EP4706305A1 - Robust radio power overbooking using a power control device - Google Patents

Abstract

A power control device determines (1040) a first offered power to be used for transmission of a first carrier of a plurality of carriers used by the multi-band transmitter based on a plurality of requested powers that are each associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers. The power control device further transmits (1060) an indication of the offered power to a power allocator.

Description

ROBUST RADIO POWER OVERBOOKING USING A POWER CONTROL DEVICE

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure is related to wireless communication systems and more particularly to robust radio power overbooking using a power control device.

BACKGROUND

[0002] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a new radio (“NR”) network (e.g., a 5th Generation (“5G”) network) including a 5G core (“5GC”) network 130, network nodes 120a-b (e.g., 5G base station (“gNB”)), multiple communication devices 110 (also referred to as user equipment (“UE”)).

[0003] Mobile networks are becoming increasingly more complex with several operators employing different radio access technologies on a diverse set of frequency bands using different radio solutions (e.g., conventional radios or Massive multiple-input-multiple output (“MIMO”) radios. To remain competitive in a technology landscape including many more product variants with strict constraints on ease of deployment, the size, weight, and cost of radio products may need to be reduced without compromising on key performance indicators (“KPIs”). In some examples, multiband or wideband products are being developed in which one radio and antenna can handle several frequency bands. The output power can be a key dimensioning factor of the radio products in terms of size and weight (e.g., more output power can require more cooling, which can lead to larger size and weight). By employing power pooling, that is, efficiently using the total power in a pooled manner over several carriers (and/or sectors) in a multiband product, the total output power can be reduced without impacting important KPIs, such as coverage.

[0004] Radio power overbooking is one approach to achieving power pooling benefits without substantial impact on existing radio access network (“RAN”) architectures and implementations. A benefit of radio power overbooking is that it can be implemented with limited impact on existing baseband schedulers and radio resource management.

[0005] Radio power overbooking refers to a feature in which carriers are configured with (in total) more power than what the radio is capable of transmitting. As an example, consider a multiband radio capable of max 60 W configured with two carriers, where each carrier has max 40 W and a bandwidth of 20 MHz. This means that the carriers are typically configured with a power spectral density (“PSD”) of 2 W/MHz. If both carriers are scheduled to use more than 30 MHz (30 MHz x 2 W/MHz = 60 W), then the PSD needs to be scaled down. However, if the total utilization of both carriers is low enough (less than 30 MHz), then the PSD target of 2 W/MHz can be kept.

[0006] Radio power overbooking can be transparent to baseband, meaning that the baseband including schedulers will operate as always having access to the configured power (40 W per 20 MHz carrier, or 2 W/MHz, in the example above). It is up to the radio to ensure that the total radio capability (60 W in the example above) is never exceeded, and it does this by scaling down the power of its carriers whenever the maximum capability of the radio is exceeded. Hence, there is no explicit communication between baseband and radio regarding how to do the power scaling, and baseband is completely unaware of whether power scaling has been applied.

[0007] The fronthaul communication interface between a baseband unit (“BU”) (sometimes referred to herein as the digital unit (“DU”)) and the radio unit (“RU”) in a conventional radio solution can run on fiber and can use the common public radio interface (“CPRI”). In some examples, time-domain in-phase quadrature (“IQ”)-samples are conveyed per radio-branch and carrier from the baseband unit to the radio unit (and vice versa). Hence, the radio gets timedomain signal(s) and has no knowledge of the frequency-domain content, and consequently, different parts of the frequency domain cannot be straightforwardly power scaled differently in the radio. In other solutions the signal is conveyed in the frequency domain, and/or may be relating to beams rather than individual antennas. In these cases the RU might be configured with the frame-structure of the air-interface but may still not possess knowledge of the frequency domain content of the signal.

SUMMARY

[0008] According to some embodiments, a method of operating a power control device is provided. The method can include determining a first offered power to be used for transmission of a first carrier of a plurality of carriers used by the multi-band transmitter based on a plurality of requested powers that are each associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers. The method can further include transmitting an indication of the offered power to a power allocator. [0009] According to other embodiments, a method of operating a network node configured to provide processing for a first carrier of a plurality of carriers used by a multi-band transmitter is provided. The method can include transmitting an indication of a requested power associated with the first carrier to a power control device. The method can further include receiving an indication of an offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier from the power control device. The method can further include configuring transmissions associated with the first carrier based on the offered power. [0010] According to other embodiments, a communication device, a network node, a system, a host, a computer program, a computer program product, or a non-transitory computer readable medium is provide to perform one of the above methods.

