WO2018023086A1

WO2018023086A1 - Timing advance for beam forming systems

Info

Publication number: WO2018023086A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/044540
Authority: WO
Inventors: Huaning Niu; Yuan Zhu; Honglei Miao; Qinghua Li; Wenting CHANG; Yushu Zhang; Min Huang; Hui Guo; Guotong Wang
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation; Intel Corporation
Priority date: 2016-07-29
Filing date: 2017-07-28
Publication date: 2018-02-01
Also published as: CN109417765A; CN113242595A

Abstract

Described is an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE). The apparatus may comprise a first circuitry, a second circuitry, and a third circuitry. The first circuitry may be operable to determine a preferred UE beam. The second circuitry may be operable to generate a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission associated with a preferred eNB beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam. The third circuitry may be operable to process a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission carrying Timing Advance (TA) received through the preferred UE beam. The apparatus may also comprise an interface for sending the PRACH transmission to a transmission circuitry and for receiving the RAR transmission from a receiving circuitry.

Description

TIMING ADVANCE FOR BEAM FORMING SYSTEMS

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

[0001] The present application claims priority to Patent Cooperation Treaty

Intemational Patent Application Number PCT/CN2016/092285 filed July 29, 2016 and entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TA ADJUSTMENT FOR BEAM FORMING SYSTEM," and claims priority to Patent Cooperation Treaty Intemational Patent Application Number PCT/CN2017/077097 filed March 17, 2017 and entitled "REDUCTION OF USER EQUIPMENT (UE) SIDE INTER-PANEL INTERFERENCE," which are herein

incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A variety of wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented, including a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) Universal Mobile

Telecommunications System, a 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, and a 3GPP LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) system. Next-generation wireless cellular communication systems based upon LTE and LTE-A systems are being developed, such as a fifth generation (5G) wireless system / 5G mobile networks system. Next-generation wireless cellular communication systems may provide support for higher bandwidths in part by supporting beamforming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] The embodiments of the disclosure will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the disclosure. However, while the drawings are to aid in explanation and understanding, they are only an aid, and should not be taken to limit the disclosure to the specific embodiments depicted therein.

[0004] Fig. 1 illustrates a scenario of diverse arrival timing for different beam pair links, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0005] Fig. 2 illustrates a method of Timing Advance (TA) estimation at an initial- access stage, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0006] Fig. 3 illustrates a method of TA estimation at an initial-access stage, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0007] Fig. 4 illustrates a scenario of TA measurement error for a non-reciprocity system, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. [0008] Fig. 5 illustrates a method of two-step TA measurement, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0009] Fig. 6 illustrates Message 3 (Msg3) frame structures, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0010] Fig. 7 illustrates a Msg3 frame structure, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0011] Fig. 8 illustrates a scenario of beam aggregation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0012] Fig. 9 illustrates a scenario of Inter-Panel Interference (IPI) in beam aggregation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0013] Fig. 10 illustrates a memory structure for channels, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0014] Fig. 11 illustrates TA indication structures, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0015] Fig. 12 illustrates an Evolved Node B (eNB) and a User Equipment (UE), in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0016] Fig. 13 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for beam-specific

TA adjustment and TA measurement for non-reciprocity beam-forming systems, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0017] Fig. 14 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for reducing inter- panel self-interference for multi-beam operation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0018] Fig. 15 illustrates methods for a UE for beam-specific TA adjustment and TA measurement for non-reciprocity beam-forming systems, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0019] Fig. 16 illustrates methods for a UE for reducing inter-panel self-interference for multi-beam operation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0020] Fig. 17 illustrates example components of a device, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0021] Fig. 18 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Various wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented or are being proposed, including a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 3GPP LTE-Advanced system, and a 5th Generation wireless system / 5th Generation mobile networks (5G) system / 5th Generation new radio (NR) system.

[0023] One attractive aspect of 5G systems is high-frequency band communication.

In high-frequency bands, beam forming, which may include Transmit (Tx) side and Receive (Rx) side beamforming, may be applied to enhance beam-forming gain, such as by compensating for pathloss (which may be severe) and by reducing mutual user interference. The beam-forming gain obtained may greatly impact system capacity, system coverage, or both.

[0024] After beam forming, a delay spread may be greatly reduced, so that a length of

Cyclic Prefix (CP) may be reduced, and may advantageously decrease a CP overhead.

However, different beams may align to different channel clusters, which may cause Timing Advance (TA) to be beam-specific. As a result, when beam switching occurs, TA may be disposed to being adjusted accordingly.

[0025] In cases of non-reciprocity systems, a Downlink (DL) beam pattern and an

Uplink (UL) beam pattem may be different. This may result in preferred DL channel cluster being different than a preferred UL channel cluster, which may in turn imply that a DL- experienced transmission delay may be different from a UL- experienced transmission delay. Moreover, when an eNB derives the TA value, an additional error may be involved.

[0026] Discussed herein are mechanisms and methods for beam-specific TA adjustment and TA measurement for non-reciprocity beam-forming systems. These mechanisms and methods may advantageously aid systems experiencing differences between preferred DL channel clusters and preferred UL channel clusters, and may also

advantageously aid systems experiencing additional TA errors.

[0027] Moreover, hybrid beamforming may be utilized in high-frequency bands for

5G or NR systems, where analog beamforming may be used for both an eNB side and a UE side. For each eNB and UE, a good Tx-Rx beam pair link may advantageously help to increase a link budget. Furthermore, for high-frequency bands, a number of strong channel clusters may be limited, which may result in a lower rank for a digital precoder than a rank for low-frequency bands, such as LTE. Beam aggregation may be used to increase a rank. However, beam aggregation may be accompanied by Inter-Panel Interference (IPI). [0028] Discussed herein are mechanisms and methods for reducing inter-panel self- interference for multi-beam operation, in which multiple beams may come from different link directions in different panels. These mechanisms and methods may include inter-eNB coordinated scheduling enhancement, and may also include UE-based IPI cancellation for multi-beam operation.

[0029] In the following description, numerous details are discussed to provide a more thorough explanation of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Note that in the corresponding drawings of the embodiments, signals are represented with lines. Some lines may be thicker, to indicate a greater number of constituent signal paths, and/or have arrows at one or more ends, to indicate a direction of information flow. Such indications are not intended to be limiting. Rather, the lines are used in connection with one or more exemplary embodiments to facilitate easier understanding of a circuit or a logical unit. Any represented signal, as dictated by design needs or preferences, may actually comprise one or more signals that may travel in either direction and may be implemented with any suitable type of signal scheme.

[0031] Throughout the specification, and in the claims, the term "connected" means a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection between the things that are connected, without any intermediary devices. The term "coupled" means either a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection between the things that are connected or an indirect connection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices. The term "circuit" or "module" may refer to one or more passive and/or active components that are arranged to cooperate with one another to provide a desired function. The term "signal" may refer to at least one current signal, voltage signal, magnetic signal, or data/clock signal. The meaning of "a," "an," and "the" include plural references. The meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on."

[0032] The terms "substantially," "close," "approximately," "near," and "about" generally refer to being within +/- 10% of a target value. Unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first," "second," and "third," etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. [0033] It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.

[0034] The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions.

[0035] For purposes of the embodiments, the transistors in various circuits, modules, and logic blocks are Tunneling FETs (TFETs). Some transistors of various embodiments may comprise metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors, which include drain, source, gate, and bulk terminals. The transistors may also include Tri-Gate and FinFET transistors, Gate All Around Cylindrical Transistors, Square Wire, or Rectangular Ribbon Transistors or other devices implementing transistor functionality like carbon nanotubes or spintronic devices. MOSFET symmetrical source and drain terminals i.e., are identical terminals and are interchangeably used here. A TFET device, on the other hand, has asymmetric Source and Drain terminals. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other transistors, for example, Bi-polar junction transistors-BJT PNP/NPN, BiCMOS, CMOS, etc., may be used for some transistors without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0036] For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "A and/or B" and "A or

B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase "A, B, and/or C" means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

[0037] In addition, the various elements of combinatorial logic and sequential logic discussed in the present disclosure may pertain both to physical structures (such as AND gates, OR gates, or XOR gates), or to synthesized or otherwise optimized collections of devices implementing the logical structures that are Boolean equivalents of the logic under discussion.

[0038] In addition, for purposes of the present disclosure, the term "eNB" may refer to a legacy LTE capable Evolved Node-B (eNB), a next-generation or 5G capable eNB (gNB), a millimeter-wave (mmWave) capable eNB or an mmWave small cell, an Access Point (AP), and/or another base station for a wireless communication system. For purposes of the present disclosure, the term "UE" may refer to a legacy LTE capable User Equipment (UE), a next-generation or 5G capable UE, an mmWave capable UE, a Station (STA), and/or another mobile equipment for a wireless communication system. [0039] Various embodiments of eNBs and/or UEs discussed below may process one or more transmissions of various types. Some processing of a transmission may comprise demodulating, decoding, detecting, parsing, and/or otherwise handling a transmission that has been received. In some embodiments, an eNB or UE processing a transmission may determine or recognize the transmission's type and/or a condition associated with the transmission. For some embodiments, an eNB or UE processing a transmission may act in accordance with the transmission's type, and/or may act conditionally based upon the transmission's type. An eNB or UE processing a transmission may also recognize one or more values or fields of data carried by the transmission. Processing a transmission may comprise moving the transmission through one or more layers of a protocol stack (which may be implemented in, e.g., hardware and/or software-configured elements), such as by moving a transmission that has been received by an eNB or a UE through one or more layers of a protocol stack.

