EP4690911A1 - Methods, apparatus and computer-readable media related to measuring and reporting quality-of-service parameters - Google Patents

Methods, apparatus and computer-readable media related to measuring and reporting quality-of-service parameters

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Publication number
EP4690911A1
EP4690911A1 EP24715307.5A EP24715307A EP4690911A1 EP 4690911 A1 EP4690911 A1 EP 4690911A1 EP 24715307 A EP24715307 A EP 24715307A EP 4690911 A1 EP4690911 A1 EP 4690911A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
delay
indication
measurement
user equipment
pdcp
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP24715307.5A
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German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Pradeepa Ramachandra
Marco BELLESCHI
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
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Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
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Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Publication of EP4690911A1 publication Critical patent/EP4690911A1/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W24/00—Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
    • H04W24/10—Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W24/00—Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
    • H04W24/08—Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic

Definitions

  • Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, apparatus and computer- readable media relating to quality-of-service (QoS) parameters, and particularly to measuring and reporting QoS parameters.
  • QoS quality-of-service
  • MDT Measurement of Drive Tests
  • Immediate MDT is standardized so that management systems in wireless networks can collect the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with a User Equipment (UE) in connected mode.
  • KPIs Key Performance Indicators
  • UE User Equipment
  • the UE For Immediate MDT, the UE provides detailed location information (e.g. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location information) if available. The UE also provides available neighbour cell measurement information that may be used to determine the UE location (Radio Frequency (RF) fingerprint). Evolved Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), Cell-Id, or CellIdentity of the serving cell when the measurement was taken is always assumed known in Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) (E-UTRAN), UTRAN or New Radio (NR) respectively.
  • UMTS Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • UTRAN Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • NR New Radio
  • Measurements to be performed for Immediate MDT purposes involve reporting triggers and criteria utilized for Radio Resource Management (RRM).
  • RRM Radio Resource Management
  • An MDT specific UE-based measurement for Uplink (UL) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) delay is applied for QoS verification purpose.
  • gNB Radio Resource Management
  • ... - M6 Packet Delay measurement separately for Downlink (DL) and UL, per Data Radio Bearer (DRB) per UE, TS 28.552 and TS 38.314.
  • Measurement collection triggers - For M6: o End of measurement collection period.”
  • Immediate MDT for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) [10] In signalling based immediate MDT, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) provides MDT configuration for both Master Node (MN) and Secondary Node (SN) towards MN including multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) SN configuration, specifically E-UTRA and NR MDT configuration.
  • MN Master Node
  • SN Secondary Node
  • RAT multi-Radio Access Technology
  • MN then forwards the NR MDT configuration towards SN (Evolved Non-standalone Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) scenario, SN is always NR).
  • OAM Operations and Management
  • MN and SN can independently configure and receive measurements from the UE.
  • RAN delay and the UE components of delay measurements [13] The RAN internal delay can be split into multiple components, and they are captured in 3GPP TS 38.314 v17.2.0.
  • the DL packet delay measurements i.e. D1 (the DL delay in over-the-air interface), D2 (the DL delay in gNB-DU), D3 (the DL delay on F1-U) and D4 (the DL delay in Centralized Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), should be measured per DRB per UE.
  • the RAN part (including UE) of UL packet delay measurement comprises: - D1 (UL PDCP packet average delay, as defined in clause 4.3.1.1). - D2.1 (average over-the-air interface packet delay, as defined in 4.2.1.2.2).
  • - D2.2 (average RLC packet delay, as defined in 4.2.1.2.3).
  • - D2.3 (average delay UL on F1-U, it is measured using the same metric as the average delay DL on F1-U defined in TS 28.552 [2] clause 5.1.3.3.2).
  • - D2.4 (average PDCP re-ordering delay, as defined in 4.2.1.2.4).
  • the UL packet delay measurements i.e. D1 (UL PDCP packet average delay), D2.1 (average over-the-air interface packet delay), D2.2 (average RLC packet delay), D2.3 (average delay UL on F1-U) and D2.4 (average PDCP re-ordering delay), should be measured per DRB per UE.
  • the unit of D1, D2.1, D2.2, D2.3 and D2.4 is 0.1ms.
  • RAN part of packet delay excludes the delay at F1-U interface, i.e. D2.3 and D3.
  • RAN informs the RAN part of UL packet delay measurement, or the RAN part of DL packet delay measurement, or both to the CN.”
  • Further formulae for calculating D1 (UL PDCP packet average delay) can be found in section 4.3.1.1 of TS 38.314 v17.2.0. Such a delay measurement is an average PDCP queueing delay.
  • the UE can be configured to report excess PDCP delay ratio measurement wherein the UE checks what percentage of PDCP Service Data Units (SDUs) have experienced a PDCP queuing delay (time difference from the packet arrival at PDCP upper Service Access Point (SAP) until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available) that is larger than a network configured threshold.
  • SDUs Service Data Units
  • SAP Service Access Point
  • the formulae for calculating this measurement can be found in section 4.3.1.2 of TS 38.314 v17.2.0.
  • SUMMARY There currently exist certain challenge(s).
  • the delay measurements that are standardized for MDT and QoS verification purposes are average delay-based measurements.
  • the minimum periodicity according to which these measurements are reported is 120ms, which also means that the UE averages the delay measurements (e.g., for all the PDCP SDUs) in that 120ms to produce a single delay measurement component.
  • These delay measurements are typically good enough for Mobile Broad Band (MBB) services and other services where packet delay is not a severe constraint on the user experience.
  • MBB Mobile Broad Band
  • URLLC Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication
  • Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.
  • Embodiments of the disclosure propose enhancements to the delay measurement configuration and delay measurement computation and the delay measurement reporting methods.
  • the UE is configured with a measurement periodicity, whose value may be equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity of the measurement.
  • the UE is configured with a number which indicates the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for averaging in calculation of a single entry of the average delay measurement.
  • the UE is configured with one or more service identities (IDs), e.g. DRB IDs, to which either or both of the configurations above apply.
  • IDs service identities
  • the UE may perform the delay measurements’ computation for each measurement period based on the received measurement configuration.
  • ⁇ The UE reports a list of delay measurements at every reporting periodicity expiry wherein each entry of the list contains a delay measurement as computed during one measurement period.
  • ⁇ The UE reports multiple of the above lists, wherein each reported list is associated to delay measurements associated to one measurement periodicity.
  • the multiple measurement periodicities represented in the measurement report may be of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity.
  • the configuration of embodiment 1 includes a measurement periodicity information that is different from reporting periodicity information.
  • the configuration of embodiment 1 includes a number of PDCP SDUs related information that indicates to the UE how many PDCP SDUs are to be used to compute a single value of delay measurement.
  • the configuration of embodiment 1 includes one or more services, e.g. DRB IDs, to which the configuration applies.
  • the performing of embodiment 1 comprises the UE performing the packet delay measurement for each measurement period.
  • the reporting of embodiment 1 includes a report consisting of a list wherein each entry of the list indicates the delay measurement as performed for the PDCP SDUs in a single measurement periodicity as per Embodiment 5.
  • the reporting of embodiment 1 includes a report consisting of multiple lists as in Embodiment 6, wherein each list indicates the delay measurement associated to a certain measurement periodicity.
  • the method comprises receiving a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity.
  • the method further comprises performing measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determining one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication.
  • the method further comprises transmitting, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.
  • a method is performed by a network node for configuring a user equipment to measure and report delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment.
  • the method comprises transmitting, to the user equipment, a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity.
  • a user equipment is configured to perform embodiments of a method according to the first aspect.
  • a user equipment comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to receive a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the user equipment to perform measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determine one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the user equipment to transmit, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.
  • a network node is configured to perform embodiments of a method according to the second aspect.
  • a network node comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to transmit, to a user equipment, a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity.
  • the network node further comprises power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
  • a method is performed by a user equipment for measuring and reporting delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment.
  • the method comprises performing measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment and, based on the measurements, determining a plurality of values of a delay parameter. Each value of the delay parameter is based on a respective amount of measurements.
  • the method further comprises transmitting, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the plurality of determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with a reporting periodicity.
  • a method is performed by a network node for determining delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by a user equipment.
  • the method comprises receiving, from a user equipment, a report message comprising indications of a plurality of determined values of a delay parameter.
  • the report message is received periodically in accordance with a reporting periodicity.
  • Each value of the delay parameter is based on a respective amount of measurements performed by the user equipment.
  • Fig.1 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments
  • Fig.2 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments
  • Fig.42 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments
  • FIG. 3 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments
  • Fig.4 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments
  • Fig.5 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments
  • Fig.6 is a block diagram of a host
  • Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized
  • Fig.8 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Figure 1 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments.
  • the method 100 may be performed by a UE or wireless device (e.g. the UE 312 or UE 400 as described later with reference to Figures 3 and 4 respectively).
  • the method 100 should be read in conjunction with method 200, which sets out complementary steps performed in a network node.
  • the method begins at step 102, in which the UE receives a configuration for measurement and reporting of one or more delay parameters associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment.
  • the configuration may be received from a network node or base station, such as a serving network node or base station.
  • the configuration may be received via RRC signalling, for example.
  • the configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter is for MDT purposes, e.g., Immediate MDT.
  • the delay parameter(s) may comprise one or more of: an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment; and a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold.
  • the delay may comprise an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment (e.g., a packet queue in a protocol layer of the UE, such as a PDCP queue), until a trigger event (such as the onward transmission of the uplink packet from the queue to another layer of the UE, or the availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet).
  • the uplink packet may therefore comprise an SDU received at an entity in a protocol layer of the UE (e.g., PDCP), and stored in a queue at the entity for onward transmission to a lower protocol layer and, ultimately, from the UE.
  • the average delay associated with uplink packets is therefore an average (e.g., mean average) calculated from a plurality of individual measurements for the packets. Measurements may be performed on every packet in the queue (and in accordance with the configuration) or a subset of the packets in the queue.
  • the ratio or percentage of measurements exceeding a threshold may comprise a ratio of the amount of measurements greater than a threshold (which may be configured in the configuration) to the total number of measurements. In this configuration, a higher percentage or ratio is therefore indicative of a greater delay.
  • a threshold which may be configured in the configuration
  • the configuration comprises a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity.
  • the second indication indicates a periodicity (or period) at which the UE shall transmit reports of the delay measurements to the network (e.g., to the network node).
  • the second indication may take one of a plurality of predefined values.
  • the minimum predefined value may correspond to 120 ms, indicating that the UE shall transmit reports to the network every 120 ms.
  • the first indication thus indicates the amount of measurement that should be performed when calculating or determining a value of the delay parameter.
  • the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which the delay should be averaged.
  • the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold
  • the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which a value of the ratio or percentage shall be calculated or determined.
  • the measurement amount indicated by the first indication may comprise a number of measurements of the delay.
  • the UE may perform measurements of the delay for each packet, and in this case the indicated number of measurements is equivalent to a number of packets.
  • the UE may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer).
  • the UE When determining values for the delay parameter, the UE combines the indicated number of measurements, e.g., by calculating the average delay over the indicated number of measurements, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay over the indicated number of measurements.
  • the measurement amount indicated by the first indication may comprise a periodicity (e.g., a period) over which the measurements are to be performed.
  • the UE may perform measurements of the delay for each packet over the period, or may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer) over the period.
  • the UE When determining values for the delay parameter, the UE combines the measurements performed during the period, e.g., by calculating the average delay of measurements during the period, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay for measurements performed during the period.
  • the periodicity indicated by the first indication (which may be referred to as a “measurement periodicity” herein) may comprise one of a plurality of predefined values.
  • the predefined values may define a range of values from a high or maximum value corresponding to the reporting periodicity (e.g., that indicated by the second indication), to a low or minimum value which is less than the reporting periodicity.
  • One or more of the first indication and the second indication may be associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer.
  • the first and/or second indications may be specific to delay measurements performed on a particular type of traffic, e.g., such as that belonging to a particular data radio bearer (DRB).
  • the configuration may therefore comprise a plurality of first and/or second indications defining measurement amounts and/or reporting periodicities for different types of traffic (e.g., different DRBs).
  • Each indication may relate to an individual type of traffic or DRB, or more than one type of traffic or DRB.
  • the configuration includes one or more measurement periodicities as part of the delay measurement configuration, wherein each configured measurement periodicity is of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity/interval (included in the delay measurement configuration) of the associated delay measurement report.
  • the first entry of the reported average delay measurement comprises the average delay experienced in the first measurement period within the reporting interval, the second entry the average delay experienced in the second measurement period within the reporting interval, and so on.
  • the measurement periodicity for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs.
  • the network has the flexibility to get different averaging intervals for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of averaging periodicity for MBB related DRB and another value of averaging periodicity for URLLC related DRB.
  • the baseline specification used here is 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.3.0 (changes are indicated by underlined passages).
  • the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration.
  • a UE can be configured with a specific value of meas-Period for a specific delay-DRBlist (set of DRB-Identities) and another specific value of meas-Period for another delay-DRBlist (another set of DRB-Identities).
  • Each configured meas-Period included in one periodical reporting configuration i.e., PeriodicalReportConfig Information Element (IE)
  • IE PeriodicalReportConfig Information Element
  • PeriodicalReportConfig SEQUENCE ⁇ rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED ⁇ r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity ⁇ , reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSSI-ReportConfig-r16 MeasRSSI- ReportConfig-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeCommonLocationInfo-r16 ENUMERATED ⁇
  • meas-Period Indicates the period to be used for the computation of the UL PDCP Packet delay measurement for the DRB IDs as configured in the corresponding delay-DRBlist as specified in TS 38.314 [53].
  • the value of meas-Period is smaller than the value of reportInterval included in the associated PeriodicalReportConfig.
  • PDUs Protocol Data Units
  • the configuration includes a number in the delay measurement configuration which indicates the number N of PDCP SDUs’ to be used for averaging in calculation of a single entry of the average delay measurement to be reported for each reporting interval. This may imply that the first entry of the reported average delay measurement comprises the average delay experienced for the transmissions of packets 1 to N, the second entry for packets N+1 to 2N, and so on. [65] In some sub-embodiments, such a number for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs.
  • the network has the flexibility to get different averaging possibilities for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for averaging for MBB related DRB and another value the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for averaging for URLLC related DRB.
  • the baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.3.0 (changes again are illustrated by underlined passages).
  • the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration.
