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 2000 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 2004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 2010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 2000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 2000, 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 2000.

The processing circuitry 2002 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 2000 components, such as the memory 2004, to provide network node 2000 functionality.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2002 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2002 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2012 and the baseband processing circuitry 2014 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 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

The memory 2004 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 2002. The memory 2004 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 2002 and utilized by the network node 2000. The memory 2004 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 2002 and/or any data received via the communication interface 2006. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2002 and memory 2004 is integrated.

The communication interface 2006 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 2006 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 2016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 2006 also includes radio front-end circuitry 2018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 2010. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 comprises filters 2020 and amplifiers 2022. The radio front-end circuitry 2018 may be connected to an antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002. The radio front-end circuitry 2018 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 2018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 2020 and/or amplifiers 2022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 2010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 2010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 2018. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 2002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 2000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 2018, instead, the processing circuitry 2002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 2010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 2012 is part of the communication interface 2006. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 2006 includes one or more ports or terminals 2016, the radio frontend circuitry 2018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 2012, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 2006 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 2014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

The antenna 2010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 2010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 2018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 2010 is separate from the network node 2000 and connectable to the network node 2000 through an interface or port.

The antenna 2010, communication interface 2006, and/or the processing circuitry 2002 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 2010, the communication interface 2006, and/or the processing circuitry 2002 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.

The power source 2008 provides power to the various components of network node 2000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 2008 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 2000 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 2000 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 2008. As a further example, the power source 2008 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.

Embodiments of the network node 2000 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 20 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 2000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 2000 and to allow output of information from the network node 2000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 2000.

Figure 21 is a block diagram of a host 2100, which may be an embodiment of the host 1816 of Figure 18, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 2100 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 2100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

The host 2100 includes processing circuitry 2102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2104 to an input/output interface 2106, a network interface 2108, a power source 2110, and a memory 2112. 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 19 and 20, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 2100.

The memory 2112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 2114 and data 2116, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 2100 or data generated by the host 2100 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 2100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 2114 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 2114 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 2100 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 2114 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.

Figure 22 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 2200 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 2200 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. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 2200 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

Applications 2202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware 2204 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 2206 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 2208a and 2208b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 2208), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 2206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 2208.

The VMs 2208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 2206. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 2202 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 2208, 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.

In the context of NFV, a VM 2208 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 2208, and that part of hardware 2204 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 2208 on top of the hardware 2204 and corresponds to the application 2202.

Hardware 2204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 2204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 2204 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 2210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 2202. In some embodiments, hardware 2204 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 2212 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

Figure 23 shows a communication diagram of a host 2302 communicating via a network node 2304 with a UE 2306 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1812a of Figure 18 and/or UE 1900 of Figure 19), network node (such as network node 1810a of Figure 18 and/or network node 2000 of Figure 20), and host (such as host 1816 of Figure 18 and/or host 2100 of Figure 21) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 23. Like host 2100, embodiments of host 2302 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 2302 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 2302 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 2306 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 2350 extending between the UE 2306 and host 2302. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 2350.

The network node 2304 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 2302 and UE 2306. The connection 2360 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1806 of Figure 18) 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.

The UE 2306 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 2306 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 2306 with the support of the host 2302. In the host 2302, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 2350 terminating at the UE 2306 and host 2302. 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 2350 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 2350.

The OTT connection 2350 may extend via a connection 2360 between the host 2302 and the network node 2304 and via a wireless connection 2370 between the network node 2304 and the UE 2306 to provide the connection between the host 2302 and the UE 2306. The connection 2360 and wireless connection 2370, over which the OTT connection 2350 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 2302 and the UE 2306 via the network node 2304, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 2350, in step 2308, the host 2302 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 2306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 2306 that shares data with the host 2302 without explicit human interaction. In step 2310, the host 2302 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 2306. The host 2302 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 2306. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 2306 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 2306. The transmission may pass via the network node 2304, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 2312, the network node 2304 transmits to the UE 2306 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 2302 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2314, the UE 2306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 2306 associated with the host application executed by the host 2302.

In some examples, the UE 2306 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 2302. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 2302. Accordingly, in step 2316, the UE 2306 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 2306. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 2306 initiates, in step 2318, transmission of the user data towards the host 2302 via the network node 2304. In step 2320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 2304 receives user data from the UE 2306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 2302. In step 2322, the host 2302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 2306.