[0040] Various embodiments of eNBs and/or UEs discussed below may also generate one or more transmissions of various types. Some generating of a transmission may comprise modulating, encoding, formatting, assembling, and/or otherwise handling a transmission that is to be transmitted. In some embodiments, an eNB or UE generating a transmission may establish the transmission's type and/or a condition associated with the transmission. For some embodiments, an eNB or UE generating a transmission may act in accordance with the transmission's type, and/or may act conditionally based upon the transmission's type. An eNB or UE generating a transmission may also determine one or more values or fields of data carried by the transmission. Generating a transmission may comprise moving the transmission through one or more layers of a protocol stack (which may be implemented in, e.g., hardware and/or software-configured elements), such as by moving a transmission to be sent by an eNB or a UE through one or more layers of a protocol stack.

[0041] In various embodiments, resources may span various Resource Blocks (RBs),

Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), and/or time periods (e.g., frames, subframes, and/or slots) of a wireless communication system. In some contexts, allocated resources (e.g., channels, Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFMD) symbols, subcarrier frequencies, resource elements (REs), and/or portions thereof) may be formatted for (and prior to) transmission over a wireless communication link. In other contexts, allocated resources (e.g., channels, OFDM symbols, subcarrier frequencies, REs, and/or portions thereof) may be detected from (and subsequent to) reception over a wireless communication link. [0042] Fig. 1 illustrates a scenario of diverse arrival timing for different beam pair links, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A scenario 100 may include a wireless communication system having a first beam pair link 101 and a second beam pair link 102.

[0043] In the system of scenario 100, which may operate in one or more high- frequency bands, beam forming may be utilized to compensate for a severe pathloss. First beam pair link 101 may be an active beam pair link, and second beam pair link 102 may be a candidate beam pair link. Accordingly, instead of merely maintaining an active beam pair link, the system of scenario 100 may also support a candidate beam pair link. Maintenance of a candidate beam pair link may in turn increase a robustness against signal blockage and/or time-varying fast fading. For example, a first robustness 151 may correspond with first beam pair link 101, and a second robustness 152 may correspond with second beam pair link 102.

[0044] Different beam pairs may correspond to different channel clusters, and the arrival times for the different channel clusters may be different. In the system of scenario 100, a CP length may be designed for a beam-formed channel for low overhead, such that a difference between different clusters may exceed a guard period (GP) of CP.

[0045] Fig. 2 illustrates a method of TA estimation at an initial-access stage, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A method 200 may comprise a sweeping and selecting 210, a sending 220, and/or a detecting, estimating, and sending 230. In sweeping 210, a beam sweeping may be performed, which may be based on a Beam Reference Signal (BRS) or another suitable signal, and a preferred Network (NW) / UE beam pair link may be selected. In sending 220, a UE may send a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)— which may, in some embodiments, be a 5G PRACH (xPRACH). The PRACH or xPRACH may be based upon a preferred UE beam acquired in sweeping and selecting 210. In detecting, estimating, and sending 230, an eNB may detect the PRACH or xPRACH, which may be based on a preferred NW beam acquired in sweeping and selecting 210. The eNB may then estimate the TA, and send an indicator of TA to the UE through a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission.

[0046] In accordance with method 200, in some embodiments, a TA measured based on an active beam pair may be configured by an eNB, and a UE may maintain a delay difference by itself. For some embodiments, the TA may be measured based on a beam pair link, which may comprise a NW beam (which may be derived based on an association with PRACH or xPRACH, for example, a PRACH or xPRACH resource and/or index), and a UE beam (which may be utilized for PRACH or xPRACH transmission). [0047] In some embodiments, a TA may be configured by an eNB along with an NW beam index, and the eNB may inform a UE regarding which NW beam is the reference beam for TA measurement.

[0048] For some embodiments, a UE may maintain a time difference between one specific beam with the reference beam, and may update the time difference accordingly during beam switching (e.g., switching from a candidate beam pair link to an active beam pair link). For example, if a first beam pair link is adopted as a reference beam for a Timing Advance ΊΑ_Χ, a UE may calculate an arrival time difference Δ_ΤΑ between a second beam pair link and the first beam pair link. When beam switching occurs to transition from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link, the UE may update a Timing Advance to Δ_ΤΑ + TA_t. The UE may perform such an update at and/or in the subframe in which the beam switching occurs.

[0049] Fig. 3 illustrates a method of TA estimation at an initial-access stage, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A method 300 may comprise a signaling and deriving 310, a sending and deriving 320, and/or a sending 330. In signaling and deriving 310, a synchronous signal with repeated single beams may be transmitted (e.g., by an eNB), which may advantageously help a UE to derive a UE-side beam (e.g., for a beam pair link). In sending and driving 320, a UE may repeatedly send a PRACH or xPRACH based on an acquired UE beam, and an eNB may then derive a receiving NW-side beam (e.g.,, for a beam pair link). In sending 330, an eNB may send TA and a corresponding beam index (such as a NW-side beam index) to a UE through an RAR transmission.

[0050] In accordance with method 300, in some embodiments, at the initiating side

(e.g., an eNB), a single beam synchronous signal may be transmitted, which may enable a UE to detect a UE-side beam. The UE may then transmit a PRACH or xPRACH based on the UE-side beam, and an eNB may then send TA together with a beam index (e.g., an index of an eNB-side or NW-side beam).

[0051] Fig. 4 illustrates a scenario of TA measurement error for a non-reciprocity system, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A first scenario 410 may include a wireless communication system having a first beam pair link 411 and a second beam pair link 412, while a second scenario 420 may include a wireless communication system having a first beam pair link 421 and a second beam pair link 422. First scenario 410 may correspond to a DL beam sweep procedure, while second scenario 420 may correspond to a UL beam sweep procedure. [0052] In the systems of scenario 410 and/or scenario 420, in embodiments incorporating non-reciprocity systems, a beam partem of a UE-side in the UL direction may be different from a beam pattern of the UE-side in the DL direction. In turn, a DL beam pair link and a UL beam pair link may be directed to different channel clusters, which may be subject to TA error. If an involved transmission delay for a first cluster is t_x and an involved transmission delay for a second cluster is t₂, then a Timing Advance error may be (t₂— ti)/2.

[0053] Fig. 5 illustrates a method of two-step TA measurement, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A method 500 may comprise a first part 510, a second part 520, a third part 530, a fourth part 540, and a fifth part 550. In first part 510, PRACH or xPRACH may be transmitted by a UE 501. An eNB 502 may then measure a TA, and in second part 520, eNB 502 may configure the UE with the TA via an RAR transmission. UE 501 may then transmit a Msg3 in part 530. Since the TA may contain a timing error due to DL beam and UL beam mismatch, eNB 502 may estimate the TA error based on the Msg3, and may configure UE 501 with an indicator of the timing error in fourth part 540. In fifth part 550, UL data may be transmitted based on the configured TA and/or configured timing error.

[0054] In some embodiments, in fourth part 540, a Medium Access Control (MAC)

Control Element (CE) for further TA adjustment may be added to and/or otherwise incorporated in fourth part 540.

[0055] Fig. 6 illustrates Message 3 (Msg3) frame structures, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A first frame structure 610 may comprise a frame 612 with a plurality of OFDM symbols (e.g., fourteen OFDM symbols). A Msg3 transmission window 614 may span a subset of the OFDM symbols of frame 612. A second frame structure 620 may comprise a frame 622 with a plurality of OFDM symbols, and a Msg3 transmission window 624 may span a subset of the OFDM symbols of frame 622.

[0056] In some embodiments, frame structures such as first frame structure 610 and second frame structure 620 may advantageously facilitate eNB measurement of a residential TA error. In Msg3 transmission window 614 and/or Msg3 transmission window 624, during a configured available timing window for Msg3 transmission, a first OFDM symbol and/or a last OFDM symbol may be reserved.

[0057] An eNB may utilize a time-domain filtering window (e.g., Msg3 transmission window 614 and/or Msg3 transmission window 624) to detect a start position of

Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) within a Msg3. The eNB may estimate a residential TA based on DMRS, extract one or more subsequent OFDM data symbol with a corrected residential TA, and inform the UE of the residential TA (e.g., in a fourth part of a TA measurement procedure, such as fourth part 540 of method 500).

[0058] Fig. 7 illustrates a Msg3 frame structure, in accordance with some

embodiments of the disclosure. A frame structure 710 may comprise a frame 712 with a plurality of OFDM symbols (e.g., fourteen OFDM symbols), and a Msg3 transmission window 724 may span a subset of the OFDM symbols of frame 712. Frame structure 710 may be substantially similar to frame structure 610 and/or frame structure 620.

[0059] In some embodiments, other frame structures for Msg3 may comprise DMRS and Msg3 data being transmitted with a long CP, and may advantageously support fixed symbol extraction window. Since different UEs may be received by different panels (e.g., different eNB panels), specific symbol extraction windows may be supported for Msg3 reception.

[0060] For example, when a signal arrives earlier such as in an earlier-arrival scenario

720, a symbol number 0 may contain a full DMRS for channel estimation. An eNB may then calculate a residential error, and symbols with even indices may contain full DMRS and/or data information, which may be utilized for data demodulation. Alternatively, when a signal arrives later such as in a later-arrival scenario 740, symbols with odd indexes may contain full DMRS and/or data information, which may be utilized for data demodulation.

[0061] In various embodiments, a reserved guard interval may be equal to:

LN₁ (iV_Cp + iV_OFDM)/(2iV_OFDM)J/2

Where: may be a number of OFDM symbols for Msg3 transmission (for example, 11 OFDM symbols as depicted for Msg3 transmission window 714); N_CP, may be a CP length; and N_0FDM may be an OFDM length.

[0062] In some embodiments, according to DL beam measurements, a UE may calculate a time difference between two clusters (e.g., t_x— t₂). For some embodiments, an indicator of two or more bits may be configured by an eNB along a with contention solution, for which: a first value of the indicator (e.g., a value of "00") may mean a signal arrival is on- time, or "correct,"; a second value of the indicator (e.g., a value of "01") may mean a signal arrival time is later; and a third value of the indicator (e.g., a value of "10") may mean a signal arrival time is earlier. (A fourth value of the indicator, e.g. a value of "11," may be reserved.)