  • a UE can be configured with a specific value of num-PDCP-SDU for a specific delay-DRBlist (set of DRB-Identities) and another specific value of num-PDCP-SDU for another delay-DRBlist (another set of DRB-Identities).
  • PeriodicalReportConfig SEQUENCE ⁇ rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED ⁇ r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity ⁇ , reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSSI-ReportConfig-r16 MeasRSSI- ReportConfig-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeCommonLocationInfo-r16 ENUMERATED ⁇
  • the configuration includes one or more measurement periodicities as part of the delay measurement configuration, wherein each configured measurement periodicity is of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity of the associated delay measurement included in the delay measurement configuration and the configuration also includes an excess delay threshold. The excess delay threshold is used by the UE to compute the ratio between the SDUs exceeding the configured excess delay threshold and the total number of SDUs received by the UE during the measurement period.
  • the measurement periodicity for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs.
  • the network has the flexibility to get different intervals for calculating excess delay ratios for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of periodicity for calculating excess delay ratio for MBB related DRB and another value of averaging periodicity for calculating excess delay ratio for URLLC related DRB.
  • An example of how such a configuration might look like is given below.
  • the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration.
  • a UE can be configured with a specific value of meas-Period for a specific drb-IdentityList (set of DRB- Identities) that have a specific delayThreshold and another specific value of meas-Period for another drb-IdentityList (another set of DRB-Identities) that have another or same delayThreshold.
  • Each configured meas-Period included in one periodical reporting configuration i.e.
  • PeriodicalReportConfig IE is associated to a measurement periodicity which is of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity, ie. reportInterval, of the corresponding delay measurements.
  • PeriodicalReportConfig :: SEQUENCE ⁇ rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED ⁇ r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity ⁇ , reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSS
  • delayThreshold Indicates the delay threshold for the computation of the excess delay ratio for the DRB IDs indicated in DRB-IdentityList.
  • Value ms0dot25 corresponds to 0.25ms
  • ms0dot5 corresponds to 0.5ms
  • ms1 corresponds to 1ms and so on.
  • meas-Period Indicates the period to be used for the computation of the UL PDCP Packet delay measurement for the DRB IDs as configured in the corresponding delay-DRBlist as specified in TS 38.314 [53].
  • the value of meas-Period is smaller than the value of reportInterval included in the associated PeriodicalReportConfig.
  • the configuration includes a number in the delay measurement configuration which indicates the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for calculating a single value of excess delay ratio measurement to be reported for each reporting interval. This may imply that the first entry of the reported excess delay ratio measurement comprises the excess delay ratio measurement as measured for the transmissions of packets 1 to N, the second entry for packets N+1 to 2N, and so on.
  • such a number for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs.
  • the network has the flexibility to get different averaging possibilities for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for calculating the excels delay ratio of MBB related DRB and another value the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for calculating the excels delay ratio of URLLC related DRB.
  • An example of how such a configuration might look like is given below.
  • the baseline specification used here is 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.3.0 (changes underlined).
  • the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration.
  • a UE can be configured with a specific value of num-PDCP-SDU for a specific drb-IdentityList (set of DRB-Identities) that have a specific delayThreshold and another specific value of num-PDCP- SDU for another drb-IdentityList (another set of DRB-Identities) that have another or same delayThreshold.
  • PeriodicalReportConfig SEQUENCE ⁇ rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED ⁇ r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity ⁇ , reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSSI-ReportConfig-r16 MeasRSSI- ReportConfig-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeCommonLocationInfo-r16 ENUMERATED ⁇
  • delayThreshold Indicates the delay threshold for the computation of the excess delay ratio for the DRB IDs indicated in DRB-IdentityList.
  • Value ms0dot25 corresponds to 0.25ms
  • ms0dot5 corresponds to 0.5ms
  • ms1 corresponds to 1ms and so on.
  • num-PDCP-SDU Indicates the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for the computation of the UL PDCP Packet delay measurement for the DRB IDs as configured in the corresponding delay- DRBlist as specified in TS 38.314 [53].
  • Step 104 the UE performs measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determines one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication.
  • Step 104 may thus comprise two sub-steps. In a first sub-step, the user equipment performs measurements of the delay associated with individual packets (e.g., PDUs, SDUs, etc). In a second sub-step, the user equipment determines values for one or more delay parameters based on those measurements and in accordance with the first indication.
  • the delay parameter comprises an average delay
  • the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which the delay should be averaged.
  • the user equipment averages the delay over a certain number of measurements, or the measurements performed over a certain period.
  • the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold
  • the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which a value of the ratio or percentage shall be calculated or determined.
  • the user equipment determines the ratio or percentage by combining a certain number of measurements, or the measurements performed over a certain period.
  • the UE performs the average UL PDCP queuing delay using each of the PDCP PDUs that the UE has received during a measurement interval as configured by the network.
  • a measurement interval configuration is specified above, i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “meas-Period”.
  • An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below.
  • the baseline specification used here is 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes underlined).
  • Protocol Layer PDCP Table 4.3.1.1-1: Definition for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE Definition PDCP Packet Delay in the UL per DRB.
  • This measurement refers to PDCP queuing delay for DRBs in the UE, which captures the delay from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant).
  • the measurement is done separately per DRB.
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( ⁇ , ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ , ⁇ ⁇ ( ⁇ , ⁇ ) ⁇ ⁇ ) ( ) ⁇ ( ⁇ ) ⁇ , where explanations can be found in the table 4.3.1.1-2 below.
  • UE measures UL PDCP queueing delay at DRB level.
  • gNB It is up to gNB to convert DRB level delay to QoS level delay with the assumption that all QoS flows mapped to the same DRB get the same QoS treatment, and it is up to gNB to calculate QoS level delay if multiple DRBs mapped with the same QoS.
  • Table 4.3.1.1-2 Parameter description for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB, averaged during time period ⁇ ( ⁇ , ⁇ ) ⁇ . Unit: 0.1 ms. PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB is 1s if the actual value is larger than 1s. ⁇ ( ⁇ ) The point in time when the UL PDCP SDU i arrivals at PDCP upper SAP.
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ ) The point in time when the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission.
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ ) Total number of UL PDCP SDUs received during time period ⁇ .
  • Time Period during which the measurement is performed. This ⁇ duration is configured using meas-Period in the measurement configuration.
  • ⁇ The identity of the measured DRB.
  • the UE performs the average UL PDCP queuing delay using an explicitly configured number of PDCP PDUs that the UE has received. Configuration of such a number of PDCP PDUs to be used for delay computation is specified above, i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “num-PDCP- SDU”.
  • number-PDCP- SDU the measurement interval is referred to using the term “num-PDCP- SDU”.
  • An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below.
  • the baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes underlined).
  • Protocol Layer PDCP Table 4.3.1.1-1: Definition for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE Definition PDCP Packet Delay in the UL per DRB. This measurement refers to PDCP queuing delay for DRBs in the UE, which captures the delay from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant).
  • UE measures UL PDCP queueing delay at DRB level. It is up to gNB to convert DRB level delay to QoS level delay with the assumption that all QoS flows mapped to the same DRB get the same QoS treatment, and it is up to gNB to calculate QoS level delay if multiple DRBs mapped with the same QoS.
  • Table 4.3.1.1-2 Parameter description for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB, averaged using N number of ⁇ ( ⁇ , ⁇ ) PDCP SDUs Unit: 0.1 ms.
  • PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB is 1s if the actual value is larger than 1s.
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ ) The point in time when the UL PDCP SDU i arrivals at PDCP upper SAP.
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ ) The point in time when the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission.
  • a UL PDCP SDU that is received by the PDCP which is one among up to N PDCP SDUs.
  • Total number of UL PDCP SDUs used for performing the ⁇ measurement This number is configured using num-PDCP-SDU in the measurement configuration.
  • ⁇ The identity of the measured DRB.
  • the UE if the UE has not received the configured number of PDCP SDUs (i.e., num-PDCP-SDU) during a reporting interval then the UE computes the delay measurement using the number of PDCP SDUs, which is less than the configured num-PDCP- SDU variable, for which the UE has not computed an average UL PDCP queuing delay measurement. Excess delay ratio measurement for a specific measurement period [85] As noted previously, the following explanation uses the term PDCP SDUs but it could also be for PDCP PDUs or SDAP PDUs or SDAP SDUs.
  • the UE performs the UL PDCP excess delay ratio measurement using each of the PDCP PDUs that the UE has received during a measurement interval as configured by the network.
  • a measurement interval configuration is specified in 0 i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “meas- Period”.
  • mean- Period is specified in 0 i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “meas- Period”.
  • An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below.
  • the baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes underlined).
  • Protocol Layer PDCP Table 4.3.1.2-1: Definition for UL PDCP Excess Packet Delay per DRB Definition
  • PDCP Excess Packet Delay in the UL per DRB. It represents the ratio of packets in UL per DRB exceeding the configured delay threshold among the UL PDCP SDUs received. The delay for each packet is calculated from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant).
  • the UE performs the UL PDCP excess delay ratio measurement using an explicitly configured number of PDCP PDUs that the UE has received. Configuration of such a number of PDCP PDUs to be used for delay computation is specified in 2.7.1.1.4 i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “num- PDCP-SDU”. [90] An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below. The baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes are underlined).
  • Protocol Layer PDCP Table 4.3.1.2-1: Definition for UL PDCP Excess Packet Delay per DRB Definition
  • PDCP Excess Packet Delay in the UL per DRB. It represents the ratio of packets in UL per DRB exceeding the configured delay threshold among the UL PDCP SDUs received. The delay for each packet is calculated from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant).
  • the UE if the UE has not received the configured number of PDCP SDUs (i.e., num-PDCP-SDU) during a reporting interval then the UE computes the delay measurement using the number of PDCP SDUs, which is less than the configured num-PDCP- SDU variable, for which the UE has not computed an average UL PDCP queuing delay measurement.
  • the UE transmits, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.
  • the UE transmits report messages to the network at a periodicity defined by the second indication.
  • such a report message may comprise indications of multiple values for the one or more delay parameters.
  • the report message may comprise a list of indications of the multiple values.
  • a first or initial value in such a list may correspond to the value determined from a first amount of measurements performed in the reporting period (e.g., a first number of measurements, or a first measurement period)
  • a second value in the list may correspond to a value determined from a second amount of measurements performed in the reported period, and so on.
  • a final value in the list may be calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication, for example where the reporting period ends but the measurement amount indicated by the first indication has not been reached.
  • the report message may be transmitted to the same network node that transmitted the configuration in step 102. Alternatively, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the report message may be transmitted to a different network node, for example if the UE has undergone one or more mobility procedures since receiving the configuration in step 102, or is configured with dual connectivity to multiple network nodes, etc. [96] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the values for the delay parameters as reported to the network may be quantized to one or more predefined values. For example, a value of a delay parameter as measured may correspond to 0.63.
  • the UE may be configured with a plurality of predefined levels (e.g., 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, etc).
  • the measured value may be quantized to one of the predefined values (e.g., the nearest predefined value, or some other rounding rule), and the quantized value reported.
  • Each of the predefined values may be associated with an index or other indication, which is reported instead of the value itself.
  • the UE sends a single measurement report that includes a plurality (e.g., a list) of delay measurement samples wherein each of the delay measurement sample is computed as mentioned above. An example implementation of how such a measurement report looks is given below (changes underlined). As indicated below, the UE sends a list of delay values in the measurement report wherein the UE has generated this list during a reporting period and each entry in the list is based on the packets (e.g., PDCP SDUs) sent during the configured measurement period, e.g., meas-Period.
  • packets e.g., PDCP SDUs
  • the measurements and reported values may be associated with a certain DRB. [99] This may imply that the first entry of the list comprises the average delay experienced in the first measurement period within the reporting interval, the second entry the average delay experienced in the second measurement period within the reporting interval, and so on.
  • MeasResults information element MeasResults SEQUENCE ⁇ measId MeasId, measResultServingMOList MeasResultServMOList, measResultNeighCells CHOICE ⁇ measResultListNR MeasResultListNR, ..., measResultListEUTRA MeasResultListEUTRA, measResultListUTRA-FDD-r16 MeasResultListUTRA- FDD-r16, sl-MeasResultsCandRelay-r17 OCTET STRING -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultListRelay-r17 ⁇ OPTIONAL, ..., [[ measResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG MeasResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultServFreqListNR-SCG MeasResultServFreqListNR-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-EUTRA MeasResultSFTD-EUTRA OPT
  • AverageDelay-r18 SEQUENCE ⁇ averageDelayValue-r18 INTEGER (0..10000), ... ⁇ field descriptions averageDelayValue Indicates average delay for the packets during the measurement period, meas- Period. Value 0 corresponds to 0 millisecond, value 1 corresponds to 0.1 millisecond, value 2 corresponds to 0.2 millisecond, and so on.************ [100] In some sub-embodiments, the UE also includes for each entry of the list the number of PDCP SDUs that were used to compute the average value in each of the measurement periods covered by the measurement report.
  • the UE sends a single measurement report that includes a list of delay measurement samples wherein each of the delay measurement sample is computed as mentioned above. An example implementation of how such a measurement report looks is given below. As indicated below, the UE sends a list of delay values in the measurement report wherein the UE has generated this list during a reporting period and each entry in the list is based on the N (num-PDCP-SDU) number of PDCP SDUs sent during the reporting period.
  • the UE may include the average results for X transmitted packets, wherein X ⁇ N, if at the expiry of the reporting period the UE has only transmitted X packets for the computation of the average results associated to the said entry.
  • the UE may also include for each entry of the said list the number of PDCP SDUs that were used to compute the average delay value included in the said entry.
  • MeasResults information element MeasResults SEQUENCE ⁇ measId MeasId, measResultServingMOList MeasResultServMOList, measResultNeighCells CHOICE ⁇ measResultListNR MeasResultListNR, ..., measResultListEUTRA MeasResultListEUTRA, measResultListUTRA-FDD-r16 MeasResultListUTRA- FDD-r16, sl-MeasResultsCandRelay-r17 OCTET STRING -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultListRelay-r17 ⁇ OPTIONAL, ..., [[ measResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG MeasResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultServFreqListNR-SCG MeasResultServFreqListNR-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-EUTRA MeasResultSFTD-EUTRA OPT
  • the configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter is for MDT purposes, e.g., Immediate MDT.
  • the delay parameter(s) may comprise one or more of: an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment; and a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold. That is, the delay may comprise an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment (e.g., a packet queue in a protocol layer of the UE, such as a PDCP queue), until a trigger event (such as the onward transmission of the uplink packet from the queue to another layer of the UE, or the availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet).