[0011] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. In some embodiments, radio power overbooking can be used without negatively impacting essential network information such as cell defining signals or signals carrying prioritized communication services. This can be done without necessarily resorting to (complex) power aware cross-carrier scheduling. In additional or alternative embodiments, a way of coordinating radio power overbooking across carriers with a very small communication footprint is provided. This can be useful in many situations, such as when radio power overbooking is configured, or to prioritize power between different radio access technologies (“RATs”) in a multi-RAT radio configuration, or to prioritize power between different operators in a multivendor setup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a 5^th generation (“5G”) network;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of baseband processing for multiple carriers;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a time-frequency resource grid;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a specific subcarrier within symbol 1 can be precoded and mapped to a different antenna ports (or radio branches);

[0017] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of handling radio power overbooking using a power control device in accordance with some embodiments;

[0018] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an architecture for handling radio power overbooking using a power control device in accordance with some embodiments; [0019] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example in which a power control device is in baseband (and hence contains a model of the radio policy with respect to over booking) in accordance with some embodiments;

[0020] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example in which a power control device is in in radio in accordance with some embodiments; [0021] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a pair of examples where different parts of the baseband process are in the radio in accordance with some embodiments;

[0022] FIGS. 10-11 are flow charts illustrating examples of operations performed by a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0023] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0024] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

[0025] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0026] FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of FIG. 12, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0027] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0028] FIG. 17 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] 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, in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present/used in another embodiment.

[0030] To support the operation of a radio access network, the third generation partnership project (“3GPP”) has defined different physical signals and channels that carry different types of information, including data, control and signaling. The importance, or sensitivity, of different channels and signals can differ. For example, best-effort data (e.g., carried in downlink on a physical downlink shared channel (“PDSCH”)) can be subject to both lower-layer and higher- layer retransmissions and can therefore be robust, while cell-defining signals like a synchronization signal block (“SSB”) (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (“PSS”), a secondary synchronization signal (“SSS”), and a physical broadcast channel (“PBCH”) with a demodulation reference signal (“DMRS”)) can be essential for connecting to the network and for performing mobility and traffic handling. In some examples, the signal quality of the SSB is used to determine whether a communication device (also referred to herein as a user equipment (“UE”)) can connect to a cell, and furthermore to which cell it is preferably connected to. Accordingly, the SSB transmit power can be important for coverage, mobility handling, and traffic management. For example, the network may combine SSB measurements reflecting the radio propagation quality from different cells and the traffic load of different cells when performing traffic management.

[0031] The operator can dimension the power spectral density (“PSD”) of the SSB to match the existing site grid. Considering long term evolution (“LTE”) and new radio (“NR”) (as examples), different physical channels and signals, such as SSBs and PDSCHs, are mapped to a time-frequency resource grid, where different channels/signals can be time and/or frequency multiplexed as illustrated in FIG. 3

[0032] There currently exist certain challenges. Samples can be conveyed per radio- branch/beam and carrier from the baseband unit to the radio unit (and vice versa) via a common public radio interface (“CPRI”). Hence, the radio can receive time-domain signal(s) and have no or very limited knowledge of the frequency-domain content, and consequently, different parts of the frequency domain cannot be straightforwardly power scaled differently in the radio. Even if the radio has access to the frequency domain (for example if it can transform a time domain signal, or if the provided signal is in the frequency domain), it may not have the knowledge about how to prioritize different frequency parts in terms of power-scaling. As the radio may not have knowledge of any potential priority between the different time-domain signals, they can be treated with equal priority (e.g., all signals are scaled equally). Note that even if the fronthaul interface would convey frequency domain signals, some radio implementations are unaware of the allocation of the physical signals/channels.

[0033] With radio power overbooking, the radio blindly reduces the power of all transmitted signals/channel on all carriers. Hence, with radio power overbooking, one cannot guarantee that the experienced power spectral density (“PSD”) meets the configured target. While this may not be critical for best effort mobile broadband (“MBB”)-type of data traffic (carried on a physical downlink shared channel (“PDSCH”)), it can be problematic for control channels and for cell dimensioning signals such as a synchronization signal block (“SSB”), and signals that form the basis for channel state information (“CSI”) (e.g., CSI-reference signal (“CSI-RS”) or tracking RS). For example, a too low SSB quality, because of downscaling of the PSD due to radio power overbooking, can have a negative impact on the coverage of the corresponding cell (and may impede cell selection). Furthermore, as the baseband is unaware of how and if the radio scales the PSD, and in some cases also of the UE processing, the quality of the SSB becomes non-controllable/predictable, which can have a negative impact on, for example, mobility and traffic handling.

[0034] Accordingly, a major shortcoming of radio power overbooking is that there is no guarantee that the coverage for the different cells is not changed and does not fluctuate. Another shortcoming is that low latency and reliable communications services need to be overprovisioned for (in terms of bandwidth and/or power) to be able to reliably be received also if the radio decides to scale down the signal power.