[0063] For some embodiments, a UE may transmit one PRACH or xPRACH sequence during one OFDM symbol based on a TA acquired in RAR. An NW/UE beam pair link may be acquired at the PRACH or xPRACH stage. The eNB may calculate a residential TA error, and may indicate the residential TA error to the UE. After the UE receives a second RAR, the UE may transmit a Msg3 based on a timing adjustment derived from these two TAs (e.g., from a TA acquired in RAR, and the residential TA error acquired in a second RAR).

[0064] In some embodiments, a first RAR may be a simplified TA containing merely a TA value, while a second RAR may contain an entire RAR field. For some embodiments, a time-domain resource, frequency -domain resource, and/or code resource for additional PRACH or xPRACH transmission may be configured by an eNB, or may be predetermined.

[0065] Fig. 8 illustrates a scenario of beam aggregation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A scenario 800 may comprise a first eNB 810, a second eNB 820, and a UE 830. First eNB 810 may be a serving eNB, while second eNB 820 may be an assistant eNB. UE 830 may communicate wirelessly with first eNB 810 and second eNB 820 via a first panel and a second panel, respectively.

[0066] Moreover, beam aggregation may be employed in scenario 800, in which different transport blocks may be transmitted and/or received via different Tx-Rx beam pair links. In various embodiments, beam aggregation may be implemented with a central scheduler, or without a central scheduler. For an independent scheduler case, beam aggregation may operate in a manner similar to dual-connectivity, and different eNBs may schedule different directions. For example, a serving eNB may schedule a DL transmission, while an assistant eNB may schedule a UL transmission.

[0067] Fig. 9 illustrates a scenario of Inter-Panel Interference in beam aggregation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A scenario 900 may comprise a first eNB 910, a second eNB 920, and a UE 930. First eNB 910 may be a serving eNB, while second eNB 920 may be an assistant eNB. UE 930 may communicate wirelessly with first eNB 910 and second eNB 920 via a first panel and a second panel, respectively.

[0068] Although there may be some degree of physical separation between the first panel of UE 930 and the second panel of UE 930, if UE 930 is at a cell edge area, interference may become an issue. In such cases, a UL transmission power— for example, a power of UE 930 related to UL transmission 932 being transmitted from an interfering panel— may be close to a maximum UL transmission power due to power control.

Meanwhile, a DL receiving power— for example, a power of UE 930 related to DL transmission 912 being received by a victim panel— may be relatively low. An IPI may then be observed in the victim panel of UE 930. [0069] Reduction of IPI may be challenging due to various factors. First, multi-beam operation may be utilized for both DL and UL. Secondly, UL and DL could target different eNBs, and a larger timing gap between UL and DL may be observed as a propagation delay may be different, and the Network may be asynchronous (e.g., not synchronized). Thirdly, a UE may have more than two active antenna panels, and a total number of Tx antenna ports and antenna elements and Rx antenna ports and antenna elements may therefore be different.

[0070] Various mechanisms and methods discussed herein may advantageously reduce an IPI for multi-beam operation (e.g., for beam aggregation), in which beams may arrive at different panels of a UE from different directions. In some embodiments, an IPI may be reduced by an inter-eNB coordinate scheduling enhancement. For some

embodiments, an IPI may be reduced by multiple eNBs that simultaneously serve a UE avoiding simultaneous scheduling of different link transmissions (e.g., avoiding simultaneous scheduling of link transmissions in different UL / DL directions).

[0071] Moreover, various mechanisms and methods discussed herein may advantageously facilitate UE IPI cancellation for multi-beam operation. In some

embodiments, a channel estimation associated with IPI may be performed (which may be conducted during a UE Radio-Frequency (RF) front-end calibration phase). For some embodiments, estimated channel coefficients in a time-domain or a frequency-domain may be stored in an IPI cancellation module. In some embodiments, IPI cancellation may be performed if triggered by various conditions (e.g., by an IPI level, which may be

predetermined threshold).

[0072] A UE may have an antenna structure with multiple antenna panels, and the antenna panels may each target different directions. Table 1 below provides antenna elements for one panel.

Table 1 : Antenna Elements for One Panel

Although there may be some separation between different antenna panels, an IPI could still be large if a transmitting power from an interference panel is large. For example, if the UE is in a cell edge area, a transmitting power could be large, for example due to power control. Furthermore, a beam aggregation may be utilized for a cell edge UE.

[0073] In some embodiments, an IPI may be suppressed by coordinated scheduling.

A plurality of eNBs may schedule the same direction (either UL or DL) for all the panels for one UE at the same time.

[0074] However, an effectiveness of coordinated scheduling might be reduced in some cases. For example, in cases of asynchronous networks, it may be challenging for a plurality of eNBs to schedule the same direction at the same time, although beam aggregation may work for an asynchronous network. Further, due to propagation delays, even if the network is synchronized and coordinated scheduling is utilized, an IPI may still occur due to TA. Accordingly, a UE may advantageously employ mechanisms and methods to suppress an IPI.

[0075] Fig. 10 illustrates a memory structure for channels, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Memory structure 1000 may comprise a plurality of stored channel estimates 1010 between each Tx-beam / Rx-beam pair from different channels.

[0076] In some embodiments, an IPI may be suppressed by a UE receiver. In accordance with one option, a UE may pre-define (or predetermine) its Tx beam and Rx beam grid, and estimate a channel between each Tx beam / Rx beam pair from different panels. Hence a UE may store a time domain channel and/or frequency domain channel (or channel estimate) for each Tx beam / Rx beam pair into a memory.

[0077] For example, with reference to memory structure 1000 (which may be for a dual-panel UE, or a UE with at least two panels), there may be a number R of Rx beams, and a number T of Tx beams, and each of channels H_a,b,c,d may represent a channel associated with an Rx beam number c (out of R Rx beams) of panel a, as paired with a Tx beam number d (out of T Tx beams) of panel b.

[0078] It should be noted that for IPI cancellation, various embodiments may merely consider those channel coefficients corresponding to beam pairs which may potentially cause significant IPI. Moreover, an IPI cancellation method might be applied merely when a considerable IPI appears. In other words, if an envisioned IPI level is very small, IPI cancellation might not be needed. Accordingly, various embodiments may incorporate an IPI cancellation on-off mechanism (e.g., a threshold-based on-off mechanism). [0079] A stored channel may be a channel in a frequency domain or a time domain.

In some embodiments, a stored channel may include two vectors: one vector being a delay vector to indicate a delay of each tap (for which the delay may be quantized, or might not be quantized), and the other vector being a channel coefficient of each tap. Then, since a UE may know the channels between an interference panel a victim panel, and a transmission signal, an interference cancellation may be done in the time domain or the frequency domain. Note that if a channel reciprocity can be confirmed between the panels, and the grid of beams in each panel is the same, a channel might need to be stored for merely one direction (for example, Ho,i,x,_y.)

[0080] In the time domain, a receiving signal for one antenna port may be given by: y[n] = ^ h_j [n] ®X_j [n] + ^ h [n] ®x [n] + σ[η]

7 7 =1

Where: h_j [n] may indicate an equivalent beamformed channel from a serving eNB in Tx antenna port j; X_j [n] may denote a DL time domain signal in Tx antenna port j; h_j'[n] may refer to an equivalent beamformed inter-panel channel in Tx antenna port j; x [n] may indicate a UL time domain signal in Tx antenna port j; σ, [n] may denote an interference plus noise; N_Tx may be a number of Tx antenna ports in serving eNB; and N_Tx' may be a number of Tx antenna ports in an interference panel.

[0081] To reduce an interference in the time domain, a receiving signal in each antenna port may be given by:

Where: i '[n] may indicate a pre-stored channel from an antenna port j of an interference panel.

[0082] In the frequency domain, a receiving signal in one subcarrier may be achieved by:

Y = HX + H'X' + N

Where: Η, Χ, Η', X' and N are the frequency domain matrices for all the Tx antenna ports of h_j [n], X_j [n], h_j'[n], x [n] and σ, [η] . Then an IPI in the frequency domain may be obtained by:

Y - H"X'

Where: H" may indicate a frequency domain stored channel. [0083] In some embodiments, to save the memory, a UE may estimate an instant inter-panel channel for each subframe (as different Tx beams may be utilized in different UL channels). The inter-panel channel may be estimated on a per-physical-channel basis. For example, one channel may be estimated from a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and another channel may be estimated from a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). As the UE may have TA information, the interference to be suppressed for each symbol may then be determined according to the TA, or according to the TA plus a propagation delay between two channels. The propagation delay may be ignored or measured and pre-stored by the UE. After estimating an inter-panel channel, a Serial Interference Cancellation (SIC) receiver or a Maximum Likelihood Detection (MLD) receiver may be used to equalize a DL signal.

[0084] For some embodiments, a UE may store a coupling loss between two antenna panels, between each Tx beam and Rx beam. Then, upon receiving DL signals, the UE may estimate a noise-plus-interference by channel estimation, or by an interference measurement resource. When the following condition is true, the UE may turn on an advanced receiver to reduce an IPI:

# - (Ptx - Yi.j) < Δ

Where: ϋ may denote an estimated noise plus interference, in dB; P_tx may indicate a Tx power for a neighbor antenna panel; may refer to a stored coupling loss between an Rx beam i and a Tx beam j, which may be used for current DL reception and/or current UL transmission.

[0085] In various embodiments, the features discussed above may be extended to cases in which a UE may have more than two antenna panels.

[0086] In some embodiments, for a UE with multiple antenna panels, the UE may have multiple TA. For some embodiments, a UE may receive more than one TA from the same eNB. One antenna panel may be viewed as an antenna port group. TA might then be antenna-port-group specific. A number of antenna ports per group may be pre-defined (or otherwise predetermined), or may be reported and/or configured by higher layer signaling.

