WO2018031395A1 - Common uplink message for user equipment initiated scenarios - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for a common uplink message for UE initiated events are described. A user equipment (UE) identifies a UE initiated update event, selects a cause value based on the UE initiated update event, and generates an uplink message for a radio access network (RAN) node in response to the UE initiated update event. The uplink message includes the cause value.

Description

COMMON UPLINK MESSAGE FOR USER EQUIPMENT INITIATED SCENARIOS

Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States non-provisional patent Application No. 62/374,636, filed August 12, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to streamlining messaging. In particular, the present disclosure relates to using the same uplink message when a user equipment (UE) initiates communication with a radio access network (RAN) node.

Background

[0003] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a base station and a wireless mobile device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols can include the 3rd

Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, which is commonly known to industry groups as worldwide interoperability for microwave access

(WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.1 1 standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN), which is commonly known to industry groups as Wi-Fi. In 3GPP radio access networks (RANs) in LTE systems, the base station can include a RAN Node such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and/or Radio Network Controller (RNC) in an E-UTRAN, which communicate with a wireless communication device, known as user equipment (UE). In fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) wireless RANs, RAN Nodes can include a 5G Node.

[0004] RANs use a radio access technology (RAT) to communicate between the RAN Node and UE. RANs can include global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and/or E-UTRAN, which provide access to communication services through a core network. Each of the RANs operates according to a specific 3GPP RAT. For example, the GERAN implements GSM and/or EDGE RAT, the UTRAN implements universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, and the E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT.

[0005] A UE communicates with a RAN node for various reasons. Typically, specialized messaging is defined for each of the various reasons. In 5G NR, the number of these messages, particularly UE initialized messages, is expected to increase. This increase in messaging may also increase complexity of the system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of RRC states in 5G NR.

[0007] FIG. 2 is a message flow diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a common update procedure in 5G NR.

[0008] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication.

[0009] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication.

[0010] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication.

[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates an architecture of a system of a network in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 7 illustrates example components of a device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 8 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 9 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

[0016] A detailed description of systems and methods consistent with

embodiments of the present disclosure is provided below. While several

embodiments are described, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to any one embodiment, but instead encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. In addition, while numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, some embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these details. Moreover, for the purpose of clarity, certain technical material that is known in the related art has not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure.

[0017] Techniques, apparatus, and methods for utilizing a common UL message are disclosed. In some embodiments, an apparatus of a UE is described. The apparatus includes a memory interface for interfacing with a memory to store a plurality of cause values and one or more processors. The one or more processors identify a UE initiated update event, select a cause value from the plurality of cause values based on the UE initiated update event, and generate a radio resource control (RRC) uplink message for a radio access network (RAN) node in response to the UE initiated update event. The RRC uplink message includes the cause value.

[0018] In some embodiments, an apparatus of a RAN node is described. The apparatus includes a memory interface and one or more processors. The memory interface is for interfacing with a memory to store a plurality of predefined cause values. The one or more processors are to decode a radio resource control (RRC) uplink message from a user equipment (UE), where the RRC uplink message includes a cause value that corresponds to a UE initiated update event, determine the UE initiated update event based on the cause value, where the cause value is selected from the plurality of predefined cause values, and generate an RRC downlink message in response to the RRC uplink message, where the RRC downlink message includes information based on the determined UE initiated update event.

[0019] In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication is also described. The method includes identifying a UE initiated update event, selecting a cause value based on the UE initiated update event, and generating an uplink message for a radio access network (RAN) node in response to the UE initiated update event, wherein the uplink message includes the cause value.

[0020] Early wireless communications systems (e.g., Universal Mobile

Telecommunications Service (UMTS)) included four radio resource control (RRC) states. These four states largely result from the valid transport channel

combinations that were available at the time, with each combination becoming a separate state. These states were referred to as CELL_DCH, CELL_FACH, CELL_PCH, and URA_PCH.

[0021] In CELL_DCH, a dedicated physical channel was allocated to the UE in uplink and downlink and the UE was known on the cell level according to its current active set. In CELL_FACH, neither an uplink nor a downlink dedicated physical channel was allocated to the UE. Instead the UE continuously monitored a forward access channel (FACH) in the downlink and the UE was assigned a default common or shared transport channel in the uplink (e.g., random access channel (RACH)). In CELL_FACH, the UE was known on the cell level according to the cell where the UE last made a cell update. In CELL_PCH, neither an uplink nor a downlink dedicated physical channel was allocated to the UE. Instead, the UE used discontinuous reception (DRX) for monitoring a paging channel (PCH) via an allocated paging indication channel (PICH). In CELL_PCH, no uplink activity was possible. Instead the UE would switch to CELL_FACH for uplink activity. In CELL_PCH, the UE was known on the cell level according to the cell where the UE last made a cell update in the CELL_FACH state. In URA_PCH, neither an uplink nor a downlink dedicated physical channel was allocated to the UE. Instead, the UE used DRX for monitoring a PCH via an allocated PICH. In URA_PCH, no uplink activity was possible. Instead the UE would switch to CELL_FACH for uplink activity. In URA_PCH, the UE was known on the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) registration area (URA) level according to the URA assigned to the UE during the last URA update in the CELL_FACH state.

[0022] In LTE, the number of RRC states was reduced to two, with LTE defining an RRC_CONNECTED state and an RRCJDLE state. In RRC_CONNECTED, the UE has an established RRC connection with the network, while in RRCJDLE, the UE does not have an established RRC connection with the network. A sub state (e.g., light connection, lightly connected) is being considered in LTE. In this sub state, an RRC connection may be suspended (rather than discarded, for example) so that the UE could resume the suspended RRC connection (with limited signaling) rather than going through the signaling burden of establishing a new connection.