  • a trigger event such as the onward transmission of the uplink packet from the queue to another layer of the UE, or the availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet.
  • the uplink packet may therefore comprise an SDU received at an entity in a protocol layer of the UE (e.g., PDCP), and stored in a queue at the entity for onward transmission to a lower protocol layer and, ultimately, from the UE.
  • the average delay associated with uplink packets is therefore an average (e.g., mean average) calculated from a plurality of individual measurements for the packets. Measurements may be performed on every packet in the queue (and in accordance with the configuration) or a subset of the packets in the queue.
  • the ratio or percentage of measurements exceeding a threshold may comprise a ratio of the amount of measurements greater than a threshold (which may be configured in the configuration) to the total number of measurements.
  • the UE may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer).
  • the UE combines the indicated number of measurements, e.g., by calculating the average delay over the indicated number of measurements, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay over the indicated number of measurements.
  • the measurement amount indicated by the first indication may comprise a periodicity (e.g., a period) over which the measurements are to be performed.
  • the UE may perform measurements of the delay for each packet over the period, or may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer) over the period.
  • the UE combines the measurements performed during the period, e.g., by calculating the average delay of measurements during the period, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay for measurements performed during the period.
  • the periodicity indicated by the first indication (which may be referred to as a “measurement periodicity” herein) may comprise one of a plurality of predefined values.
  • the predefined values may define a range of values from a high or maximum value corresponding to the reporting periodicity (e.g., that indicated by the second indication), to a low or minimum value which is less than the reporting periodicity.
  • One or more of the first indication and the second indication may be associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer. That is, the first and/or second indications may be specific to delay measurements performed on a particular type of traffic, e.g., such as that belonging to a particular data radio bearer (DRB).
  • the configuration may therefore comprise a plurality of first and/or second indications defining measurement amounts and/or reporting periodicities for different types of traffic (e.g., different DRBs).
  • each indication may relate to an individual type of traffic or DRB, or more than one type of traffic or DRB.
  • the network node receives, from the UE, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.
  • the UE transmits report messages to the network at a periodicity defined by the second indication.
  • the UE may receive a configuration from, and transmit report messages to, different network nodes, for example if the UE has undergoes one or more mobility procedures since receiving the configuration, or is configured with dual connectivity to multiple network nodes, etc.
  • the receipt of the report message in 204, by the same network node that transmitted the configuration in step 202 is strictly optional.
  • such a report message may comprise indications of multiple values for the one or more delay parameters.
  • the report message may comprise a list of indications of the multiple values.
  • a first or initial value in such a list may correspond to the value determined from a first amount of measurements performed in the reporting period (e.g., a first number of measurements, or a first measurement period)
  • a second value in the list may correspond to a value determined from a second amount of measurements performed in the reported period, and so on.
  • a final value in the list may be calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication, for example where the reporting period ends but the measurement amount indicated by the first indication has not been reached.
  • the values for the delay parameters as reported to the network may be quantized to one or more predefined values.
  • a value of a delay parameter as measured may correspond to 0.63.
  • the UE may be configured with a plurality of predefined levels (e.g., 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, etc).
  • the measured value may be quantized to one of the predefined values (e.g., the nearest predefined value, or some other rounding rule), and the quantized value reported.
  • Each of the predefined values may be associated with an index or other indication, which is reported instead of the value itself.
  • FIG. 3 shows an example of a communication system 300 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the communication system 300 includes a telecommunication network 302 that includes an access network 304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 306, which includes one or more core network nodes 308.
  • the access network 304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 310a and 310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 310), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • 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.
  • network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof.
  • the telecommunication network 302 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes.
  • ORAN Open-RAN
  • An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 302 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 302, including one or more network nodes 310 and/or core network nodes 308.
  • ORAN specification e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization
  • 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).
  • a near-real time control application e.g., xApp
  • rApp non-real time control application
  • 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.
  • an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node.
  • an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized.
  • 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 310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 312a, 312b, 312c, and 312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 312) to the core network 306 over one or more wireless connections.
  • UE user equipment
  • 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.
  • the communication system 300 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 300 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
  • the UEs 312 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 310 and other communication devices.
  • the network nodes 310 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 312 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 302 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 302.
  • the core network 306 connects the network nodes 310 to one or more hosts, such as host 316. 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 306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 308) that are structured with hardware and software components.
  • Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).
  • MSC Mobile Switching Center
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • HSS Home Subscriber Server
  • AMF Access and Mobility Management Function
  • SMF Session Management Function
  • AUSF Authentication Server Function
  • SIDF Subscription Identifier De-concealing function
  • UDM Unified Data Management
  • SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy
  • NEF Network Exposure Function
  • UPF User Plane Function
  • the host 316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 304 and/or the telecommunication network 302, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the host 316 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and/or pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services, for example, 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.
  • the telecommunication network 302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 302. For example, the telecommunications network 302 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive IoT services to yet further UEs.
  • the UEs 312 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 304.
  • a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode.
  • 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).
  • MR-DC multi-radio dual connectivity
  • the hub 314 communicates with the access network 304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 312c and/or 312d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 310b).
  • the hub 314 may be a controller, router, a content source and analytics node, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs.
  • the hub 314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 306 for the UEs.
  • the hub 314 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 310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 314.
  • the hub 314 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.
  • the hub 314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content.
  • the hub 314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.
  • the hub 314 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 310b.
  • the hub 314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 314 and UEs (e.g., UE 312c and/or 312d), and between the hub 314 and the core network 306.
  • the hub 314 is connected to the core network 306 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection.
  • the hub 314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 304 and/or to another UE over a direct connection.
  • UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 310 while still connected via the hub 314 via a wired or wireless connection.
  • the hub 314 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 310b.
  • the hub 314 may be a non-dedicated hub – that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 310b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
  • Figure 4 shows a UE 400 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • 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 camera, 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.
  • VoIP voice over IP
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • LME laptop-embedded equipment
  • CPE wireless customer-premise equipment
  • 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).
  • a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • 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).
  • 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 400 includes processing circuitry 402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 404 to an input/output interface 406, a power source 408, a memory 410, a communication interface 412, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 4.
  • the level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE.
  • certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
  • the processing circuitry 402 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 410.
  • the processing circuitry 402 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.
  • the processing circuitry 402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
  • the processing circuitry 402 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 400 components, such as the memory 410, UE 400 functionality.
  • the processing circuitry 402 may be configured to cause the UE 402 to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 1.
  • the input/output interface 406 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 400.
  • 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.
  • the power source 408 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 408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 408 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 408.
  • the memory 410 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.
  • the memory 410 includes one or more application programs 414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 416.
  • the memory 410 may store, for use by the UE 400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • the memory 410 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.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD-DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HDDS holographic digital data storage
  • the UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • the memory 410 may allow the UE 400 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 410, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
  • the processing circuitry 402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 412.
  • the communication interface 412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 422.
  • the communication interface 412 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 418 and/or a receiver 420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth).
  • the transmitter 418 and receiver 420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
  • communication functions of the communication interface 412 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.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • 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.
  • a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 412, 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.
  • 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.
  • the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or controls a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
  • a UE when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) 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 IoT device are devices which are or which are 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.
  • UAV Unmanned A
  • a UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence on the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 400 shown in Figure 4.
  • 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.
  • the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
  • Figure 5 shows a network node 500 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • APs access points
  • BSs base stations
  • eNBs evolved Node Bs
  • gNBs NR NodeBs
  • O-RAN nodes 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).
  • RRUs remote radio units
  • RRHs Remote Radio Heads
  • 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).
  • DAS distributed antenna system
  • 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).
  • MSR multi-standard radio
  • RNCs radio network controllers
  • BSCs base station controllers
  • BTSs base transceiver stations
  • OFDM Operation and Maintenance
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • SON Self-Organizing Network
  • positioning nodes e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)
  • the network node 500 includes processing circuitry 502, a memory 504, a communication interface 506, and a power source 508, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • the network node 500 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.
  • the network node 500 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components)
  • one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes.
  • a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs.
  • each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
  • the network node 500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs).
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 510 may be shared by different RATs).
  • the network node 500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 500, 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 500.
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification
  • the processing circuitry 502 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 500 components, such as the memory 504, network node 500 functionality.
  • the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 2.
  • the processing circuitry 502 includes a system on a chip (SOC).
  • the processing circuitry 502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514.
  • the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
  • the memory 504 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 502.
  • 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-
  • the memory 504 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 502 and utilized by the network node 500.
  • the memory 504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 502 and/or any data received via the communication interface 506.
  • the processing circuitry 502 and memory 504 is integrated.
  • the communication interface 506 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE.
  • the communication interface 506 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection.
  • the communication interface 506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 510.
  • Radio front-end circuitry 518 comprises filters 520 and amplifiers 522.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 518 may be connected to an antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502.
  • the radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 518 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 518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 520 and/or amplifiers 522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. [160] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 518, instead, the processing circuitry 502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 510.
  • the RF transceiver circuitry 512 is part of the communication interface 506.
  • the communication interface 506 includes one or more ports or terminals 516, the radio front- end circuitry 518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
  • the antenna 510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals.
  • the antenna 510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly.
  • the antenna 510 is separate from the network node 500 and connectable to the network node 500 through an interface or port.
  • the antenna 510, communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 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.
  • the antenna 510, the communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 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 508 provides power to the various components of network node 500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component).
  • the power source 508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 500 with power for performing the functionality described herein.
  • the network node 500 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 508.
  • the power source 508 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry.
  • Embodiments of the network node 500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 5 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.
  • the network node 500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 500 and to allow output of information from the network node 500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 500.
  • Figure 6 is a block diagram of a host 600, which may be an embodiment of the host 316 of Figure 3, in accordance with various aspects described herein.
  • the host 600 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 600 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
  • the host 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input/output interface 606, a network interface 608, a power source 610, and a memory 612.
  • 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 4 and 5, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 600.
  • the memory 612 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 614 and data 616, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 600 or data generated by the host 600 for a UE.
  • Embodiments of the host 600 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown.
  • the host application programs 614 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), 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 614 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.
  • FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.
  • virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources.
  • 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 700 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.
  • VMs virtual machines
  • hardware nodes such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host.
  • the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host)
  • the node may be entirely virtualized.
  • the virtualization environment 700 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 702 (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 704 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 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708a and 708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • the virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.
  • the VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706.
  • a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, 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 network function virtualization
  • 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.
  • a VM 708 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 708, and that part of hardware 704 that executes that VM 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 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702. [173]
  • Hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 704 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g.
  • hardware 704 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 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
  • Figure 8 shows a communication diagram of a host 802 communicating via a network node 804 with a UE 806 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.
  • UE such as a UE 312a of Figure 3 and/or UE 400 of Figure 4
  • network node such as network node 310a of Figure 3 and/or network node 500 of Figure 5
  • host such as host 316 of Figure 3 and/or host 600 of Figure 6
  • embodiments of host 802 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory.
  • the host 802 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 802 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 806 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 850 extending between the UE 806 and host 802.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 850.
  • the network node 804 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 802 and UE 806.
  • the connection 860 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 306 of Figure 3) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks.
  • an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.
  • the UE 806 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 806 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 806 with the support of the host 802.
  • 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 806 with the support of the host 802.
  • an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 850 terminating at the UE 806 and host 802.
  • 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 850 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 850.
  • the OTT connection 850 may extend via a connection 860 between the host 802 and the network node 804 and via a wireless connection 870 between the network node 804 and the UE 806 to provide the connection between the host 802 and the UE 806.
  • the connection 860 and wireless connection 870, over which the OTT connection 850 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 802 and the UE 806 via the network node 804, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • the host 802 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application.
  • the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 806.
  • the user data is associated with a UE 806 that shares data with the host 802 without explicit human interaction.
  • the host 802 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 806.
  • the host 802 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 806.
  • the request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 806 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 806.
  • the transmission may pass via the network node 804, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 812, the network node 804 transmits to the UE 806 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 802 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • the UE 806 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 806 associated with the host application executed by the host 802. [180] In some examples, the UE 806 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 802. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 802.
  • the UE 806 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application.
  • the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 806.
  • the UE 806 initiates, in step 818, transmission of the user data towards the host 802 via the network node 804.
  • the network node 804 receives user data from the UE 806 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 802.
  • the host 802 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 806.
  • One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 806 using the OTT connection 850, in which the wireless connection 870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the quality of service (e.g., latency) and thereby provide benefits such as better responsiveness.
  • factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 802.
  • the host 802 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps.
  • the host 802 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights).
  • the host 802 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE.
  • the host 802 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs.
  • the host 802 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.
  • 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.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 802 and/or UE 806.
  • sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.
  • the reconfiguring of the OTT connection 850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 804. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 802.
  • the measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 850 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
  • the computing devices described herein e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts
  • 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.
  • processing circuitry 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.
  • computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality.
  • a method performed by a user equipment for measuring and reporting delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment comprising: receiving a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity; performing measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determining one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication; and transmitting, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.
  • the delay parameter comprises an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment.
  • determining values of the delay parameter comprises calculating a value of the average delay over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
  • the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold.
  • determining values of the delay parameter comprises calculating a value of the ratio or percentage over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
  • the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a number of measurements of the delay.
  • the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed.
  • the periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed is equal to or shorter than the reporting periodicity.
  • one or more of the first indication and the second indication is associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer.
  • the configuration comprises one or more further first indications and/or one or more further second indications associated with uplink packets belonging to one or more second data radio bearers.
  • the delay comprises an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment, until a trigger event.
  • the queue comprises a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, queue. 13.
  • the trigger event comprises availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet.
  • the report message comprises a plurality of values for the delay parameter, calculated from respective measurement amounts indicated by the first indication.
  • a final value of the plurality of values is calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
  • the configuration is received from the network node or a different network node. 17.
  • the method of any of the previous embodiments further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.
  • a method performed by a network node for configuring a user equipment to measure and report delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment comprising: transmitting, to the user equipment, a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity.
  • the delay parameter comprises an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment.
  • a value of the average delay is calculated over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
  • the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold.
  • the method of any one of embodiments 18 to 22, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a number of measurements of the delay.
  • the method of any one of embodiments 18 to 22, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed.
  • the method of embodiment 24, wherein the periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed is equal to or shorter than the reporting periodicity.