[0035] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. In some embodiments, a “power control device” is introduced that, given input on the (requested) powers to be used by a set of carriers, can output the actual offered output power to be used for each carrier. In a sense the proposed power control device serves as a model for the policy the radio uses for enforcing the power constraints due to radio power overbooking. Hence, in a typical configuration, the carriers handled jointly by the power control device are all handled by the same radio unit configured with radio power overbooking.

[0036] In some embodiments, baseband (“BB”) processing for each carrier can (independently of each other) produce a requested nominal power for a unit of time (e.g., a NR slot or symbol). This can be done, for example, by evaluating a scheduling decision or performing a pre-scheduling.

[0037] In additional or alternative embodiments, the requested nominal powers for the carriers are input to the “power control device”.

[0038] In additional or alternative embodiments, the power control device determines the offered power per carrier based on the input desired power of the carriers. The power control device can use a model of the radio power scaling feature of the radio. If the sum of the desired power levels is equal or below the maximum power of the radio, the power control device would typically output (as offered power) the desired power level of each carrier. Otherwise (if the sum of the desired power levels exceeds the maximum power of the radio), it would produce offered powers that are below the requested power levels for some or all of the carriers.

[0039] In additional or alternative embodiments, the offered power (per carrier) is passed to the BB processing of each carrier.

[0040] In additional or alternative embodiments, using the offered power that is output of the power control device, the BB processing for each carrier can take action in response (e.g., by changing the power allocated to physical channels and signals). Note that the physical channels and signals may already be scheduled and that the action taken might be a mere scaling of the power of their corresponding resource elements.

[0041] In additional or alternative embodiments, the power control device can reside in the baseband, or in the radio. In the latter case the process of requesting power and obtaining the offered power takes place over the interface between radio and baseband. The power control device is typically a software function.

[0042] In additional or alternative embodiments, the PSD target of prioritized signals is kept irrespective of scheduling decisions on other carriers. This can work with or without radio power overbooking. This can be achieved by using a mechanism that can predict the actual offered power for each carrier by taking the solution the radio uses for managing overbooking into the equation. In some examples, independent per carrier processing is allowed.

[0043] FIGS. 2-4 illustrate general characteristics in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (“OFDM”) system, a NR frame structure, and how signals can be precoded and mapped to antennas/radio branches. These figures also illustrate how power can be scaled individually per subcarrier if the signal is represented in the frequency domain and that this hard to do on a time-domain representation of the signal.

[0044] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a typical processing steps in an OFDM system. Key to this invention is that the power requested can be determined without performing the full processing (e.g. already after the L2 processing), but rescaling of signals to account for the radio power overbooking can be done later in the processing (e.g. even after mapping signals to the resource grid). Furthermore, the figure shows how processing can be done independently per carrier.

[0045] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of operations for handling radio power overbooking. [0046] At block 510, a requested nominal power for a unit of time is computed. In some embodiments, the BB processing for each carrier can (independently of each other) produce a requested nominal power for a unit of time (which, for example, can be an NR symbol, an NR slot, or a multiple of slots). This can be done, for example, by evaluating a scheduling decision or performing a pre-scheduling.

[0047] In additional or alternative embodiments, the requested power is determined from the allocation of all physical signals and channels on the resource grid of the carrier, and summing the contributions of all subcarriers. This can include scheduling users based on the status of data buffers in the system. It does not necessarily require determining precoders, transport format, and rank. In some examples, it does not require encoding and/or modulating the physical signals and channels. For the purpose of managing radio power overbooking, no communication between the baseband processing of the different carriers is required. [0048] At block 520, the desired nominal powers for each carrier are input to the “power control device.” If the power control device is implemented in the same baseband as all the related carriers, then this means communication only internally in the baseband. If the power control device is implemented in the radio, then this means conveying this information across the radio-baseband interface (which could be CPRI, proprietary, defined by ORAN, over ethernet etc.). The input can be done separately (in different messages) for each of the carriers, or jointly.

[0049] At block 530, the power control device determines the offered power per carrier based on the input desired power. In some embodiments, the power control device can use a model of the radio power scaling feature. It would output (as offered power) the desired power level of each carrier as long as the sum of the desired power levels is below the maximum power of the radio. If not, it would produce offered powers that are below the requested power levels.

[0050] In additional or alternative embodiments, if the power control device is implemented in the radio, it can also take into account factors such as temperature when determining the offered power per carrier.

[0051] In additional or alternative embodiments, the power control device ensures that the sum of all the output “offered” power levels is below a limit of the total power. The limit of the total power would typically be given by the maximum capability of the radio handling the carriers under consideration, but it could also take other considerations into account, for example, a limit of total output power due to electro-magnetic field (“EMF”) constraints or a limit due to maximum allowed external interference.