[0023] It is anticipated that 5G NR will carry over the RRC_CONNECTED and RRCJDLE states from LTE. In 5G NR, RRC_CONNECTED may be categorized (e.g., subdivided) into a network controlled mobility sub state and a UE controlled mobility sub state. In addition, it is anticipated that 5G NR will include a new mobility (sub) state (e.g., an intermediate sub state, PCH sub state, inactive sub state, lightly connected sub state) that shares some similarities with the CELL_PCH state, URA_PCH state, and/or lightly connected/light connection sub state from 3G and LTE, respectively.

[0024] In 5G NR, a UE may be required to perform an "update," such as a

"location update" with the network for many reasons. For example, a UE may be required to send an "update" message to the network for many reasons (e.g. , scenarios). In one scenario, a UE may perform a "location update" when the UE crosses a "tracking area" (e.g., URA) boundary while in the new mobility (sub) state (e.g., a PCH sub state). In another scenario, a UE may perform a "location update" when the UE crosses a cell boundary when in a UE controlled mobility sub state with an active data session. Further, 5G NR is expected to define a suspend/resume procedure where UE context is stored in the RAN. In this scenario, the UE may send a "resume" message when there is a need to communicate between the UE and the network (in response to a paging message or having data to send, for example). In yet another scenario, a UE performs a re-establishment procedure (by sending a re-establishment message in LTE, for example) when a UE goes through a radio link failure (RLF) (of a 5G NR link, for example). Using traditional techniques, all of these procedures would require different messages. However, using different messages for all of these procedures adds/increases costs and results in duplication of functions.

[0025] The present description defines a common message and/or a common procedure for handling all the different cases where the UE needs to contact the network. Using a common message (instead of multiple different messages) and/or a common procedure reduces the complexity of the system and the number of messages to be used.

[0026] Additional aspects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of RRC states in 5G NR 100. The RRC states in 5G NR 100 include a NextGen_Connected state 102 and a NextGenJdle state 1 12. The NextGen_Connected state 102 includes two new (UE active) RRC states/sub states (e.g., RRC_Connected with network driven mobility 106 and RRC_Connected with UE driven mobility 108). In addition, the RRC states in 5G NR 100 include a new (UE inactive) RRC state/sub state (e.g., NRA_PCH 104, which is an NR area (NRA) PCH sub state). As illustrated, the NRA_PCH 104 is a state/sub state within the NextGen_Connected state 102. However, the NRA_PCH 104 may alternatively be a state/sub state within the NextGenJdle state 1 12. As illustrated, the NextGenJdle state 1 12 includes (and may exclusively be, for example) an RRCJdle state/sub state 1 10.

[0028] A UE may be in any of the states/sub states illustrated in the RRC states in 5G NR 100. It is appreciated that the UE may transition between states/sub states via the illustrated arrows. For example, a UE may begin in the RRCJdle 1 10 state/sub state and may establish a connection with the network to transition to either the RRC_Connected with network driven mobility 106 state/sub state or the RRC_Connected with UE driven mobility 108 state/sub state. The UE may switch between the two UE active states/sub states as needed. Additionally or alternatively the UE may switch from one of the UE active state/sub states to the NRA_PCH (UE inactive) state/sub state 104 by suspending the active RRC connection. The UE may switch from the NRA_PCH (UE inactive) state/sub state 104 to one of the UE active states/sub states by resuming the suspended RRC connection or may switch to the NextGenJdle state 1 12 (RRCJdle sub state 1 10, for example). It is appreciated that the procedures captured in the illustrated arrows in the 5G NR RRC states 100 enable any of a variety of possible state transitions (sub state transitions, for example).

[0029] At this time, the names and ultimate structure of the RRC states in 5G NR 100 are still being defined. Accordingly, the names used herein are exemplary only and should not restrict a different naming scheme. For example, the NRA_PCH (UE inactive) state/sub state 104 might be referred to by other names, such as

RRA_PCH or RRC_LIGHTLY_CONNECTED. However, for purposes of this description, it is the messaging necessitated by the RRC states and sub states (RRC_Connected with UE driven mobility 108 and NRA_PCH 104, in particular) in 5G NR 100 rather than the naming scheme or structure that is at issue.

[0030] Table 1 (below) depicts key points when a UE is operating in each identified mode of operation from the RAN/RRC side. For simplicity the following exemplary names (taking LTE as a baseline) are given: RRC_CONNECTED NW- driven mobility, RRC_CONNECTED UE-driven mobility,

RRC_LIGHTLY_CONNECTED, and RRCJDLE.

Table 1 . Key characteristics of each UE RAN controlled modes of operation [0031] NOTE-1 : FIG. 1 and the names used herein are exemplary only and should not be viewed as restricting a yet to be defined naming convention.

[0032] NOTE-2: It is assumed that access stratum (AS) is enabled/ON; however, if the AS were disabled/OFF (similarly as it is allowed for LTE or extended DRX inactive periods), some of the points described in (4) and (5) would not be

applicable.

[0033] In RRC connected, UE active with UE driven mobility state (e.g., 108), the UE has an RRC configuration and is capable of exchanging data. This requires the UE to inform the network at every cell change to allow the network to update the UE configuration, UE id, etc. so it is possible to exchange data. The UE will do this with an RRC UL message. This message should possess the following characteristics.

[0034] First (1 ), when the UE does an "update" in the new cell, it should be possible to at least partly identify the node and context of the old cell to transfer the context and to continue the communication. That is, the UE has to carry a UE id and a node id of the UE from the old cell. It is noted that the new cell could be the same as or different from the old cell and could have access to the information of the UE, e.g., via a X2/S1 fetching mechanism or by having a common CN node that makes the UE information available for different cells.