[0087] Furthermore, for some embodiments, a UE may have more physical antenna panels than RF chains. Thus, since a UE may have P antenna ports per group, G antenna port groups, and F RF chains, there may be one case in which PxG>F. As a result, the UE may be disposed to reporting a number of simultaneously Tx / Rx antenna ports, as well as a maximum number of antenna ports, when reporting UE capability. [0088] Fig. 11 illustrates TA indication structures, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A first TA indication structure 1 1 10 may indicate TA for all antenna port groups, and may accordingly have a MAC CE structure similar to the depicted structure. A second TA indication structure 1 120 may indicate TA for one AP group as well as an AP group index, and may accordingly have a structure (e.g., a MAC CE structure) similar to the depicted structure.

[0089] When triggered by a PRACH or xPRACH used for TA estimation, an eNB may indicate an antenna port group index to a UE, to ensure that the UE is informed of which antenna port (or antenna ports) should be used and/or which antenna panel should be used.

[0090] Fig. 12 illustrates an eNB and a UE, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Fig. 12 includes block diagrams of an eNB 1210 and a UE 1230 which are operable to co-exist with each other and other elements of an LTE network. High-level, simplified architectures of eNB 1210 and UE 1230 are described so as not to obscure the embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, eNB 1210 may be a stationary non-mobile device.

[0091] eNB 1210 is coupled to one or more antennas 1205, and UE 1230 is similarly coupled to one or more antennas 1225. However, in some embodiments, eNB 1210 may incorporate or comprise antennas 1205, and UE 1230 in various embodiments may incorporate or comprise antennas 1225.

[0092] In some embodiments, antennas 1205 and/or antennas 1225 may comprise one or more directional or omni-directional antennas, including monopole antennas, dipole antennas, loop antennas, patch antennas, microstrip antennas, coplanar wave antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some MIMO (multiple- input and multiple output) embodiments, antennas 1205 are separated to take advantage of spatial diversity.

[0093] eNB 1210 and UE 1230 are operable to communicate with each other on a network, such as a wireless network. eNB 1210 and UE 1230 may be in communication with each other over a wireless communication channel 1250, which has both a downlink path from eNB 1210 to UE 1230 and an uplink path from UE 1230 to eNB 1210.

[0094] As illustrated in Fig. 12, in some embodiments, eNB 1210 may include a physical layer circuitry 1212, a MAC (media access control) circuitry 1214, a processor 1216, a memory 1218, and a hardware processing circuitry 1220. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that other components not shown may be used in addition to the components shown to form a complete eNB. [0095] In some embodiments, physical layer circuitry 1212 includes a transceiver

1213 for providing signals to and from UE 1230. Transceiver 1213 provides signals to and from UEs or other devices using one or more antennas 1205. In some embodiments, MAC circuitry 1214 controls access to the wireless medium. Memory 1218 may be, or may include, a storage media/medium such as a magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), an optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), an electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, or flash-memory-based storage media), or any tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media. Hardware processing circuitry 1220 may comprise logic devices or circuitry to perform various operations. In some embodiments, processor 1216 and memory 1218 are arranged to perform the operations of hardware processing circuitry 1220, such as operations described herein with reference to logic devices and circuitry within eNB 1210 and/or hardware processing circuitry 1220.

[0096] Accordingly, in some embodiments, eNB 1210 may be a device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and an interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device.

[0097] As is also illustrated in Fig. 12, in some embodiments, UE 1230 may include a physical layer circuitry 1232, a MAC circuitry 1234, a processor 1236, a memory 1238, a hardware processing circuitry 1240, a wireless interface 1242, and a display 1244. A person skilled in the art would appreciate that other components not shown may be used in addition to the components shown to form a complete UE.

[0098] In some embodiments, physical layer circuitry 1232 includes a transceiver

1233 for providing signals to and from eNB 1210 (as well as other eNBs). Transceiver 1233 provides signals to and from eNBs or other devices using one or more antennas 1225. In some embodiments, MAC circuitry 1234 controls access to the wireless medium. Memory 1238 may be, or may include, a storage media/medium such as a magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), an optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), an electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, or flash- memory-based storage media), or any tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media. Wireless interface 1242 may be arranged to allow the processor to communicate with another device. Display 1244 may provide a visual and/or tactile display for a user to interact with UE 1230, such as a touch-screen display. Hardware processing circuitry 1240 may comprise logic devices or circuitry to perform various operations. In some embodiments, processor 1236 and memory 1238 may be arranged to perform the operations of hardware processing circuitry 1240, such as operations described herein with reference to logic devices and circuitry within UE 1230 and/or hardware processing circuitry 1240.

[0099] Accordingly, in some embodiments, UE 1230 may be a device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touch-screen display.

[00100] Elements of Fig. 12, and elements of other figures having the same names or reference numbers, can operate or function in the manner described herein with respect to any such figures (although the operation and function of such elements is not limited to such descriptions). For example, Figs. 13-14 and 17-18 also depict embodiments of eNBs, hardware processing circuitry of eNBs, UEs, and/or hardware processing circuitry of UEs, and the embodiments described with respect to Fig. 12 and Figs. 13-14 and 17-18 can operate or function in the manner described herein with respect to any of the figures.

[00101] In addition, although eNB 1210 and UE 1230 are each described as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. In some embodiments of this disclosure, the functional elements can refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements. Examples of software and/or hardware configured elements include Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), one or more microprocessors, DSPs, Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs), and so on.

[00102] Fig. 13 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for beam-specific

TA adjustment and TA measurement for non-reciprocity beam-forming systems, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Fig. 14 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for reducing inter-panel self-interference for multi-beam operation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. With reference to Fig. 12, a UE may include various hardware processing circuitries discussed herein (such as hardware processing circuitry 1300 of Fig. 13 and hardware processing circuitry 1400 of Fig. 14), which may in turn comprise logic devices and/or circuitry operable to perform various operations. For example, in Fig. 12, UE 1230 (or various elements or components therein, such as hardware processing circuitry 1240, or combinations of elements or components therein) may include part of, or all of, these hardware processing circuitries.

[00103] In some embodiments, one or more devices or circuitries within these hardware processing circuitries may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. For example, processor 1236 (and/or one or more other processors which UE 1230 may comprise), memory 1238, and/or other elements or components of UE 1230 (which may include hardware processing circuitry 1240) may be arranged to perform the operations of these hardware processing circuitries, such as operations described herein with reference to devices and circuitry within these hardware processing circuitries. In some embodiments, processor 1236 (and/or one or more other processors which UE 1230 may comprise) may be a baseband processor.

[00104] Returning to Fig. 13, an apparatus of UE 1230 (or another UE or mobile handset), which may be operable to communicate with one or more eNBs on a wireless network, may comprise hardware processing circuitry 1300. In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1300 may comprise one or more antenna ports 1305 operable to provide various transmissions over a wireless communication channel (such as wireless

communication channel 1250). Antenna ports 1305 may be coupled to one or more antennas 1307 (which may be antennas 1225). In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1300 may incorporate antennas 1307, while in other embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1300 may merely be coupled to antennas 1307.

[00105] Antenna ports 1305 and antennas 1307 may be operable to provide signals from a UE to a wireless communications channel and/or an eNB, and may be operable to provide signals from an eNB and/or a wireless communications channel to a UE. For example, antenna ports 1305 and antennas 1307 may be operable to provide transmissions from UE 1230 to wireless communication channel 1250 (and from there to eNB 1210, or to another eNB). Similarly, antennas 1307 and antenna ports 1305 may be operable to provide transmissions from a wireless communication channel 1250 (and beyond that, from eNB 1210, or another eNB) to UE 1230.

[00106] Hardware processing circuitry 1300 may comprise various circuitries operable in accordance with the various embodiments discussed herein. With reference to Fig. 13, hardware processing circuitry 1300 may comprise a first circuitry 1310, a second circuitry 1320, and/or a third circuitry 1330. First circuitry 1310 may be operable to determine a preferred UE beam. Second circuitry 1320 may be operable to generate a PRACH transmission associated with a preferred eNB beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam. First circuitry 1310 may be operable to provide an indicator of the preferred UE beam to second circuitry 1320 vi an interface 1315. Third circuitry 1330 may be operable to process an RAR transmission carrying TA received through the preferred UE beam.

Hardware processing circuitry 1300 may also comprise an interface for sending the PRACH transmission to a transmission circuitry and for receiving the RAR transmission from a receiving circuitry.

[00107] In some embodiments, a TA may be measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam. For some embodiments, the eNB may identify the eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission to the UE. In some embodiments, the beam pair link may be a first beam pair link, the TA may be a first TA, the UE may maintain a first association between the first beam pair link and the first TA, and the UE may maintain a second association between a second beam pair link and a second TA.

[00108] For some embodiments, the UE may update a TA in use, from the first TA to the second TA, upon a switch in beams from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link. In some embodiments, the UE may update the TA in use based upon a time difference between the first TA and the second TA. For some embodiments, the RAR transmission may carry an index corresponding to the preferred eNB beam based on the PRACH transmission. In some embodiments, the preferred UE beam may be based upon one or more repeated single-beam synchronous signal from the eNB.

[00109] In some embodiments, second circuitry 1320 may be operable to generate a

Msg3 transmission. For some embodiments, third circuitry 1330 may be operable to process a transmission carrying TA information and a beam indicator based upon the Msg3.

[00110] For some embodiments, a MAC CE may be associated with the TA information and the beam indicator. In some embodiments, the Msg3 transmission may carry a DMRS. In some embodiments, the TA information and the beam indicator may be carried by subsequent data.

[00111] In some embodiments, the Msg3 may be generated to be transmitted with a long CP, and the Msg3 may carry two DMRS, followed by duplicate copies of one or more portions of data, on a plurality of OFDM symbols.