[0052] In additional or alternative embodiments, the power control device scales down all carriers by the same factor. For example, if the sum of desired power levels over the carriers of interest is x dBm and the corresponding max power limit is y dBm, then the factor is given by y - x [dB] . Hence, the offered power per carrier would be given by the requested nominal power per carrier scaled by y - x.

[0053] In additional or alternative embodiments, the power control device takes the priority of the different carriers into consideration when determining the offered power per carrier. That is, carriers with low priority could be subject to more aggressive power scaling compared to carriers with high priority. For example, carriers belonging to different RATs could have different priorities, where one RAT could be more aggressively power scaled compared to another RAT. Similarly, RATs belonging to different operators in a multioperator configuration could be subject to different power scaling rules. Note that the power control device essentially mirrors the power scaling rules of the radio power overbooking functionality, hence, the radio power overbooking functionality uses the same priority-based rules as the power control device when performing power scaling.

[0054] In additional or alternative embodiments, the offered power (per carrier) is passed to the BB processing of each carrier. This operations mirrors the communication in the operation including the input to the power control device: it can be internal to the baseband, or occur over an interface between baseband and radio.

[0055] At block 540, BB processing takes actions in response to the offered power. In some embodiments, the BB processing following the scheduling (re)scales the power of the physical channels and signals that are allocated in the time unit (but does not change the allocation or adapt the transmission format). In this embodiment the resource grid mapping can be done independently of the offered power, and a simple rescaling can be applied to specific resource elements. This is beneficial because it will have minimal impact on the processing complexity and latency. It is typically done prior to the OFDM modulation. In additional or alternative embodiments, this (re)scaling is done per carrier so that when the signals for all carriers are combined, the total power does not exceed the maximum power. In such a case, the radio power overbooking function (implemented in the radio) may not be needed.

[0056] In additional or alternative embodiments, a primary signal is given priority - it is scaled up in power relative to a secondary signal if the offered power is lower than the requested power. The primary signal can, for example, be SSB, CSI-RS, PDSCH, PDCCH, and the secondary signal can, for example, be PDSCH or PDCCH. As an example, assume that the power control device scales down all carriers by the same factor and consider one of these carriers in a specific symbol with requested and offered power given by P_r and P_o , respectively. In this symbol, the fraction of PRBs allocated to SSB relative to the total number of available PRBs is denoted a. For simplicity, assume also that all PRBs have the same PSD and that the total number of scheduled PRBs equals the total number of available PRBs. To ensure that the SSB PSD target remains unchanged after the power scaling P₀/P_r in the radio, the baseband would scale (up) the PSD of the PRBs allocated to SSB by a factor P_r/P₀, and scale (down) the rest of the PRBs in the symbol by a factor (e.g., a linear factor):

[0057] In some embodiments, the offered power is stored (for future reference). In additional or alternative embodiments, the link adaptation is re-done depending on the offered power (transport format is adapted). In additional or alternative embodiments, the scheduling for the carrier is re-done based on the offered power (other users may be scheduled). [0058] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the different functional blocks of some embodiments. The “power allocator” can determine the action taken in response to the offered power. In some examples, it will produce a rescaling factor per resource element, or group of resource elements. The “Processing, carrier A/B” can include resource grid mapping, OFDM modulation and other functions. The “Scheduler, carrier A/B” can include (at least) those parts of the processing that are needed for determining the requested power for the carrier. This means determining allocation of signals and channels. In one embodiment the scheduling is coarse and preliminary - and the scheduling is re-made based on the offered power.

[0059] In additional or alternative embodiments, the processing of each carrier can be made largely independently - with communication with the power control device being an exception. [0060] FIG. 7 illustrates an example where the power control device is implemented in baseband software. In one embodiment the power control device used by multiple carriers (connected to the same radio) is located in one out of a set of digital units.

[0061] FIG. 8 illustrates an example where the power control device is in the radio. This brings the advantage that the communication between carriers inside the baseband can be removed, and the common point is in the radio (which is already common to the carriers). In addition, the power control device can include more aspects affecting radio output power and take for example operating temperature into account when deriving the offered power. The disadvantage is that messages need to be passed over the radio/BB interface (which may be a standard interface such as that specified in ORAN).

[0062] FIG. 9 illustrates two examples of how power allocation per physical channel signal can be effectuated. In the example on the left, it is done in the baseband (and the OFDM modulation can then be performed either in RU or in DU). In the example on the right, it is done in radio (and the OFDM modulation is then preferably performed in the radio).