One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 2306 using the OTT connection 2350, in which the wireless connection 2370 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve data rate, latency, power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and extended battery lifetime.

In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 2302. As another example, the host 2302 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 2302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 2302 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 2302 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 2302 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.

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 2350 between the host 2302 and UE 2306, 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 2302 and/or UE 2306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 2350 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 2350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 2304. 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 2302. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 2350 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

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.

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.

The radio network node 110 embodiments relate to Figure 7, Figures 8-11, Figure 12, and Figures 18-23.

The first node 111 embodiments relate to Figure 8, Figures 10-11, Figure 13, and Figures 18-23.

The first node 111 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 13 or in Figure 23.

The second node 112 embodiments relate to Figure 9, Figures 10-11, Figure 14, and

Figures 18-23.

The second node 112 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 14 or in Figure 23.

Further numbered embodiments

1. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide a service, e.g., an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the radio network node 110.

2. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host. 3. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the radio network node 110.

4. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

5. The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

6. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the radio network node 110.

7. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and/or the user equipment.

8. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

9. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the radio network node 110.

10. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

11 . The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

12. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the radio network node 110.

13. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

REFERENCES

1. O-RAN WG4 specifications, https://www.o-ran.org/specifications

2. 3GPP TR 38.816 V15.0.0, “Study on CU-DU lower layer split for NR”

3. WO 2023/152180 A1 , “MASSIVE MULTIPLE INPUT MULTIPLE OUTPUT RADIO UNIT UPLINK INTERFACE”

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 . A method performed by a radio network node (110), the method being for handling exchange of information between a first node (111) managing a Radio equipment and a second node (112) managing a controller of the Radio equipment, wherein the first node (111) and the second node (112) are comprised in the radio network node (110), the radio network node (110) operating in a wireless communications network (100), the method comprising:

- sending (701), by the second node (112), first control information to the first node (111), the first control information indicating that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node (112),

- determining (703), by the first node (111), beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal,

- beamforming (704), by the first node (111), the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights,

- equalizing (705), by the first node (111), the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, and

- transferring (706), by the first node (111), the equalized reference signal to the second node (112).

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the reference signal is transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing (705) comprises equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the method further comprises:

- refraining (707), by the first node (111), from sending Signal to interference-plus- noise ratio, SINR, information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the reference signal is transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing (705) comprises equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the method further comprises:

- sending (708), by the first node (111), SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

4. The method according to any of claims 2-3, further comprising:

- sending (702), by the second node (112), second control information to the first node (111), the second control information indicating whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node (112) or not, and wherein the first node (111) sends, or refrains from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information received from the second node (112).

5. The method according to any of claims 2-4, wherein at least one of:

- the radio network node (110) supports a receiver selected from: a Successive interference cancellation, SIC, receiver, a Parallel interference cancellation, PIC, receiver, and a combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver,

- the receiver supported by the radio network node (110) is one of: a single Radio equipment, RE, receiver and a multi-RE receiver,

- the multi-RE receiver is one of: Maximum ratio combining Coordinated multipoint, MRC CoMP, Interference rejection combining Coordinated multi-point, IRC CoMP, multi-Transmission point, TRP, beamforming, and multi-TRP nulling,

- the first node (111) supports the receiver and the second node (112) support the receiver,

- the reference signal is a Demodulation refence signal, DMRS,

- the signal bearing data is one of: Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH, and Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH,

- at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data is a Long Term Evolution, LTE, signal,

- at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data is a New Radio, NR, signal,

- the DMRS is transmitted together with the PUSCH, and

- the DMRS is transmitted together with the PUCCH.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal are determined in a combined way, and wherein the beamforming (704) of the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights, and the equalizing (705) of the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, are performed in one combined operation.

7. A method performed by a first node (111), the first node (111) managing a Radio equipment, the method being for handling exchange of information between the first node (111) and a second node (112) managing a controller of the Radio equipment, wherein the first node (111) and the second node (112) are comprised in a radio network node (110), the first node (111) operating in a wireless communications network (100), the method comprising:

- receiving (801), from the second node (112), first control information, the first control information indicating that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node (112),

- determining (803), beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal,

- beamforming (804) the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights,

- equalizing (805) the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, and

- transferring (806) the equalized reference signal to the second node (112).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the reference signal is transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing (805) comprises equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the method further comprises:

- refraining (807) from sending Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio, SINR, information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the reference signal is transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing (805) comprises equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the method further comprises:

- sending (808) SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

10. The method according to any of claims 8-9, further comprising:

- receiving (802), from the second node (112), second control information, the second control information indicating whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node (112) or not, and wherein the first node (111) sends, or refrains from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information received from the second node (112).

