WO2020014968A1

WO2020014968A1 - Earthquake and tsunami warning system (etws) and commercial mobile alert service (cmas) in connected mode for the enhanced coverage user equipment (ue)

Info

Publication number: WO2020014968A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/096480
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chao Wei; Wanshi Chen; Alberto Rico Alvarino; Xiaofeng Wang; Ayan SENGUPTA; Le LIU
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2018-07-20
Filing date: 2018-07-20
Publication date: 2020-01-23

Abstract

In an aspect, a method of wireless communication includes receiving from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The method additionally includes receiving, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission. In another aspect, a method of wireless communication includes transmitting, by a base station to an EC eMTC UE operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an ETWS transmission or a CMAS transmission. The method additionally includes transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

Description

EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM (ETWS) AND COMMERCIAL MOBILE ALERT SERVICE (CMAS) IN CONNECTED MODE FOR THE ENHANCED COVERAGE USER EQUIPMENT (UE)

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) and commercial mobile alert service (CMAS) in connected mode for the enhanced coverage user equipment (UE) .

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources.

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations or node Bs that can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs) . A UE may communicate with a base station via downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.

A base station may transmit data and control information on the downlink to a UE and/or may receive data and control information on the uplink from the UE. On the downlink, a transmission from the base station may encounter interference due to transmissions from neighbor base stations or from other wireless radio frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink, a transmission from the UE may encounter interference from uplink transmissions of other UEs communicating with the neighbor base stations or from other wireless RF transmitters. This interference may degrade performance on both the downlink and uplink.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, the possibilities of interference and congested networks grows with more UEs accessing the long-range wireless communication networks and more short-range wireless systems being deployed in communities. Research and development continue to advance wireless communication technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect, a method of wireless communication includes receiving from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The method additionally includes receiving, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

In another aspect, a method of wireless communication includes transmitting, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The method additionally includes transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

In another aspect, a wireless communication apparatus has means for receiving from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The apparatus additionally has means for receiving, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

In another aspect, a wireless communication apparatus has means for transmitting, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The apparatus additionally has means for transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

In another aspect, a wireless communication apparatus has at least one computer processor and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to receive from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The at least one computer processor is also configured to receive, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

In another aspect, a wireless communication apparatus has at least one computer processor and at least one memory coupled to the at least one computer processor. The at least one computer processor is configured to transmit, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The at least one computer processor is also configured to transmit, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

In another aspect, a computer-readable medium has instructions recorded thereon that, when enacted by one or more computer processors, cause the one or more computer processors to receive from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to receive, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

In another aspect, a computer-readable medium has instructions recorded therein that, when enacted by one or more computer processors, cause the one or more computer processors to transmit, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. The instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to transmit, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. While features of the present invention may be discussed relative to certain embodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present invention can include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention discussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should be understood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of a wireless communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of a base station/gNB and a UE configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a graphical illustration of an example collision between paging MPDCCH and MPDCCH for unicast transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating a DCI format 6-0A for ETWS/CMAS notification according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating a DCI format 6-0B for ETWS/CMAS notification according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram illustrating example blocks of a wireless communication procedure carried out by a base station configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating example blocks of a wireless communication procedure carried out by a user equipment (UE) configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating example blocks of a wireless communication procedure carried out by a base station configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating example blocks of a wireless communication procedure carried out by a user equipment (UE) configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a base station configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a UE configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various possible configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every case and that, in some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form for clarity of presentation.

This disclosure relates generally to providing or participating in communication as between two or more wireless devices in one or more wireless communications systems, also referred to as wireless communications networks. In various embodiments, the techniques and apparatus may be used for wireless communication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, long term evolution (LTE) networks, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, as well as other communications networks. As described herein, the terms “networks” and “systems” may be used interchangeably according to the particular context.

A CDMA network, for example, may implement a radio technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) , cdma2000, and the like. UTRA includes wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and low chip rate (LCR) . CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards.

A TDMA network may, for example implement a radio technology such as GSM. 3GPP defines standards for the GSM EDGE (enhanced data rates for GSM evolution) radio access network (RAN) , also denoted as GERAN. GERAN is the radio component of GSM/EDGE, together with the network that joins the base stations (for example, the Ater and Abis interfaces) and the base station controllers (A interfaces, etc. ) . The radio access network represents a component of a GSM network, through which phone calls and packet data are routed from and to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and Internet to and from subscriber handsets, also known as user terminals or user equipments (UEs) . A mobile phone operator's network may comprise one or more GERANs, which may be coupled with Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Networks (UTRANs) in the case of a UMTS/GSM network. An operator network may also include one or more LTE networks, and/or one or more other networks. The various different network types may use different radio access technologies (RATs) and radio access networks (RANs) .

An OFDMA network may, for example, implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) , IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and the like. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) . In particular, LTE is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents provided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP) , and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2) . These various radio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations that aims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone specification. 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project aimed at improving the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) mobile phone standard. The 3GPP may define specifications for the next generation of mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices.

For clarity, certain aspects of the apparatus and techniques may be described below with reference to exemplary LTE implementations or in an LTE-centric way, and LTE terminology may be used as illustrative examples in portions of the description below; however, the description is not intended to be limited to LTE applications. Indeed, the present disclosure is concerned with shared access to wireless spectrum between networks using different radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.

Moreover, it should be understood that, in operation, wireless communication networks adapted according to the concepts herein may operate with any combination of licensed or unlicensed spectrum depending on loading and availability. Accordingly, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art that the systems, apparatus and methods described herein may be applied to other communications systems and applications than the particular examples provided.

While aspects and embodiments are described in this application by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional implementations and use cases may come about in many different arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein may be implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, packaging arrangements. For example, embodiments and/or uses may come about via integrated chip embodiments and/or other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, etc. ) . While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability of described innovations may occur. Implementations may range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to aggregated, distributed, or OEM devices or systems incorporating one or more described aspects. In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described embodiments. It is intended that innovations described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of implementations, including both large/small devices, chip-level components, multi-component systems (e.g. RF-chain, communication interface, processor) , distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, and constitution.