[0063] Operations of the RAN node 1400 (implemented using the structure of FIG. 14) will now be discussed with reference to the flow chart of FIGS. 10-11 according to some embodiments of inventive concepts. For example, modules may be stored in memory 1404 of FIG. 14, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective RAN node processing circuitry 1320, RAN node 1400 performs respective operations of the flow chart.

[0064] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of operations performed by a power control device. [0065] At block 1010, processing circuitry 1402 requests requested power for each carrier.

[0066] At block 1020, processing circuitry 1402 receives, via communication interface

1406, an indication of a first requested power associated with a first carrier from a first scheduler. [0067] At block 1030, processing circuitry 1402 receives, via communication interface 1406, an indication of a second requested power associated with a second carrier from a second scheduler.

[0068] At block 1040, processing circuitry 1402 determines a first offered power associated with the first carrier based on a plurality of requested powers. In some embodiments, determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier includes using a model of a radio power scaling feature.

[0069] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier includes determining the first offered power based on a sum of the plurality of requested powers and a maximum power associated with the multi-band transmitter. In some examples, determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier includes determining the first offered power to be the first requested power based on the sum of the plurality of requested powers being less than or equal to the maximum power.

[0070] In additional or alternative embodiments, determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier includes: determining that the sum of the plurality of requested powers is greater than the maximum power; and responsive to determining that the sum of the plurality of requested powers is greater than the maximum power, determining a plurality of offered powers including the first offered power such that the sum of the plurality of offered powers is less than or equal to the maximum power. In some examples, determining the plurality of offered powers including the first offered power such that the sum of the plurality of offered powers is less than or equal to the maximum power comprises scaling each requested power of the plurality of requested powers by a common scaling factor. In additional or alternative examples, determining the plurality of offered powers including the first offered power such that the sum of the plurality of offered powers is less than or equal to the maximum power includes: determining a priority associated with each carrier of the plurality of carriers; and scaling each requested power of the plurality of requested powers by a priority weighted scaling factor.

[0071] In additional or alternative embodiments, the maximum power is based on a capability of the multi-band transmitter and/or current electro-magnetic field constraints and/or current external interference constraints.

[0072] At block 1050, processing circuitry 1402 determines a second offered power associated with the second carrier based on the plurality of requested powers.

[0073] At block 1060, processing circuitry 1402 transmits, via communication interface 1406, an indication of the first offered power to a first power allocator. [0074] At block 1070, processing circuitry 1402 transmits, via communication interface 1406, an indication of the second offered power to a second power allocator.

[0075] In some embodiments, a network node includes e a digital unit, DU, configured to provide the scheduler, the power allocator, and the power control device.

[0076] In additional or alternative embodiments, a network node includes: a digital unit, DU, configured to provide the scheduler and the power allocator; and a radio unit, RU, configured to provide the power control device. In some examples, determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier includes determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier based on a temperature at the multi-band transmitter.

[0077] In additional or alternative embodiments, a network node includes: a digital unit, DU, configured to provide the scheduler and the power control device; and a radio unit, RU, configured to provide the power allocator.

[0078] In additional or alternative embodiments, a network node includes the power control device. Transmitting the indication of the offered power to the power allocator includes transmitting the indication via an open-radio access network, ORAN, interface.

[0079] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of operations performed by a network node configured to provide processing for a first carrier of a plurality of carriers used by a multi-band transmitter. In some examples, the processing includes a scheduler, a power allocator, and the power control device.

[0080] At block 1110, processing circuitry 1402 determines the requested power associated with a first carrier. In some embodiments, determining the requested power includes determining the requested power based on an allocation of all physical signals and channels on a resource grid of the first carrier.

[0081] At block 1120, processing circuitry 1402 transmits, via communication interface 1406, an indication of the requested power to a power control device. In some embodiments, the network node is further configured to provide a radio unit, RU, that is separate from the baseband processing, the RU including the power control device. Transmitting the indication of the requested power associated with the first carrier includes transmitting the indication of the requested power associated with the first carrier to the power control device via a radiobaseband interface.

[0082] At block 1130, processing circuitry 1402 receives, via communication interface 1406, an indication of an offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier.

[0083] At block 1140, processing circuitry 1402 configures transmission associated with the first carrier based on the offered power. In some embodiments, configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier includes determining a power of a physical channel and/or a signal that are allocated for the first carrier based on the offered power. In some examples, determining the power of the physical channel and/or the signal includes: determining a priority of the signal; and determining the power by scaling the offered power based on the priority of the signal.

[0084] In additional or alternative embodiments, configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier includes storing the offered power.

[0085] In additional or alternative embodiments, configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier includes performing a link adaptation, such as determining a modulation and coding scheme, based on the offered power.

[0086] In additional or alternative embodiments, configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier includes rescheduling the first carrier based on the offered power.