11 . The method according to any of claims 8-10 wherein at least one of: - the radio network node (110) supports a receiver selected from: a Successive interference cancellation, SIC, receiver, a Parallel interference cancellation, PIC, receiver, and a combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver,

- the first node (111) supports the receiver,

- the second node (112) supports the receiver,

- the reference signal is a Demodulation refence signal, DMRS,

- the DMRS is transmitted together with the PUSCH, and

- the DMRS is transmitted together with the PUCCH.

12. The method according to any of claims 7-11 , wherein the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal are determined in a combined way, and wherein the beamforming (804) of the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights, and the equalizing (805) of the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, are performed in one combined operation.

13. A method performed by second node (112), the second node (112) managing a controller of a Radio equipment, the method being for handling exchange of information between the second node (112) and a first node (111) managing the Radio equipment, wherein the second node (112) and the first node (111) are comprised in a radio network node (110), the second node (112) operating in a wireless communications network (100), the method comprising:

- sending (901), to the first node (111), first control information, the first control information indicating that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node (112), and receiving (903) the reference signal, equalized by the first node (111), from the first node (111)

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the reference signal is transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing of the reference signal comprises equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the method further comprises:

- receiving (904) Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio, SINR, information about the equalized signal bearing data from the first node (111).

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

- sending (902), to the first node (111), second control information, the second control information indicating whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node (112) or not, and wherein the second node (112) receives, or not, the SINR information, based on the second control information sent by the second node (112).

16. The method according to any of claims 14-15 wherein at least one of:

- the first node (111) supports the receiver,

- the second node (112) supports the receiver,

- the reference signal is a Demodulation refence signal, DMRS,

- the DMRS is transmitted together with the PUSCH, and

- the DMRS is transmitted together with the PUCCH.

17. A radio network node (110), for handling exchange of information between a first node (111) configured to manage a Radio equipment and a second node (112) configured to manage a controller of the Radio equipment, wherein the first node (111) and the second node (112) are configured to be comprised in the radio network node (110), and the radio network node (110) is configured to operate in a wireless communications network (100), and wherein the radio network node (110) is further configured to:

- send, by the second node (112), first control information to the first node (111), the first control information being configured to indicate that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node (112),

- determine, by the first node (111), beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal,

- beamform, by the first node (111), the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights,

- equalize, by the first node (111), the beamformed reference signal, using the equalizing weights configured to be determined, and

- transfer, by the first node (111), the equalized reference signal to the second node (112).

18. The radio network node (110) according to claim 17, wherein the reference signal is configured to be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing is configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the radio network node (110) is further configured to:

- refrain, by the first node (111), from sending Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio, SINR, information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

19. The radio network node (110) according to claim 17, wherein the reference signal is configured to be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing is configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the radio network node (110) is configured to comprise:

- send, by the first node (111), SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

20. The radio network node (110) according to any of claims 18-19, being further configured to: - send, by the second node (112), second control information to the first node

(111), the second control information being configured to indicate whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node (112) or not, and wherein the first node (111) is configured to send, or refrain from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information configured to be received from the second node (112).

21 . The radio network node (110) according to any of claims 18-20, wherein at least one of:

- the radio network node (110) is configured to support a receiver configured to be selected from: a Successive interference cancellation, SIC, receiver, a Parallel interference cancellation, PIC, receiver, and a combination of the SIC receiver and the PIC receiver,

- the receiver configured to be supported by the radio network node (110) is configured to be one of: a single Radio equipment, RE, receiver and a multi-RE receiver,

- the multi-RE receiver is configured to be one of: Maximum ratio combining Coordinated multi-point, MRC CoMP, Interference rejection combining Coordinated multi-point, IRC CoMP, multi-Transmission point, TRP, beamforming, and multi-TRP nulling,

- the first node (111) is configured to support the receiver and the second node

(112) is configured to support the receiver,

- the reference signal is configured to be a Demodulation refence signal, DMRS,

- the signal bearing data is configured to be one of: Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH, and Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH,

- at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data is configured to be a Long Term Evolution, LTE, signal,

- at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data is configured to be a New Radio, NR, signal,

- the DMRS is configured to be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and

- the DMRS is configured to be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

22. The radio network node (110) according to any of claims 17-21 , wherein the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal are configured to be determined in a combined way, and wherein the beamforming of the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights, and the equalizing of the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, are configured to be performed in one combined operation.