[0035] Second (2), when security is enabled in the old cell, the message sent to the cell should be able to authenticate the UE. That is, the message should contain some authentication parameter.

[0036] As described herein, an UL message is defined to include at least these two information elements (lEs) (lEs related to these two points (e.g., 1 and 2), for example). In this state (e.g., RRC_Connected with UE driven mobility 108), the UE sends this message whenever it crosses a cell boundary. In some embodiments, the information provided only partly identifies the node and/or the UE context. If the information provided only partly identifies the node and/or the UE context, the network can combine 1 and 2 above to resolve any ambiguity in identifying the UE context. It may also use other means (such as trial and error) to resolve any ambiguity.

[0037] When, for example, the UE is not sending data for some time, the UE could be put in an NRA-PCH state (referring to New RAT Area - Paging CHannel or New RAT RAN Area - Paging CHannel, similar to the URA_PCH in UMTS). The UE is allowed to move within the cells of an area defined as the NRA without indicating anything to the network. When the UE crosses to a cell outside the NRA, the UE is required to do a "location update" message to the network. In some embodiments, an NRA could be defined as just one cell. In that case, the UE would perform the location update every time it crosses a cell boundary. In this state, one possibility is for the UE to transition to one of the connected states for data transfer. Other options such as using contention based channels may also be possible.

[0038] Compared to the RRC_Connected with UE driven mobility state 108 above, in this state (e.g., the NRA_PCH state 104), the UE is not directly capable of receiving data but needs to be Paged if there is DL data. In addition, the UE needs to go through an UL procedure (often involving a RACH procedure, for example) to move the UE to the RRC connected state and to re-establish some configuration, such as a UE id, before being capable of receiving data.

[0039] The same UL message defined above may also be used to inform the network when a UE crosses an NRA boundary. And it contains at least the same information elements as captured above. In order to do this, the node id should be unique (or at least unique enough to be able to identify the node with some certainty with any remaining ambiguity resolved as discussed above) even outside the NRA.

[0040] The same UL message with at least the same information elements may also be used when the UE has data to be exchanged, even if UE has not crossed an NRA boundary and even if some of the information might be unnecessary.

[0041] Another scenario is when a UE is put in a suspended state. This is similar to NRA-PCH state above but there could be small differences (such as Paging is done by Core network). The same UL message with at least the same information is also used in this state.

[0042] Another scenario is when a UE in NRA_PCH mode is Paged by the RAN. In this scenario, this same UL message may also be used as a Paging response message.

[0043] The same UL message with at least the same information elements may also be used when a UE undergoes a radio link failure. In this scenario, a UE may use the same UL message to recover from the radio link failure. It is appreciated that in LTE, the UE sends a re-establishment request message in this scenario. However, the same UL message defined above is also used to recover from radio link failure (instead of a re-establishment message, for example). [0044] There are other scenarios where the UE may need to send an UL message. For example, it could be when the UE comes out of a loss of radio coverage. The same UL message as described above may also be used for these cases.

[0045] In some embodiments, the same UL message includes further information. For example, this further information may include the cause value as shown in FIG. 2 as the UpdateCause. In some embodiments, the UpdateCause indicates the cause for performing this update message (e.g., this same UL message). Example values of the UpdateCause include reestablishmentFailure, connectionResume,

pagingResponse, cellCrossed, NRACrossed, etc.

[0046] The response (e.g., DL message) to this UL message can be expected to carry slightly different information for the different scenarios. An example of such a message is also shown in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the IE statelndicator may refer to the state that the network wants the UE to enter upon confirmation of the cell update procedure. Examples of this state could include idle, connected (UE driven mobility or NW driven mobility) or NRA_PCH. Alternatively, the UE could be configured to return to its previous state.

[0047] FIG. 2 is a message flow diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a common update procedure 200 in 5G NR. In the common update procedure 200 in 5G NR, a UE 202 initiates contact with a first RAN node 204. The common update procedure 200 involves the UE 202 and the first RAN node 204 when the first RAN node 204 is the node that maintains the UE context of the UE 202 (the first RAN node 204 is the prior serving node and messages 214 and 216 are not used, for example), and involves the UE 202, the first RAN node 204, and a second RAN node 206 when the second RAN node 206 is the node that maintains the UE context of the UE 202 (the second RAN node 206 is the prior serving node and messages 214 and 216 are used, for example).

[0048] In the common update procedure 200, the UE detects/determines a UE initiated update event 208. This UE initiated update event may be the UE

experiencing a RLF, the UE crossing an NRA boundary, the UE providing a Paging response, the UE resuming a suspended connection to send uplink traffic, the UE crossing a cell boundary in the RRC_Connected UE driven mobility state, and the like. [0049] In response to detecting and/or determining the UE initiated update event 208, the UE generates a common UL message (e.g., NR_update message 210). The NR_update message 210 may include a previous node id (e.g., node id), UE id, authentication information, and/or an UpdateCause. The generated NR_update message 210 may be transmitted to the first RAN node 204.

[0050] In response to receiving the NR_update message 210, the first RAN node 204 may evaluate the previous node id and may determine that the previous node id corresponds with its own node id. If the previous node id corresponds with the first RAN node 204, then the first RAN node 204 may use the UE id and/or the authentication information to identify and retrieve the suspended UE context of the UE 202. If, on the other hand, the previous node id corresponds with the second RAN node 206, the first RAN node 204 may generate and send a retrieve context message 214 to the second RAN node 206. The retrieve context message 214 may include the UE id and/or the authentication information provided in the NR_update message 210. The second RAN node 206 may use this information, as described herein, to identify a UE context associated with the UE 202. Upon identifying the UE context, the second RAN node 206 may generate and send a response 216 that includes the UE context to the first RAN node 204.