[0087] Various operations from the flow chart of FIGS. 10-11 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of RAN nodes and related methods.

[0088] FIG. 12 shows an example of a communication system 1200 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0089] In the example, the communication system 1200 includes a telecommunication network 1202 that includes an access network 1204, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1206, which includes one or more core network nodes 1208. The access network 1204 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1210a and 1210b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1210), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the network nodes 1210 are 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 the network nodes 1210 may include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1202 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1202 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 1202, including one or more network nodes 1210 and/or core network nodes 1208.

[0090] 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 RAN control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time RAN automation 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 Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Intents and content-aware notifications described herein may be communicated from a 3GPP network node or an ORAN network node over 3GPP-defined interfaces (e.g., N2, N3) and/or ORAN Alliance-defined interfaces (e.g., Al, 01). Moreover, an ORAN network 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 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance. The network nodes 1210 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting wireless devices 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, and 1212d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1212) to the core network 1206 over one or more wireless connections. The network nodes 1210 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, and 1212d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1212) to the core network 1206 over one or more wireless connections.

[0091] 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 1200 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 1200 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

[0092] The UEs 1212 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 1210 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1210 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1212 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1202 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 1202. [0093] In the depicted example, the core network 1206 connects the network nodes 1210 to one or more hosts, such as host 1216. 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 1206 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1208) 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 1208. 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).

[0094] The host 1216 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1204 and/or the telecommunication network 1202, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1216 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0095] As a whole, the communication system 1200 of FIG. 12 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.

[0096] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1202 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1202 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1202. For example, the telecommunications network 1202 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs. [0097] In some examples, the UEs 1212 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 1204 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1204. 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).

[0098] In the example, the hub 1214 communicates with the access network 1204 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1212c and/or 1212d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1210b). In some examples, the hub 1214 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1214 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1206 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1214 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 1210, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1214. As another example, the hub 1214 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 1214 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1214 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1214 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1214 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices. [0099] The hub 1214 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1210b. The hub 1214 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 1214 and UEs (e.g., UE 1212c and/or 1212d), and between the hub 1214 and the core network 1206. In other examples, the hub 1214 is connected to the core network 1206 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1214 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1204 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1210 while still connected via the hub 1214 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1214 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 1210b. In other embodiments, the hub 1214 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1210b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

[00100] FIG. 13 shows a UE 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[00101] 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). [00102] The UE 1300 includes processing circuitry 1302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1304 to an input/output interface 1306, a power source 1308, a memory 1310, a communication interface 1312, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 13. 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.

[00103] The processing circuitry 1302 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 1310. The processing circuitry 1302 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 1302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[00104] In the example, the input/output interface 1306 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 1300. 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.

[00105] In some embodiments, the power source 1308 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 1308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1308 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1308. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1308 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1300 to which power is supplied.

[00106] The memory 1310 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 readonly memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1310 includes one or more application programs 1314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1316. The memory 1310 may store, for use by the UE 1300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. [00107] The memory 1310 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 1310 may allow the UE 1300 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 1310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[00108] The processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1312. The communication interface 1312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1322. The communication interface 1312 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 1318 and/or a receiver 1320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1318 and receiver 1320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[00109] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1312 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. [00110] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1312, 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).

[00111] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[00112] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1300 shown in FIG. 13.

[00113] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-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.

[00114] 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.

[00115] FIG. 14 shows a network node 1400 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), NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes, or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., intelligent controller, O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[00116] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[00117] 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).

[00118] The network node 1400 includes a processing circuitry 1402, a memory 1404, a communication interface 1406, and a power source 1408. The network node 1400 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 1400 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 1400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1410 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1400, 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 1400.

[00119] The processing circuitry 1402 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 1400 components, such as the memory 1404, to provide network node 1400 functionality.

[00120] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and the baseband processing circuitry 1414 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 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units. [00121] The memory 1404 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 1402. The memory 1404 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 1402 and utilized by the network node 1400. The memory 1404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1402 and/or any data received via the communication interface 1406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 and memory 1404 is integrated.

[00122] The communication interface 1406 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 1406 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 1416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1406 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1410. Radio front-end circuitry 1418 comprises filters 1420 and amplifiers 1422. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 may be connected to an antenna 1410 and processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1410 and processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 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 1418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1420 and/or amplifiers 1422. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

[00123] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1400 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1418, instead, the processing circuitry 1402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1412 is part of the communication interface 1406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1406 includes one or more ports or terminals 1416, the radio front-end circuitry 1418, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[00124] The antenna 1410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1410 is separate from the network node 1400 and connectable to the network node 1400 through an interface or port.

[00125] The antenna 1410, communication interface 1406, and/or the processing circuitry 1402 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 1410, the communication interface 1406, and/or the processing circuitry 1402 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.