  • the configuration comprises one or more further first indications and/or one or more further second indications associated with uplink packets belonging to one or more second data radio bearers.
  • the delay comprises an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment until a trigger event.
  • the queue comprises a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, queue.
  • the trigger event comprises availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet.
  • the report message comprises a plurality of values for the delay parameter, calculated from respective measurement amounts indicated by the first indication.
  • 33. The method of embodiment 32, wherein a final value of the plurality of values is calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
  • 34. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.
  • a user equipment comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. 36.
  • a network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
  • UE user equipment
  • the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.
  • a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide 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 any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
  • the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data
  • 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.
  • 41. The method of the previous embodiment further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.
  • 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.
  • a communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) 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 any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • 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 any of the operations of any of the Group
  • 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 any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.
  • UE user equipment
  • the host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.
  • the method of the previous embodiment further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host. 50.
  • a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide 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 cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.
  • the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.
  • 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.
  • UE user equipment
  • the method of the previous embodiment further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the host application.
  • the method of the previous embodiment further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.
  • a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide 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 cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.
  • the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.
  • 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.
  • UE user equipment
  • the method of the previous embodiment further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE. 61.
  • the method of the previous 2 embodiments further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

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Abstract

A method is performed by a user equipment (UE) for measuring and reporting delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment The method comprises receiving a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the UE. The configuration comprises a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. The method further comprises performing measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the UE and determining one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication. The method further comprises transmitting, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.

Description

METHODS, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA RELATED TO MEASURING AND REPORTING QUALITY-OF-SERVICE PARAMETERS TECHNICAL FIELD [1] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, apparatus and computer- readable media relating to quality-of-service (QoS) parameters, and particularly to measuring and reporting QoS parameters. BACKGROUND Immediate Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) [2] Immediate MDT is standardized so that management systems in wireless networks can collect the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with a User Equipment (UE) in connected mode. The following excerpts from 3GPP TS 37.320 v17.2.0 provide some detail concerning the configuration and reporting of measurements in immediate MDT: “Measurement configuration [3] For Immediate MDT, Radio Access Network (RAN) measurements and UE measurements can be configured. The configuration for UE measurements is based on the existing Radio Resource Control (RRC) measurement procedures for configuration and reporting with some extensions for location information. [4] NOTE: No extensions related to time stamp are expected for Immediate MDT i.e. time stamp is expected to be provided by eNB/ Radio Network Controller (RNC)/gNB. [5] If area scope is included in the MDT configuration provided to the RAN, the UE is configured with respective measurement when the UE is connected to a cell that is part of the configured area scope. Measurement reporting [6] For Immediate MDT, the UE provides detailed location information (e.g. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location information) if available. The UE also provides available neighbour cell measurement information that may be used to determine the UE location (Radio Frequency (RF) fingerprint). Evolved Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), Cell-Id, or CellIdentity of the serving cell when the measurement was taken is always assumed known in Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) (E-UTRAN), UTRAN or New Radio (NR) respectively. [7] The location information which comes with UE radio measurements for MDT can be correlated with other MDT measurements, e.g. RAN measurements. For MDT measurements where UE location information is provided separately, it is assumed that the correlation of location information and MDT measurements should be done in the Trace Collection Entity (TCE) based on time-stamps. … Measurements and reporting triggers for Immediate MDT [8] Measurements to be performed for Immediate MDT purposes involve reporting triggers and criteria utilized for Radio Resource Management (RRM). An MDT specific UE-based measurement for Uplink (UL) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) delay is applied for QoS verification purpose. In addition, there are measurements performed in gNB. In particular, the following measurements shall be supported for Immediate MDT performance: … - M6: Packet Delay measurement separately for Downlink (DL) and UL, per Data Radio Bearer (DRB) per UE, TS 28.552 and TS 38.314. … [9] Measurement collection triggers: - For M6: o End of measurement collection period.” Immediate MDT for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) [10] In signalling based immediate MDT, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) provides MDT configuration for both Master Node (MN) and Secondary Node (SN) towards MN including multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) SN configuration, specifically E-UTRA and NR MDT configuration. MN then forwards the NR MDT configuration towards SN (Evolved Non-standalone Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) scenario, SN is always NR). [11] In management-based immediate MDT, Operations and Management (OAM) provides the MDT configuration to both MN and SN independently. For both MN and SN, Management based MDT should not overwrite signalling based MDT. [12] For immediate MDT configuration, MN and SN can independently configure and receive measurements from the UE. RAN delay and the UE components of delay measurements [13] The RAN internal delay can be split into multiple components, and they are captured in 3GPP TS 38.314 v17.2.0. The following excerpts from that specification provide some details of the components that make up the RAN delay: [14] “The DL packet delay measurements, i.e. D1 (the DL delay in over-the-air interface), D2 (the DL delay in gNB-DU), D3 (the DL delay on F1-U) and D4 (the DL delay in Centralized Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), should be measured per DRB per UE. [15] The RAN part (including UE) of UL packet delay measurement comprises: - D1 (UL PDCP packet average delay, as defined in clause 4.3.1.1). - D2.1 (average over-the-air interface packet delay, as defined in 4.2.1.2.2). - D2.2 (average RLC packet delay, as defined in 4.2.1.2.3). - D2.3 (average delay UL on F1-U, it is measured using the same metric as the average delay DL on F1-U defined in TS 28.552 [2] clause 5.1.3.3.2). - D2.4 (average PDCP re-ordering delay, as defined in 4.2.1.2.4). [16] The UL packet delay measurements, i.e. D1 (UL PDCP packet average delay), D2.1 (average over-the-air interface packet delay), D2.2 (average RLC packet delay), D2.3 (average delay UL on F1-U) and D2.4 (average PDCP re-ordering delay), should be measured per DRB per UE. The unit of D1, D2.1, D2.2, D2.3 and D2.4 is 0.1ms. [17] For non CU-UP and Distributed Unit (DU) split case, RAN part of packet delay excludes the delay at F1-U interface, i.e. D2.3 and D3. … [18] For the QoS monitoring in TS 23.501 [4], RAN informs the RAN part of UL packet delay measurement, or the RAN part of DL packet delay measurement, or both to the CN.” [19] Further formulae for calculating D1 (UL PDCP packet average delay) can be found in section 4.3.1.1 of TS 38.314 v17.2.0. Such a delay measurement is an average PDCP queueing delay. [20] Further, the UE can be configured to report excess PDCP delay ratio measurement wherein the UE checks what percentage of PDCP Service Data Units (SDUs) have experienced a PDCP queuing delay (time difference from the packet arrival at PDCP upper Service Access Point (SAP) until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available) that is larger than a network configured threshold. The formulae for calculating this measurement can be found in section 4.3.1.2 of TS 38.314 v17.2.0. SUMMARY [21] There currently exist certain challenge(s). [22] The delay measurements that are standardized for MDT and QoS verification purposes are average delay-based measurements. [23] The minimum periodicity according to which these measurements are reported is 120ms, which also means that the UE averages the delay measurements (e.g., for all the PDCP SDUs) in that 120ms to produce a single delay measurement component. These delay measurements are typically good enough for Mobile Broad Band (MBB) services and other services where packet delay is not a severe constraint on the user experience. However, in Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) and other services which may have a stricter delay requirement, the averaging across 120ms (or more) is very limiting. [24] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. [25] Embodiments of the disclosure propose enhancements to the delay measurement configuration and delay measurement computation and the delay measurement reporting methods. [26] As part of the delay measurement configuration, one or more of the following enhancements may be included: ^ The UE is configured with a measurement periodicity, whose value may be equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity of the measurement. ^ The UE is configured with a number which indicates the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for averaging in calculation of a single entry of the average delay measurement. ^ The UE is configured with one or more service identities (IDs), e.g. DRB IDs, to which either or both of the configurations above apply. [27] As part of the delay measurement computation, the UE may perform the delay measurements’ computation for each measurement period based on the received measurement configuration. [28] As part of the delay measurement reporting, one or more of the following enhancements may be included: ^ The UE reports a list of delay measurements at every reporting periodicity expiry wherein each entry of the list contains a delay measurement as computed during one measurement period. ^ The UE reports multiple of the above lists, wherein each reported list is associated to delay measurements associated to one measurement periodicity. The multiple measurement periodicities represented in the measurement report may be of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity. [29] Some embodiments of the disclosure, particularly methods performed by a UE, are set out in the following numbered paragraphs: 1: A method performed by the UE to collect and report the delay measurements, the method comprising: Receiving a configuration from the network node to perform and report delay measurement. Performing the packet delay measurement as per the received configuration Reporting the packet delay measurement to the network node. 2: The configuration of embodiment 1 includes a measurement periodicity information that is different from reporting periodicity information. 3: The configuration of embodiment 1 includes a number of PDCP SDUs related information that indicates to the UE how many PDCP SDUs are to be used to compute a single value of delay measurement. 4: The configuration of embodiment 1 includes one or more services, e.g. DRB IDs, to which the configuration applies. 5: The performing of embodiment 1 comprises the UE performing the packet delay measurement for each measurement period. 6: The reporting of embodiment 1 includes a report consisting of a list wherein each entry of the list indicates the delay measurement as performed for the PDCP SDUs in a single measurement periodicity as per Embodiment 5. 7: The reporting of embodiment 1 includes a report consisting of multiple lists as in Embodiment 6, wherein each list indicates the delay measurement associated to a certain measurement periodicity. [30] In a first aspect of the disclosure, a method is performed by a user equipment for measuring and reporting delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment. The method comprises receiving a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. The method further comprises performing measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determining one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication. The method further comprises transmitting, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication. [31] In a second aspect of the disclosure, a method is performed by a network node for configuring a user equipment to measure and report delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment. The method comprises transmitting, to the user equipment, a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. [32] In a third aspect of the disclosure, a user equipment is configured to perform embodiments of a method according to the first aspect. [33] In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, a user equipment comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to receive a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the user equipment to perform measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determine one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the user equipment to transmit, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication. The user equipment further comprises power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. [34] In a fifth aspect of the disclosure, a network node is configured to perform embodiments of a method according to the second aspect. [35] In a sixth aspect of the disclosure, a network node comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to transmit, to a user equipment, a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. The network node further comprises power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. [36] In a seventh aspect of the disclosure, a method is performed by a user equipment for measuring and reporting delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment. The method comprises performing measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment and, based on the measurements, determining a plurality of values of a delay parameter. Each value of the delay parameter is based on a respective amount of measurements. The method further comprises transmitting, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the plurality of determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with a reporting periodicity. [37] In an eighth aspect of the disclosure, a method is performed by a network node for determining delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by a user equipment. The method comprises receiving, from a user equipment, a report message comprising indications of a plurality of determined values of a delay parameter. The report message is received periodically in accordance with a reporting periodicity. Each value of the delay parameter is based on a respective amount of measurements performed by the user equipment. [38] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, embodiments of the disclosure provide the possibility of calculating the average delay measurement in a shorter period which is more suited for the URLLC use cases. Embodiments of the disclosure may have no impact on the PDCP header in comparison with solutions which propose the inclusion of timestamp in the PDCP header. Embodiments of the disclosure may allow the possibility to provide delay measurements configurations with different measurement periodicities for different services, e.g. depending on the latency requirements of different services. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [39] For a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and to show how it may be put into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which: [40] Fig.1 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments; [41] Fig.2 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments; [42] Fig. 3 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments; [43] Fig.4 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments; [44] Fig.5 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments; [45] Fig.6 is a block diagram of a host; [46] Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; and [47] Fig.8 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [48] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. [49] Figure 1 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 100 may be performed by a UE or wireless device (e.g. the UE 312 or UE 400 as described later with reference to Figures 3 and 4 respectively). The method 100 should be read in conjunction with method 200, which sets out complementary steps performed in a network node. [50] The method begins at step 102, in which the UE receives a configuration for measurement and reporting of one or more delay parameters associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment. For example, the configuration may be received from a network node or base station, such as a serving network node or base station. The configuration may be received via RRC signalling, for example. In one embodiment, the configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter is for MDT purposes, e.g., Immediate MDT. [51] The delay parameter(s) may comprise one or more of: an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment; and a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold. That is, the delay may comprise an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment (e.g., a packet queue in a protocol layer of the UE, such as a PDCP queue), until a trigger event (such as the onward transmission of the uplink packet from the queue to another layer of the UE, or the availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet). The uplink packet may therefore comprise an SDU received at an entity in a protocol layer of the UE (e.g., PDCP), and stored in a queue at the entity for onward transmission to a lower protocol layer and, ultimately, from the UE. [52] The average delay associated with uplink packets is therefore an average (e.g., mean average) calculated from a plurality of individual measurements for the packets. Measurements may be performed on every packet in the queue (and in accordance with the configuration) or a subset of the packets in the queue. The ratio or percentage of measurements exceeding a threshold may comprise a ratio of the amount of measurements greater than a threshold (which may be configured in the configuration) to the total number of measurements. In this configuration, a higher percentage or ratio is therefore indicative of a greater delay. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the ratio or percentage may be configured differently without departing from the scope of the disclosure. [53] According to embodiments of the disclosure, the configuration comprises a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. The second indication indicates a periodicity (or period) at which the UE shall transmit reports of the delay measurements to the network (e.g., to the network node). The second indication may take one of a plurality of predefined values. In one example, the minimum predefined value may correspond to 120 ms, indicating that the UE shall transmit reports to the network every 120 ms. [54] The first indication thus indicates the amount of measurement that should be performed when calculating or determining a value of the delay parameter. For example, where the delay parameter comprises an average delay, the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which the delay should be averaged. Where the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold, the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which a value of the ratio or percentage shall be calculated or determined. [55] The measurement amount indicated by the first indication may comprise a number of measurements of the delay. For example, the UE may perform measurements of the delay for each packet, and in this case the indicated number of measurements is equivalent to a number of packets. Alternatively, the UE may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer). When determining values for the delay parameter, the UE combines the indicated number of measurements, e.g., by calculating the average delay over the indicated number of measurements, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay over the indicated number of measurements. [56] In other embodiments, the measurement amount indicated by the first indication may comprise a periodicity (e.g., a period) over which the measurements are to be performed. In this example, the UE may perform measurements of the delay for each packet over the period, or may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer) over the period. When determining values for the delay parameter, the UE combines the measurements performed during the period, e.g., by calculating the average delay of measurements during the period, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay for measurements performed during the period. [57] The periodicity indicated by the first indication (which may be referred to as a “measurement periodicity” herein) may comprise one of a plurality of predefined values. In one embodiment the predefined values may define a range of values from a high or maximum value corresponding to the reporting periodicity (e.g., that indicated by the second indication), to a low or minimum value which is less than the reporting periodicity. [58] One or more of the first indication and the second indication may be associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer. That is, the first and/or second indications may be specific to delay measurements performed on a particular type of traffic, e.g., such as that belonging to a particular data radio bearer (DRB). The configuration may therefore comprise a plurality of first and/or second indications defining measurement amounts and/or reporting periodicities for different types of traffic (e.g., different DRBs). Each indication may relate to an individual type of traffic or DRB, or more than one type of traffic or DRB. [59] The following sections set out further detail regarding step 102 for four different embodiments: Average delay measurement for a measurement period [60] In one embodiment of the disclosure, the configuration includes one or more measurement periodicities as part of the delay measurement configuration, wherein each configured measurement periodicity is of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity/interval (included in the delay measurement configuration) of the associated delay measurement report. This may imply that the first entry of the reported average delay measurement comprises the average delay experienced in the first measurement period within the reporting interval, the second entry the average delay experienced in the second measurement period within the reporting interval, and so on. [61] In some sub-embodiments, the measurement periodicity for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs. By doing so, the network has the flexibility to get different averaging intervals for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of averaging periodicity for MBB related DRB and another value of averaging periodicity for URLLC related DRB. [62] An example of how such a configuration might look like is given below. The baseline specification used here is 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.3.0 (changes are indicated by underlined passages). In this example, the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration. A UE can be configured with a specific value of meas-Period for a specific delay-DRBlist (set of DRB-Identities) and another specific value of meas-Period for another delay-DRBlist (another set of DRB-Identities). Each configured meas-Period included in one periodical reporting configuration, i.e., PeriodicalReportConfig Information Element (IE), is associated to a measurement periodicity which is of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity, ie. reportInterval, of the corresponding delay measurements. ************** ReportConfigNR information element PeriodicalReportConfig ::= SEQUENCE { rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED {r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity}, reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSSI-ReportConfig-r16 MeasRSSI- ReportConfig-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeCommonLocationInfo-r16 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeBT-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {BT- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeWLAN-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {WLAN- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeSensor-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {Sensor-NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M ul-DelayValueConfig-r16 SetupRelease { UL- DelayValueConfig-r16 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M reportAddNeighMeas-r16 ENUMERATED {setup} OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], [[ ul-ExcessDelayConfig-r17 SetupRelease { UL- ExcessDelayConfig-r17 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M coarseLocationRequest-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R reportQuantityRelay-r17 SL- MeasReportQuantity-r16 OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], ul-DelayValueConfig-r18 SetupRelease {UL- DelayValueConfig-r18} } UL-DelayValueConfig information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-ULDELAYVALUECONFIG-START UL-DelayValueConfig-r16 ::= SEQUENCE { delay-DRBlist-r16 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF DRB- Identity } UL-DelayValueConfig-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { delayPeriodConfigList-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF DelayPeriodConfig-r18 } DelayPeriodConfig-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { delay-DRBlist-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF DRB- Identity meas-Period-r18 ENUMERATED {ms0dot25, ms0dot5, ms1, ms2, ms4, ms5, ms10, ms20, ms30, ms40, ms50, ms60, ms70, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms150, ms300, ms500} } -- TAG-ULDELAYVALUECONFIG-STOP -- ASN1STOP UL-DelayValueConfig field descriptions delay-DRBlist Indicates the DRB IDs used by UE to provide results of UL value per DRB measurement as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. meas-Period Indicates the period to be used for the computation of the UL PDCP Packet delay measurement for the DRB IDs as configured in the corresponding delay-DRBlist as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. The value of meas-Period is smaller than the value of reportInterval included in the associated PeriodicalReportConfig. ************** Average delay measurement for a specific number of PDCP SDUs (or Protocol Data Units (PDUs)) [63] Note: The following explanation uses the term PDCP SDUs but it could also be for PDCP PDUs or Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) PDUs or SDAP SDUs. [64] In another embodiment of the disclosure, the configuration includes a number in the delay measurement configuration which indicates the number N of PDCP SDUs’ to be used for averaging in calculation of a single entry of the average delay measurement to be reported for each reporting interval. This may imply that the first entry of the reported average delay measurement comprises the average delay experienced for the transmissions of packets 1 to N, the second entry for packets N+1 to 2N, and so on. [65] In some sub-embodiments, such a number for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs. By doing so, the network has the flexibility to get different averaging possibilities for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for averaging for MBB related DRB and another value the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for averaging for URLLC related DRB. [66] An example of how such a configuration might look like is given below. The baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.3.0 (changes again are illustrated by underlined passages). In this example, the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration. A UE can be configured with a specific value of num-PDCP-SDU for a specific delay-DRBlist (set of DRB-Identities) and another specific value of num-PDCP-SDU for another delay-DRBlist (another set of DRB-Identities). ************** ReportConfigNR information element PeriodicalReportConfig ::= SEQUENCE { rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED {r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity}, reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSSI-ReportConfig-r16 MeasRSSI- ReportConfig-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeCommonLocationInfo-r16 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeBT-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {BT- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeWLAN-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {WLAN- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeSensor-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {Sensor-NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M ul-DelayValueConfig-r16 SetupRelease { UL- DelayValueConfig-r16 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M reportAddNeighMeas-r16 ENUMERATED {setup} OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], [[ ul-ExcessDelayConfig-r17 SetupRelease { UL- ExcessDelayConfig-r17 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M coarseLocationRequest-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R reportQuantityRelay-r17 SL- MeasReportQuantity-r16 OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], ul-DelayValueConfig-r18 SetupRelease {UL- DelayValueConfig-r18} } UL-DelayValueConfig information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-ULDELAYVALUECONFIG-START UL-DelayValueConfig-r16 ::= SEQUENCE { delay-DRBlist-r16 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF DRB- Identity } UL-DelayValueConfig-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { delayPeriodConfigList-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF DelayPeriodConfig-r18 } DelayPeriodConfig-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { delay-DRBlist-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF DRB- Identity num-PDCP-SDU-r18 INTEGER (0..1000000) } -- TAG-ULDELAYVALUECONFIG-STOP -- ASN1STOP UL-DelayValueConfig field descriptions delay-DRBlist Indicates the DRB IDs used by UE to provide results of UL PDCP Packet Delay value per DRB measurement as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. num-PDCP-SDU Indicates the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for the computation of the UL PDCP Packet delay measurement for the DRB IDs as configured in the corresponding delay- DRBlist as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. ************** Excess delay ratio measurement for a specific measurement period [67] In one embodiment of the disclosure, the configuration includes one or more measurement periodicities as part of the delay measurement configuration, wherein each configured measurement periodicity is of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity of the associated delay measurement included in the delay measurement configuration and the configuration also includes an excess delay threshold. The excess delay threshold is used by the UE to compute the ratio between the SDUs exceeding the configured excess delay threshold and the total number of SDUs received by the UE during the measurement period. This may imply that the first entry of the reported excess delay ratio comprises the excess delay ratio as measured in the first measurement period within the reporting interval, the second entry the average delay experienced in the second measurement period within the reporting interval, and so on. [68] In some sub-embodiments, the measurement periodicity for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs. By doing so, the network has the flexibility to get different intervals for calculating excess delay ratios for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of periodicity for calculating excess delay ratio for MBB related DRB and another value of averaging periodicity for calculating excess delay ratio for URLLC related DRB. [69] An example of how such a configuration might look like is given below. The baseline specification used here is 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.3.0 (changes are underlined). In this example, the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration. A UE can be configured with a specific value of meas-Period for a specific drb-IdentityList (set of DRB- Identities) that have a specific delayThreshold and another specific value of meas-Period for another drb-IdentityList (another set of DRB-Identities) that have another or same delayThreshold. Each configured meas-Period included in one periodical reporting configuration, i.e. PeriodicalReportConfig IE, is associated to a measurement periodicity which is of value equal or smaller than the reporting periodicity, ie. reportInterval, of the corresponding delay measurements. **************** ReportConfigNR information element PeriodicalReportConfig ::= SEQUENCE { rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED {r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity}, reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSSI-ReportConfig-r16 MeasRSSI- ReportConfig-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeCommonLocationInfo-r16 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeBT-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {BT- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeWLAN-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {WLAN- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeSensor-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {Sensor-NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M ul-DelayValueConfig-r16 SetupRelease { UL- DelayValueConfig-r16 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M reportAddNeighMeas-r16 ENUMERATED {setup} OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], [[ ul-ExcessDelayConfig-r17 SetupRelease { UL- ExcessDelayConfig-r17 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M coarseLocationRequest-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R reportQuantityRelay-r17 SL- MeasReportQuantity-r16 OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], ul-ExcessDelayConfig-r18 SetupRelease { UL- ExcessDelayConfig-r18} } UL-ExcessDelayConfig information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-ULEXCESSDELAYCONFIG-START UL-ExcessDelayConfig-r17 ::= SEQUENCE { excessDelay-DRBlist-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF ExcessDelay-DRB-IdentityInfo-r17 } ExcessDelay-DRB-IdentityInfo-r17 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-IdentityList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF DRB-Identity, delayThreshold ENUMERATED {ms0dot25, ms0dot5, ms1, ms2, ms4, ms5, ms10, ms20, ms30, ms40, ms50, ms60, ms70, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms150, ms300, ms500} } UL-ExcessDelayConfig-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { excessDelayList-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF ExcessDelay-IdentityInfo-r18 } ExcessDelay-IdentityInfo-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-IdentityList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF DRB-Identity, delayThreshold ENUMERATED {ms0dot25, ms0dot5, ms1, ms2, ms4, ms5, ms10, ms20, ms30, ms40, ms50, ms60, ms70, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms150, ms300, ms500} meas-Period-r18 ENUMERATED {ms0dot25, ms0dot5, ms1, ms2, ms4, ms5, ms10, ms20, ms30, ms40, ms50, ms60, ms70, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms150, ms300, ms500} } -- TAG-ULEXCESSDELAYCONFIG-STOP -- ASN1STOP UL-DelayValueConfig field descriptions delay-DRBlist Indicates the DRB IDs used by UE to provide results of UL PDCP Packet Delay value per DRB measurement as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. delayThreshold Indicates the delay threshold for the computation of the excess delay ratio for the DRB IDs indicated in DRB-IdentityList. Value ms0dot25 corresponds to 0.25ms, ms0dot5 corresponds to 0.5ms, ms1 corresponds to 1ms and so on. meas-Period Indicates the period to be used for the computation of the UL PDCP Packet delay measurement for the DRB IDs as configured in the corresponding delay-DRBlist as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. The value of meas-Period is smaller than the value of reportInterval included in the associated PeriodicalReportConfig. ************** Excess delay ratio measurement for a specific number of PDCP SDUs (or PDUs) [70] Note: The following explanation uses the term PDCP SDUs but it could also be for PDCP PDUs or SDAP PDUs or SDAP SDUs. [71] In another embodiment of the disclosure, the configuration includes a number in the delay measurement configuration which indicates the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for calculating a single value of excess delay ratio measurement to be reported for each reporting interval. This may imply that the first entry of the reported excess delay ratio measurement comprises the excess delay ratio measurement as measured for the transmissions of packets 1 to N, the second entry for packets N+1 to 2N, and so on. [72] In some sub-embodiments, such a number for the delay measurement calculation can be configured differently for different DRBs. By doing so, the network has the flexibility to get different averaging possibilities for different services i.e., the network can configure one value of the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for calculating the excels delay ratio of MBB related DRB and another value the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for calculating the excels delay ratio of URLLC related DRB. [73] An example of how such a configuration might look like is given below. The baseline specification used here is 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.3.0 (changes underlined). In this example, the configuration includes per DRB related delay measurement period configuration. A UE can be configured with a specific value of num-PDCP-SDU for a specific drb-IdentityList (set of DRB-Identities) that have a specific delayThreshold and another specific value of num-PDCP- SDU for another drb-IdentityList (another set of DRB-Identities) that have another or same delayThreshold. ************* ReportConfigNR information element PeriodicalReportConfig ::= SEQUENCE { rsType NR-RS-Type, reportInterval ReportInterval, reportAmount ENUMERATED {r1, r2, r4, r8, r16, r32, r64, infinity}, reportQuantityCell MeasReportQuantity, maxReportCells INTEGER (1..maxCellReport), reportQuantityRS-Indexes MeasReportQuantity OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport INTEGER (1..maxNrofIndexesToReport) OPTIONAL, - - Need R includeBeamMeasurements BOOLEAN, useAllowedCellList BOOLEAN, ..., [[ measRSSI-ReportConfig-r16 MeasRSSI- ReportConfig-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeCommonLocationInfo-r16 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R includeBT-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {BT- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeWLAN-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {WLAN- NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M includeSensor-Meas-r16 SetupRelease {Sensor-NameList-r16} OPTIONAL, -- Need M ul-DelayValueConfig-r16 SetupRelease { UL- DelayValueConfig-r16 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M reportAddNeighMeas-r16 ENUMERATED {setup} OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], [[ ul-ExcessDelayConfig-r17 SetupRelease { UL- ExcessDelayConfig-r17 } OPTIONAL, -- Need M coarseLocationRequest-r17 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R reportQuantityRelay-r17 SL- MeasReportQuantity-r16 OPTIONAL -- Need R ]], ul-ExcessDelayConfig-r18 SetupRelease { UL- ExcessDelayConfig-r18} } UL-ExcessDelayConfig information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-ULEXCESSDELAYCONFIG-START UL-ExcessDelayConfig-r17 ::= SEQUENCE { excessDelay-DRBlist-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF ExcessDelay-DRB-IdentityInfo-r17 } ExcessDelay-DRB-IdentityInfo-r17 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-IdentityList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF DRB-Identity, delayThreshold ENUMERATED {ms0dot25, ms0dot5, ms1, ms2, ms4, ms5, ms10, ms20, ms30, ms40, ms50, ms60, ms70, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms150, ms300, ms500} } UL-ExcessDelayConfig-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { excessDelay-DRBlist-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxDRB)) OF ExcessDelay-DRB-IdentityInfo-r18 } ExcessDelay-DRB-IdentityInfo-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-IdentityList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF DRB-Identity, delayThreshold ENUMERATED {ms0dot25, ms0dot5, ms1, ms2, ms4, ms5, ms10, ms20, ms30, ms40, ms50, ms60, ms70, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms150, ms300, ms500} num-PDCP-SDU-r18 INTEGER (0..1000000) } -- TAG-ULEXCESSDELAYCONFIG-STOP -- ASN1STOP UL-DelayValueConfig field descriptions delay-DRBlist Indicates the DRB IDs used by UE to provide results of UL PDCP Packet Delay value per DRB measurement as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. delayThreshold Indicates the delay threshold for the computation of the excess delay ratio for the DRB IDs indicated in DRB-IdentityList. Value ms0dot25 corresponds to 0.25ms, ms0dot5 corresponds to 0.5ms, ms1 corresponds to 1ms and so on. num-PDCP-SDU Indicates the number of PDCP SDUs to be used for the computation of the UL PDCP Packet delay measurement for the DRB IDs as configured in the corresponding delay- DRBlist as specified in TS 38.314 [53]. ************** [74] In step 104, the UE performs measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determines one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication. [75] Step 104 may thus comprise two sub-steps. In a first sub-step, the user equipment performs measurements of the delay associated with individual packets (e.g., PDUs, SDUs, etc). In a second sub-step, the user equipment determines values for one or more delay parameters based on those measurements and in accordance with the first indication. Thus, where the delay parameter comprises an average delay, for example, the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which the delay should be averaged. The user equipment averages the delay over a certain number of measurements, or the measurements performed over a certain period. Where the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold, the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which a value of the ratio or percentage shall be calculated or determined. The user equipment determines the ratio or percentage by combining a certain number of measurements, or the measurements performed over a certain period. [76] The following sections set out further detail regarding step 104 for four different embodiments: Average delay measurement for a specific measurement period [77] As noted previously, the following explanation uses the term PDCP SDUs but it could also be for PDCP PDUs or SDAP PDUs or SDAP SDUs. [78] In this embodiment, the UE performs the average UL PDCP queuing delay using each of the PDCP PDUs that the UE has received during a measurement interval as configured by the network. Such a measurement interval configuration is specified above, i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “meas-Period”. [79] An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below. The baseline specification used here is 3GPP TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes underlined). *********************** 4.3.1.1 UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE The objective of this measurement performed by UE is to measure Packet Delay in Layer PDCP for QoS verification of MDT or for the QoS monitoring as defined in TS 23.501 [4]. Protocol Layer: PDCP Table 4.3.1.1-1: Definition for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE Definition PDCP Packet Delay in the UL per DRB. This measurement refers to PDCP queuing delay for DRBs in the UE, which captures the delay from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant). The measurement is done separately per DRB. Detailed Definition: ∑ ^^^^^^(^,^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^,^^^^^ ^(^, ^^^^^) = ^ ∀^ ) ( ) ^( ^ ) ^, where explanations can be found in the table 4.3.1.1-2 below. NOTE: UE measures UL PDCP queueing delay at DRB level. It is up to gNB to convert DRB level delay to QoS level delay with the assumption that all QoS flows mapped to the same DRB get the same QoS treatment, and it is up to gNB to calculate QoS level delay if multiple DRBs mapped with the same QoS. Table 4.3.1.1-2: Parameter description for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB, averaged during time period ^(^, ^^^^^) ^. Unit: 0.1 ms. PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB is 1s if the actual value is larger than 1s. ^^^^^^^^(^) The point in time when the UL PDCP SDU i arrivals at PDCP upper SAP. ^^^^^^(^) The point in time when the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission. ^ A UL PDCP SDU that is received by the PDCP during time period ^. ^(^) Total number of UL PDCP SDUs received during time period ^. Time Period during which the measurement is performed. This ^ duration is configured using meas-Period in the measurement configuration. ^^^^^ The identity of the measured DRB. ************** Average delay measurement for a specific number of PDCP SDUs (or PDUs) [80] As noted previously, the following explanation uses the term PDCP SDUs but it could also be for PDCP PDUs or SDAP PDUs or SDAP SDUs. [81] In this embodiment, the UE performs the average UL PDCP queuing delay using an explicitly configured number of PDCP PDUs that the UE has received. Configuration of such a number of PDCP PDUs to be used for delay computation is specified above, i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “num-PDCP- SDU”. [82] An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below. The baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes underlined). *********************** 4.3.1.1 UL PDCP Average Delay per DRB per UE The objective of this measurement performed by UE is to measure Packet Delay in Layer PDCP for QoS verification of MDT or for the QoS monitoring as defined in TS 23.501 [4]. Protocol Layer: PDCP Table 4.3.1.1-1: Definition for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE Definition PDCP Packet Delay in the UL per DRB. This measurement refers to PDCP queuing delay for DRBs in the UE, which captures the delay from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant). The measurement is done separately per DRB. Detailed Definition: ∑∀ ^^^^^^(^,^^^^^)^^^^^^^^^(^,^^^^^) ^(^, ^^^^^) = ^ ^ ^ ^, where explanations can be found in the table 4.3.1.1-2 below. NOTE: UE measures UL PDCP queueing delay at DRB level. It is up to gNB to convert DRB level delay to QoS level delay with the assumption that all QoS flows mapped to the same DRB get the same QoS treatment, and it is up to gNB to calculate QoS level delay if multiple DRBs mapped with the same QoS. Table 4.3.1.1-2: Parameter description for UL PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB, averaged using N number of ^(^, ^^^^^) PDCP SDUs Unit: 0.1 ms. PDCP average delay in the UL per DRB is 1s if the actual value is larger than 1s. ^^^^^^^^(^) The point in time when the UL PDCP SDU i arrivals at PDCP upper SAP. ^^^^^^(^) The point in time when the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission. ^ A UL PDCP SDU that is received by the PDCP which is one among up to N PDCP SDUs. Total number of UL PDCP SDUs used for performing the ^ measurement. This number is configured using num-PDCP-SDU in the measurement configuration. ^^^^^ The identity of the measured DRB. ************** [83] In some sub-embodiments, if the UE has not received the configured number of PDCP SDUs (i.e., num-PDCP-SDU) during a reporting interval then the UE refrains from including such a delay measurement sample in the measurement report. [84] In some sub-embodiments, if the UE has not received the configured number of PDCP SDUs (i.e., num-PDCP-SDU) during a reporting interval then the UE computes the delay measurement using the number of PDCP SDUs, which is less than the configured num-PDCP- SDU variable, for which the UE has not computed an average UL PDCP queuing delay measurement. Excess delay ratio measurement for a specific measurement period [85] As noted previously, the following explanation uses the term PDCP SDUs but it could also be for PDCP PDUs or SDAP PDUs or SDAP SDUs. [86] In this embodiment, the UE performs the UL PDCP excess delay ratio measurement using each of the PDCP PDUs that the UE has received during a measurement interval as configured by the network. Such a measurement interval configuration is specified in 0 i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “meas- Period”. [87] An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below. The baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes underlined). *********************** 4.3.1.2 UL PDCP Excess Packet Delay per DRB The objective of this measurement performed by UE is to measure Excess Packet Delay in Layer PDCP for QoS verification of MDT. Protocol Layer: PDCP Table 4.3.1.2-1: Definition for UL PDCP Excess Packet Delay per DRB Definition PDCP Excess Packet Delay in the UL per DRB. It represents the ratio of packets in UL per DRB exceeding the configured delay threshold among the UL PDCP SDUs received. The delay for each packet is calculated from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant). The measurement is done separately per DRB. Detailed Definition: ^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) ^(^, ^^^^^) = ^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) = ^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) − ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^),where explanations can be found in the table 4.3.1.2-1 below.
Table 4.3.1.2-2 Ratio of packets in UL per DRB exceeding the configured delay threshold among the UL PDCP SDUs for which the UL MAC PDU ^(^, ^^^^^) including the first part of UL PDCP SDU is scheduled for transmission during the time period T. Number of PDCP SDUs of a data radio bearer with DRB Identity = ^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) ^^^^^,for which ULdelay ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) exceeded the configured delayThreshold as defined in TS 38.331 [3] during the time period T. Number of PDCP SDUs of a data radio bearer with DRB Identity = ^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) ^^^^^, for which the UL MAC PDU including the first part of UL PDCP SDU is scheduled for transmission during the time period T. Queuing delay observed at the UE PDCP layer from the UL PDCP SDU i belonging to a data radio bearer with DRB Identity = ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission during the time period T. The point in time when the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of ^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission. The point in time when the UL PDCP SDU i arrivals at PDCP upper ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) SAP. Index of PDCP SDU that arrives at the PDCP upper SAP during time ^ period ^. Time period during which the measurement is performed. This ^ duration is configured using meas-Period in the measurement configuration. ************** Excess delay ratio measurement for a specific number of PDCP SDUs (or PDUs) [88] As noted previously, the following explanation uses the term PDCP SDUs but it could also be for PDCP PDUs or SDAP PDUs or SDAP SDUs. [89] In this embodiment, the UE performs the UL PDCP excess delay ratio measurement using an explicitly configured number of PDCP PDUs that the UE has received. Configuration of such a number of PDCP PDUs to be used for delay computation is specified in 2.7.1.1.4 i.e., in the example implementation the measurement interval is referred to using the term “num- PDCP-SDU”. [90] An example of the definition of how the average delay is defined in such an embodiment is given below. The baseline specification used here is TS 38.331 v17.2.0 (changes are underlined). *********************** 4.3.1.2 UL PDCP Excess Packet Delay per DRB The objective of this measurement performed by UE is to measure Excess Packet Delay in Layer PDCP for QoS verification of MDT. Protocol Layer: PDCP Table 4.3.1.2-1: Definition for UL PDCP Excess Packet Delay per DRB Definition PDCP Excess Packet Delay in the UL per DRB. It represents the ratio of packets in UL per DRB exceeding the configured delay threshold among the UL PDCP SDUs received. The delay for each packet is calculated from packet arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL grant to transmit the packet is available, which has included the delay the UE gets resources granted (from sending SR/RACH to get the first grant). The measurement is done separately per DRB. Detailed Definition: ^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) ^(^, ^^^^^) = ^ ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) = ^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) − ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^),where explanations can be found in the table 4.3.1.2-1 below.