[0051] Once the first RAN node 204 has obtained the UE context (at the first RAN node 204 or from the second RAN node 206, for example), the first RAN node 204 may generate and send a response to the common UL message (e.g., NR_update Confirm message 212). The NR_update Confirm message 212 may include a new UE id, a state Indicator, and/or a radioResourceConfig. In some embodiments, the new UE id is generated to reflect an updated RRC configuration/UE context. In some embodiments, the state Indicator indicates the RRC state that the UE 202 should transition to. In some embodiments, the radioResourceConfig are

configuration parameters for an updated RRC connection and/or UE context (which precipitated the new UE id, for example). In addition, the NR_update Confirm message 212 may include additional information related to the UE initiated update event. In some embodiments, the NR_update Confirm message 212 may provide the information necessary for the UE 202 to resume its prior RRC connection and/or resume to an updated RRC connection and may provide responsive information for addressing the particular UE initiated update event. [0052] This example shows how the common UL message (e.g., NR_update message 210) might carry information of the previous node id and UE id. It is appreciated that this kind of information might be provided via different indicators or lEs, as well as a single indicator that allows the network to do a retrieve procedure or fetch the UE context.

[0053] In addition, this common UL message might also carry other information (e.g., UE related capabilities, critical information, and/or UE physical layer (PHY) related information (e.g., configurations, measurements, or reporting of any manner)). This kind of information may be used by the first RAN node 204 upon receiving the common UL message to determine whether to reject or continue the RRC connection. In some embodiments, the decision of whether to reject or continue the RRC connection is based on a decision to perform congestion control by the first RAN node 204.

[0054] In some embodiments, this common update procedure may be defined as a two-way message handshake. In other embodiments, this common update procedure may be defined as a three-way message handshake. In some cases, this common update procedure could be defined to always operate with two messages or always operate with three messages. In other cases, this common update

procedure could be defined to operate with two messages or with three messages depending on the reason (e.g., UpdateCause) for the access (the cell update might only require two messages, while re-establishment or resumption might require three messages, for example).

[0055] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method 300 for wireless communication. The method 300 is performed by a UE, such as a mobile device or the like. In particular, the method 300 may be performed by a baseband processor within the UE.

Although the operations of the method 300 are illustrated as being performed in a particular order, it is understood that the operations of the method 300 may be reordered without departing from the scope of the method 300.

[0056] At 302, a UE initiated update event is identified. In some embodiments, the UE may identify the UE initiated update event by detecting and/or determining the UE initiated update event. At 304, a cause value is selected based on the UE initiated update event. The cause value may be selected from the cause values identified previously. At 306, an uplink message is generated for a RAN node in response to the UE initialized update event. The uplink message includes the selected cause value.

[0057] The operations of the method 300 may be performed by an application- specific processor, programmable application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like.

[0058] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method 400 for wireless communication. The method 400 is performed by a UE, such as a mobile device or the like. In particular, the method 400 may be performed by a baseband processor within the UE.

Although the operations of the method 400 are illustrated as being performed in a particular order, it is understood that the operations of the method 400 may be reordered without departing from the scope of the method 400.

[0059] At 402, a UE initiated update event is identified. In some embodiments, the UE may identify the UE initiated update event by detecting and/or determining the UE initiated update event. At 404, a cause value is selected from a plurality of causes based on the UE initiated update event. The cause value may be selected from the cause values identified previously. At 406, an RRC uplink message is generated for a RAN node in response to the UE initialized update event. The RRC uplink message includes the selected cause value.

[0060] The operations of the method 400 may be performed by an application- specific processor, programmable application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like.

[0061] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 for wireless communication. The method 500 is performed by a RAN node, such as an eNB, gNB, or the like. In particular, the method 500 may be performed by a processor within the RAN node. Although the operations of the method 500 are illustrated as being performed in a particular order, it is understood that the operations of the method 500 may be reordered without departing from the scope of the method 500.

[0062] At 502, an RRC uplink message from a UE is decoded. The RRC uplink message includes a cause value that corresponds to a UE initiated update event. At 504, the UE initiated update event is determined based on the cause value. The cause value is selected from the plurality of predefined cause values. At 506, an RRC downlink message is generated in response to the RRC uplink message. The RRC downlink message includes information based on the determined UE initiated update event. [0063] The operations of the method 500 may be performed by an application- specific processor, programmable application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like.

[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates an architecture of a system 600 of a network in

accordance with some embodiments. The system 600 is shown to include a user equipment (UE) 601 and a UE 602. The UEs 601 and 602 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, or any computing device including a wireless communications interface.

[0065] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 601 and 602 can comprise an Internet of Things (loT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designed for low-power loT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. An loT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type

communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to- device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or loT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An loT network describes interconnecting loT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The loT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the loT network.

[0066] The UEs 601 and 602 may be configured to connect, e.g.,

communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN) 610. The RAN 610 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs 601 and 602 utilize connections 603 and 604, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, the connections 603 and 604 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

[0067] In this embodiment, the UEs 601 and 602 may further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 605. The ProSe interface 605 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery

Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0068] The UE 602 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 606 via connection 607. The connection 607 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.1 1 protocol, wherein the AP 606 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®) router. In this example, the AP 606 is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0069] The RAN 610 can include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 603 and 604. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next Generation NodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 610 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RAN node 61 1 , and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 612.

