WO2019138359A1

WO2019138359A1 - Next generation radio access network wireless device rejection indication

Info

Publication number: WO2019138359A1
Application number: PCT/IB2019/050202
Authority: WO
Inventors: Angelo Centonza; Ioanna Pappa; Matteo FIORANI; Gunnar Mildh
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2018-01-12
Filing date: 2019-01-10
Publication date: 2019-07-18

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a method is performed by a control unit (CU) of a network node. The control unit receives a request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. The request message is received by the 5 CU via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node. The control unit determines whether to admit or reject the requested connection. In response to determining to reject the requested connection, the control unit transmits a rejection message to the wireless device via the DU. The rejection message indicates that the requested connection has been rejected. The DU may determine that the requested connection has been rejected based on the rejection message or 0 another rejection indication sent by the CU. The DU deallocates resources associated with the rejected wireless device and reallocates the resources.

Description

NEXT GENERATION RADIO ACCESS NETWORK WIRELESS DEVICE REJECTION INDICATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate, in general, to wireless communications and, more particularly, to providing indications of a rejection of a wireless device for reallocation of resources.

BACKGROUND

The current Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) architecture is described in Technical Specification TS38.40lv0.4.l. For example, TS38.40lv0.4. l illustrates the overall 5G NG-RAN architecture in Figure 6.1-1, shown here in Figure 1.

The NG-RAN consists of a set of base stations which are referred to as“gNBs” in 5G. A gNB can support frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, time division duplex (TDD) mode, or both (dual mode operation). The gNBs can connect to the 5G Core (5GC) through the NG interface. The gNBs can interconnect to other gNBs through the Xn interface.

Each gNB may include a central unit (gNB-CU) and distribution units (gNB-DUs). A gNB-CU and a gNB-DU are connected via Fl logical interface. The gNB-DU may be connected to only one gNB-CU or, for resiliency, a gNB-DU may be connected to multiple gNB-CU by appropriate implementation.

NG, Xn and Fl are logical interfaces. The NG-RAN is layered into a Radio Network Layer (RNL) and a Transport Network Layer (TNL). The NG-RAN architecture, i.e. the NG- RAN logical nodes and interfaces between them, is defined as part of the RNL. For each NG- RAN interface (NG, Xn, Fl) the related TNL protocol and the functionality are specified. The TNL provides services for user plane transport, signalling transport. In NG-Flex configuration, each gNB is connected to all 5GC nodes within a pool area. The pool area is defined in 3GPP TS 23.501. If security protection for control plane and user plane data on TNL of NG-RAN interfaces must be supported, NDS/IP (3GPP TS 33.401 [x] shall be applied).

In TS 38.401, overall procedures are depicted, including signalling flows in gNB-CU / gNB-DU architecture, e.g. initial access from the user equipment (UE), inter-DU mobility etc. SUMMARY

There currently exist certain challenges. For example, in the initial UE access procedure in the split RAN (gNB-CU/gNB-DU) architecture, there can be situations in which a gNB-CU rejects a UE even though the UE has been admitted by the gNB-DU. It is currently not possible to indicate from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU that the result of the gNB-CU admission is positive or is a rejection. If this indication is not present, then the gNB- DU would have to wait for a pre-configured timer and, if no activity is detected within the corresponding time interval for this UE, then the gNB-DU will have to assume that the UE has been rejected. However, the inactivity timer approach has some drawbacks because the gNB-DU might have already allocated some UE resources (e.g., for Channel Quality information (CQI) and Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) signalling) and such resources will be kept unused for the duration of the pre-set timer. Moreover, the inactivity timer approach will also result in unnecessary rejection of the UE without offering the UE an alternative way to connect to the RAN. A way to handle this failure case has not been defined.

There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein. For example, in one embodiment, a method for use in the gNB-CU comprises notifying the gNB-DU about the rejection of the UE at the gNB-CU and the related cause. In another embodiment, a method for use in a gNB-DU comprises receiving a notification from the gNB-CU about the rejection of the UE at the gNB-CU and deciding, at the gNB-DU, on the next steps in the UE initial access.

According to an embodiment, a method is performed by a by a control unit (CU) of a network node. The method comprises receiving a request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. The request message received by the CU via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node. The method further comprises determining whether to admit or reject the requested connection. In response to determining to reject the requested connection, the method further comprises transmitting a rejection message to the wireless device via the DU. The rejection message indicates that the requested connection has been rejected.

According to another embodiment, a control unit (CU) of a network node is provided comprising a memory and processing circuitry. The memory is configured to store instructions. The processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions. The control unit is configured to receive a request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. The request message is received by the CU via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node. The control unit is further configured to determine whether to admit or reject the requested connection. The control unit is further configured to, in response to determining to reject the requested connection, transmit a rejection message to the wireless device via the DU. The rejection message indicates that the requested connection has been rejected.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer program product comprises a non- transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code. The computer readable program code comprises program code for receiving a request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. The request message received by the control unit (CU) of the network node via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node. The computer readable program code further comprises program code for determining whether to admit or reject the requested connection. The computer readable program code further comprises program code for, in response to determining to reject the requested connection, transmitting a rejection message to the wireless device via the DU. The rejection message indicates that the requested connection has been rejected.