FIG. 1 shows wireless network 100 for communication according to some embodiments. While discussion of the technology of this disclosure is provided relative to an LTE-A network (shown in FIG. 1) , this is for illustrative purposes. Principles of the technology disclosed can be used in other network deployments, including fifth generation (5G) networks. As appreciated by those skilled in the art, components appearing in FIG. 1 are likely to have related counterparts in other network arrangements including, for example, cellular-style network arrangements and non-cellular-style-network arrangements (e.g., device to device or peer to peer or ad hoc network arrangements, etc. ) .

Turning back to FIG. 1 wireless network 100 includes a number of base stations, such as may comprise evolved node Bs (eNBs) or G node Bs (gNBs) . These may be referred to as gNBs 105. A gNB may be a station that communicates with the UEs and may also be referred to as a base station, a node B, an access point, and the like. Each gNB 105 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to this particular geographic coverage area of a gNB and/or a gNB subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In implementations of wireless network 100 herein, gNBs 105 may be associated with a same operator or different operators (e.g., wireless network 100 may comprise a plurality of operator wireless networks) , and may provide wireless communications using one or more of the same frequencies (e.g., one or more frequency band in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination thereof) as a neighboring cell.

A gNB may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or a small cell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, such as a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, such as a femto cell, would also generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG) , UEs for users in the home, and the like) . A gNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro gNB. A gNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell gNB, a pico gNB, a femto gNB or a home gNB. In the example shown in FIG. 1,

gNBs

105a, 105b and 105c are macro gNBs for the

macro cells

110a, 110b and 110c, respectively.

gNBs

105x, 105y, and 105z are small cell gNBs, which may include pico or femto gNBs that provide service to

small cells

110x, 110y, and 110z, respectively. A gNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.

Wireless network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the gNBs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different gNBs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the gNBs may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different gNBs may not be aligned in time. In some scenarios, networks may be enabled or configured to handle dynamic switching between synchronous or asynchronous operations.

UEs 115 are dispersed throughout wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. It should be appreciated that, although a mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in standards and specifications promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , such apparatus may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS) , a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT) , a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus or UE need not necessarily have a capability to move, and may be stationary. Some non-limiting examples of a mobile apparatus, such as may comprise embodiments of one or more of UEs 115, include a mobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal computer (PC) , a notebook, a netbook, a smart book, a tablet, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) . A mobile apparatus may additionally be an “Internet of things” (IoT) device such as an automotive or other transportation vehicle, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a logistics controller, a drone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a smart energy or security device, a solar panel or solar array, municipal lighting, water, or other infrastructure; industrial automation and enterprise devices; consumer and wearable devices, such as eyewear, a wearable camera, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a mammal implantable device, gesture tracking device, medical device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player) , a camera, a game console, etc.; and digital home or smart home devices such as a home audio, video, and multimedia device, an appliance, a sensor, a vending machine, intelligent lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. A mobile apparatus, such as UEs 115, may be able to communicate with macro gNBs, pico gNBs, femto gNBs, relays, and the like. In FIG. 1, a lightning bolt (e.g., communication links 125) indicates wireless transmissions between a UE and a serving gNB, which is a gNB designated to serve the UE on the downlink and/or uplink, or desired transmission between gNBs. Although backhaul communication 134 is illustrated as wired backhaul communications that may occur between gNBs, it should be appreciated that backhaul communications may additionally or alternatively be provided by wireless communications.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a design of base station/gNB 105 and UE 115. These can be one of the base stations/gNBs and one of the UEs in FIG. 1. For a restricted association scenario (as mentioned above) , the gNB 105 may be small cell gNB 105z in FIG. 1, and UE 115 may be UE 115z, which in order to access small cell gNB 105z, would be included in a list of accessible UEs for small cell gNB 105z. gNB 105 may also be a base station of some other type. gNB 105 may be equipped with antennas 234a through 234t, and UE 115 may be equipped with antennas 252a through 252r.

At gNB 105, transmit processor 220 may receive data from data source 212 and control information from controller/processor 240. The control information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) , physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) , physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel) PHICH, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) , etc. The data may be for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) , etc. Transmit processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols, e.g., for the primary synchronization signal (PSS) , secondary synchronization signal (SSS) , and cell-specific reference signal (CRS) . Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, and/or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc. ) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may additionally or alternatively process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via antennas 234a through 234t, respectively.

At UE 115, antennas 252a through 252r may receive the downlink signals from gNB 105 and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc. ) to obtain received symbols. MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. Receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 115 to data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to controller/processor 280.

On the uplink, at UE 115, transmit processor 264 may receive and process data (e.g., for the PUSCH) from data source 262 and control information (e.g., for the PUCCH) from controller/processor 280. Transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal. The symbols from transmit processor 264 may be precoded by TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc. ) , and transmitted to gNB 105. At gNB 105, the uplink signals from UE 115 may be received by antennas 234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 115. Processor 238 may provide the decoded data to data sink 239 and the decoded control information to controller/processor 240.

Controllers/

processors

240 and 280 may direct the operation at gNB 105 and UE 115, respectively. Controller/processor 240 and/or other processors and modules at gNB 105 and/or controllers/processor 280 and/or other processors and modules at UE 115 may perform or direct the execution of various processes for the techniques described herein, such as to perform or direct the execution illustrated in FIGS. 3-8, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein.

Memories

242 and 282 may store data and program codes for gNB 105 and UE 115, respectively. Scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink.

Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) and Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) in LTE provide emergency alerts by system information block (SIB) messages, with notifications provided to UEs via paging. ETWS/CMAS transmissions are different from other system information changes because ETWS/CMAS notification can occur at any time. The paging message is used to inform ETWS/CMAS capable UEs in idle mode about the presence of ETWS/CMAS notification, and the idle UEs then acquire the system information blocks to receive the ETWS/CMAS messages. In LTE, ETWS and/or CMAS capable UEs in connected mode attempt to read paging at least once every paging cycle to check whether ETWS and/or CMAS notification is present. A paging message including ETWS/CMAS notification triggers the connected mode UE to reacquire SIB1 immediately for scheduling information and acquire the system information messages for ETWS/CMAS.