[0070] Any of the RAN nodes 61 1 and 612 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 601 and 602. In some

embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 61 1 and 612 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 610 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0071] In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 601 and 602 can be configured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing

(OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 61 1 and 612 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an Orthogonal Frequency- Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0072] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 61 1 and 612 to the UEs 601 and 602, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time- frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid

corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

[0073] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 601 and 602. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 601 and 602 about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 602 within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 61 1 and 612 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 601 and 602. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 601 and 602. [0074] The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1 , 2, 4, or 8).

[0075] Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

[0076] The RAN 610 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 620—via an S1 interface 613. In embodiments, the CN 620 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment the S1 interface 613 is split into two parts: the S1 -U interface 614, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 61 1 and 612 and a serving gateway (S-GW) 622, and an S1 -mobility management entity (MME) interface 615, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 61 1 and 612 and MMEs 621 .

[0077] In this embodiment, the CN 620 comprises the MMEs 621 , the S-GW 622, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 623, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 624. The MMEs 621 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 621 may manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 624 may comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The CN 620 may comprise one or several HSSs 624, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 624 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0078] The S-GW 622 may terminate the S1 interface 613 towards the RAN 610, and routes data packets between the RAN 610 and the CN 620. In addition, the S- GW 622 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0079] The P-GW 623 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 623 may route data packets between the CN 620 (e.g., an EPC network) and external networks such as a network including the application server 630

(alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 625. Generally, an application server 630 may be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 623 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 630 via an IP communications interface 625. The application server 630 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 601 and 602 via the CN 620.

[0080] The P-GW 623 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. A Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 626 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 620. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 626 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 630 via the P-GW 623. The application server 630 may signal the PCRF 626 to indicate a new service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 626 may provision this rule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier (QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by the application server 630.

[0081] FIG. 7 illustrates example components of a device 700 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 700 may include application circuitry 702, baseband circuitry 704, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 706, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 708, one or more antennas 710, and power management circuitry (PMC) 712 coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 700 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some

embodiments, the device 700 may include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 702, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 700 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).

[0082] The application circuitry 702 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 702 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 700. In some embodiments, processors of application circuitry 702 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.

[0083] The baseband circuitry 704 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 704 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 706 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 706. Baseband processing circuity 704 may interface with the application circuitry 702 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 706. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 704A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 704B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 704C, or other baseband processor(s) 704D 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 704 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 704A-D) may handle various radio control functions that

enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 706. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 704A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 704G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 704E. 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 704 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments,

encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 704 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.

[0084] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 704F. The audio DSP(s) 704F 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 704 and the application circuitry 702 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0085] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 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), or a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 704 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0086] RF circuitry 706 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 706 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 706 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 708 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 704. RF circuitry 706 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 704 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 708 for transmission.

[0087] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 706 may include mixer circuitry 706A, amplifier circuitry 706B and filter circuitry 706C. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 706 may include filter circuitry 706C and mixer circuitry 706A. RF circuitry 706 may also include

synthesizer circuitry 706D for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 706A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706A of the receive signal path may be configured to down- convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 708 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 706D. The amplifier circuitry 706B may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 706C 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 704 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, the mixer circuitry 706A of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0088] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706A of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 706D to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 708. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 704 and may be filtered by the filter circuitry 706C. [0089] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706A 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 706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706A 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 706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706A may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 706A of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[0090] 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 706 may include analog-to- digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 704 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 706.

[0091] 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.

[0092] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 706D may be a fractional- N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 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 706D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0093] The synthesizer circuitry 706D may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 706A of the RF circuitry 706 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 706D may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

[0094] 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 704 or the application circuitry 702 (such as an applications processor) depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on a channel indicated by the application circuitry 702.

[0095] Synthesizer circuitry 706D of the RF circuitry 706 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 (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (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.

[0096] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 706D 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 706 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[0097] FEM circuitry 708 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 710, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 706 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 708 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 706 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 710. In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 706, solely in the FEM circuitry 708, or in both the RF circuitry 706 and the FEM circuitry 708. [0098] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 708 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 708 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 708 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 706). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 708 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 706), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 710).

[0099] In some embodiments, the PMC 712 may manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 704. In particular, the PMC 712 may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMC 712 may often be included when the device 700 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device 700 is included in a UE. The PMC 712 may increase the power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0100] FIG. 7 shows the PMC 712 coupled only with the baseband circuitry 704. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 712 may be additionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar power management operations for, other components such as, but not limited to, the application circuitry 702, the RF circuitry 706, or the FEM circuitry 708.

[0101] In some embodiments, the PMC 712 may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 700. For example, if the device 700 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 700 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[0102] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the device 700 may transition off to an RRCJdle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 700 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 700 may not receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, it transitions back to an RRC_Connected state. [0103] 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.

[0104] Processors of the application circuitry 702 and processors of the baseband circuitry 704 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 704, alone or in combination, may be used to execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 702 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.

[0105] FIG. 8 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the baseband circuitry 704 of FIG. 7 may comprise processors 704A-704E and a memory 704G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 704A-704E may include a memory interface, 804A-804E, respectively, to send/receive data to/from the memory 704G.

[0106] The baseband circuitry 704 may further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memory interface 812 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry 704), an application circuitry interface 814 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 702 of FIG. 7), an RF circuitry interface 816 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 706 of FIG. 7), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 818 (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 820 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or control signals to/from the PMC 712. [0107] FIG. 9 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack in accordance with some embodiments. In this embodiment, a control plane 900 is shown as a communications protocol stack between the UE 601 (or alternatively, the UE 602), the RAN node 61 1 (or alternatively, the RAN node 612), and the MME 621.