[00126] The power source 1408 provides power to the various components of network node 1400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1400 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 1408. As a further example, the power source 1408 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.

[00127] Embodiments of the network node 1400 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 14 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 1400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1400 and to allow output of information from the network node 1400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1400.

[00128] FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a host 1500, which may be an embodiment of the host 1216 of FIG. 12, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1500 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 1500 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[00129] The host 1500 includes processing circuitry 1502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1504 to an input/output interface 1506, a network interface 1508, a power source 1510, and a memory 1512. 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 FIGS. 13 and 14, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1500.

[00130] The memory 1512 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1514 and data 1516, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1500 or data generated by the host 1500 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1500 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1514 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 1514 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 1500 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1514 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.

[00131] FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1600 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 1600 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 1600 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.

[00132] Applications 1602 (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.

[00133] Hardware 1604 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 1606 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1608a and 1608b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1608), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1606 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1608.

[00134] The VMs 1608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1606. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1602 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1608, 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.

[00135] In the context of NFV, a VM 1608 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 1608, and that part of hardware 1604 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 1608 on top of the hardware 1604 and corresponds to the application 1602.

[00136] Hardware 1604 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1604 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1604 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 1610, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1602. In some embodiments, hardware 1604 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 1612 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units. [00137] FIG. 17 shows a communication diagram of a host 1702 communicating via a network node 1704 with a UE 1706 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1212a of FIG. 12 and/or UE 1300 of FIG. 13), network node (such as network node 1210a of FIG. 12 and/or network node 1400 of FIG. 14), and host (such as host 1216 of FIG. 12 and/or host 1500 of FIG. 15) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 17.

[00138] Eike host 1500, embodiments of host 1702 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1702 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1702 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 1706 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1750 extending between the UE 1706 and host 1702. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1750. [00139] The network node 1704 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1702 and UE 1706. The connection 1760 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1206 of FIG. 12) 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.

[00140] The UE 1706 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1706 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 1706 with the support of the host 1702. In the host 1702, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1750 terminating at the UE 1706 and host 1702. 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 1750 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 1750. [00141] The OTT connection 1750 may extend via a connection 1760 between the host 1702 and the network node 1704 and via a wireless connection 1770 between the network node 1704 and the UE 1706 to provide the connection between the host 1702 and the UE 1706. The connection 1760 and wireless connection 1770, over which the OTT connection 1750 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1702 and the UE 1706 via the network node 1704, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[00142] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1750, in step 1708, the host 1702 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 1706. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1706 that shares data with the host 1702 without explicit human interaction. In step 1710, the host 1702 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1706. The host 1702 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1706. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1706 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1706. The transmission may pass via the network node 1704, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1712, the network node 1704 transmits to the UE 1706 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1702 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1714, the UE 1706 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1706 associated with the host application executed by the host 1702.

[00143] In some examples, the UE 1706 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1702. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1702. Accordingly, in step 1716, the UE 1706 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 1706. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1706 initiates, in step 1718, transmission of the user data towards the host 1702 via the network node 1704. In step 1720, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1704 receives user data from the UE 1706 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1702. In step 1722, the host 1702 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1706.

[00144] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1706 using the OTT connection 1750, in which the wireless connection 1770 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may enable radio power overbooking to be used without negatively impacting essential network information such as cell defining signals or signals carrying prioritized communication services. This can be done without necessarily resorting to (complex) power aware cross-carrier scheduling. Some embodiments provide a way of coordinating radio power overbooking across carriers with a very small communication footprint. This can be useful in many situations, such as when radio power overbooking is configured, or to prioritize power between different RATs in a multi-RAT radio configuration, or to prioritize power between different operators in a multivendor setup.

[00145] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1702. As another example, the host 1702 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1702 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1702 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1702 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 1702 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.

[00146] 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 1750 between the host 1702 and UE 1706, 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 1702 and/or UE 1706. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1750 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 1750 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1704. 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 1702. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1750 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[00147] 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. [00148] 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.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a power control device, the method comprising: determining (1040) a first offered power to be used for transmission of a first carrier of a plurality of carriers used by the multi-band transmitter based on a plurality of requested powers that are each associated with a carrier of the plurality of carriers; and transmitting (1060) an indication of the offered power to a power allocator.

2. The method of Claim 1, further comprising: receiving (1020) an indication of a first requested power from a first scheduler, the first requested power being requested to be used for transmission of the first carrier used by the multi-band transmitter; and receiving (1030) an indication of a second requested power from a second scheduler, the second requested power being requested to be used for transmission of a second carrier of the plurality of carriers used by the multi-band transmitter.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein the power allocator is a first power allocator with the first carrier, the method further comprising: determining (1050) a second offered power to be used for transmission of the second carrier by the multi-band transmitter based on the plurality of requested powers; and transmitting (1070) an indication of the second offered power to a second power allocator;

4. The method of any of Claims 1-3, wherein determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier comprises using a model of a radio power scaling feature.