The method/control unit/computer program product may further include one, none, or multiple ones of the following features:

In particular embodiments, the rejection message triggers a deallocation of resources that the DU has allocated to the wireless device.

In particular embodiments, the method/control unit/computer program product further comprises signalling a reject indication to the DU serving the wireless device, indicating to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected.

In particular embodiments, the message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message to be transmitted to the wireless device comprises a rejection indication for the DU, indicating to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected.

In particular embodiments, the message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message to be transmitted indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection.

In particular embodiments, the request message and the rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging.

In particular embodiments, the rejection message is transmitted prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU. According to certain embodiments, a method is performed by a distribution unit (DU) of a network node. The method comprises transmitting a request message to a control unit (CU) of the network node. The request message indicates that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. The method further comprises receiving a rejection message from the CU. The rejection message indicates to the wireless device that the requested connection has been rejected by the CU. The method further comprises forwarding the rejection message to the wireless device.

According to another embodiment, a control unit of a network node is provided comprising a memory and processing circuitry. The memory is configured to store instructions. The processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions. The DU is configured to transmit a request message to a control unit (CU) of the network node. The request message indicates that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. The DU is further configured to receive a rejection message from the CU. The rejection message indicates to the wireless device that the requested connection has been rejected by the CU. The DU is further configured to forward the rejection message to the wireless device.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer program product comprises a non- transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code. The computer readable program code comprises program code for transmitting a request message to a control unit (CU) of the network node. The request message indicates that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. The computer readable program code further comprises program code for receiving a rejection message from the CU. The rejection message indicates to the wireless device that the requested connection has been rejected by the CU. The computer readable program code further comprises program code for forwarding the rejection message to the wireless device.

The method/distribution unit/computer program product may further include one, none, or multiple ones of the following features:

In particular embodiments, resources at the DU associated with the wireless device are deallocated after receiving the rejection message from the CU.

In particular embodiments, a reject indication for the DU is received from the CU separately from the rejection message for the wireless device. The reject indication indicates that the requested connection was rejected by the CU. In particular embodiments, a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message to be transmitted rejection message further comprises a rejection indication for the DU indicating to the DU that the requested connection was rejected by the CU.

In particular embodiments, a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection.

In particular embodiments, the request message and rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging.

In particular embodiments, the rejection message is received prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU and, prior to expiry of the inactivity timer, resources that the DU has already allocated to the wireless device are deallocated.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or more technical advantages. For example, certain embodiments allow the gNB-CU to notify or otherwise indicate to the gNB-DU about the rejection of the UE at the gNB-CU (and optionally, the related cause). As a result, the gNB-DU may more efficiently handle failures at the initial UE access procedure. As another example, certain embodiments allow the gNB-DU to efficiently allocate its resources based on the rejection of the wireless device as indicated by the gNB- CU. As yet another example, certain embodiments allow, in response to the indication of a failure of connection, the gNB-DU to provide an alternative way for the wireless device to connect to the RAN. In this way, the access to the RAN may be better optimized, thereby reducing processing and signalling resources consumed in the network.

Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the above-recited advantages. Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taking in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates an example of a 5G next generation radio access network architecture, in accordance with certain embodiments.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a signalling diagram for an initial wireless device access procedure, in accordance with certain embodiments; FIGURE 3 illustrates a signalling diagram for initial wireless device admission resulting in a connection rejection, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 4 illustrates a signalling diagram for redirecting a wireless device in response to a connection rejection, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 5 illustrates an example wireless network, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 6 illustrates an example user equipment, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 7 illustrates an example virtualization environment, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 8 illustrate an example telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 9 illustrates an example method performed by a control unit of a network node, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 10 illustrates an example method performed by distribution unit of a network node, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 11 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a first example apparatus in a wireless network, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGURE 12 illustrates a second example method performed by a control unit of a network node, in accordance with certain embodiments; and

FIGURE 13 illustrates a second example method performed by distribution unit of a network node, in accordance with certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to above-described or other challenges. As detailed below, in certain embodiments, a gNB-CU may notify, directly or indirectly, a gNB-DU about a rejection of a UE at the gNB-CU. In some embodiments, the notification may further indicate a cause related to the rejection. This may allow the gNB-DU to decide on the next steps, resulting in improved performance by handling the rejection of the UE request more efficiently.