[0108] A PHY layer 901 may transmit or receive information used by the MAC layer 902 over one or more air interfaces. The PHY layer 901 may further perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers, such as an RRC layer 905. The PHY layer 901 may still further perform error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna processing.

[0109] The MAC layer 902 may perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC service data units (SDUs) from one or more logical channels onto transport blocks (TB) to be delivered to PHY via transport channels, de-multiplexing MAC SDUs to one or more logical channels from transport blocks (TB) delivered from the PHY via transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), and logical channel prioritization.

[0110] An RLC layer 903 may operate in a plurality of modes of operation, including: Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC layer 903 may execute transfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transfers, and concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers. The RLC layer 903 may also execute re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transfers, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transfers, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect protocol errors for AM data transfers, and perform RLC re-establishment.

[0111] A PDCP layer 904 may execute header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP Sequence Numbers (SNs), perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs at re-establishment of lower layers, eliminate duplicates of lower layer SDUs at re-establishment of lower layers for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM, cipher and decipher control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data, control timer-based discard of data, and perform security operations (e.g., ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0112] The main services and functions of the RRC layer 905 may include broadcast of system information (e.g., included in Master Information Blocks (MIBs) or System Information Blocks (SIBs) related to the non-access stratum (NAS)), broadcast of system information related to the access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE and E-UTRAN (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. Said MIBs and SIBs may comprise one or more information elements (lEs), which may each comprise individual data fields or data structures.

[0113] The UE 601 and the RAN node 61 1 may utilize a Uu interface (e.g., an LTE-Uu interface) to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack comprising the PHY layer 901 , the MAC layer 902, the RLC layer 903, the PDCP layer 904, and the RRC layer 905.

[0114] In the embodiment shown, the non-access stratum (NAS) protocols 906 form the highest stratum of the control plane between the UE 601 and the MME 621 . The NAS protocols 906 support the mobility of the UE 601 and the session management procedures to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE 601 and the P-GW 623.

[0115] The S1 Application Protocol (S1 -AP) layer 915 may support the functions of the S1 interface and comprise Elementary Procedures (EPs). An EP is a unit of interaction between the RAN node 61 1 and the CN 620. The S1 -AP layer services may comprise two groups: UE-associated services and non UE-associated services. These services perform functions including, but not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transport, RAN Information Management (RIM), and configuration transfer.

[0116] The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) layer (alternatively referred to as the stream control transmission protocol/internet protocol (SCTP/IP) layer) 914 may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 61 1 and the MME 621 based, in part, on the IP protocol, supported by an IP layer 913. An L2 layer 912 and an L1 layer 91 1 may refer to communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) used by the RAN node and the MME to exchange

information.

[0117] The RAN node 61 1 and the MME 621 may utilize an S1 -MME interface to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack comprising the L1 layer 91 1 , the L2 layer 912, the IP layer 913, the SCTP layer 914, and the S1 -AP layer 915.

[0118] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

Specifically, FIG. 10 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1000 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1010, one or more memory/storage devices 1020, and one or more communication resources 1030, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1040. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1002 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1000.

[0119] The processors 1010 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 1012 and a processor 1014.

[0120] The memory/storage devices 1020 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 1020 may include, but are not limited to any type of volatile or non-volatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable

programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc. [0121] The communication resources 1030 may include interconnection or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1004 or one or more databases 1006 via a network 1008. For example, the communication resources 1030 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular

communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication

components.

[0122] Instructions 1050 may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 1010 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 1050 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 1010 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), the memory/storage devices 1020, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 1050 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1000 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1004 or the databases 1006. Accordingly, the memory of processors 1010, the memory/storage devices 1020, the peripheral devices 1004, and the databases 1006 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

Example Embodiments:

[0123] Example 1 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE). The apparatus includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory interface is for interfacing with a memory to store a plurality of cause values. The one or more processors are to identify a UE initiated update event, select a cause value from the plurality of cause values based on the UE initiated update event, and generate a radio resource control (RRC) uplink message for a radio access network (RAN) node in response to the UE initiated update event, wherein the RRC uplink message includes the cause value.

[0124] Example 2 is the apparatus of Example 1 , where the UE initiated update event is a radio link failure, a need to resume a connection with a network, a need to send uplink data, a need to send a paging response, a crossing of a tracking area boundary, or a crossing of a cell boundary, and where the plurality of cause values include at least two of a reestablishment failure indication, a connection resume indication, a paging response indication, a tracking area boundary crossed indication, and a cell crossed indication.

[0125] Example 3 is the apparatus of Example 1 or 2, where the one or more processors are further to retrieve a UE identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the UE in a network, wherein the RRC uplink message includes the UE ID.

[0126] Example 4 is the apparatus of any of claims 1 -3, where the one or more processors are further to retrieve a node ID that identifies a serving RAN node that maintains a UE context of the UE, where the RRC uplink message includes the node

ID.

[0127] Example 5 is the apparatus of Example 4, where the RAN node is the serving RAN node.

[0128] Example 6 is the apparatus of Example 4, wherein the RAN node is different than the serving RAN node.

[0129] Example 7 is the apparatus of any of Examples 1 -6, where the RRC uplink message includes authentication information for authenticating the UE with a network.

[0130] Examples 8 is the apparatus of any of Examples 1 -7, where the one or more processors are further to decode an RRC downlink message from the RAN node, where the RRC downlink message is received in response to the RRC uplink message, and where the RRC downlink message includes at least one information element (IE) that is not included in the RRC uplink message.

[0131] Examples 9 is the apparatus of any of Examples 1 -8, where the RAN node is a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) RAN node or an long term evolution (LTE) RAN node.