[00112] For some embodiments, the transmission carrying the TA information additionally may carry an indicator having at least a first value corresponding to correct arrival, a second value corresponding to early arrival, and third value corresponding to late arrival.

[00113] In some embodiments, the PRACH transmission may be a first PRACH transmission, and RAR transmission may be a first RAR transmission. Second circuitry 1320 may be operable to generate a second PRACH transmission for transmission on the preferred UE beam based on the TA. Third circuitry 1330 may be operable to process a second RAR transmission carrying a TA error indicator based upon the second PRACH transmission.

[00114] For some embodiments, the first RAR transmission may carry TA

information. In some embodiments, the second RAR transmission may carry an entire RAR field. For some embodiments, a time-domain resource, a frequency -domain resource, and/or a code resource may be configured based upon a configuration transmitted by the eNB, or a predetermined setting.

[00115] In some embodiments, first circuitry 1310, second circuitry 1320, and/or third circuitry 1330 may be implemented as separate circuitries. In other embodiments, first circuitry 1310, second circuitry 1320, and/or third circuitry 1330 may be combined and implemented together in a circuitry without altering the essence of the embodiments.

[00116] Returning to Fig. 14, an apparatus of UE 1230 (or another UE or mobile handset), which may be operable to communicate with one or more eNBs on a wireless network, may comprise hardware processing circuitry 1400. In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1400 may comprise one or more antenna ports 1405 operable to provide various transmissions over a wireless communication channel (such as wireless

communication channel 1250). Antenna ports 1405 may be coupled to one or more antennas 1407 (which may be antennas 1225). In some embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1400 may incorporate antennas 1407, while in other embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 1400 may merely be coupled to antennas 1407.

[00117] Antenna ports 1405 and antennas 1407 may be operable to provide signals from a UE to a wireless communications channel and/or an eNB, and may be operable to provide signals from an eNB and/or a wireless communications channel to a UE. For example, antenna ports 1405 and antennas 1407 may be operable to provide transmissions from UE 1230 to wireless communication channel 1250 (and from there to eNB 1210, or to another eNB). Similarly, antennas 1407 and antenna ports 1405 may be operable to provide transmissions from a wireless communication channel 1250 (and beyond that, from eNB 1210, or another eNB) to UE 1230.

[00118] Hardware processing circuitry 1400 may comprise various circuitries operable in accordance with the various embodiments discussed herein. With reference to Fig. 14, hardware processing circuitry 1400 may comprise a first circuitry 1410, a second circuitry 1420, and/or a third circuitry 1430. First circuitry 1410 may be operable to process a first transmission received through a first UE beam associated with a first antenna panel. First circuitry 1410 may also be operable to process a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel. The first antenna panel may be associated with a first TA, and the second antenna panel may be associated with a second TA. Hardware processing circuitry 1400 may also comprise an interface for receiving the first transmission and the second transmission from a receiving circuitry.

[00119] In some embodiments, the first TA may correspond to one or more first antenna ports and/or a first antenna port group, and the second TA may correspond one or more second antenna ports and/or a second antenna port group. For some embodiments, the first antenna panel may correspond to a first antenna port group having one or more first antenna ports, and the second antenna panel may correspond to a second antenna port group having one or more second antenna ports. In some embodiments, the first transmission may be from a first eNB, and the second transmission may be from a second eNB.

[00120] For some embodiments, second circuitry 1420 may be operable to generate a reporting transmission carrying an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports, an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group, an indicator of a number of antenna groups, and/or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception.

[00121] In some embodiments, a MAC CE may include an indicator of the first TA, and an indicator of the second TA. For some embodiments, a MAC CE may carry an indicator of TA, an indicator of an antenna port group, and/or an indicator of one or more antenna ports. In some embodiments, a first transmission may be associated with a first scheduling. For some embodiments, a second transmission may be associated with a second scheduling. In some embodiments, and a UL / DL direction of the first scheduling may be synchronized with a UL / DL direction of the second scheduling.

[00122] For some embodiments, third circuitry 1430 may be operable to store an estimated channel coefficient for an IPI at the first antenna panel due to the second antenna panel. In some embodiments, third circuitry 1430 may be operable to determine when a coupling loss between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel is smaller than a predetermined threshold. For some embodiments, third circuitry 1430 may be operable to report a capability to suppress IPI. First circuitry 1410 may be operable to provide an indicator of an estimated channel coefficient for an IPI at the first antenna panel due to the second antenna panel to third circuitry 1430 via an interface 1415. First circuitry 1410 may also be operable to provide an indicator of a coupling loss between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel to third circuitry 1430 via interface 1415. [00123] In some embodiments, first circuitry 1410, second circuitry 1420, and/or third circuitry 1430 may be implemented as separate circuitries. In other embodiments, first circuitry 1410, second circuitry 1420, and/or third circuitry 1430 may be combined and implemented together in a circuitry without altering the essence of the embodiments.

[00124] Fig. 15 illustrates methods for a UE for beam-specific TA adjustment and TA measurement for non-reciprocity beam-forming systems, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Fig. 16 illustrates methods for a UE for reducing inter-panel self-interference for multi-beam operation, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. With reference to Fig. 12, methods that may relate to UE 1230 and hardware processing circuitry 1240 are discussed herein. Although the actions in the method 1500 of Fig. 15 and method 1600 of Fig. 16 are shown in a particular order, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus, the illustrated embodiments can be performed in a different order, and some actions may be performed in parallel. Some of the actions and/or operations listed in Figs. 15 and 16 are optional in accordance with certain embodiments. The numbering of the actions presented is for the sake of clarity and is not intended to prescribe an order of operations in which the various actions must occur. Additionally, operations from the various flows may be utilized in a variety of combinations.

[00125] Moreover, in some embodiments, machine readable storage media may have executable instructions that, when executed, cause UE 1230 and/or hardware processing circuitry 1240 to perform an operation comprising the methods of Figs. 15 and 16. Such machine readable storage media may include any of a variety of storage media, like magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, or flash-memory-based storage media), or any other tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media.

[00126] In some embodiments, an apparatus may comprise means for performing various actions and/or operations of the methods of Figs. 15 and 16.

[00127] Returning to Fig. 15, various methods may be in accordance with the various embodiments discussed herein. A method 1500 may comprise a determining 1510, a generating 1515, and a processing 1520. Method 1500 may also comprise a generating 1530, a processing 1535, a generating 1540, and/or a processing 1545.

[00128] In determining 1510, a preferred UE beam may be determined. In generating

1515, a PRACH transmission associated with a preferred eNB beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam may be generated. In processing 1520, an RAR transmission carrying TA, which may be received through the preferred UE beam, may be processed.

[00129] In some embodiments, a TA may be measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam. For some embodiments, the eNB may identify the eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission to the UE. In some embodiments, the beam pair link may be a first beam pair link, the TA may be a first TA, the UE may maintain a first association between the first beam pair link and the first TA, and the UE may maintain a second association between a second beam pair link and a second TA.

[00130] For some embodiments, the UE may update a TA in use, from the first TA to the second TA, upon a switch in beams from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link. In some embodiments, the UE may update the TA in use based upon a time difference between the first TA and the second TA. For some embodiments, the RAR transmission may carry an index corresponding to the preferred eNB beam based on the PRACH transmission. In some embodiments, the preferred UE beam may be based upon one or more repeated single-beam synchronous signal from the eNB.

[00131] In some embodiments, in generating 1530, a Msg3 transmission may be generated. For some embodiments, in processing 1535, a transmission carrying TA information and a beam indicator based upon the Msg3 may be processed.

[00132] For some embodiments, a MAC CE may be associated with the TA information and the beam indicator. In some embodiments, the Msg3 transmission may carry a DMRS. In some embodiments, the TA information and the beam indicator may be carried by subsequent data.

[00133] In some embodiments, the Msg3 may be generated to be transmitted with a long CP, and the Msg3 may carry two DMRS, followed by duplicate copies of one or more portions of data, on a plurality of OFDM symbols.

[00134] For some embodiments, the transmission carrying the TA information additionally may carry an indicator having at least a first value corresponding to correct arrival, a second value corresponding to early arrival, and third value corresponding to late arrival.

[00135] In some embodiments, the PRACH transmission may be a first PRACH transmission, and RAR transmission may be a first RAR transmission. In generating 1540, a second PRACH transmission may be generated for transmission on the preferred UE beam based on the TA. In processing 1545, a second RAR transmission carrying a TA error indicator may be processed based upon the second PRACH transmission.

[00136] For some embodiments, the first RAR transmission may carry TA

[00137] Returning to Fig. 16, various methods may be in accordance with the various embodiments discussed herein. A method 1600 may comprise a processing 1610 and a processing 1615. Method 1600 may also comprise a generating 1620, a storing 1630, a determining 1640, and/or a reporting 1650.

[00138] In processing 1610, a first transmission received through a first UE beam associated with a first antenna panel may be processed. In processing 1620, a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel may be processed. The first antenna panel may be associated with a first TA, and the second antenna panel may be associated with a second TA.

[00139] In some embodiments, the first TA may correspond to one or more first antenna ports and/or a first antenna port group, and the second TA may correspond one or more second antenna ports and/or a second antenna port group. For some embodiments, the first antenna panel may correspond to a first antenna port group having one or more first antenna ports, and the second antenna panel may correspond to a second antenna port group having one or more second antenna ports. In some embodiments, the first transmission may be from a first eNB, and the second transmission may be from a second eNB.

[00140] For some embodiments, in generating 1620, a reporting transmission may be generated, the reporting transmission carrying an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports, an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group, an indicator of a number of antenna groups, and/or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception.