23. A first node (111) configured to manage a Radio equipment, the first node (111) being configured to be for handling exchange of information between the first node (111) and a second node (112) configured to manage a controller of the Radio equipment, wherein the first node (111) and the second node (112) are configured to be comprised in a radio network node (110), the first node (111) being configured to operate in a wireless communications network (100), the first node (111) being further configured to:

- receive, from the second node (112), first control information, the first control information being configured to indicate that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node (112),

- determine, beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal,

- beamform the reference signal using the beamforming weights configured to be determined,

- equalize the beamformed reference signal, using the equalizing weights configured to be determined, and

- transfer the equalized reference signal to the second node (112).

24. The first node (111) according to claim 23, wherein the reference signal is configured to be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing is configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the first node (111) is further configured to:

- refrain from sending Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio, SINR, information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

25. The first node (111) according to claim 23, wherein the reference signal is configured to be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing is configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the first node (111) is further configured to:

- send SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data to the second node (112).

26. The first node (111) according to any of claims 24-25, being further configured to:

- receive, from the second node (112), second control information, the second control information being configured to indicate whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node (112) or not, and wherein the first node (111) is configured to send, or refrain from sending, the SINR information, based on the second control information configured to be received from the second node (112).

27. The first node (111) according to any of claims 24-26 wherein at least one of:

- the first node (111) is configured to support the receiver,

- the second node (112) is configured to support the receiver,

- the reference signal is configured to be a Demodulation refence signal, DMRS,

- the DMRS is configured to be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and

- the DMRS is configured to be transmitted together with the PUCCH.

28. The first node (111) according to any of claims 23-27, wherein the beamforming weights to be used for beamforming the reference signal and equalizing weights to be used for equalizing the reference signal are configured to be determined in a combined way, and wherein the beamforming of the reference signal using the determined beamforming weights, and the equalizing of the beamformed reference signal, using the determined equalizing weights, are configured to be performed in one combined operation.

29. A second node (112) configured to manage a controller of a Radio equipment, the second node (112) being configured to be for handling exchange of information between the second node (112) and a first node (111) configured to manage the Radio equipment, wherein the second node (112) and the first node (111) are configured to be comprised in a radio network node (110), the second node (112) being configured to operate in a wireless communications network (100), the second node (112) being further configured to:

- send, to the first node (111), first control information, the first control information being configured to indicate that a reference signal is to be transferred to the second node (112), and

- receive the reference signal, equalized by the first node (111), from the first node (111)

30. The second node (112) according to claim 29, wherein the reference signal is configured to be transmitted together with a signal bearing data, wherein the equalizing of the reference signal is configured to comprise equalizing the signal bearing data, and wherein the second node (112) is further configured to:

- receive Signal to interference-plus-noise ratio, SINR, information about the equalized signal bearing data from the first node (111).

31 . The second node (112) according to claim 30, being further configured to:

- send, to the first node (111), second control information, the second control information being configured to indicate whether the SINR information about the equalized signal bearing data is to be transferred to the second node (112) or not, and wherein the second node (112) is configured to receive, or not, the SINR information, based on the second control information configured to be sent by the second node (112).

32. The second node (112) according to any of claims 30-31 wherein at least one of:

- the receiver configured to be supported by the radio network node (110) is configured to be one of: a single Radio equipment, RE, receiver and a multi-RE receiver, - the multi-RE receiver is configured to be one of: Maximum ratio combining Coordinated multi-point, MRC CoMP, Interference rejection combining Coordinated multi-point, IRC CoMP, multi-Transmission point, TRP, beamforming, and multi-TRP nulling, - the first node (111) is configured to support the receiver,

- the second node (112) is configured to support the receiver,

- the reference signal is configured to be a Demodulation refence signal, DMRS,

- the signal bearing data is configured to be one of: Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH, and Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, - at least one of the reference signal and the signal bearing data is configured to be a Long Term Evolution, LTE, signal,

- the DMRS is configured to be transmitted together with the PUSCH, and - the DMRS is configured to be transmitted together with the PUCCH.