5. The method of any of Claims 1-4, wherein determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier comprises determining the first offered power based on a sum of the plurality of requested powers and a maximum power associated with the multi-band transmitter.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier comprises determining the first offered power to be the first requested power based on the sum of the plurality of requested powers being less than or equal to the maximum power.

7. The method of Claim 5, wherein determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier comprises: determining that the sum of the plurality of requested powers is greater than the maximum power; and responsive to determining that the sum of the plurality of requested powers is greater than the maximum power, determining a plurality of offered powers including the first offered power such that the sum of the plurality of offered powers is less than or equal to the maximum power.

8. The method of Claim 7, wherein determining the plurality of offered powers including the first offered power such that the sum of the plurality of offered powers is less than or equal to the maximum power comprises scaling each requested power of the plurality of requested powers by a common scaling factor.

9. The method of Claim 7, wherein determining the plurality of offered powers including the first offered power such that the sum of the plurality of offered powers is less than or equal to the maximum power comprises: determining a priority associated with each carrier of the plurality of carriers; and scaling each requested power of the plurality of requested powers by a priority weighted scaling factor.

10. The method of any of Claims 5-9, wherein the maximum power is based on a capability of the multi-band transmitter and/or current electro-magnetic field constraints and/or current external interference constraints.

11. The method of any of Claims 1-10, wherein a network node comprise a digital unit, DU, configured to provide the scheduler, the power allocator, and the power control device.

12. The method of any of Claims 1-10, wherein a network node comprises: a digital unit, DU, configured to provide the scheduler and the power allocator; and a radio unit, RU, configured to provide the power control device.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier comprises determining the first offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier based on a temperature at the multi-band transmitter.

14. The method of any of Claims 1-13, wherein a network node comprises: a digital unit, DU, configured to provide the scheduler and the power control device; and a radio unit, RU, configured to provide the power allocator.

15. The method of any of Claims 1-14, wherein a network node comprise the power control device, wherein transmitting the indication of the offered power to the power allocator comprises transmitting the indication via an open-radio access network, ORAN, interface.

16. The method of any of Claims 1-15, further comprising: requesting (1010) a requested power of the plurality of requested powers from a plurality of schedulers.

17. A method of operating a network node configured to provide processing for a first carrier of a plurality of carriers used by a multi-band transmitter, the method comprising: transmitting (1120) an indication of a requested power associated with the first carrier to a power control device; receiving (1130) an indication of an offered power to be used for transmission of the first carrier from the power control device; and configuring (1140) transmissions associated with the first carrier based on the offered power.

18. The method of Claim 17, further comprising: determining (1110) the requested power associated with the first carrier.

19. The method of Claim 18, wherein determining the requested power comprises determining the requested power based on an allocation of all physical signals and channels on a resource grid of the first carrier.

20. The method of any of Claims 17-19, wherein the network node is further configured to provide a radio unit, RU, that is separate from the baseband processing, the RU including the power control device, and wherein transmitting the indication of the requested power associated with the first carrier comprises transmitting the indication of the requested power associated with the first carrier to the power control device via a radio-baseband interface.

21. The method of any of Claims 17-19, wherein the processing includes a scheduler, a power allocator, and the power control device.

22. The method of any of Claims 17-21, wherein configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier comprises determining a power of a physical channel and/or a signal that are allocated for the first carrier based on the offered power.

23. The method of Claim 22, wherein determining the power of the physical channel and/or the signal comprises: determining a priority of the signal; and determining the power by scaling the offered power based on the priority of the signal.

24. The method of any of Claims 17-23, wherein configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier comprises storing the offered power.

25. The method of any of Claims 17-24, wherein configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier comprises performing a link adaptation, such as determining a modulation and coding scheme, based on the offered power.

26. The method of any of Claims 17-25, wherein configuring the transmissions associated with the first carrier comprises rescheduling the first carrier based on the offered power.

27. A network node (1400), the network node comprising: processing circuitry (1402); and memory (1404) coupled to the processing circuitry and having instructions stored therein that are executable by the processing circuitry to cause the network node to perform operations comprising any of the operations of Claims 1-26.

28. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1402) of a network node (1400), whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations comprising any operations of Claims 1-26.

29. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (1404) including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (1402) of a network node (1400), whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations comprising any operations of Claims 1-26.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein that are executable by processing circuitry (1402) of a network node (1400) to cause the network node to perform operations comprising any of the operations of Claims 1-26.