[00141] In some embodiments, a MAC CE may include an indicator of the first TA, and an indicator of the second TA. For some embodiments, a MAC CE may carry an indicator of TA, an indicator of an antenna port group, and/or an indicator of one or more antenna ports. In some embodiments, a first transmission may be associated with a first scheduling. For some embodiments, a second transmission may be associated with a second scheduling. In some embodiments, and a UL / DL direction of the first scheduling may be synchronized with a UL / DL direction of the second scheduling.

[00142] For some embodiments, in storing 1630, an estimated channel coefficient for an IPI at the first antenna panel due to the second antenna panel may be stored. In some embodiments, in determining 1640, a coupling loss between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel may be determined to be smaller than a predetermined threshold. For some embodiments, a capability to suppress IPI may be reported.

[00143] Fig. 17 illustrates example components of a device, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, the device 1700 may include application circuitry 1702, baseband circuitry 1704, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 1706, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1708, one or more antennas 1710, and power management circuitry (PMC) 1712 coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 1700 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 1700 may include less elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 1702, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 1700 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory /storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., said circuitries may be separately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN (C- RAN) implementations).

[00144] The application circuitry 1702 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 1702 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with or may include memory /storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory /storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 1700. In some embodiments, processors of application circuitry 1702 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.

[00145] The baseband circuitry 1704 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 1704 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1706 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1706. Baseband processing circuity 1704 may interface with the application circuitry 1702 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 1706. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1704 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 1704A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1704B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 1704C, or other baseband processor(s) 1704D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 1704 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 1704A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 1706. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 1704A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 1704G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1704E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation,

encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments,

modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1704 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1704 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and

encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[00146] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1704 may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1704F. The audio DSP(s) 1704F may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1704 and the application circuitry 1702 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[00147] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1704 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1704 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1704 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[00148] RF circuitry 1706 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 1706 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 1706 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1708 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 1704. RF circuitry 1706 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1704 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 1708 for transmission.

[00149] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1706 may include mixer circuitry 1706 A, amplifier circuitry 1706B and filter circuitry 1706C. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1706 may include filter circuitry 1706C and mixer circuitry 1706A. RF circuitry 1706 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1706D for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1706A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1706A of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1708 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 1706D. The amplifier circuitry 1706B may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 1706C may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 1704 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1706A of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00150] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1706A of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1706D to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1708. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1704 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 1706C.

[00151] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1706A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1706A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1706A may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1706A of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[00152] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 1706 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 1704 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 1706.

[00153] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00154] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1706D may be a fractional -N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+l synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 1706D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[00155] The synthesizer circuitry 1706D may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1706A of the RF circuitry 1706 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1706D may be a fractional N/N+l synthesizer.

[00156] In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1704 or the applications processor 1702 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 1702. [00157] Synthesizer circuitry 1706D of the RF circuitry 1706 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DP A). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+l (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[00158] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1706D may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1706 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[00159] FEM circuitry 1708 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1710, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1706 for further processing. FEM circuitry 1708 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 1706 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1710. In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 1706, solely in the FEM 1708, or in both the RF circuitry 1706 and the FEM 1708.

[00160] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1708 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1706). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1708 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 1706), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1710).

[00161] In some embodiments, the PMC 1712 may manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 1704. In particular, the PMC 1712 may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMC 1712 may often be included when the device 1700 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE. The PMC 1712 may increase the power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[00162] While Fig. 17 shows the PMC 1712 coupled only with the baseband circuitry 1704. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 1712 may be additionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar power management operations for, other components such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 1702, RF circuitry 1706, or FEM 1708.

[00163] In some embodiments, the PMC 1712 may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 1700. For example, if the device 1700 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 1700 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[00164] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the device 1700 may transition off to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 1700 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 1700 may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC Connected state.

[00165] An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.

[00166] Processors of the application circuitry 1702 and processors of the baseband circuitry 1704 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 1704, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 1704 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a radio resource control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below.

[00167] Fig. 18 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. As discussed above, the baseband circuitry 1704 of Fig. 17 may comprise processors 1704A-1704E and a memory 1704G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 1704A-1704E may include a memory interface, 1804A- 1804E, respectively, to send/receive data to/from the memory 1704G.

[00168] The baseband circuitry 1704 may further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memory interface 1812 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry 1704), an application circuitry interface 1814 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 1702 of Fig. 17), an RF circuitry interface 1816 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 1706 of Fig. 17), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 1818 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 1820 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or control signals to/from the PMC 1712.

[00169] It is pointed out that elements of any of the Figures herein having the same reference numbers and/or names as elements of any other Figure herein may, in various embodiments, operate or function in a manner similar those elements of the other Figure (without being limited to operating or functioning in such a manner).

[00170] Reference in the specification to "an embodiment," "one embodiment," "some embodiments," or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments. The various appearances of "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "some embodiments" are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments. If the specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic "may," "might," or "could" be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to "a" or "an" element, that does not mean there is only one of the elements. If the specification or claims refer to "an additional" element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

[00171] Furthermore, the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, a first embodiment may be combined with a second embodiment anywhere the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics associated with the two embodiments are not mutually exclusive.

[00172] While the disclosure has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, many alternatives, modifications and variations of such embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. For example, other memory architectures e.g., Dynamic RAM (DRAM) may use the

embodiments discussed. The embodiments of the disclosure are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as to fall within the broad scope of the appended claims.

[00173] In addition, well known power/ground connections to integrated circuit (IC) chips and other components may or may not be shown within the presented figures, for simplicity of illustration and discussion, and so as not to obscure the disclosure. Further, arrangements may be shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure, and also in view of the fact that specifics with respect to implementation of such block diagram arrangements are highly dependent upon the platform within which the present disclosure is to be implemented (i.e., such specifics should be well within purview of one skilled in the art). Where specific details (e.g., circuits) are set forth in order to describe example embodiments of the disclosure, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the disclosure can be practiced without, or with variation of, these specific details. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

[00174] The following examples pertain to further embodiments. Specifics in the examples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments. All optional features of the apparatus described herein may also be implemented with respect to a method or process.

[00175] Example 1 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node B (eNB) on a wireless network, comprising: one or more processors to: determine a preferred UE beam; generate a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission associated with a preferred eNB beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam; and process a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission carrying Timing Advance (TA) received through the preferred UE beam, and an interface for sending the PRACH transmission to a transmission circuitry and for receiving the RAR transmission from a receiving circuitry.

[00176] In example 2, the apparatus of example 1, wherein the TA is measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam.

[00177] In example 3, the apparatus of example 2, wherein the UE receives from the eNB an identification of an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission to the UE.

[00178] In example 4, the apparatus of either of examples 2 of 3, wherein the beam pair link is a first beam pair link, and the TA is a first TA; wherein the UE maintains a first association between the first beam pair link and the first TA; and wherein the UE maintains a second association between a second beam pair link and a second TA.

[00179] In example 5, the apparatus of example 4, wherein the UE updates a TA in use, from the first TA to the second TA, upon a switch in beams from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link.

[00180] In example 6, the apparatus of example 5, wherein the UE updates the TA in use based upon a time difference between the first TA and the second TA.

[00181] In example 7, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 6, wherein the RAR transmission carries an index corresponding to the preferred eNB beam based on the PRACH transmission.

[00182] In example 8, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 7, wherein the preferred UE beam is based upon one or more repeated single-beam synchronous signal from the eNB

[00183] In example 9, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 8, wherein the one or more processors are to: generate a Message 3 (Msg3) transmission; and process a transmission carrying TA information and a beam indicator based upon the Msg3.

[00184] In example 10, the apparatus of example 9, wherein a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is associated with the TA information and the beam indicator.

[00185] In example 11, the apparatus of either of examples 9 or 10, wherein the Msg3 transmission carries a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS); and wherein the TA information and the beam indicator is carried by subsequent data.

[00186] In example 12, the apparatus of any of examples 9 through 11, wherein the

Msg3 is generated to be transmitted with a long Cyclic Prefix (CP); and wherein the Msg3 carries two DMRS, followed by duplicate copies of one or more portions of data, on a plurality of Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols.

[00187] In example 13, the apparatus of any of examples 9 through 12, wherein the transmission carrying the TA information additionally carries an indicator having at least a first value corresponding to correct arrival, a second value corresponding to early arrival, and third value corresponding to late arrival.

[00188] In example 14, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 13, wherein the

PRACH transmission is a first PRACH transmission, wherein the RAR transmission is a first RAR transmission, and wherein the one or more processors are to: generate a second PRACH transmission for transmission on the preferred UE beam based on the TA. process a second RAR transmission carrying a TA error indicator based upon the second PRACH

transmission.

[00189] In example 15, the apparatus of example 14, wherein the first RAR transmission carries TA information; and wherein the second RAR transmission carries an entire RAR field.

[00190] In example 16, the apparatus of either of examples 14 or 15, wherein at least one of a time-domain resource, a frequency -domain resource, and a code resource is configured based upon one of: a configuration transmitted by the eNB; or a predetermined setting.

[00191] Example 17 provides a User Equipment (UE) device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touch-screen display, the UE device including the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 16.

[00192] Example 18 provides a method comprising: determining, for a User

Equipment (UE), a preferred UE beam; generating a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission associated with a preferred Evolved Node-B (eNB) beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam; and processing a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission carrying Timing Advance (TA) received through the preferred UE beam.

[00193] In example 19, the method of example 18, wherein the TA is measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam.

[00194] In example 20, the method of example 19, wherein the UE receives from the eNB an identification of an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission to the UE. [00195] In example 21, the method of either of examples 19 or 20, wherein the beam pair link is a first beam pair link, and the TA is a first TA; wherein the UE maintains a first association between the first beam pair link and the first TA; and wherein the UE maintains a second association between a second beam pair link and a second TA.

[00196] In example 22, the method of examples 21, wherein the UE updates a TA in use, from the first TA to the second TA, upon a switch in beams from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link.