The information that the present disclosure proposes to exchange between the gNB- CU and gNB-DU is capable of being tailored to various use cases based on the reason for the rejection of the UE at the gNB-CU. As an example, suppose the reason for the rejection is that the gNB-CU is overloaded. In one embodiment, in response to receiving a notification from the gNB-CU that the UE was rejected because the gNB-CU is overloaded, the gNB-DU may actively take measures to reduce the load in the gNB-CU. In another embodiment, in response to receiving a notification from the gNB-CU that the UE was rejected because the gNB-CU is overloaded, the gNB-DU directs the UE to another gNB-CU instance that is less loaded.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a signalling diagram for an initial wireless device/UE access procedure up to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connection Setup, according to certain embodiments. Step 1 shows the RRC Connection Request from the UE to the gNB-DU. In step 2, the initial UE admission is done in the gNB-DU at reception of Msg3 and RRC message transfer procedures between gNB-DU and gNB-CU are used after reception of Msg3. In step 3 the gNB-CU decides on the admission of the UE and subsequently sends a Reject indication to the gNB-DU with a cause value to denote the reason of the rejection. The cause value signalled by the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU may convey a number of reasons why the UE was rejected, for example:

• gNB-CU control plane load is too high

• gNB-CU user plane load is too high

· gNB-CU not able to serve this UE due to incompatible UE capabilities. For example, this UE could have specific IoT (Internet of Things) capabilities which are not supported by the gNB-CU

• gNB-CU is not able to connect this UE to the desired core network

Note that the cause value mentioned above may be provided by means of any suitable information element (IE) in the message used by the gNB-CU.

The following two set of embodiments provide non-limiting examples for handling the situation in which the gNB-CU is overloaded.

First Set of Embodiments

FIGURE 3 illustrates a signalling diagram incorporating an example of the first set of embodiments. In FIGURE 3, the gNB-DU receives the UE Rejection notification from the gNB-CU (see step 3) and subsequently sends an RRC Connection Reject message to the UE (see step 4). The UE Rejection notification sent from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU in step 3 may include a cause value in which the gNB-CU denotes that it is overloaded. In certain embodiments, the gNB-DU is simply forwarding the rejection message from the gNB-CU to the UE. In some embodiments, the gNB-DU determines the UE Rejection notification while forwarding the rejection message, or alternatively, receives a separate rejection indication from the gNB-CU.

Based on receiving the notification from the gNB-CU, the gNB-DU may trigger some mechanisms to reduce the attach rate of new UEs, thereby reducing the load in the gNB-CU. One of such mechanisms is random access channel (RACH) back-off, where the gNB-DU indicates to the UE a back-off timer before which the UE should not attempt RACH access, or where the gNB-DU does not respond to the UE RACH access request for a given back-off timer.

According to certain embodiments, the gNB-DU may take any other suitable action in response to the UE rejection notification. For example, the gNB-DU may efficiently allocate its resources based on the rejection of the wireless device as indicated by the gNB-CU, e.g., by relocating memory or storage resources that had been allocated to resources associated with the rejected UE, such as the UE context information.

Second Set of Embodiments

FIGURE 4 illustrates a signalling diagram incorporating one of the second set of embodiments. In FIGURE 4, the gNB-DU receives the UE Rejection notification from the gNB-CU (see step 3). The UE Rejection notification may include a cause value. For the purposes of this example, the gNB-DU determines that the gNB-CU is overloaded, e.g., by the cause value.

In some embodiments, based on receiving the UE Rejection notification indicating that the gNB-CU is overloaded, the gNB-DU starts using a different Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) association to send the Initial Message to a different gNB-CU instance that is less loaded. In that way, the gNB-DU provides alternative solutions to help the UE attach successfully.

Enhancements in the DL RRC Message Transfer

To facilitate the above enhancements, certain embodiments add an information element (IE) to the downlink (DL) RRC Message Transfer, which may be referred to as the UE Reject Indication IE.

As an example, the DL RRC Message Transfer may comprise the following information elements:

Table 1: DL RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER

In certain embodiments, the UE Reject Indication IE in FIGURE 4 may comprise the

IEs shown in Table 2:

Table 2: UE Reject Indication IEs

Accordingly, disclosed herein are various embodiments of an enhanced downlink (DL) RRC Message Transfer, including one or more additional information elements that enable the gNB-DU to determine that the UE connection request has been rejected, and take subsequent steps that increase the efficiency of the network, as described above.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in FIGURE 5. For simplicity, the wireless network of FIGURE 5 only depicts network 106, network nodes 160 and l60b, and WDs 110, 1 lOb, and 1 lOc. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 160 and wireless device (WD) 110 are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network. The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Uong Term Evolution (UTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 106 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node 160 and WD 110 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi -cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.

In FIGURE 5, network node 160 includes processing circuitry 170, device readable medium 180, interface 190, auxiliary equipment 184, power source 186, power circuitry 187, and antenna 162. Although network node 160 illustrated in the example wireless network of FIGURE 5 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 160 are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 180 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 160 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 160 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB’s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 180 for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 160, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 160.