Table 4.3.1.2-2 Ratio of packets in UL per DRB exceeding the configured delay ^(^, ^^^^^) threshold among the N UL PDCP SDUs for which the UL MAC PDU including the first part of UL PDCP SDU is scheduled for transmission. Number of PDCP SDUs of a data radio bearer with DRB Identity = ^^^^^,for which ULdelay ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) exceeded the configured ^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) delayThreshold as defined in TS 38.331 [3] amongst the N PDCP SDUs. Number of PDCP SDUs of a data radio bearer with DRB Identity = ^^^^^, for which the UL MAC PDU including the first part of UL PDCP ^ SDU is scheduled for transmission. This number is configured using num-PDCP-SDU in the measurement configuration. Queuing delay observed at the UE PDCP layer amongst the N PDCP SDUs, from the UL PDCP SDU i belonging to a data radio bearer with ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) DRB Identity = ^^^^^ arrival at PDCP upper SAP until the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission. The point in time when the UL MAC PDU k including the first part of ^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) UL PDCP SDU i is scheduled for transmission. The point in time when the UL PDCP SDU i arrivals at PDCP upper ^^^^^^^^(^, ^^^^^) SAP. Index of PDCP SDU amongst the N PDCP SDUs that arrives at the ^ PDCP upper SAP. *********************** [91] In some sub-embodiments, if the UE has not received the configured number of PDCP SDUs (i.e., num-PDCP-SDU) during a reporting interval then the UE refrains from including such a delay measurement sample in the measurement report. [92] In some sub-embodiments, if the UE has not received the configured number of PDCP SDUs (i.e., num-PDCP-SDU) during a reporting interval then the UE computes the delay measurement using the number of PDCP SDUs, which is less than the configured num-PDCP- SDU variable, for which the UE has not computed an average UL PDCP queuing delay measurement. [93] In step 106, the UE transmits, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication. Thus, the UE transmits report messages to the network at a periodicity defined by the second indication. [94] It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, such a report message may comprise indications of multiple values for the one or more delay parameters. Thus the report message may comprise a list of indications of the multiple values. A first or initial value in such a list may correspond to the value determined from a first amount of measurements performed in the reporting period (e.g., a first number of measurements, or a first measurement period), a second value in the list may correspond to a value determined from a second amount of measurements performed in the reported period, and so on. A final value in the list may be calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication, for example where the reporting period ends but the measurement amount indicated by the first indication has not been reached. [95] The report message may be transmitted to the same network node that transmitted the configuration in step 102. Alternatively, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the report message may be transmitted to a different network node, for example if the UE has undergone one or more mobility procedures since receiving the configuration in step 102, or is configured with dual connectivity to multiple network nodes, etc. [96] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the values for the delay parameters as reported to the network may be quantized to one or more predefined values. For example, a value of a delay parameter as measured may correspond to 0.63. In order to save resources utilized when reporting measurements over the radio interface, the UE may be configured with a plurality of predefined levels (e.g., 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, etc). The measured value may be quantized to one of the predefined values (e.g., the nearest predefined value, or some other rounding rule), and the quantized value reported. Each of the predefined values may be associated with an index or other indication, which is reported instead of the value itself. [97] The following sections set out further detail regarding step 106 for four different embodiments: Average delay measurement for a specific measurement period [98] In some embodiments, the UE sends a single measurement report that includes a plurality (e.g., a list) of delay measurement samples wherein each of the delay measurement sample is computed as mentioned above. An example implementation of how such a measurement report looks is given below (changes underlined). As indicated below, the UE sends a list of delay values in the measurement report wherein the UE has generated this list during a reporting period and each entry in the list is based on the packets (e.g., PDCP SDUs) sent during the configured measurement period, e.g., meas-Period. The measurements and reported values may be associated with a certain DRB. [99] This may imply that the first entry of the list comprises the average delay experienced in the first measurement period within the reporting interval, the second entry the average delay experienced in the second measurement period within the reporting interval, and so on. MeasResults information element MeasResults ::= SEQUENCE { measId MeasId, measResultServingMOList MeasResultServMOList, measResultNeighCells CHOICE { measResultListNR MeasResultListNR, ..., measResultListEUTRA MeasResultListEUTRA, measResultListUTRA-FDD-r16 MeasResultListUTRA- FDD-r16, sl-MeasResultsCandRelay-r17 OCTET STRING -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultListRelay-r17 } OPTIONAL, ..., [[ measResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG MeasResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultServFreqListNR-SCG MeasResultServFreqListNR-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-EUTRA MeasResultSFTD-EUTRA OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-NR MeasResultCellSFTD-NR OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultCellListSFTD-NR MeasResultCellListSFTD- NR OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultForRSSI-r16 MeasResultForRSSI-r16 OPTIONAL, locationInfo-r16 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL, ul-PDCP-DelayValueResultList-r16 UL-PDCP- DelayValueResultList-r16 OPTIONAL, measResultsSL-r16 MeasResultsSL-r16 OPTIONAL, measResultCLI-r16 MeasResultCLI-r16 OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultRxTxTimeDiff-r17 MeasResultRxTxTimeDiff- r17 OPTIONAL, sl-MeasResultServingRelay-r17 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultRelay-r17 ul-PDCP-ExcessDelayResultList-r17 UL-PDCP- ExcessDelayResultList-r17 OPTIONAL, coarseLocationInfo-r17 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL ]], ul-PDCP-DelayValueResultList-r18 UL-PDCP- DelayValueResultList-r18 OPTIONAL } UL-PDCP-DelayValueResultList-r18 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF UL-PDCP-DelayValueResult-r18 UL-PDCP-DelayValueResult-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-Id-r18 DRB-Identity, averageDelaylist-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNumDelay)) OF AverageDelay-r18, ... } AverageDelay-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { averageDelayValue-r18 INTEGER (0..10000), ... } field descriptions averageDelayValue Indicates average delay for the packets during the measurement period, meas- Period. Value 0 corresponds to 0 millisecond, value 1 corresponds to 0.1 millisecond, value 2 corresponds to 0.2 millisecond, and so on. ************** [100] In some sub-embodiments, the UE also includes for each entry of the list the number of PDCP SDUs that were used to compute the average value in each of the measurement periods covered by the measurement report. Average delay measurement for a specific number of PDCP SDUs (or PDUs) [101] In some embodiments, the UE sends a single measurement report that includes a list of delay measurement samples wherein each of the delay measurement sample is computed as mentioned above. An example implementation of how such a measurement report looks is given below. As indicated below, the UE sends a list of delay values in the measurement report wherein the UE has generated this list during a reporting period and each entry in the list is based on the N (num-PDCP-SDU) number of PDCP SDUs sent during the reporting period. [102] This may imply that the first entry of the said list comprises the average delay experienced for the transmissions of packets 1 to N within the reporting period/interval, the second entry for packets N+1 to 2N in the reporting period/interval, and so on. [103] In one embodiment, for one entry the UE may include the average results for X transmitted packets, wherein X<N, if at the expiry of the reporting period the UE has only transmitted X packets for the computation of the average results associated to the said entry. In this case, the UE may also include for each entry of the said list the number of PDCP SDUs that were used to compute the average delay value included in the said entry. MeasResults information element MeasResults ::= SEQUENCE { measId MeasId, measResultServingMOList MeasResultServMOList, measResultNeighCells CHOICE { measResultListNR MeasResultListNR, ..., measResultListEUTRA MeasResultListEUTRA, measResultListUTRA-FDD-r16 MeasResultListUTRA- FDD-r16, sl-MeasResultsCandRelay-r17 OCTET STRING -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultListRelay-r17 } OPTIONAL, ..., [[ measResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG MeasResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultServFreqListNR-SCG MeasResultServFreqListNR-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-EUTRA MeasResultSFTD-EUTRA OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-NR MeasResultCellSFTD-NR OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultCellListSFTD-NR MeasResultCellListSFTD- NR OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultForRSSI-r16 MeasResultForRSSI-r16 OPTIONAL, locationInfo-r16 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL, ul-PDCP-DelayValueResultList-r16 UL-PDCP- DelayValueResultList-r16 OPTIONAL, measResultsSL-r16 MeasResultsSL-r16 OPTIONAL, measResultCLI-r16 MeasResultCLI-r16 OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultRxTxTimeDiff-r17 MeasResultRxTxTimeDiff- r17 OPTIONAL, sl-MeasResultServingRelay-r17 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultRelay-r17 ul-PDCP-ExcessDelayResultList-r17 UL-PDCP- ExcessDelayResultList-r17 OPTIONAL, coarseLocationInfo-r17 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL ]], ul-PDCP-DelayValueResultList-r18 UL-PDCP- DelayValueResultList-r18 OPTIONAL } UL-PDCP-DelayValueResultList-r18 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF UL-PDCP-DelayValueResult-r18 UL-PDCP-DelayValueResult-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-Id-r18 DRB-Identity, averageDelaylist-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNumDelay)) OF AverageDelay-r18, ... } AverageDelay-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { averageDelayValue-r18 INTEGER (0..10000), ... } field descriptions averageDelayValue Indicates average delay for the packets based on N PDCP SDUs wherein the value of N is num-PDCP-SDU as configured. Value 0 corresponds to 0 millisecond, value 1 corresponds to 0.1 millisecond, value 2 corresponds to 0.2 millisecond, and so on. ************** Excess delay ratio measurement for a specific measurement period [104] In some embodiments, the UE sends a single measurement report that includes a list of excess delay ratio measurement wherein each of the excess delay ratio measurement sample is computed as mentioned above. An example implementation of how such a measurement report looks is given below (changes underlined). As indicated below, the UE sends a list of excess delay ratio values in the measurement report wherein the UE has generated this list during a reporting period and each entry in the list is based on the packets (e.g., PDCP SDUs) sent during the configured measurement period, e.g., meas-Period. The measurements and reported values may be associated with a certain DRB. [105] This may imply that the first entry of the said list comprises the excess delay ratio values measured in the first measurement period within the reporting interval, the second entry the excess delay ratio values measured in the second measurement period within the reporting interval, and so on. MeasResults information element MeasResults ::= SEQUENCE { measId MeasId, measResultServingMOList MeasResultServMOList, measResultNeighCells CHOICE { measResultListNR MeasResultListNR, ..., measResultListEUTRA MeasResultListEUTRA, measResultListUTRA-FDD-r16 MeasResultListUTRA- FDD-r16, sl-MeasResultsCandRelay-r17 OCTET STRING -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultListRelay-r17 } OPTIONAL, ..., [[ measResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG MeasResultServFreqListEUTRA-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultServFreqListNR-SCG MeasResultServFreqListNR-SCG OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-EUTRA MeasResultSFTD- EUTRA OPTIONAL, measResultSFTD-NR MeasResultCellSFTD-NR OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultCellListSFTD-NR MeasResultCellListSFTD- NR OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultForRSSI-r16 MeasResultForRSSI-r16 OPTIONAL, locationInfo-r16 LocationInfo-r16 OPTIONAL, ul-PDCP-DelayValueResultList-r16 UL-PDCP- DelayValueResultList-r16 OPTIONAL, measResultsSL-r16 MeasResultsSL-r16 OPTIONAL, measResultCLI-r16 MeasResultCLI-r16 OPTIONAL ]], [[ measResultRxTxTimeDiff-r17 MeasResultRxTxTimeDiff- r17 OPTIONAL, sl-MeasResultServingRelay-r17 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, -- Contains PC5 SL-MeasResultRelay-r17 ul-PDCP-ExcessDelayResultList-r17 UL-PDCP- ExcessDelayResultList-r17 OPTIONAL, coarseLocationInfo-r17 OCTET STRING OPTIONAL ]], ul-PDCP-ExcessDelayResultList -r18 UL-PDCP- ExcessDelayResultList -r18 OPTIONAL } UL-PDCP-ExcessDelayResultList-r18 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF UL-PDCP-ExcessDelayResult-r17 UL-PDCP-ExcessDelayResult-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-Id-r18 DRB-Identity, excessDelayList-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxExcessDelay)) OF ExcessDelay-r18, ... } ExcessDelay-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { excessDelayValue-r18 INTEGER (0..31), ... } field descriptions excessDelayValue Indicates the ratio of packets in UL per DRB exceeding the configured delay threshold among the UL PDCP SDUs during the measurement period, meas-Period, according to the UL PDCP Excess Packet Delay per DRB mapping table, as defined in TS 38.314 [53], Table 4.3.1.e-1. ************** [106] In some sub-embodiments, the UE also includes for each entry of the said list the number of PDCP SDUs that were used to compute the excess delay value ratio in each of the measurement period in the measurement report. [107] In some sub-embodiments, the UE also includes the number of PDCP SDUs that did not meet the excess delay threshold in each of the measurement period in the measurement report. Excess delay ratio measurement for a specific number of PDCP SDUs (or PDUs) [108] In some embodiments, the UE sends a single measurement report that includes a list of excess delay ratio measurement samples wherein each of the excess delay ratio measurement sample is computed as mentioned above. An example implementation of how such a measurement report looks is given below (changes underlined). As indicated below, the UE sends a list of excess delay ratio values in the measurement report wherein the UE has generated this list during a reporting period and each entry in the list is based on the N (num-PDCP-SDU) number of packets (e.g., PDCP SDUs) sent during the reporting period. [109] This may imply that the first entry of the said list comprises the excess delay ratio as evaluated for the transmissions of packets 1 to N within the reporting period/interval, the second entry for packets N+1 to 2N in the reporting period/interval, and so on. [110] In one embodiment, for one entry the UE may include the result for the excess delay ratio taking into account X transmitted packets, wherein X<N, if at the expiry of the reporting period the UE has only transmitted X packets for the computation of the excess delay ratio associated to the said entry. In this case, the UE may also include for each entry of the said list the number of PDCP SDUs that were used to compute the average delay value included in the said entry. **************** UL-PDCP-ExcessDelayResultList-r18 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxDRB)) OF UL-PDCP-ExcessDelayResult-r17 UL-PDCP-ExcessDelayResult-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { drb-Id-r18 DRB-Identity, excessDelayList-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxExcessDelay)) OF ExcessDelay-r18, ... } ExcessDelay-r18 ::= SEQUENCE { excessDelayValue-r18 INTEGER (0..31), ... } ************** [111] Figure 2 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 200 may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 310 or network node 500 as described later with reference to Figures 3 and 5 respectively). The method 200 should be read in conjunction with method 100, which sets out complementary steps performed in a UE. [112] The method begins at step 202, in which the network node transmits, to a UE, a configuration for measurement and reporting of one or more delay parameters associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment. For example, the configuration may be transmitted to a UE that is served by the network node. The configuration may be transmitted via RRC signalling, for example. In one embodiment, the configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter is for MDT purposes, e.g., Immediate MDT. [113] The delay parameter(s) may comprise one or more of: an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment; and a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold. That is, the delay may comprise an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment (e.g., a packet queue in a protocol layer of the UE, such as a PDCP queue), until a trigger event (such as the onward transmission of the uplink packet from the queue to another layer of the UE, or the availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet). The uplink packet may therefore comprise an SDU received at an entity in a protocol layer of the UE (e.g., PDCP), and stored in a queue at the entity for onward transmission to a lower protocol layer and, ultimately, from the UE. [114] The average delay associated with uplink packets is therefore an average (e.g., mean average) calculated from a plurality of individual measurements for the packets. Measurements may be performed on every packet in the queue (and in accordance with the configuration) or a subset of the packets in the queue. The ratio or percentage of measurements exceeding a threshold may comprise a ratio of the amount of measurements greater than a threshold (which may be configured in the configuration) to the total number of measurements. In this configuration, a higher percentage or ratio is therefore indicative of a greater delay. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the ratio or percentage may be configured differently without departing from the scope of the disclosure. [115] According to embodiments of the disclosure, the configuration comprises a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. The second indication indicates a periodicity (or period) at which the UE shall transmit reports of the delay measurements to the network (e.g., to the network node). The second indication may take one of a plurality of predefined values. In one example, the minimum predefined value may correspond to 120 ms, indicating that the UE shall transmit reports to the network every 120 ms. [116] The first indication thus indicates the amount of measurement that should be performed when calculating or determining a value of the delay parameter. For example, where the delay parameter comprises an average delay, the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which the delay should be averaged. Where the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold, the first indication indicates the amount of measurement over which a value of the ratio or percentage shall be calculated or determined. [117] The measurement amount indicated by the first indication may comprise a number of measurements of the delay. For example, the UE may perform measurements of the delay for each packet, and in this case the indicated number of measurements is equivalent to a number of packets. Alternatively, the UE may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer). When determining values for the delay parameter, the UE combines the indicated number of measurements, e.g., by calculating the average delay over the indicated number of measurements, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay over the indicated number of measurements. [118] In other embodiments, the measurement amount indicated by the first indication may comprise a periodicity (e.g., a period) over which the measurements are to be performed. In this example, the UE may perform measurements of the delay for each packet over the period, or may apply a different rule such as measuring the delay for a defined fraction of the packets (e.g., every Nth packet, where N is an integer) over the period. When determining values for the delay parameter, the UE combines the measurements performed during the period, e.g., by calculating the average delay of measurements during the period, or by calculating the ratio of excess delay for measurements performed during the period. [119] The periodicity indicated by the first indication (which may be referred to as a “measurement periodicity” herein) may comprise one of a plurality of predefined values. In one embodiment the predefined values may define a range of values from a high or maximum value corresponding to the reporting periodicity (e.g., that indicated by the second indication), to a low or minimum value which is less than the reporting periodicity. [120] One or more of the first indication and the second indication may be associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer. That is, the first and/or second indications may be specific to delay measurements performed on a particular type of traffic, e.g., such as that belonging to a particular data radio bearer (DRB). The configuration may therefore comprise a plurality of first and/or second indications defining measurement amounts and/or reporting periodicities for different types of traffic (e.g., different DRBs). Each indication may relate to an individual type of traffic or DRB, or more than one type of traffic or DRB. [121] In step 204, the network node receives, from the UE, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication. Thus, the UE transmits report messages to the network at a periodicity defined by the second indication. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the UE may receive a configuration from, and transmit report messages to, different network nodes, for example if the UE has undergoes one or more mobility procedures since receiving the configuration, or is configured with dual connectivity to multiple network nodes, etc. Thus, the receipt of the report message in 204, by the same network node that transmitted the configuration in step 202, is strictly optional. [122] It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, such a report message may comprise indications of multiple values for the one or more delay parameters. Thus the report message may comprise a list of indications of the multiple values. A first or initial value in such a list may correspond to the value determined from a first amount of measurements performed in the reporting period (e.g., a first number of measurements, or a first measurement period), a second value in the list may correspond to a value determined from a second amount of measurements performed in the reported period, and so on. A final value in the list may be calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication, for example where the reporting period ends but the measurement amount indicated by the first indication has not been reached. [123] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the values for the delay parameters as reported to the network may be quantized to one or more predefined values. For example, a value of a delay parameter as measured may correspond to 0.63. In order to save resources utilized when reporting measurements over the radio interface, the UE may be configured with a plurality of predefined levels (e.g., 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, etc). The measured value may be quantized to one of the predefined values (e.g., the nearest predefined value, or some other rounding rule), and the quantized value reported. Each of the predefined values may be associated with an index or other indication, which is reported instead of the value itself. [124] Further detail regarding the method set out in Figure 2, particularly regarding possible implementations of such a method in the 3GPP technical standards, are set out above with respect to Figure 1. [125] Figure 3 shows an example of a communication system 300 in accordance with some embodiments. [126] In the example, the communication system 300 includes a telecommunication network 302 that includes an access network 304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 306, which includes one or more core network nodes 308. The access network 304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 310a and 310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 310), or any other similar 3rd 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 302 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 302 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 302, including one or more network nodes 310 and/or core network nodes 308. [127] 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 310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 312a, 312b, 312c, and 312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 312) to the core network 306 over one or more wireless connections. [128] 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 300 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 300 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system. [129] The UEs 312 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 310 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 312 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 302 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 302. [130] In the depicted example, the core network 306 connects the network nodes 310 to one or more hosts, such as host 316. 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 306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 308) 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 308. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF). [131] The host 316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 304 and/or the telecommunication network 302, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 316 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and/or pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services, for example, 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. [132] As a whole, the communication system 300 of Figure 3 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. [133] In some examples, the telecommunication network 302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 302. For example, the telecommunications network 302 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive IoT services to yet further UEs. [134] In some examples, the UEs 312 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 304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 304. 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). [135] In the example illustrated in Figure 3, the hub 314 communicates with the access network 304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 312c and/or 312d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 310b). In some examples, the hub 314 may be a controller, router, a content source and analytics node, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 314 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 310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 314. As another example, the hub 314 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 314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices. [136] The hub 314 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 310b. The hub 314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 314 and UEs (e.g., UE 312c and/or 312d), and between the hub 314 and the core network 306. In other examples, the hub 314 is connected to the core network 306 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 304 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 310 while still connected via the hub 314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 314 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 310b. In other embodiments, the hub 314 may be a non-dedicated hub – that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 310b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels. [137] Figure 4 shows a UE 400 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 camera, 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-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. [138] 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). [139] The UE 400 includes processing circuitry 402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 404 to an input/output interface 406, a power source 408, a memory 410, a communication interface 412, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 4. 