[00197] In example 23, the method of example 22, wherein the UE updates the TA in use based upon a time difference between the first TA and the second TA.

[00198] In example 24, the method of any of examples 18 through 23, wherein the

RAR transmission carries an index corresponding to the preferred eNB beam based on the PRACH transmission.

[00199] In example 25, the method of any of examples 18 through 24, wherein the preferred UE beam is based upon one or more repeated single-beam synchronous signal from the eNB.

[00200] In example 26, the method of any of examples 18 through 25, comprising: generating a Message 3 (Msg3) transmission; and processing a transmission carrying TA information and a beam indicator based upon the Msg3.

[00201] In example 27, the method of example 26, wherein a Medium Access Control

(MAC) Control Element (CE) is associated with the TA information and the beam indicator.

[00202] In example 28, the method of either of examples 26 or 27, wherein the Msg3 transmission carries a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS); and wherein the TA information and the beam indicator is carried by subsequent data.

[00203] In example 29, the method of any of examples 26 through 28, wherein the

[00204] In example 30, the method of any of examples 26 through 29, wherein the transmission carrying the TA information additionally carries an indicator having at least a first value corresponding to correct arrival, a second value corresponding to early arrival, and third value corresponding to late arrival.

[00205] In example 31, the method of any of examples 18 through 30, wherein the

PRACH transmission is a first PRACH transmission, wherein the RAR transmission is a first RAR transmission, and comprising: generating a second PRACH transmission for transmission on the preferred UE beam based on the TA. processing a second RAR transmission carrying a TA error indicator based upon the second PRACH transmission.

[00206] In example 32, the method of example 31, wherein the first RAR transmission carries TA information; and wherein the second RAR transmission carries an entire RAR field.

[00207] In example 33, the method of either of examples 31 or 32, wherein at least one of a time-domain resource, a frequency -domain resource, and a code resource is configured based upon one of: a configuration transmitted by the eNB; or a predetermined setting.

[00208] Example 34 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform a method according to any of examples 18 through 33.

[00209] Example 35 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network, comprising: means for determining a preferred UE beam; means for generating a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission associated with a preferred Evolved Node-B (eNB) beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam; and means for processing a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission carrying Timing Advance (TA) received through the preferred UE beam.

[00210] In example 36, the apparatus of example 35, wherein the TA is measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam.

[00211] In example 37, the apparatus of example 36, wherein the UE receives from the eNB an identification of an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission to the UE.

[00212] In example 38, the apparatus of either of examples 36 or 37, wherein the beam pair link is a first beam pair link, and the TA is a first TA; wherein the UE maintains a first association between the first beam pair link and the first TA; and wherein the UE maintains a second association between a second beam pair link and a second TA.

[00213] In example 39, the apparatus of examples 38, wherein the UE updates a TA in use, from the first TA to the second TA, upon a switch in beams from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link.

[00214] In example 40, the apparatus of example 39, wherein the UE updates the TA in use based upon a time difference between the first TA and the second TA. [00215] In example 41, the apparatus of any of examples 35 through 40, wherein the

[00216] In example 42, the apparatus of any of examples 35 through 41, wherein the preferred UE beam is based upon one or more repeated single-beam synchronous signal from the eNB.

[00217] In example 43, the apparatus of any of examples 35 through 42, comprising: means for generating a Message 3 (Msg3) transmission; and means for processing a transmission carrying TA information and a beam indicator based upon the Msg3.

[00218] In example 44, the apparatus of example 43, wherein a Medium Access

Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is associated with the TA information and the beam indicator.

[00219] In example 45, the apparatus of either of examples 43 or 44, wherein the Msg3 transmission carries a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS); and wherein the TA information and the beam indicator is carried by subsequent data.

[00220] In example 46, the apparatus of any of examples 43 through 45, wherein the

[00221] In example 47, the apparatus of any of examples 43 through 46, wherein the transmission carrying the TA information additionally carries an indicator having at least a first value corresponding to correct arrival, a second value corresponding to early arrival, and third value corresponding to late arrival.

[00222] In example 48, the apparatus of any of examples 35 through 47, wherein the

PRACH transmission is a first PRACH transmission, wherein the RAR transmission is a first RAR transmission, and comprising: means for generating a second PRACH transmission for transmission on the preferred UE beam based on the TA. means for processing a second RAR transmission carrying a TA error indicator based upon the second PRACH transmission.

[00223] In example 49, the apparatus of example 48, wherein the first RAR transmission carries TA information; and wherein the second RAR transmission carries an entire RAR field.

[00224] In example 50, the apparatus of either of examples 48 or 49, wherein at least one of a time-domain resource, a frequency -domain resource, and a code resource is configured based upon one of: a configuration transmitted by the eNB; or a predetermined setting.

[00225] Example 51 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a User

Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network to perform an operation comprising: determine a preferred UE beam; generate a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission associated with a preferred eNB beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam; and process a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission carrying Timing Advance (TA) received through the preferred UE beam.

[00226] In example 52, the machine readable storage media of example 51, wherein the TA is measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam.

[00227] In example 53, the machine readable storage media of example 52, wherein the UE receives from the eNB an identification of an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission to the UE.

[00228] In example 54, the machine readable storage media of either of examples 52 or

53, wherein the beam pair link is a first beam pair link, and the TA is a first TA; wherein the UE maintains a first association between the first beam pair link and the first TA; and wherein the UE maintains a second association between a second beam pair link and a second TA.

[00229] In example 55, the machine readable storage media of examples 54, wherein the UE updates a TA in use, from the first TA to the second TA, upon a switch in beams from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link.

[00230] In example 56, the machine readable storage media of example 55, wherein the UE updates the TA in use based upon a time difference between the first TA and the second TA.

[00231] In example 57, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 51 through 56, wherein the RAR transmission carries an index corresponding to the preferred eNB beam based on the PRACH transmission.

[00232] In example 58, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 51 through 57, wherein the preferred UE beam is based upon one or more repeated single-beam synchronous signal from the eNB. [00233] In example 59, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 51 through 58, the operation comprising: generate a Message 3 (Msg3) transmission; and process a transmission carrying TA information and a beam indicator based upon the Msg3.

[00234] In example 60, the machine readable storage media of example 59, wherein a

Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) is associated with the TA information and the beam indicator.

[00235] In example 61, the machine readable storage media of either of examples 59 or

60, wherein the Msg3 transmission carries a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS); and wherein the TA information and the beam indicator is carried by subsequent data.

[00236] In example 62, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 59 through 61, wherein the Msg3 is generated to be transmitted with a long Cyclic Prefix (CP); and wherein the Msg3 carries two DMRS, followed by duplicate copies of one or more portions of data, on a plurality of Orthogonal Frequency -Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols.

[00237] In example 63, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 59 through 62, wherein the transmission carrying the TA information additionally carries an indicator having at least a first value corresponding to correct arrival, a second value corresponding to early arrival, and third value corresponding to late arrival.

[00238] In example 64, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 51 through 63, wherein the PRACH transmission is a first PRACH transmission, wherein the RAR transmission is a first RAR transmission, and the operation comprising: generate a second PRACH transmission for transmission on the preferred UE beam based on the TA. process a second RAR transmission carrying a TA error indicator based upon the second PRACH transmission.

[00239] In example 65, the machine readable storage media of example 64, wherein the first RAR transmission carries TA information; and wherein the second RAR

transmission carries an entire RAR field.

[00240] In example 66, the machine readable storage media of either of examples 64 or

65, wherein at least one of a time-domain resource, a frequency-domain resource, and a code resource is configured based upon one of: a configuration transmitted by the eNB; or a predetermined setting.

[00241] Example 67 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with one or more Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) on a wireless network, comprising: one or more processors to: process a first transmission received through a first UE beam associated with a first antenna panel; and process a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel; wherein the first antenna panel is associated with a first Timing Advance (TA), and the second antenna panel is associated with a second TA, and an interface for receiving the first transmission and the second transmission from a receiving circuitry.

[00242] In example 68, the apparatus of example 67, wherein the first TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more first antenna ports, or a first antenna port group; and wherein the second TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more second antenna ports, or a second antenna port group.

[00243] In example 69, the apparatus of either of examples 67 or 68, wherein the first antenna panel corresponds to a first antenna port group having one or more first antenna ports; and wherein the second antenna panel corresponds to a second antenna port group having one or more second antenna ports.

[00244] In example 70, the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 69, wherein the first transmission is from a first Evolved Node B (eNB), and the second transmission is from a second eNB.

[00245] In example 71, the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 70, wherein the one or more processors are to: generate a reporting transmission carrying one or more of: an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports; an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group; an indicator of a number of antenna groups; or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception.

[00246] In example 72, the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 71, wherein a

Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) includes an indicator of the first TA, and an indicator of the second TA.

[00247] In example 73, the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 72, wherein a

Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) carries an indicator of TA and an indicator of at least one of: an antenna port group, or one or more antenna ports.

[00248] In example 74, the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 73, wherein the first transmission is associated with a first scheduling, the second transmission is associated with a second scheduling, and an Uplink (UL) / Downlink (DL) direction of the first scheduling is synchronized with a UL / DL direction of the second scheduling. [00249] In example 75, the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 74, wherein the one or more processors are to: store an estimated channel coefficient for an Inter-Panel Interference (IPI) at the first antenna panel due to the second antenna panel.

[00250] In example 76, the apparatus of example 75, wherein the one or more processors are to: determine when a coupling loss between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

[00251] In example 77, the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 76, wherein the one or more processors are to: report a capability to suppress Inter-Panel Interference (IPI).

[00252] Example 78 provides a User Equipment (UE) device comprising an application processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wireless interface for allowing the application processor to communicate with another device, and a touch-screen display, the UE device including the apparatus of any of examples 67 through 77.

[00253] Example 79 provides a method comprising: processing, for a User Equipment

(UE), a first transmission received through a first UE beam associated with a first antenna panel; and processing a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel, wherein the first antenna panel is associated with a first Timing Advance (TA), and the second antenna panel is associated with a second TA.

[00254] In example 80, the method of example 79, wherein the first TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more first antenna ports, or a first antenna port group; and wherein the second TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more second antenna ports, or a second antenna port group.

[00255] In example 81 , the method of either of examples 79 or 80, wherein the first antenna panel corresponds to a first antenna port group having one or more first antenna ports; and wherein the second antenna panel corresponds to a second antenna port group having one or more second antenna ports.

[00256] In example 82, the method of any of examples 79 through 81 , wherein the first transmission is from a first Evolved Node B (eNB), and the second transmission is from a second eNB.

[00257] In example 83, the method of any of examples 79 through 82, comprising: generating a reporting transmission carrying one or more of: an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports; an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group; an indicator of a number of antenna groups; or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception. [00258] In example 84, the method of any of examples 79 through 83, wherein a

[00259] In example 85, the method of any of examples 79 through 84, wherein a

[00260] In example 86, the method of any of examples 79 through 85, wherein the first transmission is associated with a first scheduling, the second transmission is associated with a second scheduling, and an Uplink (UL) / Downlink (DL) direction of the first scheduling is synchronized with a UL / DL direction of the second scheduling.

[00261] In example 87, the method of any of examples 79 through 86, comprising: storing an estimated channel coefficient for an Inter-Panel Interference (IPI) at the first antenna panel due to the second antenna panel.

[00262] In example 88, the method of example 87, comprising: determining when a coupling loss between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

[00263] In example 89, the method of any of examples 79 through 88, comprising: reporting a capability to suppress Inter-Panel Interference (IPI).

[00264] Example 90 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform a method according to any of examples 79 through 89.

[00265] Example 91 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with one or more Evolved Node-Bs (eNBs) on a wireless network, comprising: means for processing a first transmission received through a first UE beam associated with a first antenna panel; and means for processing a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel, wherein the first antenna panel is associated with a first Timing Advance (TA), and the second antenna panel is associated with a second TA.

[00266] In example 92, the apparatus of example 91, wherein the first TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more first antenna ports, or a first antenna port group; and wherein the second TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more second antenna ports, or a second antenna port group.

[00267] In example 93, the apparatus of either of examples 91 or 92, wherein the first antenna panel corresponds to a first antenna port group having one or more first antenna ports; and wherein the second antenna panel corresponds to a second antenna port group having one or more second antenna ports.

[00268] In example 94, the apparatus of any of examples 91 through 93, wherein the first transmission is from a first Evolved Node B (eNB), and the second transmission is from a second eNB.

[00269] In example 95, the apparatus of any of examples 91 through 94, comprising: means for generating a reporting transmission carrying one or more of: an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports; an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group; an indicator of a number of antenna groups; or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception.

[00270] In example 96, the apparatus of any of examples 91 through 95, wherein a

[00271] In example 97, the apparatus of any of examples 91 through 96, wherein a

[00272] In example 98, the apparatus of any of examples 91 through 97, wherein the first transmission is associated with a first scheduling, the second transmission is associated with a second scheduling, and an Uplink (UL) / Downlink (DL) direction of the first scheduling is synchronized with a UL / DL direction of the second scheduling.

[00273] In example 99, the apparatus of any of examples 91 through 98, comprising: means for storing an estimated channel coefficient for an Inter-Panel Interference (IPI) at the first antenna panel due to the second antenna panel.

[00274] In example 100, the apparatus of example 99, comprising: means for determining when a coupling loss between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

[00275] In example 101, the apparatus of any of examples 91 through 100, comprising: means for reporting a capability to suppress Inter-Panel Interference (IPI).

[00276] Example 102 provides machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a User

Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network to perform an operation comprising: process a first transmission received through a first UE beam associated with a first antenna panel; and process a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel, wherein the first antenna panel is associated with a first Timing Advance (TA), and the second antenna panel is associated with a second TA.

[00277] In example 103, the machine readable storage media of example 102, wherein the first TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more first antenna ports, or a first antenna port group; and wherein the second TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more second antenna ports, or a second antenna port group.

[00278] In example 104, the machine readable storage media of either of examples 102 or 103, wherein the first antenna panel corresponds to a first antenna port group having one or more first antenna ports; and wherein the second antenna panel corresponds to a second antenna port group having one or more second antenna ports.

[00279] In example 105, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 102 through 104, wherein the first transmission is from a first Evolved Node B (eNB), and the second transmission is from a second eNB.

[00280] In example 106, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 102 through 105, the operation comprising: generate a reporting transmission carrying one or more of: an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports; an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group; an indicator of a number of antenna groups; or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception.

[00281] In example 107, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 102 through 106, wherein a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) includes an indicator of the first TA, and an indicator of the second TA.

[00282] In example 108, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 102 through 107, wherein a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) carries an indicator of TA and an indicator of at least one of: an antenna port group, or one or more antenna ports.

[00283] In example 109, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 102 through 108, wherein the first transmission is associated with a first scheduling, the second transmission is associated with a second scheduling, and an Uplink (UL) / Downlink (DL) direction of the first scheduling is synchronized with a UL / DL direction of the second scheduling.

[00284] In example 110, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 102 through 109, the operation comprising: store an estimated channel coefficient for an Inter- Panel Interference (IPI) at the first antenna panel due to the second antenna panel. [00285] In example 11 1, the machine readable storage media of example 1 10, the operation comprising: determine when a coupling loss between the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

[00286] In example 112, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 102 through 11 1, the operation comprising: report a capability to suppress Inter-Panel

Interference (IPI).

[00287] In example 113, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 16, and 67 through 77, wherein the one or more processors comprise a baseband processor.

[00288] In example 114, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 16, and 67 through 77, comprising a memory for storing instructions, the memory being coupled to the one or more processors.

[00289] In example 115, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 16, and 67 through 77, comprising a transceiver circuitry for at least one of: generating transmissions, encoding transmissions, processing transmissions, or decoding transmissions.

[00290] In example 116, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 16, and 67 through 77, comprising a transceiver circuitry for generating transmissions and processing transmissions.

[00291] An abstract is provided that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

claim:

An apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors to:

determine a preferred UE beam;

generate a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission associated with a preferred eNB beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam; and process a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission carrying Timing

Advance (TA) received through the preferred UE beam, and an interface for sending the PRACH transmission to a transmission circuitry and for receiving the RAR transmission from a receiving circuitry.

The apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the TA is measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam.

The apparatus of claim 2,

wherein the UE receives from the eNB an identification of an eNB beam associated with the PRACH transmission to the UE.

The apparatus of either of claims 2 of 3,

wherein the beam pair link is a first beam pair link, and the TA is a first TA;

wherein the UE maintains a first association between the first beam pair link and the first TA; and

wherein the UE maintains a second association between a second beam pair link and second TA.

The apparatus of claim 4,

wherein the UE updates a TA in use, from the first TA to the second TA, upon a switch in beams from the first beam pair link to the second beam pair link.

6. The apparatus of claim 5,

wherein the UE updates the TA in use based upon a time difference between the first TA and the second TA.

7. Machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when

executed, cause one or more processors of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with an Evolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network to perform an operation comprising:

determine a preferred UE beam;

generate a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission associated with a preferred eNB beam for transmission on the preferred UE beam; and process a Random Access Response (RAR) transmission carrying Timing Advance (TA) received through the preferred UE beam.

8. The machine readable storage media of claim 7,

wherein the TA is measured based on a beam pair link comprising an eNB beam

associated with the PRACH transmission and the preferred UE beam.

9. The machine readable storage media of claim 8,

10. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 8 or 9,

wherein the beam pair link is a first beam pair link, and the TA is a first TA;

wherein the UE maintains a second association between a second beam pair link and a second TA.

11. The machine readable storage media of claims 10,

12. The machine readable storage media of claim 11,

13. An apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with one or more

Evolved Node-Bs (eNBs) on a wireless network, comprising:

one or more processors to:

process a first transmission received through a first UE beam associated with a first antenna panel; and

process a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel;

wherein the first antenna panel is associated with a first Timing Advance (TA), and the second antenna panel is associated with a second TA, and an interface for receiving the first transmission and the second transmission from a receiving circuitry.

14. The apparatus of claim 13,

wherein the first TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more first antenna ports, or a first antenna port group; and

wherein the second TA corresponds to at least one of: one or more second antenna ports, or a second antenna port group.

15. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14,

wherein the first antenna panel corresponds to a first antenna port group having one or more first antenna ports; and

wherein the second antenna panel corresponds to a second antenna port group having one or more second antenna ports.

16. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14,

wherein the first transmission is from a first Evolved Node-B (eNB), and the second transmission is from a second eNB.

17. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14, wherein the one or more processors are to: generate a reporting transmission carrying one or more of: an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports; an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group; an indicator of a number of antenna groups; or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception.

18. The apparatus of either of claims 13 or 14,

wherein a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) includes an

indicator of the first TA, and an indicator of the second TA.

19. Machine readable storage media having machine executable instructions that, when

process a second transmission received through a second UE beam associated with a second antenna panel,

wherein the first antenna panel is associated with a first Timing Advance (TA), and the second antenna panel is associated with a second TA.

20. The machine readable storage media of claim 19,

21. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20,

22. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20,

23. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20, the operation

comprising:

generate a reporting transmission carrying one or more of: an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports; an indicator of a number of antenna ports per antenna port group; an indicator of a number of antenna groups; or an indicator of a maximum number of antenna ports that are simultaneously for transmission and for reception.

24. The machine readable storage media of either of claims 19 or 20,

wherein a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) includes an

indicator of the first TA, and an indicator of the second TA.