Coverage enhancement technologies define two classes of enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. A first type of eMTC UE is a bandwidth reduced low complexity (BL) UE, and a second type of eMTC UE is an enhanced coverage (EC) UE. The BL UE can operate in any LTE system bandwidth, but with limited bandwidth of 6 physical resource blocks (PRBs) in DL and UL. The BL UE is also paged based on paging occasions in the time domain and paging narrow bands (NBs) in the frequency domain. The EC UE requires EC functionality to access the cells as defined in cell selection/re-selection procedures. Two modes are supported: mode A and mode B. When operating in EC, the EC UE also follows BL procedures, but a larger channel bandwidth is supported. A category M2 UE can support up to 5 MHz channel bandwidth in both UL and DL, while up to 20 MHz channel bandwidth can be configured in the downlink for the non-BL UE.

Paging for the BL/EC UE is used for direct notification of idle mode UEs about system information updates, ETWS, CMAS, and extended access barring (EAB) modification. The notification is carried on MPDCCH (Type1 common search for paging) and not on a paging message. In this context, a paging occasion (PO) refers to a subframe at the start of MPDCCH receptions addressed to paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI) . Additionally, a paging narrowband (PNB) corresponds to one narrowband in which the UE performs paging message reception. PNB is defined as a function of UE ID and the number of narrow bands configured for paging. For example, UE ID for BL/EC UEs is IMSI mod 16384. Also. a paging cycle (T) is determined by the shortest of the UE specific DRX value, if allocated by upper layers, and a default value broadcast in system information, such as a default paging cycle. In eMTC, the UE is only required to monitor paging in idle mode. The BL/CE UE is not required to simultaneously monitor MPDCCH UE-specific search space and Type1-CSS for paging.

The present disclosure envisions that evolution of the current eMTC standards may implement CE mode A and B improvements for the EC eMTC UEs. One such improvement proposed herein involves support of ETWS/CMAS in the connected mode. One option proposed herein is for connected mode EC eMTC UEs to attempt to read paging periodically. Another option proposed herein is for connected mode EC eMTC UEs to receive notifications in downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) . Another option proposed herein is for connected mode eMTC UEs to receive a wake up signal (WUS) . A further option proposed herein is for connected mode eMTC UEs to periodically attempt to read paging at a relatively low rate of periodicity, and also to receive notifications in DCI for in time and bursty communications. These solutions and further details are described below.

The option for connected mode EC eMTC UEs to attempt to read paging periodically is similar to LTE procedures for connected mode UEs. For example, the EC eMTC UE in connected mode may be required to attempt to read paging (i.e., Type1-MPDCCH CSS) at least once every default paging cycle to check whether ETWS/CMAS notification is present. Alternatively, it is envisioned that a different periodicity may be configured by a higher layer. However, the requirement for the connected mode EC eMTC UE to attempt to read paging means that the EC eMTC UE is required to simultaneously monitor UE specific search space and Type1 common search space. It also means that the EC eMTC UE is required to support simultaneous reception of unicast and broadcast in a same subframe. As noted above, for eMTC paging, the paging narrow band is defined as a function of UE ID. If paging narrow band and search space are both determined based on UE ID, then an issue arises that paging in connected mode may use the same configuration as paging in idle mode. As a result, the paging MPDCCH and unicast MPDCCH/PDSCH may be mapped to the same PRB pair in a subframe, which gives rise to the potential for a channel collision.

Channel collision may occur between MPDCCH for paging and MPDCCH for UL/DL scheduling, and/or between a scheduled PDSCH reception and paging MPDCCH monitoring. Accordingly, unlike in LTE connected mode paging procedures, the base station and EC eMTC UE may need to implement one or more procedures to handle a collision that occurs when a paging MPDCCH monitoring opportunity and the scheduled PDSCH reception or MPDCCH monitor for UL/DL scheduling fully or partially overlap in time. The present disclosure proposes two alternatives, which include always dropping the paging MPDCCH in collision subframes, or else allowing the option for the base station to either drop the paging MPDCCH in all collision subframes or else drop the scheduled PDSCH transmission or the scheduled MPDCCH transmission for UL/DL scheduling in all collision subframes.

For the alternative in which the paging MPDCCH is always dropped in collision subframes, the scheduled PDSCH reception and MPDCCH monitoring for UL/DL scheduling are prioritized over paging MPDCCH. Accordingly, the UE may assume that paging MPDCCH is dropped in the collision subframe. In contrast, for the alternative that allows that the paging MPDCCH may or may not be dropped according to gNB implementation, the UE may blindly detect whether paging is dropped in the collision subframes for decoding paging MPDCCH. In this alternative, it is envisioned that the UE need not expect different transmission behaviors per paging occasion. Accordingly, when the UE determines that paging from a base station is dropped in one collision subframe, then it may thereafter assume that paging from that base station is also dropped in all other collision subframes within one paging cycle. This procedure allows the UE to detect the presence of paging MPDCCH in the collision subframes by combining demodulation reference signal (DMRS) across all the collision subframes. This capability arises because the DMRS sequence for paging MPDCCH is different from the DMRS sequence for unicast MPDCCH/PDSCH, which is initialized based on cell ID. In contrast, the DMRS for paging is initialized based on UE specific ID and the starting subframe intended for paging.

Referring to FIG. 3, an example of collision between a paging monitoring occasion and unicast transmission occurs because a same narrowband NB0 is used for paging MPDCCH CSS and unicast MPDCCH USS. In FIG. 3, an ordinate axis corresponds to frequency, and an abscissa corresponds to time. In this example, a narrowband NB2 for scheduled PDSCH 304 avoids colliding with the paging MPDCCH, and

paging monitoring opportunities

300A and 300B occur once per paging cycle 302.

MPDCCH candidates

306A and 306B occur at a different periodicity compared to that of the

paging monitoring opportunities

300A and 300B, but temporal overlap regions thereof create

potential collisions

308A and 308B. An EC eMTC UE can determine that paging is dropped in the collision subframes 308A by detecting a first demodulation reference signal DMRS#1 in one or more collision subframes. In another example, the EC eMTC UE can determine that paging is not dropped in the collision subframes 308B by detecting a second demodulation reference signal DMRS#2 in one or more collision subframes. Alternatively or additionally, if paging is dropped in all collision subframes, the EC eMTC UE can determine that paging is dropped in all collision subframes because all of the collision subframes will exhibit only the first demodulation reference signal DMRS#1 of the MPDCCH for PDSCH. Accordingly, based on blind detection of a DMRS sequence in the collision subframes, the connected mode EC eMTC UE can detect the presence of paging MPDCCH for ETWS/CMAS.

As noted above, the narrowband for paging monitoring may be implicitly determined from UE ID. Alternatively or additionally, it is envisioned that the narrowband may be configured by a higher layer. For example, a non-overlapping narrowband may be configured for paging monitor in connected mode, so that collisions may not occur.

As also noted above, a default paging cycle may be used for the periodicity of paging monitoring. The default paging cycle is broadcast in system information with a set values of {32, 64, 128, 256} frames. Alternatively or additionally, it is envisioned that a different periodicity for paging monitoring in connected mode may be configured by a higher layer. For example, a UE specific value longer than the default paging cycle, such as 512 frames, may be configured for paging monitor in connected mode. This implementation may be beneficial for UE power saving.

It is further envisioned that a maximum number of repetitions for paging MPDCCH can be increased up to 2048 for paging monitor in connected mode. Increasing the maximum number of paging repetitions may be useful when paging is dropped due to due to collisions. The set of values for R _max, paging in idle mode are {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256} . Accordingly, increasing the maximum number of repetitions for connected mode can increase the opportunities for the EC eMTC UE to read paging at a paging occasion in which the paging is not dropped.

The option proposed herein for connected mode EC eMTC UEs to receive notifications in downlink control information (DCI) may use a DCI mapped to the same PRB set that is used for unicast MPDCCH to indicate whether the ETWS/CMAS notification is present. One envisioned implementation uses the dedicated DCI scrambled by cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on either UE specific search space or Type-0 common search space. An alternative implementation may use the group-common DCI scrambled by group-common-RNTI on Type-0 common search space.

For the implementation that uses the dedicated DCI scrambled by cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on either UE specific search space or Type-0 common search space, analogous to PDCCH order, the DCI for UL grant (e.g., DCI format 6-0A/6-0B) may be used. In this case, a method to differentiate normal UL scheduling and ETWS/CMAS notification may depend on coverage-enhanced (CE) mode. For CE mode A, a resource block assignment field with all bits set to 1 may indicate ETWS/CMAS notification is present. For CE mode B, in addition to the resource block assignment field, the two most significant bits (MSB) in the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field can be fixed to 11 to indicate that ETWS/CMAS is present. Setting these bits to 11 is an option for indicating presence of the notification because only MCS indices 0-10 are valid for UL scheduling.

If the connected mode EC eMTS UE determines that the DCI is actually a DCI for ETWS/CMAS direct indication based on the above rule, then the UE may interpret the remaining bits of the DCI as the fields of an MPDCCH for ETWS/CMAS notification. For example, one bit in the DCI may be used to indicate the presence of each of ETWS or CMAS, and all the remaining bits in the DCI may be set to zero. FIG. 4A provides a comparison of DCI format 6-0A for normal UL scheduling on the right and a DCI format 6-0A for ETWS/CMAS notification on the left. FIG. 4B provides a comparison of DCI format 6-0B for normal UL scheduling on the right and a DCI format 6-0B for ETWS/CMAS notification on the left.

For the alternative implementation that uses the group-common DCI scrambled by group-common-RNTI on Type-0 common search space, a new group-common DCI may be defined. For example, the new group common DCI may carry direct indication of ETWS/CMAS for a group of UEs, such as one bit for ETWS notification and another bit for CMAS notification. In order to avoid increasing the number of blind decoding attempts for MPDCCH, the new group common DCI in CE mode A may have the same size as DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and the Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A may be reused for the group common DCI. Also, if the group-common DCI is supported in CE mode B, then a new common search space with specific periodicity may be defined. In this case, the DCI size may be the same as DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, the scrambling code and narrowband may be the same as USS, and the same PRB set (s) may be used for USS and CSS.

Regarding the option proposed herein for connected mode eMTC UEs to receive a wake up signal (WUS) , this WUS may be used to replace MPDCCH monitoring for power saving. The reception of WUS in connected mode triggers the UE to re-acquire the SIB1 and the SI messages for ETWS/CMAS. Here, it is envisioned that WUS design for idle mode can be reused, but with a few changes due to no need to support the association between the WUS and the PO as is needed in idle mode. For example, the WUS in connected mode can be in the same narrowband as unicast MPDCCH/PDSCH, which implies that frequency hopping may also be supported for the WUS. Also, the WUS time location in connected mode, such as the starting subframe and duration, may be configurable to align the WUS configuration among UEs, thus allowing one WUS to be received by a group of UEs. It is envisioned that two WUSs on different PRBs can be configured, including one WUS for ETWS notification and another WUS for CMAS notification. It is further envisioned that a procedure for handling a channel collision between WUS and unicast MPDCCH/PDSCH may be defined, such as either to always drop WUS in the partially or fully overlapping PRBs, or allow a base station the option always to drop either the WUS or the MPDCCH/PDSCH in partially or fully overlapping PRBs.

Regarding the option proposed herein for connected mode eMTC UEs to periodically attempt to read paging at a relatively low rate of periodicity, and also to receive notifications in DCI, this option addresses the concern that always monitoring paging MPDCCH per paging occasion is expensive, especially in terms of power consumption. However, paging is more effective in delivering such messages (ETWS/CMAS) due to broadcast transmission. The proposed solution is to have the connected mode EC eMTC UE monitor paging occasions periodically at a rate that is less than every paging occasion, and also use a UE specific DCI to indicate either the need to monitor a next paging occasion (i.e., DCI-triggered paging occasion monitor) or direction indication of ETWS/CMAS. In other words, the periodic sparse paging occasion monitoring provides regular transmission to a group of UEs, and the DCI-triggered paging occasion monitoring provides in-time and bursty indication to a dedicated UE. This option provides a good trade-off between UE power consumption and in-time delivery of ETWS and CMAS notification.

Regarding further details for using one or more of the options described above, it is envisioned that the gNB may have UEs of two types. For example, one type of UE may support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode (i.e., UEs that monitor paging in connected mode) , and another type of UE may not support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode. Thus, it is useful for the UE to report its capability of supporting ETWS/CMAS in connected mode. Then, for connected mode EC eMTC UEs that indicate capability, the gNB does not release them to idle for ETWS/CMAS transmissions, because they will get ETWS/CMAS notification in connected mode. However, for connected mode EC eMTC UEs that do not indicate such capability, the gNB may release them to idle for receiving ETWS/CMAS transmissions. Additionally, even for an EC eMTC UE that supports ETWS/CMAS in connected mode, the gNB may signal whether the gNB plans to use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode procedures. For example, an EC eMTC UE that supports ETWS/CMAS in connected mode may be connected to a legacy base station that does not have the capability to implement such procedures. In this case, the UE could be monitoring paging all the time, with a corresponding increase in power consumption, but the legacy base station would still release this UE if there is an ETWS/CMAS event. Thus, it is beneficial for the gNB to signal whether it plans to make use of connected mode ETWS/CMAS notification procedures. This signal can be in RRC signaling, which can be either dedicated or, preferably, system information. If the EC eMTC UE signals its capability to supported connected mode ETWS/CMAS notification but receives no response from the base station indicating that the base station will use such procedures, then the UE may avoid implementing the procedures, such as monitoring paging.

Turning now to FIG. 5A, a method of wireless communication for a base station begins at block 510. Block 510 includes transmitting, by the base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. Processing may proceed from block 510 to block 512.

Block 512 includes transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission. Processing may return from block 512 to an earlier point in the process, such as block 510. Alternatively, processing may end.

Transmitting the notification at block 512 may include determining, by the base station, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission or a scheduled MPDCCH transmission for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling, and determining a transmission for paging MPDCCH. For example, the base station may determine the transmission for paging MPDCCH by dropping the paging MPDCCH in all collision subframes per paging cycle corresponding to the overlap in time. Alternatively, the base station may determine the transmission for paging MPDCCH by dropping the scheduled PDSCH transmission or the scheduled MPDCCH transmission for UL/DL scheduling in all of the collision subframes per paging cycle corresponding to the overlap in time. When transmitting the notification by paging in this manner, it is envisioned that, at block 512, the base station may configure a narrowband for paging monitoring for the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, configure a periodicity for the connected mode EC eMTC UE to attempt to read paging, and/or repeat paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.

Alternatively or additionally, transmitting the notification at block 512 may include transmitting, by the base station, the notification in downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) . It is envisioned that the DCI may be a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space. Additionally, it is envisioned that the DCI may be at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B. Also, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A may be set to 1 to indicate the notification. Further, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B may both be set to 1 to indicate the notification. Further, remaining bits of the DCI may be employed as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification. It is alternatively or additionally envisioned that the DCI may be a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space. For example, the group-common DCI may carry the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs. Also, the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A may have a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A may be reused for the group-common DCI. Further, in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B, the base station may utilize a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.

Alternatively or additionally, transmitting the notification at block 512 may include transmitting, by the base station, the notification to the connected mode EC eMTS UE as at least one wake up signal (WUS) . For example, the WUS may be the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for a few differences. One difference may be that the WUS in connected mode may have a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) . Another difference may be that a time location of the WUS in connected mode may be configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs. It is further envisioned that transmitting the WUS at block 512 may involve transmission of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) that provides notification of ETWS transmission, and transmission of a second WUS on a second PRB that provides notification of CMAS transmission.

Alternatively or additionally, transmitting the notification at block 512 may include periodically transmitting, by the base station, the notification to the connected mode EC eMTC UE at a rate having a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle, and transmitting an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) . For example, the indication in the DCI may directly serve as the notification. Alternatively or additionally, the indication in the DCI may direct the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.

Referring to FIG. 5B, a method of wireless communication for a connected mode EC eMTC UE begins at block 550. Block 550 includes receiving from a base station, by the enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission. Processing may proceed from block 550 to block 552.

Block 552 includes receiving, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission. Processing may return from block 552 to an earlier point in the process, such as block 550. Alternatively, processing may end.

Receiving the notification at block 550 may include receiving the notification, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, at least in part by attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification. Attempting to read paging may include simultaneously monitoring a UE specific search space and a Type-1 common specific search space, and simultaneously receiving unicast and broadcast transmissions in a same subframe. Attempting to read paging may also include determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling. In such cases, the attempting to read paging may include assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time. Alternatively or additionally, the attempting to read paging may include determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling. In such cases, the attempting to read paging may include blindly detecting, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, whether the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time. Upon such blind detection, the attempting to read paging may include assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to blindly detecting that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in the collision subframe, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in one or more subsequent collision subframes within one paging cycle. When receiving the notification by paging in this manner, the EC eMTC UE may determine a narrowband for paging monitoring implicitly based on UE identity and/or based on a configuration by one or more higher layers. Also, the EC eMTC UE may attempt to read paging at least once per default paging cycle or according to a periodicity configured by one or more higher layers. Further, the EC eMTC UE may attempt to read paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.

Alternatively or additionally, receiving the notification at block 550 may include receiving the notification, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, in a downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) . For example, the DCI may be a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell–radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space. In such a case, the DCI may be at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B. Additionally, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A may be set to 1 to indicate the notification, and for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B may both be set to 1 to indicate the notification. Further, in response to determining that the DCI contains the notification, the EC eMTC UE may interpret remaining bits of the DCI as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification. Alternatively, the DCI may be a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space. In such a case, the group-common DCI may carry the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs. Also, in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, the group-common DCI may have a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A may be reused for the group-common DCI. Further, the EC eMTC UE in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B may observe a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.

Alternatively or additionally, receiving the notification at block 550 may include receiving the notification, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, as at least one wake up signal (WUS) . For example, the WUS may be the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except that the WUS in connected mode may have a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) , and a time location of the WUS in connected mode may be configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs. Also, receipt of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) may provide notification of ETWS transmission, and receipt of a second WUS on a second PRB may provide notification of CMAS transmission.

Alternatively or additionally, receiving the notification at block 550 may include receiving the notification at least in part by attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, wherein the attempting occurs at a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle. In such a case, then, receiving the notification at block 550 may also include receiving an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) that directly serves as the notification and/or directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.

Referring now to FIG. 6A, a method of wireless communication for a base station begins at block 604. Block 604 includes receiving, by the base station from the EC eMTC UE, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode. Processing may proceed from block 604 to block 606.

Block 606 includes transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode. Processing may proceed from block 606 to block 608.

At block 608, for connected mode UEs that do not report capability to support ETWS/CMAS, the base station releases those connected mode UEs to idle mode for ETWS/CMAS. Processing may proceed from block 608 to

blocks

610 and 612, which operate as described above with respect to

blocks

610 and 612 of FIG. 5A.

Referring now to FIG. 6B, a method of wireless communication for an EC eMTC UE in connected mode begins at block 646. Block 646 includes transmitting, by the EC eMTC UE to a base station, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode. Processing may proceed from block 646 to block 648.

Block 648 includes receiving, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode. Processing may proceed from block 648 to

blocks

650 and 652, which operate as described above with respect to

blocks

650 and 652 of FIG. 5B. However, it may be appreciated that the EC eMTC UE may receive the notification at block 650 in response to receipt, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, of the indication at block 648.

Turning now to FIG. 7, a base station 700, such as a NR-SS base station 105 (see FIG. 2) , may have a controller/processor 240, a memory 242, and antennas 234a through 234t, as described above. The base station 700 may also have wireless radios 701a to 701t that comprise additional components also described above with reference to FIG. 2. The memory 242 of base station 700 stores algorithms that configure processor/controller 240 to carry out procedures as described above with reference to FIGS. 3-6.

Algorithms stored by memory 242 configure processor/controller 240 to carry out operations relating to wireless communication by the base station 700, as described herein. For example, connected mode capability receiver 702 configures controller processor 240 to carry out operations that include receiving, by the base station from a connected mode EC eMTC UE, a report of the UE’s capability to support ETWS/CMAS notification procedures in connected mode in any manner described herein. Additionally, connected mode usage transmitter 703 configures controller processor 240 to carry out operations that include transmitting, by the base station 700 to the connected mode EC eMTC UE, an indication whether the base station will use connected mode ETWS/CMAS notification procedures in any manner described herein. Also, connected mode UE releaser 704 configures controller processor 240 to carry out operations that include releasing to idle mode, by the base station 700, connected mode UEs that did not report capability to support connected mode ETWS/CMAS notification procedures in any manner described herein. Further, notification transmitter 705 configures controller processor 240 to carry out operations that include transmitting, by the base station 700 to the connected mode EC eMTC UE, a notification of ETWS/CMAS transmission in any manner described herein. Further, ETWS/CMAS transmitter 706 configures controller processor 240 to carry out operations that include transmitting, by the base station 700 to the connected mode EC eMTC UE, the ETWS/CMAS transmission in any manner described herein.

Turning now to FIG. 8, a UE 800, such as a UE 115 (see FIG. 2) , may have a controller/processor 280, a memory 282, and antennas 252a through 252r, as described above. UE 800 may also have wireless radios 801a to 801r that comprise additional components also described above with reference to FIG. 2. The memory 282 of UE 800 stores algorithms that configure processor/controller 280 to carry out procedures as described above with reference to FIGS. 3-6.

Algorithms stored by memory 282 configure processor/controller 280 to carry out procedures relating to wireless communication by the UE 800, as described herein. For example, connected mode capability transmitter 802 configures controller processor 280 to carry out operations that include transmitting to a base station, by the connected mode EC eMTC UE 800, a report of capability of the UE 800 to support connected mode ETWS/CMAS notification procedures in any manner described herein. Additionally, connected mode usage receiver 803 configures controller processor 280 to carry out operations that include receiving from the base station, by the connected mode EC eMTC UE 800, an indication whether the base station will use connected mode ETWS/CMAS notification procedures in any manner described herein. Also, notification receiver 804 configures controller processor 280 to carry out operations that include receiving from the base station, by the connected mode EC eMTC UE 800, the connected mode ETWS/CMAS notification in any manner described herein. Further, ETWS/CMAS receiver 805 configures controller processor 280 to carry out operations that include receiving from the base station, by the connected mode EC eMTC UE 800, the ETWS/CMAS transmission in any manner described herein.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The functional blocks and modules described herein (e.g., the functional blocks and modules in FIGs. 2 and 5-8) may comprise processors, electronics devices, hardware devices, electronics components, logical circuits, memories, software codes, firmware codes, etc., or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. Skilled artisans will also readily recognize that the order or combination of components, methods, or interactions that are described herein are merely examples and that the components, methods, or interactions of the various aspects of the present disclosure may be combined or performed in ways other than those illustrated and described herein.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Computer-readable storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, a connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL) , then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or DSL, are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD) , laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , hard disk, solid state disk, and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or, ” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or any of these in any combination thereof.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

Claims

A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

receiving, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The method of claim 1, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, and the attempting to read paging includes:

simultaneously monitoring a UE specific search space and a Type-1 common specific search space, and

simultaneously receiving unicast and broadcast transmissions in a same subframe.
The method of claim 2, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The method of claim 2, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

blindly detecting, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, whether the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The method of claim 4, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to blindly detecting that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in the collision subframe, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in one or more subsequent collision subframes.
The method of claim 2, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging at least one of:

at least once per default paging cycle; or

according to a periodicity configured by one or more higher layers.
The method of claim 2, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The method of claim 1, wherein the EC eMTC UE determines a narrowband for paging monitoring at least one of:

implicitly based on UE identity; or

based on a configuration by one or more higher layers that configures a non-overlapping narrowband for paging monitor in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The method of claim 1, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification in a downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The method of claim 9, wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The method of claim 10, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The method of claim 11, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The method of claim 11, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The method of claim 11, wherein the EC eMTC UE, in response to determining that the DCI contains the notification, interprets remaining bits of the DCI as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The method of claim 9, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The method of claim 15, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The method of claim 15, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The method of claim 15, wherein the EC eMTC UE in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B observes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The method of claim 1, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The method of claim 19, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The method of claim 19, wherein receipt of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and receipt of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The method of claim 1, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by:

attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, wherein the attempting occurs at a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle; and

receiving an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the EC eMTC UE to the base station, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

receiving, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode,

wherein the EC eMTC UE receives the notification in response to receipt, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, of the indication.
A method of wireless communication, comprising:

transmitting, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The method of claim 24, wherein the transmitting the notification includes:

determining, by the base station, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission or a scheduled MPDCCH transmission for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

determining a transmission for paging MPDCCH as at least of one of:

dropping the paging MPDCCH in all collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time; or

dropping the scheduled PDSCH transmission or the scheduled MPDCCH transmission for UL/DL scheduling in all of the collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time.
The method of claim 25, wherein the base station configures a periodicity for the connected mode EC eMTC UE to attempt to read paging.
The method of claim 25, wherein the base station repeats paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The method of claim 24, wherein the base station configures a narrowband for paging monitoring for the EC eMTC UE in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The method of claim 24, wherein the base station transmits the notification in downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The method of claim 29, wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The method of claim 30, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The method of claim 31, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The method of claim 31, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The method of claim 31, wherein remaining bits of the DCI are employed as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The method of claim 29, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The method of claim 35, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The method of claim 35, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The method of claim 35, wherein, in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B, the base station utilizes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The method of claim 24, wherein the base station transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTS UE as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The method of claim 39, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The method of claim 39, wherein transmission of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and transmission of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The method of claim 24, wherein the base station periodically transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTC UE at a rate having a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle, and transmits an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The method of claim 24, further comprising:

receiving, by the base station from the EC eMTC UE, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode.
The method of claim 43, further comprising, for connected mode UEs that do not report capability to support ETWS/CMAS, releasing the connected mode UEs to idle mode for ETWS/CMAS.
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

means for receiving, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, and the attempting to read paging includes:

means for simultaneously monitoring a UE specific search space and a Type-1 common specific search space, and

means for simultaneously receiving unicast and broadcast transmissions in a same subframe.
The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

means for determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

means for assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

means for determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

means for blindly detecting, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, whether the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

means for assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to blindly detecting that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in the collision subframe, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in one or more subsequent collision subframes.
The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging at least one of:

at least once per default paging cycle; or

according to a periodicity configured by one or more higher layers.
The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the EC eMTC UE has means for determining a narrowband for paging monitoring at least one of:

implicitly based on UE identity; or

based on a configuration by one or more higher layers that configures a non-overlapping narrowband for paging monitor in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification in a downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The apparatus of claim 55, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 55, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the EC eMTC UE, in response to determining that the DCI contains the notification, interprets remaining bits of the DCI as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the EC eMTC UE in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B observes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The apparatus of claim 63, wherein receipt of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and receipt of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by:

attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, wherein the attempting occurs at a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle; and

receiving an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 45, further comprising:

means for transmitting, by the EC eMTC UE to the base station, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

means for receiving, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode,

wherein the EC eMTC UE receives the notification in response to receipt, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, of the indication.
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for transmitting, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

means for transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the means for transmitting the notification includes:

means for determining, by the base station, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission or a scheduled MPDCCH transmission for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

means for determining a transmission for paging MPDCCH as at least of one of:

dropping the paging MPDCCH in all collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time; or

dropping the scheduled PDSCH transmission or the scheduled MPDCCH transmission for UL/DL scheduling in all of the collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time.
The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the base station configures a periodicity for the connected mode EC eMTC UE to attempt to read paging.
The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the base station repeats paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the base station configures a narrowband for paging monitoring for the EC eMTC UE in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the base station transmits the notification in downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The apparatus of claim 75, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 75, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 75, wherein remaining bits of the DCI are employed as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The apparatus of claim 79, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The apparatus of claim 79, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The apparatus of claim 79, wherein, in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B, the base station utilizes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the base station transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTS UE as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The apparatus of claim 83, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The apparatus of claim 83, wherein transmission of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and transmission of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the base station periodically transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTC UE at a rate having a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle, and transmits an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 68, further comprising:

means for receiving, by the base station from the EC eMTC UE, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

means for transmitting, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode.
The apparatus of claim 87 further comprising, for connected mode UEs that do not report capability to support ETWS/CMAS, means for releasing the connected mode UEs to idle mode for ETWS/CMAS.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising: :

program code executable by a computer for causing the computer to receive from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to receive, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 89, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, and the attempting to read paging includes:

simultaneously monitoring a UE specific search space and a Type-1 common specific search space, and

simultaneously receiving unicast and broadcast transmissions in a same subframe.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 90, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 90, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

blindly detecting, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, whether the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 92, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to blindly detecting that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in the collision subframe, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in one or more subsequent collision subframes.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 90, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging at least one of:

at least once per default paging cycle; or

according to a periodicity configured by one or more higher layers.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 90, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The method of claim 89, wherein the EC eMTC UE determines a narrowband for paging monitoring at least one of:

implicitly based on UE identity; or

based on a configuration by one or more higher layers that configures a non-overlapping narrowband for paging monitor in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 89, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification in a downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 97 wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 98, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 99, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 99, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 99, wherein the EC eMTC UE, in response to determining that the DCI contains the notification, interprets remaining bits of the DCI as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 97, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 103, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 103, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 103, wherein the EC eMTC UE in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B observes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 89, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 107, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 107, wherein receipt of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and receipt of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 89, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by:

attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, wherein the attempting occurs at a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle; and

receiving an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 89, further comprising:

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to transmit, by the EC eMTC UE to the base station, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to receive, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode,

wherein the EC eMTC UE receives the notification in response to receipt, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, of the indication.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising:

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to transmit, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to transmit, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 112, wherein the program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to transmit the notification includes:

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to determine, by the base station, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission or a scheduled MPDCCH transmission for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to determine a transmission for paging MPDCCH as at least of one of:

dropping the paging MPDCCH in all collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time; or

dropping the scheduled PDSCH transmission or the scheduled MPDCCH transmission for UL/DL scheduling in all of the collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 113, wherein the base station configures a periodicity for the connected mode EC eMTC UE to attempt to read paging.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 113, wherein the base station repeats paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 112, wherein the base station configures a narrowband for paging monitoring for the EC eMTC UE in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 112, wherein the base station transmits the notification in downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 117, wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 118, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 119, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 119, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 119, wherein remaining bits of the DCI are employed as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 117, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 123, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 123, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 123, wherein, in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B, the base station utilizes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 112, wherein the base station transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTS UE as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 127, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 127, wherein transmission of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and transmission of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 112, wherein the base station periodically transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTC UE at a rate having a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle, and transmits an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 112, further comprising:

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to receive, by the base station from the EC eMTC UE, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to transmit, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 131, further comprising, for connected mode UEs that do not report capability to support ETWS/CMAS, program code executable by the computer for causing the computer to release the connected mode UEs to idle mode for ETWS/CMAS.
An apparatus configured for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor;

wherein the at least one processor is configured:

:

to receive from a base station, by an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

to receive, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the notification, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 133, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, and the attempting to read paging includes:

simultaneously monitoring a UE specific search space and a Type-1 common specific search space, and

simultaneously receiving unicast and broadcast transmissions in a same subframe.
The apparatus of claim 134, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The apparatus of claim 134, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

determining, by the EC eMTC UE in connected mode, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

blindly detecting, by the EC eMTC UE in response to the determining, whether the paging MPDCCH is dropped in a collision subframe corresponding to the overlap in time.
The apparatus of claim 136, wherein the attempting to read paging includes:

assuming, by the EC eMTC UE in response to blindly detecting that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in the collision subframe, that the paging MPDCCH is dropped in one or more subsequent collision subframes.
The apparatus of claim 134, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging at least one of:

at least once per default paging cycle; or

according to a periodicity configured by one or more higher layers.
The apparatus of claim 134, wherein the EC eMTC UE attempts to read paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The apparatus of claim 133, wherein the EC eMTC UE determines a narrowband for paging monitoring at least one of:

implicitly based on UE identity; or

based on a configuration by one or more higher layers that configures a non-overlapping narrowband for paging monitor in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The apparatus of claim 133, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification in a downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The apparatus of claim 141, wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The apparatus of claim 142, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The apparatus of claim 143, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 143, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 143, wherein the EC eMTC UE, in response to determining that the DCI contains the notification, interprets remaining bits of the DCI as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 141, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The apparatus of claim 147, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The apparatus of claim 147, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The apparatus of claim 147, wherein the EC eMTC UE in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B observes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The apparatus of claim 133, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The apparatus of claim 151, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The apparatus of claim 151, wherein receipt of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and receipt of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 133, wherein the EC eMTC UE in connected mode receives the notification at least in part by:

attempting to read paging to check for presence of the notification, wherein the attempting occurs at a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle; and

receiving an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 133, whereint he at least one processor is further configured:

to transmit, by the EC eMTC UE to the base station, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

to receive, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode,

wherein the EC eMTC UE receives the notification in response to receipt, by the EC eMTC UE from the base station, of the indication.
An apparatus configured for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor;

wherein the at least one processor is configured: :

to transmit, by a base station to an enhanced coverage (EC) enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) user equipment (UE) operating in connected mode, a notification of at least one of an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) transmission or a commercial mobile alert (CMAS) transmission; and

to transmit, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, the at least one of the ETWS transmission or the CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 156, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit the notification at least in part by:

determining, by the base station, that a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity at least partially overlaps in time with at least one of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission or a scheduled MPDCCH transmission for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling; and

determining a transmission for paging MPDCCH as at least of one of:

dropping the paging MPDCCH in all collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time; or

dropping the scheduled PDSCH transmission or the scheduled MPDCCH transmission for UL/DL scheduling in all of the collision subframes corresponding to the overlap in time.
The apparatus of claim 157, wherein the base station configures a periodicity for the connected mode EC eMTC UE to attempt to read paging.
The apparatus of claim 157, wherein the base station repeats paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) for a maximum number of repetitions equal to 2048.
The apparatus of claim 156, wherein the base station configures a narrowband for paging monitoring for the EC eMTC UE in connected mode to ensure that no collisions occur between a paging MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) monitoring opportunity and a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception or a MPDCCH candidate for uplink/downlink (UL/DL) scheduling.
The apparatus of claim 156, wherein the base station transmits the notification in downlink control information (DCI) mapped to a physical resource block (PRB) set for unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) .
The apparatus of claim 161, wherein the DCI is a dedicated DCI scrambled by cell –radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) on at least one of a UE specific search space or a Type-0 common search space.
The apparatus of claim 162, wherein the DCI is at least one of format 6-0A or format 6-0B.
The apparatus of claim 163, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A, all bits of a resource block assignment field in DCI format 6-0A are set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 163, wherein, for coverage-enhanced (CE) mode B, two most significant bits in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in DCI format 6-0B are both set to 1 to indicate the notification.
The apparatus of claim 163, wherein remaining bits of the DCI are employed as fields of a MPDCCH for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 161, wherein the DCI is a group-common DCI scrambled by group-common radio network temporary identifier (group-common-RNTI) on common search space.
The apparatus of claim 167, wherein the group-common DCI carries the notification for a group of EC eMTC UEs.
The apparatus of claim 167, wherein the group-common DCI in coverage-enhanced (CE) mode A has a same size as a DCI format 6-0A/6-1A, and a Type-0 common search space for DCI format 6-0A/6-1A is reused for the group-common DCI.
The apparatus of claim 167, wherein, in coverage enhanced (CE) mode B, the base station utilizes a common search space (CSS) having a specific periodicity on which the DCI has a same size as a DCI format 6-0B/6-1B, a scrambling code and narrow band are the same as for a user specific search space (USS) , and same physical resource block (PRB) sets are used for the USS and the CSS.
The apparatus of claim 156, wherein the base station transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTS UE as at least one wake up signal (WUS) .
The apparatus of claim 171, wherein the WUS is the same as a WUS for idle mode UEs except for the following differences:

the WUS in connected mode has a same narrow band as unicast MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) ; and

a time location of the WUS in connected mode is configured to align the WUS among a group of UEs.
The apparatus of claim 171, wherein transmission of a first WUS on a first physical resource block (PRB) provides notification of ETWS transmission, and transmission of a second WUS on a second PRB provides notification of CMAS transmission.
The apparatus of claim 156, wherein the base station periodically transmits the notification to the connected mode EC eMTC UE at a rate having a periodicity less frequent than once per default paging cycle, and transmits an indication in UE specific downlink control information (DCI) , wherein the indication at least one of:

directly serves as the notification; or

directs the EC eMTC UE to monitor a next paging cycle for the notification.
The apparatus of claim 156, wherein the at least one processor is further configured:

to receive, by the base station from the EC eMTC UE, a report of the UE capability to support ETWS/CMAS in connected mode; and

to transmit, by the base station to the EC eMTC UE, an indication whether the base station will use ETWS/CMAS in connected mode.
The apparatus of claim 175, wherein the at least one processor is further configured, for connected mode UEs that do not report capability to support ETWS/CMAS, to release the connected mode UEs to idle mode for ETWS/CMAS.