[0132] Example 10 is an apparatus of a radio access network (RAN) node. The apparatus includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory interface is for interfacing with a memory to store a plurality of predefined cause values. The one or more processors are to decode a radio resource control (RRC) uplink message from a user equipment (UE), where the RRC uplink message includes a cause value that corresponds to a UE initiated update event, determine the UE initiated update event based on the cause value, where the cause value is selected from the plurality of predefined cause values, and generate a RRC downlink message in response to the RRC uplink message, where the RRC downlink message includes information based on the determined UE initiated update event. [0133] Example 1 1 is the apparatus of Example 10, where the UE initiated update event is a radio link failure, a need to resume a connection with a network, a need to send uplink data, a need to send a paging response, a crossing of a tracking area boundary, or a crossing of a cell boundary, and where the plurality of cause values include at least two of a reestablishment failure indication, a connection resume indication, a paging response indication, a tracking area boundary crossed indication, and a cell crossed indication.

[0134] Example 12 is the apparatus of any of Examples 10-1 1 , where the one or more processors are further to retrieve a UE context associated with the UE based on a UE identifier (ID) and a node ID included in the RRC uplink message, where the node ID identifies a serving RAN node that maintains the UE context.

[0135] Example 13 is the apparatus of Example 12, where the RAN node is the serving RAN node and the UE context is stored in the memory.

[0136] Example 14 is the apparatus of Example 12, where the RAN node is different than the serving RAN node, where the one or more processors are further to generate a retrieve context request message for the serving RAN node, where the retrieve context request message includes the UE ID, and decode a retrieve context response message from the serving RAN node, where the retrieve context response message includes the UE context.

[0137] Example 15 is the apparatus of any of Examples 10-14, where the RAN node is at least one of an evolved Node B (eNB) and a next generation Node B (gNB).

[0138] Example 16 is a method by a user equipment (UE) for wireless

communication. The method includes identifying a UE initiated update event, selecting a cause value based on the UE initiated update event, and generating an uplink message for a radio access network (RAN) node in response to the UE initiated update event, where the uplink message includes the cause value.

[0139] Example 17 is the method of Example 16, where the UE initiated update event is a radio link failure, a need to resume a connection with a network, a need to send uplink data, a need to send a paging response, a crossing of a tracking area boundary, or a crossing of a cell boundary.

[0140] Example 18 is the method of Example 16, where the cause value is a reestablishment failure indication, a connection resume indication, a paging response indication, a tracking area boundary crossed indication, or a cell crossed indication.

[0141] Example 19 is the method of any of Example 16-18, further includes retrieving a UE identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the UE in a network, where the uplink message includes the UE ID.

[0142] Example 20 is the method of any of Example 16-19, further includes retrieving a node ID that identifies a serving RAN node that maintains a UE context of the UE, where the uplink message includes the node ID.

[0143] Example 21 is the method of any of Examples 16-20, where the RAN node is the serving RAN node.

[0144] Example 22 is the method of any of Examples 16-20, where the RAN node is different than the serving RAN node.

[0145] Example 23 is the method of any of Examples 16-22, where the uplink message includes authentication information for authenticating the UE with a network.

[0146] Example 24 is the method of any of Examples 16-23, further includes decoding a downlink message from the RAN node, where the downlink message is received in response to the uplink message, and where the downlink message includes at least one information element (IE) that is not included in the uplink message.

[0147] Example 25 is the method of any of Examples 16-24, where the RAN node is a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) RAN node or an long term evolution (LTE) RAN node.

[0148] Example 26 is the method of any of claims 16-25, where the uplink message is a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0149] Example 27 is an apparatus comprising means to perform a method as claimed in any of the Examples described herein.

[0150] Example 28 is a machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to implement a method or realize an apparatus as claimed in any Example described herein.

[0151] Example 29 is a method of using a common UE generated UL message to cover different UE initiated scenarios.

[0152] Example 30 is the method of Example 29, where the common UL message is used for some or all of radio link failure indication, UE crossing a tracking area boundary, UE has uplink data to send and need to inform the network about it, UE crosses a cell boundary and is in UE controlled mobility state, for Paging response.

[0153] Example 31 is the method of Examples 29 and/or 30, where the common UL message contains information to identify the network node containing the UE context and the UE id.

[0154] Example 32 is the method of Example 31 , where the same IDs (e.g., UE id, node id) are used in the common UL message for some or all the purposes described in Example 30.

[0155] Example 33 is the method of Examples 29 and/or 30, where the common UL message contains information to authenticate the UE.

[0156] Example 34 is the method of Example 33, where the same authentication parameter is used in the message for some or all the purposes described in Example 30.

[0157] Example 35 is the method of Examples 29 and/or 30, where the

corresponding DL response message may use different information elements.

[0158] Example 36 is the method of Example 35, where the additional information element is a Cause value that carries different cause values for the above cases.

[0159] Example 37 is a method according to any of the above Examples, where additional information, data or message is included as part of the common UL message or in addition to the common UL message and sent together with the common UL message.

[0160] Example 38 is the method according to any of the above Examples, where the system is 5G New Radio or LTE.

[0161] Example 39 is a UE behaving according to any of the above Examples.

[0162] Example 40 is a network behaving according to any of the above

Examples.

[0163] Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques. In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, the computing device may include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements may be a RAM, an EPROM, a flash drive, an optical drive, a magnetic hard drive, or another medium for storing electronic data. The eNodeB (or other base station) and UE (or other mobile station) may also include a transceiver component, a counter component, a processing component, and/or a clock component or timer component. One or more programs that may implement or utilize the various techniques described herein may use an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high-level procedural or an object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) may be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or an interpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

[0164] It should be understood that many of the functional units described in this specification may be implemented as one or more components, which is a term used to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a component may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A component may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, or the like.