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. [140] The processing circuitry 402 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 410. The processing circuitry 402 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 402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuitry 402 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 400 components, such as the memory 410, UE 400 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 402 may be configured to cause the UE 402 to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 1. [141] In the example, the input/output interface 406 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 400. 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. [142] In some embodiments, the power source 408 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 408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 408 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 400 to which power is supplied. [143] The memory 410 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 410 includes one or more application programs 414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 416. The memory 410 may store, for use by the UE 400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. [144] The memory 410 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 410 may allow the UE 400 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 410, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium. [145] The processing circuitry 402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 412. The communication interface 412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 422. The communication interface 412 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 418 and/or a receiver 420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 418 and receiver 420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately. [146] In some embodiments, communication functions of the communication interface 412 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. [147] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 412, 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). [148] 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 controls a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input. [149] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) 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 IoT device are devices which are or which are 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 IoT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence on the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 400 shown in Figure 4. [150] As yet another specific example, in an IoT 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-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. [151] 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. [152] Figure 5 shows a network node 500 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). [153] 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). [154] 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). [155] The network node 500 includes processing circuitry 502, a memory 504, a communication interface 506, and a power source 508, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. The network node 500 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 500 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 500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 500, 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 500. [156] The processing circuitry 502 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 500 components, such as the memory 504, network node 500 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 2. [157] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 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 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units. [158] The memory 504 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 502. The memory 504 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 502 and utilized by the network node 500. The memory 504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 502 and/or any data received via the communication interface 506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 and memory 504 is integrated. [159] The communication interface 506 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 506 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 510. Radio front-end circuitry 518 comprises filters 520 and amplifiers 522. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may be connected to an antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry 518 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 518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 520 and/or amplifiers 522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. [160] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 518, instead, the processing circuitry 502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 512 is part of the communication interface 506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 506 includes one or more ports or terminals 516, the radio front- end circuitry 518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown). [161] The antenna 510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 510 is separate from the network node 500 and connectable to the network node 500 through an interface or port. [162] The antenna 510, communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 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 510, the communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 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. [163] The power source 508 provides power to the various components of network node 500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 500 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 508. As a further example, the power source 508 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. [164] Embodiments of the network node 500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 5 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 500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 500 and to allow output of information from the network node 500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 500. [165] Figure 6 is a block diagram of a host 600, which may be an embodiment of the host 316 of Figure 3, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 600 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 600 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs. [166] The host 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input/output interface 606, a network interface 608, a power source 610, and a memory 612. 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 4 and 5, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 600. [167] The memory 612 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 614 and data 616, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 600 or data generated by the host 600 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 600 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 614 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), 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 614 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 600 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 614 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. [168] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 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 700 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 700 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. [169] Applications 702 (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. [170] Hardware 704 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 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708a and 708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708. [171] The VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, 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. [172] In the context of NFV, a VM 708 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 708, and that part of hardware 704 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 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702. [173] Hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 704 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 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 702. In some embodiments, hardware 704 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 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units. [174] Figure 8 shows a communication diagram of a host 802 communicating via a network node 804 with a UE 806 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 312a of Figure 3 and/or UE 400 of Figure 4), network node (such as network node 310a of Figure 3 and/or network node 500 of Figure 5), and host (such as host 316 of Figure 3 and/or host 600 of Figure 6) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 8. [175] Like host 600, embodiments of host 802 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 802 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 802 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 806 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 850 extending between the UE 806 and host 802. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 850. [176] The network node 804 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 802 and UE 806. The connection 860 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 306 of Figure 3) 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. [177] The UE 806 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 806 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 806 with the support of the host 802. In the host 802, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 850 terminating at the UE 806 and host 802. 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 850 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 850. [178] The OTT connection 850 may extend via a connection 860 between the host 802 and the network node 804 and via a wireless connection 870 between the network node 804 and the UE 806 to provide the connection between the host 802 and the UE 806. The connection 860 and wireless connection 870, over which the OTT connection 850 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 802 and the UE 806 via the network node 804, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. [179] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 850, in step 808, the host 802 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 806. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 806 that shares data with the host 802 without explicit human interaction. In step 810, the host 802 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 806. The host 802 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 806. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 806 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 806. The transmission may pass via the network node 804, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 812, the network node 804 transmits to the UE 806 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 802 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 814, the UE 806 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 806 associated with the host application executed by the host 802. [180] In some examples, the UE 806 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 802. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 802. Accordingly, in step 816, the UE 806 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 806. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 806 initiates, in step 818, transmission of the user data towards the host 802 via the network node 804. In step 820, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 804 receives user data from the UE 806 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 802. In step 822, the host 802 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 806. [181] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 806 using the OTT connection 850, in which the wireless connection 870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the quality of service (e.g., latency) and thereby provide benefits such as better responsiveness. [182] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 802. As another example, the host 802 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 802 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 802 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 802 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 802 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. [183] 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 850 between the host 802 and UE 806, 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 802 and/or UE 806. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 804. 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 802. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 850 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc. [184] 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. [185] 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. [186] For the avoidance of doubt, the following numbered statements set out embodiments of the disclosure: Group A Embodiments 1. A method performed by a user equipment for measuring and reporting delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the method comprising: receiving a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity; performing measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determining one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication; and transmitting, to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the delay parameter comprises an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment. The method of embodiment 2, wherein determining values of the delay parameter comprises calculating a value of the average delay over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold. The method of embodiment 4, wherein determining values of the delay parameter comprises calculating a value of the ratio or percentage over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a number of measurements of the delay. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed. The method of embodiment 7, wherein the periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed is equal to or shorter than the reporting periodicity. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein one or more of the first indication and the second indication is associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer. 10. The method of embodiment 9, wherein the configuration comprises one or more further first indications and/or one or more further second indications associated with uplink packets belonging to one or more second data radio bearers. 11. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the delay comprises an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment, until a trigger event. 12. The method of embodiment 11, wherein the queue comprises a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, queue. 13. The method of embodiment 11 or 12, wherein the trigger event comprises availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet. 14. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the report message comprises a plurality of values for the delay parameter, calculated from respective measurement amounts indicated by the first indication. 15. The method of embodiment 14, wherein a final value of the plurality of values is calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication. 16. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration is received from the network node or a different network node. 17. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node. Group B Embodiments 18. A method performed by a network node for configuring a user equipment to measure and report delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the method comprising: transmitting, to the user equipment, a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity. The method of embodiment 18, wherein the delay parameter comprises an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment. The method of embodiment 19, wherein a value of the average delay is calculated over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication. The method of embodiment 18, wherein the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold. The method of embodiment 21, wherein a value of the ratio or percentage is calculated over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 22, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a number of measurements of the delay. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 22, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed. The method of embodiment 24, wherein the periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed is equal to or shorter than the reporting periodicity. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 25, wherein one or more of the first indication and the second indication is associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer. The method of embodiment 26, wherein the configuration comprises one or more further first indications and/or one or more further second indications associated with uplink packets belonging to one or more second data radio bearers. 28. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 27, wherein the delay comprises an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment until a trigger event. 29. The method of embodiment 28, wherein the queue comprises a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, queue. 30. The method of embodiment 28 or 29, wherein the trigger event comprises availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet. 31. The method of any one of embodiments 18 to 30, further comprising receiving, from the user equipment, a report message comprising indications of one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication. 32. The method of embodiment 31, wherein the report message comprises a plurality of values for the delay parameter, calculated from respective measurement amounts indicated by the first indication. 33. The method of embodiment 32, wherein a final value of the plurality of values is calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication. 34. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment. Group C Embodiments 35. A user equipment, comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. 36. A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. 37. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. 38. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide 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 any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. 39. 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. 40. 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 any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. 41. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE. 42. 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. 43. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) 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 any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. 44. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and/or the UE. 45. 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 any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host. 46. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that receives 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. 47. The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data. 48. 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 any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host. 49. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host. 50. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide 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 cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host. 51. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host. 52. 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. 53. A method implemented by a host operating 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 UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host. 54. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the host application. 55. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application. 56. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide 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 cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host. 57. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host. 58. 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. 59. 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, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host. 60. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE. 61. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method (100) performed by a user equipment (400) for measuring and reporting delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the method comprising: receiving (102) a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity; performing (104) measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determining one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication; and transmitting (106), to a network node (500), a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration is for the purpose of minimization of drive tests, MDT.
3. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the report message comprises a plurality of values for the delay parameter, calculated from respective measurement amounts indicated by the first indication.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein a final value of the plurality of values is calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the delay parameter comprises an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining values of the delay parameter comprises calculating a value of the average delay over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
7. The method of claim any one of claims 1-4-, wherein the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining values of the delay parameter comprises calculating a value of the ratio or percentage over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
9. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a number of measurements of the delay.
10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed is equal to or shorter than the reporting periodicity.
12. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more of the first indication and the second indication is associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the configuration comprises one or more further first indications and/or one or more further second indications associated with uplink packets belonging to one or more second data radio bearers.
14. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the delay comprises an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment, until a trigger event.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the queue comprises a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, queue.
16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the trigger event comprises availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet.
17. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the configuration is received from the network node or a different network node.
18. A method (200) performed by a network node (500) for configuring a user equipment (400) to measure and report delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the method comprising: transmitting (202), to the user equipment, a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration is for the purpose of minimization of drive tests, MDT.
20. The method of any one of claims 18-19, wherein the delay parameter comprises an average delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein a value of the average delay is calculated over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
22. The method of any one of claims 18-19, wherein the delay parameter comprises a ratio or percentage of measurements of the delay exceeding a threshold.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein a value of the ratio or percentage is calculated over the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
24. The method of any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a number of measurements of the delay.
25. The method of any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the measurement amount indicated by the first indication comprises a periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the periodicity over which measurements of the delay are to be performed is equal to or shorter than the reporting periodicity.
27. The method of any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein one or more of the first indication and the second indication is associated with uplink packets belonging to a first data radio bearer.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the configuration comprises one or more further first indications and/or one or more further second indications associated with uplink packets belonging to one or more second data radio bearers.
29. The method of any one of claims 18 to 28, wherein the delay comprises an amount of time an uplink packet spends in a queue waiting for transmission by the user equipment until a trigger event.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the queue comprises a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, queue.
31. The method of claim 29 or 30, wherein the trigger event comprises availability of a scheduling grant for transmission of the uplink packet.
32. The method of any one of claims 18 to 31, further comprising receiving (204), from the user equipment, a report message comprising indications of one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the report message comprises a plurality of values for the delay parameter, calculated from respective measurement amounts indicated by the first indication.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein a final value of the plurality of values is calculated from a measurement amount that is smaller than the measurement amount indicated by the first indication.
35. A user equipment (400) configured to perform the method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 17.
36. A user equipment (400), comprising: processing circuitry (402) configured to cause the user equipment to: receive (102) a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity; perform (104) measurements of a delay associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, and determine one or more values of the delay parameter in accordance with the first indication; and transmit (106), to a network node, a report message comprising indications of the one or more determined values of the delay parameter in accordance with the second indication; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
37. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the user equipment to perform the method (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 17.
38. A network node (500) configured to perform the method (200) according to any one of claims 18 to 34.
39. A network node (500), the network node comprising: processing circuitry (502) configured to cause the network node to: transmit (202), to a user equipment (400), a configuration for measurement and reporting of a delay parameter associated with uplink packets for transmission by the user equipment, the configuration comprising a first indication of a measurement amount for determining a value of the delay parameter, and a second indication of a reporting periodicity; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
0. The network node according to claim 39, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the user equipment to perform the method (200) according to any one of claims 19 to 34.
EP24715307.5A 2023-03-30 2024-03-25 Methods, apparatus and computer-readable media related to measuring and reporting quality-of-service parameters Pending EP4690911A1 (en)

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