Processing circuitry 170 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 170 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 170 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Processing circuitry 170 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 160 components, such as device readable medium 180, network node 160 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 170 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 180 or in memory within processing circuitry 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 180 or memory within processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 170 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 170 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 170 alone or to other components of network node 160, but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 180 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 170. Device readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 170 and, utilized by network node 160. Device readable medium 180 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 170 and/or any data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device readable medium 180 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 190 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node 160, network 106, and/or WDs 110. As illustrated, interface 190 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 194 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 106 over a wired connection. Interface 190 also includes radio front end circuitry 192 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 162. Radio front end circuitry 192 comprises filters 198 and amplifiers 196. Radio front end circuitry 192 may be connected to antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. Radio front end circuitry 192 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 192 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 198 and/or amplifiers 196. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 162 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 192. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 170. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 192, instead, processing circuitry 170 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 162 without separate radio front end circuitry 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 172 may be considered a part of interface 190. In still other embodiments, interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radio front end circuitry 192, and RF transceiver circuitry 172, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 190 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and may be connectable to network node 160 through an interface or port. Antenna 162, interface 190, and/or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190, and/or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

Power circuitry 187 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 160 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 187 may receive power from power source 186. Power source 186 and/or power circuitry 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 160 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 186 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 187 and/or network node 160. For example, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 187. As a further example, power source 186 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 187. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 5 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 160 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 160 and to allow output of information from network node 160. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 160.

As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE) a vehicle- mounted wireless terminal device, etc.. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle -to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal. As illustrated, wireless device 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuitry 120, device readable medium 130, user interface equipment 132, auxiliary equipment 134, power source 136 and power circuitry 137. WD 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 110, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 110

Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 114. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separate from WD 110 and be connectable to WD 110 through an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and/or processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 111 may be considered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 114 comprises radio front end circuitry 112 and antenna 111. Radio front end circuitry 112 comprise one or more filters 118 and amplifiers 116. Radio front end circuitry 114 is connected to antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120, and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120. Radio front end circuitry 112 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 111. In some embodiments, WD 110 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 112; rather, processing circuitry 120 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be considered a part of interface 114. Radio front end circuitry 112 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 112 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 118 and/or amplifiers 116. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 111 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 112. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 120. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 120 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 110 components, such as device readable medium 130, WD 110 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 120 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 130 or in memory within processing circuitry 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 120 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124, and application processing circuitry 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry 120 of WD 110 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124, and application processing circuitry 126 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 124 and application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122 and baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124, and application processing circuitry 126 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be a part of interface 114. RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 120.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry 120 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 130, which in certain embodiments may be a computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 120 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 120 alone or to other components of WD 110, but are enjoyed by WD 110 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 120, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 120 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 110, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Device readable medium 130 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 120. Device readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 120. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 120 and device readable medium 130 may be considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 132 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 110. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 132 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 132 installed in WD 110. For example, if WD 110 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment 132 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 132 is configured to allow input of information into WD 110, and is connected to processing circuitry 120 to allow processing circuitry 120 to process the input information. User interface equipment 132 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 132 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 110, and to allow processing circuitry 120 to output information from WD 110. User interface equipment 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 132, WD 110 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 134 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 136 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD 110 may further comprise power circuitry 137 for delivering power from power source 136 to the various parts of WD 110 which need power from power source 136 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 137 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 110 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry 137 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 136. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 136. Power circuitry 137 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 136 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 110 to which power is supplied. FIGURE 6 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 200 may be any UE identified by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE 200, as illustrated in FIGURE 6, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although FIGURE 6 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa.

In FIGURE 6, UE 200 includes processing circuitry 201 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 205, radio frequency (RF) interface 209, network connection interface 211, memory 215 including random access memory (RAM) 217, read-only memory (ROM) 219, and storage medium 221 or the like, communication subsystem 231, power source 233, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 includes operating system 223, application program 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in FIGURE 6, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

In FIGURE 6, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 201 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine- readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware -implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 205. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 200. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE 200 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 205 to allow a user to capture information into UE 200. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

In FIGURE 6, RF interface 209 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface 211 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 243a. Network 243a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 243a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 211 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface 211 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM 217 may be configured to interface via bus 202 to processing circuitry 201 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 201. For example, ROM 219 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 221 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium 221 may be configured to include operating system 223, application program 225 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 227. Storage medium 221 may store, for use by UE 200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

Storage medium 221 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 may allow UE 200 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 221, which may comprise a device readable medium.

In FIGURE 6, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to communicate with network 243b using communication subsystem 231. Network 243a and network 243b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 243b. For example, communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver may include transmitter 233 and/or receiver 235 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 233 and receiver 235 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network 243b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 200.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 200 or partitioned across multiple components of UE 200. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 201 perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 201 and communication subsystem 231. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

FIGURE 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 300 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 300 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 330. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 320 are run in virtualization environment 300 which provides hardware 330 comprising processing circuitry 360 and memory 390. Memory 390 contains instructions 395 executable by processing circuitry 360 whereby application 320 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 300, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices 330 comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 360, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 390-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by processing circuitry 360. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 380. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine -readable storage media 390-2 having stored therein software 395 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 360. Software 395 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 340 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 340, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 320 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 340, and the implementations may be made in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 350 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 340.

As shown in FIGURE 7, hardware 330 may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 330 may comprise antenna 3225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 330 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 3100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 320.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. In the context of NFV, virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines 340, and that part of hardware 330 that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 340, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of hardware networking infrastructure 330 and corresponds to application 320 in FIGURE 7.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200 that each include one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210 may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. Radio units 3200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 330 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system 3230 which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 330 and radio units 3200.

With reference to FIGURE 8, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network 410, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network 411, such as a radio access network, and core network 414. Access network 411 comprises a plurality of base stations 4l2a, 4l2b, 4l2c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 4l3a, 4l3b, 4l3c. Each base station 4l2a, 4l2b, 4l2c is connectable to core network 414 over a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located in coverage area 413c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 4l2c. A second UE 492 in coverage area 4l3a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 4l2a. While a plurality of UEs 491, 492 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 412.

Telecommunication network 410 is itself connected to host computer 430, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 430 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 421 and 422 between telecommunication network 410 and host computer 430 may extend directly from core network 414 to host computer 430 or may go via an optional intermediate network 420. Intermediate network 420 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 420, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 420 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of FIGURE 8 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 491, 492 and host computer 430. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. Host computer 430 and the connected UEs 491, 492 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 450, using access network 411, core network 414, any intermediate network 420 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection 450 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection 450 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station 412 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 430 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 491. Similarly, base station 412 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 491 towards the host computer 430.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random- access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments a computer program, computer program product or computer readable storage medium comprises instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the embodiments disclosed herein. In further examples the instructions are carried on a signal or carrier and which are executable on a computer wherein when executed perform any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIGURE 9 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method may be performed by a distribution unit of a base station (e.g., gNB-DU within a network node 160). The method begins at step A with receiving a connection request from a wireless device, such as WD 110 or UE 200. The connection request is received by the distribution unit. The method proceeds to step B with sending the connection request to a control unit of the base station (e.g., gNB-CU within the network node 160). The method proceeds to step C with receiving a notification that the control unit has rejected the connection request. As discussed above, the rejection may indicate the reason for rejecting the connection request (such as the control unit is overloaded, incompatible with the wireless device, or unable to reach the desired core network). The method proceeds to step D with responding to the wireless device based on receiving the notification that the control unit has rejected the connection request. For example, responding to the wireless device may comprise rejecting the connection request or setting up the connection with a different control unit.

FIGURE 10 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method may be performed by a control unit of a base station (e.g., gNB-CU within a network node 160). The method begins at step A with receiving a connection request from a wireless device, such as WD 110 or UE 200. The connection request is received by the control unit via a distribution unit of the base station (e.g., gNB-DU within network node 160). The method proceeds to step B with rejecting the connection request. For example, the control unit may reject the connection request if the control unit is overloaded, incompatible with the wireless device requesting the connection, unable to connect to a core network to which the wireless device desires to connect, or for any other suitable reason. The method proceeds to step C with communicating a notification to the distribution unit that the control unit has rejected the connection request. As discussed above, the rejection may indicate the reason for rejecting the connection request (such as the control unit is overloaded, incompatible with the wireless device, or unable to reach the desired core network).

In certain embodiments, a base station (such as network node 160) may comprise both a control unit (gNB-CU) and a distribution unit (gNB-DU), and the base station may be configured to perform both methods depicted in Figures 9 and 11.

Figure 11 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1100 in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in Figure 5). The apparatus may be implemented in a network node (e.g., network node 160 shown in Figure 5). Apparatus 1100 is operable to carry out the example method described with reference to Figure 9 and Figure 10 and possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the method of Figure 9 and Figure 10 is not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus 1100. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1100 may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random- access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause control unit 1102, distribution unit 1104, and any other suitable units of apparatus 1100 to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in Figure 11, apparatus 1100 includes a control unit 1102 and a distribution unit 1104. Distribution unit 1104 receives a connection request from a wireless device and sends the connection request to control unit 1102. If control unit 1102 is unable to provide the requested connection, control unit 1102 rejects the connection and sends a notification to distribution unit 1104 indicating that control unit 1102 has rejected the connection associated with the wireless device. The rejection may indicate the reason for rejecting the connection request (such as control unit 1102 is overloaded, incompatible with the wireless device, or unable to reach the desired core network). Distribution unit 1104 responds to the wireless device based on receiving the notification that control unit 1102 has rejected the connection request. For example, distribution unit 1104 rejects the connection request or sets up the connection with a different control unit.

In some embodiments, control unit 1102 performs the functionality described with respect to any of Figures 2-4 and Tables 1 and 2 as being performed by gNB-CU, and distribution unit 1104 performs the functionality described with respect to any of Figures 2-4 and Tables 1 and 2 as being performed by gNB-DU.

FIGURE 12 illustrates an example method 1200 for use in a control unit of a network node, such as network node 160, 330, or 412. Method 1200 may begin at step 1210, in which a request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node is received. The request message is received by the CU via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node. For example, the request message may be received via the Fl connection between the CU and DU.

At step 1220, the control unit determines whether to admit or reject the requested connection. For example, the control unit may determine the requested resources and whether the control unit can accommodate the additional load, e.g., based on the predicted future load and the already committed resources. If the control unit can handle the load, it may determine to accept the connection, which is followed by the typical acceptance message and the connection being established in the usual manner.

However, if the CU determines to reject the requested connection, at step 1230, a rejection message may be transmitted to the wireless device via the DU. The rejection message indicates that the requested connection has been rejected. In some embodiments, the rejection message triggers a deallocation of resources that the DU has allocated to the wireless device. For example, method 1200 may further include signaling a reject indication to the DU serving the wireless device. The reject indication indicates to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected. Alternatively, as another example, the rejection message transmitted to the wireless device comprises a rejection indication for the DU, indicating to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected. For example, the DU RRC message transfer from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU in Figures 2-4 may include the rejection indication, e.g., via one or more information elements, such as those specified in Tables 1 and 2 above. In this manner, a rejection indication may be provided, from which the DU may determine that the connection request was rejected by the CU, even if earlier accepted by the DU.

In certain embodiments, the request message and rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging. In certain embodiments, a message used to carry the rejection message to wireless device indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection. The reason may be used to determine a next step for action by the DU or other network resources, such as reducing an attach rate of wireless devices or redirecting the wireless device to a different CU instance.

As a result, method 1200 may provide a more efficient technique to allow the DU to determine that the CU has rejected the wireless device’s connection request without waiting for later indications, thereby allowing the DU to free up resources unnecessarily allocated to the wireless device. For example, in some embodiments, the rejection message is transmitted prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU. Thus, the DU may determine the connection was rejected instead of waiting for the inactivity timer to expire.

FIGURE 13 illustrates an example method 1300 for use in a distribution unit (DU) of a network node, such as network node 160, 330, or 412. Method 1300 may begin at step 1310, in which, a request message is transmitted to a control unit (CU) of the network node. The request message indicates that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node. For example, the wireless device may transmit a connection request to the DU of the network node. The DU may determine to accept the request and forward the request message to the CU, where it may be accepted or denied.

At step 1320, the control unit may receive a rejection message from the CU. The rejection message indicates to the wireless device that the requested connection has been rejected by the CU. For example, even though the DU may have accepted the connection request, the CU may reject the connection request, e.g., because one or more planes of the CU is overloaded, the wireless device is not supported by the CU, or the CU cannot connect to the requested core network. At step 1330, the rejection message is forwarded to the wireless device.

Based on receiving and/or forwarding the rejection request, the DU may determine that the connection was rejected. For example, the DU may further receive a reject indication from the CU separate from the rejection message being forwarded from the CU to the wireless device. The reject indication indicates that the requested connection was rejected by the CU. In another example, a message from the CU to the DU carries the rejection message to be forwarded from the DU to the wireless device. The message carrying the rejection message may comprise a rejection indication for the DU. The rejection indiation indicates to the DU that the requested connection was rejected by the CU. For example, the DU RRC message transfer from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU in Figures 2-4 may include the rejection indication, e.g., via one or more information elements, such as those specified in Tables 1 and 2 above. Thus, there are several ways the DU can determine that the connection request was rejected more quickly. In certain embodiments, the rejection indication may be received prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU. Thus, the DU may act before it normally would be able to (e.g., the DU may act prior to the expiration of the inactivity timer). The action may include deallocating/reallocating resources of the DU that were allocated to the rejected connection.

In certain embodiments, a message used to carry the rejection message from the CU to the DU indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection. The reason includes comprises one or more of the following reasons: a control plane of the CU is overloaded; a user plane of the CU is overloaded; the capabilities of the wireless device are not supported by the CU; or the CU is not able to connect the wireless device to a core network to which the wireless device requests connection. In this manner, the DU may determine why the CU rejected the requested connection and take appropriate actions, e.g., redirecting the request to another CU or reducing the attach rate of the wireless devices.

In certain embodiments, method 1300 may include one or more additional or optional steps. For example, in certain embodiments, method 1300 may further include step 1340, in which the DU deallocates resources at the DU associated with the wireless device after receiving the rejection message from the CU. For example, the DU may have allocated resources and/or stored information about the wireless device after the DU accepted the connection request and sent it to the CU. If the connection is rejected, those resources need no longer be allocated to the wireless device. Thus, if the DU can determine that the connection was rejected by the CU, e.g., via the rejection message or another rejection indication from the CU, then it can reallocate those resources. In one example, the DU may release the UE context information in response to determining that the connection was rejected by the CU. In some embodiments, this process is enhanced because the rejection message or rejection indication is received earlier in time than the DU would normally determine that the connection was rejected, e.g., prior to expiry of the inactivity timer. As a result, method 1300 may allow the DU to more efficiently allocate/reallocate resources based on whether the wireless device’s connection request was rejected by the CU of the network node.

In certain embodiments, the request message and rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging. In some embodiments, the RRC messaging may be enhanced by one or more information elements that correspond to the indication that the connection was rejected and/or the cause of the rejection, as shown in Tables 1 and 2 above.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

SAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Group A Embodiments

1. A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising:

- sending a connection request to a base station;

- receiving an indication that the base station has rejected or transferred the connection request due to a rejection at a control unit of the base station.

2. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

- providing user data; and

- forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the base station. Group B Embodiments

3. A method performed by a control unit of a base station (e.g., gNB-CU), the method comprising:

- communicating a notification to a distribution unit of the base station (e.g., gNB- DU), the notification indicating that the control unit has rejected a connection request associated with a wireless device.

4. The method embodiment 3, wherein the notification comprises a reason that the control unit rejected the connection request associated with the wireless device.

5. The method of the embodiment 4, wherein the reason comprises one of the following reasons:

- a control plane of the control unit is overloaded;

- a user plane of the control unit is overloaded;

- the capabilities of the wireless device are not supported by the control unit; or

- the control unit is not able to connect the wireless device to a core network that the wireless device requests to connect to.

6. The method of any of embodiments 3-5, wherein the notification is sent via a downlink radio resource control (DL RRC) message transfer.

7. The method of any of embodiments 3-6, wherein the notification is sent in response to receiving the connection request from the distribution unit requesting to establish a connection for the wireless device.

8. The method of embodiment 7, wherein the connection request from the distribution unit comprises an initial uplink radio resource control (UL RRC) message.

9. The method of embodiment 8, wherein the UL RRC message comprises a result of call admission at the distribution unit.

10. A method performed by a distribution unit of a base station (e.g., gNB-DU), the method comprising:

- receiving a connection request from a wireless device;

- sending the connection request to a control unit of the base station (e.g., gNB-

CU);

- receiving a notification from the control unit, the notification indicating that the control unit has rejected the connection request associated with a wireless device; and - responding to the wireless device based on receiving the notification that the control unit has rejected the connection request associated with the wireless device.

11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the notification comprises a reason that the control unit rejected the connection request associated with the wireless device.

12. The method of embodiment 11, wherein the reason comprises one of the following reasons:

- a control plane of the control unit is overloaded;

- a user plane of the control unit is overloaded;

13. The method of any embodiments 10-12, wherein the notification is received in a downlink radio resource control (DL RRC) message transfer.

14. The method of any of the embodiments 10-13, wherein the connection request sent to the control unit comprises an initial uplink radio resource control (UL RRC) message.

15. The method of embodiment 14, wherein the UL RRC message comprises a result of call admission at the distribution unit.

16. The method of any of embodiments 10-15, wherein responding to the wireless device comprises sending a connection rejection message to the wireless device.

17. The method of any of embodiments 10-16, wherein responding to the wireless device comprises sending the wireless a back-off timer indicating that the wireless device is to wait for the back-off timer to expire before sending another connection request.

18. The method of any of embodiments 10-15, wherein responding to the wireless device comprises sending the wireless device a connection setup message that allows the wireless device to connect via a different instance of a control unit.

19. The method of embodiment 18, wherein the method performed by the distribution unit further comprises, after receiving the notification that the control unit has rejected the connection request associated with the wireless device, sending the connection request to a different instance of a control unit using a different SCTP association.

20. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

- obtaining user data; and

- forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device. Group C Embodiments

21. A wireless device, the wireless device comprising:

- processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and

- power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless device.

22. A base station, the base station comprising:

- processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments;

- power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless device.

23. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising:

- an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;

- radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;

- the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments;

- an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;

- an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and

- a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

24. A computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

25. A computer program product comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments. 26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or carrier comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

27. A computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

28. A computer program product comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or carrier comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

30. A communication system including a host computer comprising:

- processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

- a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),

- wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

31. The communication system of the pervious embodiment further including the base station.

32. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

33. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: - the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and

- the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

34. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

- at the host computer, providing user data; and

- at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

35. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

36. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

37. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to performs the of the previous 3 embodiments.

38. A communication system including a host computer comprising:

- processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

- a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),

- wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s components configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

39. The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE. 40. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein:

- the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and

- the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

41. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

- at the host computer, providing user data; and

- at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

42. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

43. A communication system including a host computer comprising:

- communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station,

- wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

44. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including the

UE.

45. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station. 46. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein:

- the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and

- the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

47. The communication system of the previous 4 embodiments, wherein:

- the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data; and

- the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

48. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

- at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

49. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

50. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising:

- at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and

- at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

51. The method of the previous 3 embodiments, further comprising:

- at the UE, executing a client application; and

- at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application, - wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

52. A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

53. The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

54. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

55. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein:

- the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application;

- the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer.

56. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

- at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

57. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

58. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. Although the present disclosure has been described with several embodiments, a myriad of changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a control unit (CU) of a network node, the method comprising:

receiving (1210) a request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node, the request message received by the CU via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node;

determining (1220) whether to admit or reject the requested connection; and in response to determining to reject the requested connection, transmitting (1230) a rejection message to the wireless device via the DU, the rejection message indicating that the requested connection has been rejected.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the rejection message triggers a deallocation of resources that the DU has allocated to the wireless device.

3. The method of any of Claims 1-2, further comprising signaling a reject indication to the DU serving the wireless device, indicating to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected.

4. The method of any of Claims 1-2, wherein a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message to be transmitted to the wireless device comprises a rejection indication for the DU, indicating to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected.

5. The method of any of Claims 1-4, wherein the message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message to wireless device indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection.

6. The method of any of Claims 1-5, wherein the request message and rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging.

7. The method of any of Claims 1-6, wherein the rejection message is transmitted prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU.

8. A control unit (CU) of a network node (160, 330, 412) comprising:

a memory (180, 390-1, 390-2) configured to store instructions; and

processing circuitry (170, 360) configured to execute the instructions, wherein the CU is configured to:

receive a request message indicating that a wireless device (110, 200, 330, 491, 492) has requested a connection with the network node, the request message received by the CU via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node;

determine whether to admit or reject the requested connection; and

in response to determining to reject the requested connection, transmit a rejection message to the wireless device via the DU, the rejection message indicating that the requested connection has been rejected.

9. The control unit of Claim 8, wherein the rejection message triggers a deallocation of resources that the DU has allocated to the wireless device.

10. The control unit of any of Claims 8-9, wherein the CU is further configured to signal a reject indication to the DU serving the wireless device, indicating to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected.

11. The control unit of any of Claims 8-9, wherein a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message to be transmitted to the wireless device comprises a rejection indication for the DU, indicating to the DU that the requested connection has been rejected.

12. The control unit of any of Claims 8-11, wherein a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message to be transmitted to wireless device indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection.

13. The control unit of any of Claims 8-12, wherein the request message and rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging.

14. The control unit of any of Claims 8-13, wherein the rejection message is transmitted prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU.

15. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium (180, 390-1, 390-2) storing computer readable program code, the computer readable program code comprises:

program code for receiving a request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with a network node, the request message received by a control unit (CU) of the network node via a distribution unit (DU) of the network node;

program code for determining whether to admit or reject the requested connection; and

program code for, in response to determining to reject the requested connection, transmitting a rejection message to the wireless device via the DU, the rejection message indicating that the requested connection has been rejected.

16. A method performed by a distribution unit (DU) of a network node, the method comprising:

transmitting (1310) a request message to a control unit (CU) of the network node, the request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node;

receiving (1320) a rejection message from the CU, wherein the rejection message indicates to the wireless device that the requested connection has been rejected by the CU; and

forwarding (1330) the rejection message to the wireless device.

17. The method of Claim 16, further comprising deallocating (1340) resources at the DU associated with the wireless device after receiving the rejection message from the CU.

18. The method of any of Claims 16-17, further comprising receiving a reject indication for the DU, the reject indication received from the CU separately from the rejection message for the wireless device, the reject indication indicating to the DU that the requested connection was rejected by the CU.

19. The method of any of Claims 16-17, wherein a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message comprises a rejection indication for the DU indicating to the DU that the requested connection was rejected by the CU.

20. The method of any of Claims 16-19, wherein a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection.

21. The method of any of Claims 16-20, wherein the request message and rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging.

22. The method of any of Claims 16-21, wherein the rejection message is received prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU, and wherein the method further comprises, prior to expiry of the inactivity timer, deallocating resources that the DU has already allocated to the wireless device.

23. A distribution unit (DU) of a network node (160, 330, 412) comprising:

a memory (180, 390-1, 390-2) configured to store instructions; and

processing circuitry (170, 360) configured to execute the instructions, wherein the DU is configured to:

transmit a request message to a control unit (CU) of the network node, the request message indicating that a wireless device (110, 200, 330, 491, 492) has requested a connection with the network node;

receive a rejection message from the CU, wherein the rejection message indicates to the wireless device that the requested connection has been rejected by the CU; and

forward the rejection message to the wireless device.

24. The distribution unit of Claim 23, further configured to deallocate resources at the DU associated with the wireless device after receiving the rejection message from the CU.

25. The distribution unit of any of Claims 23-24, further configured to receive a reject indication for the DU, the reject indication received from the CU separately from the rejection message for the wireless device, the reject indication indicating to the DU that the requested connection was rejected by the CU.

26. The distribution unit of any of Claims 23-24, wherein a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message comprises a rejection indication for the DU indicating to the DU that the requested connection was rejected by the CU.

27. The distribution unit of any of Claims 23-26, wherein a message from the CU to the DU carrying the rejection message indicates a reason why the CU rejected the requested connection.

28. The distribution unit of any of Claims 23-27, wherein the request message and rejection message are communicated using radio resource control (RRC) messaging.

29. The distribution unit of any of Claims 23-28, wherein the rejection message is received prior to expiry of an inactivity timer of the DU, and wherein the distribution unit is further configured to, prior to expiry of the inactivity timer, deallocate resources that the DU has already allocated to the wireless device.

30. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium (180, 390-1, 390-2) storing computer readable program code, the computer readable program code comprises:

program code for transmitting a request message to a control unit (CU) of a network node, the request message indicating that a wireless device has requested a connection with the network node;

program code for receiving a rejection message from the CU, wherein the rejection message indicates to the wireless device that the requested connection has been rejected by the CU; and

program code for forwarding the rejection message to the wireless device.