[0165] Components may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified component of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object, a procedure, or a function.

Nevertheless, the executables of an identified component need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations that, when joined logically together, comprise the component and achieve the stated purpose for the component.

[0166] Indeed, a component of executable code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code

segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices.

Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within components, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. The components may be passive or active, including agents operable to perform desired functions.

[0167] Reference throughout this specification to "an example" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrase "in an example" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0168] As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on its presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. In addition, various embodiments and examples may be referred to herein along with alternatives for the various components thereof. It is understood that such embodiments, examples, and alternatives are not to be construed as de facto equivalents of one another, but are to be considered as separate and autonomous representations of embodiments.

[0169] Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles thereof. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatuses described herein. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, and the embodiments are not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

Claims

1 . An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a memory interface for interfacing with a memory to store a plurality of cause values;

one or more processors to:

identify a UE initiated update event;

select a cause value from the plurality of cause values based on the UE initiated update event; and

generate a radio resource control (RRC) uplink message for a radio access network (RAN) node in response to the UE initiated update event, wherein the RRC uplink message includes the cause value.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the UE initiated update event is at least one of a radio link failure, a need to resume a connection with a network, a need to send uplink data, a need to send a paging response, a crossing of a tracking area boundary, and a crossing of a cell boundary, and wherein the plurality of cause values include at least two of a reestablishment failure indication, a connection resume indication, a paging response indication, a tracking area boundary crossed indication, and a cell crossed indication.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further to:

retrieve a UE identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the UE in a network, wherein the RRC uplink message includes the UE ID.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1 -3, wherein the one or more processors are further to:

retrieve a node ID that identifies a serving RAN node that maintains a UE context of the UE, wherein the RRC uplink message includes the node ID.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the RAN node is the serving RAN node.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the RAN node is different than the serving RAN node.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1 -3, wherein the RRC uplink message includes authentication information for authenticating the UE with a network.

8. The apparatus of any of claims 1 -3, wherein the one or more processors are further to:

decode an RRC downlink message from the RAN node, wherein the RRC downlink message is received in response to the RRC uplink message, wherein the downlink message includes responsive information for addressing the cause value, and wherein the RRC downlink message includes at least one information element (IE) that is not included in the RRC uplink message.

9. The apparatus of any of claims 1 -3, wherein the RAN node is selected from the group consisting of:

a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) RAN node; and

an long term evolution (LTE) RAN node.

10. An apparatus of a radio access network (RAN) node, the apparatus comprising:

a memory interface for interfacing with a memory to store a plurality of predefined cause values;

one or more processors to:

decode a radio resource control (RRC) uplink message from a user equipment (UE), wherein the RRC uplink message includes a cause value that corresponds to a UE initiated update event;

determine the UE initiated update event based on the cause value, wherein the cause value is selected from the plurality of predefined cause values; and

generate an RRC downlink message in response to the RRC uplink message, wherein the RRC downlink message includes information based on the determined UE initiated update event.

1 1 . The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the UE initiated update event is at least one of a radio link failure, a need to resume a connection with a network, a need to send uplink data, a need to send a paging response, a crossing of a tracking area boundary, and a crossing of a cell boundary, and wherein the plurality of cause values include at least two of a reestablishment failure indication, a connection resume indication, a paging response indication, a tracking area boundary crossed indication, and a cell crossed indication.

12. The apparatus of any of claims 10-1 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further to:

retrieve a UE context associated with the UE based on a UE identifier (ID) and a node ID included in the RRC uplink message, wherein the node ID identifies a serving RAN node that maintains the UE context.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the RAN node is the serving RAN node and the UE context is stored in the memory.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the RAN node is different than the serving RAN node, wherein the one or more processors are further to:

generate a retrieve context request message for the serving RAN node, wherein the retrieve context request message includes the UE ID; and

decode a retrieve context response message from the serving RAN node, wherein the retrieve context response message includes the UE context.

15. The apparatus of any of claims 10-1 1 , wherein the RAN node is at least one of an evolved Node B (eNB) and a next generation Node B (gNB).

16. A method by a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

identifying a UE initiated update event;

selecting a cause value based on the UE initiated update event; and generating an uplink message for a radio access network (RAN) node in response to the UE initiated update event, wherein the uplink message includes the cause value.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the UE initiated update event is at least one of a radio link failure, a need to resume a connection with a network, a need to send uplink data, a need to send a paging response, a crossing of a tracking area boundary, and a crossing of a cell boundary.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the cause value is at least one of a reestablishment failure indication, a connection resume indication, a paging response indication, a tracking area boundary crossed indication, and a cell crossed indication.

19. The method of any of claims 16-18, further comprising:

retrieving a UE identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the UE in a network, wherein the uplink message includes the UE ID.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

retrieving a node ID that identifies a serving RAN node that maintains a UE context of the UE, wherein the uplink message includes the node ID.

21 . The method of any of claims 16-18, wherein the uplink message includes authentication information for authenticating the UE with a network.

22. The method of any of claims 16-18, further comprising:

decoding a downlink message from the RAN node, wherein the downlink message is received in response to the uplink message, wherein the downlink message includes responsive information for addressing the cause value, and wherein the downlink message includes at least one information element (IE) that is not included in the uplink message.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the downlink message includes a state indicator that indicates a state that the UE should transition to.

24. An apparatus comprising means to perform a method as claimed in any of claims 16-23.

25. Machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to implement a method or realize an apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim.