WO2021028025A1

WO2021028025A1 - Information exchange between network devices for coordination of sidelink communications

Info

Publication number: WO2021028025A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/071708
Authority: WO
Inventors: Apostolos KOUSARIDAS; Panagiotis SPAPIS; Chan Zhou
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2019-08-13
Filing date: 2019-08-13
Publication date: 2021-02-18
Also published as: CN114208334A

Abstract

The present invention relates to communications in a wireless communication network, in particular to sidelink communications of User Equipment (UE), e.g. sidelink Vehicle-to-Anything (V2X) communications. The invention presents a network device and method for a network device. The network device is configured to receive sidelink radio information (SRI) and/or sidelink Quality of Service (QoS) information (SQI) from another network device. The SRI and/or SQI includes at least one measurement related to a sidelink of a User Equipment (UE). The network device is further configured to configure the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQI.

Description

INFORMATION EXCHANGE BETWEEN NETWORK DEVICES FOR COORDINATION OF SIDELINK COMMUNICATIONS TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to communications in a wireless communication network, in particular to sidelink communications of User Equipment (UE), e.g. sidelink Vehicle-to- Anything (V2X) communications. The invention presents a network device and a method for a network device. The network device can receive or exchange information comprising one or more sidelink-related measurements from or with at least one other network device, in order to enhance a coordination of sidelink communications.

BACKGROUND

In a wireless communication network, when a UE, for instance a vehicle, is out of coverage, or when the UE autonomously selects resources (e.g., Mode 2 in 5G PC5, or Mode 4 in LTE PC5), a set of Tx and Rx sidelink resource pools are pre-configured in the UE, and are used for sidelink control information and sidelink data exchange [3GPP TS 36.331]

An appropriate configuration of these sidelink resource pools and other Tx/Rx parameters is important for efficient sidelink communications, e.g., for sidelink Quality of Service (QoS) and sidelink service continuity, especially in V2X use cases. In particular, a dynamic configuration of the sidelink resource pools is needed, due to the dynamic environment (e.g. mobility of UEs, road and radio conditions, etc.). Base Station (BS) or Radio Access Network (RAN) are options that could be used for configuration of the sidelink resource pools [R3-190382] The sidelink resource pools and the Tx/Rx configuration of the UE (Mode 2 NR PC5) should be dynamically updated to improve the sidelink capacity and the QoS performance.

3 GPP has defined two metrics that characterize a sidelink channel state, and that allow UEs to take necessary configuration actions: • Channel Busy Ratio (CBR): a portion of subchannels in the resource pool, of which a measured Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) exceeds a pre-configured threshold.

• Channel occupancy Ratio (CR): an indication on the channel utilization by the transmitter itself, which is defined as the total number of subchannels used for its transmissions in subframes [n-k, n-1] and granted in subframes [n, n+b] divided by the total number of subchannels within [n-k, n+b].

The CBR and CR values are periodically reported to the BS 36331 However, the CBR, CR, and other sidelink radio measurements, are reported only from UE to BS, but there is no exchange among BSs (inter-cell).

As shown in FIG. 1, a cell served by a BS can cover more than one zone (here Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3) or resource pools. A zone is a geographical area, in which a certain resource pool is valid. A zone or a resource pool may span across two or more cells. CBR information only from one cell may not be enough for a BS to make a good decision about the required configuration of resources of a resource pool and/or about the appropriate size of a resource pool. However, a sub-optimal configuration, e.g. due to partial information from a single cell, will have negative impact on interference, data rate, reliability, etc.

Zone-based resource pool configuration has been proposed in LTE V2X (Mode 4), and it seems also for NR V2X (Mode 2). Sidelink is divided into geographical ‘zones’. The UE selects a radio resource pool based on the zone it is located in. Based on its location, a UE derives the identity of the zone it is located in. If two UEs are sufficiently far away from each other, they will determine themselves to be in different zones, and consequently they will use orthogonal resource pools, thus minimizing the impact of the near-far effect.

Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) system or V2X Application Server can define the zones (this is referred to as “zone planning”), the resources per zone, and the resource pools for the zones. However, both have specific disadvantages:

• OAM: Firstly, reporting overhead, since in this case all radio and QoS sidelink reportings by the BSs have to be forwarded to the OAM. Secondly, necessary transfer of a RAN function (radio resource management) to a network management entity. Thirdly, a slower adaptation/reconfiguration of sidelink resource pools, especially for high dynamic environments, compared to a RAN solution.

• V2X Application Server: Firstly, the same disadvantages as the OAM solution. Secondly, the fact that a V2X application does not have any resource management functionality, and also no direct interface with BSs that collect sidelink radio and QoS information (e.g., CBRs).

The SystemInformationBlockType21 contains V2X sidelink communication configuration ( sl-V2X-ConfigCommon ), in particular:

• Resource pools that will be used for V2X reception (resource pool indicated by v2x- CommRxPool in sl-V2X-ConfigCommon).

• Resource pools that will be used for V2X transmission (resource pool indicated by v2x-CommTxPoolNormalCommon etc.).

• Perform CBR measurements on the Tx pools.

However, such semi-static configurations (e.g., of SIB21) are suboptimal, and the OAM may not be fast enough for adapting zones or resource pools in situations of high mobility.

In LTE V2X, the cbr-pssch-TxConfig applies to the resource pools for V2X sidelink communication transmission. It adapts transmission parameters including: PPPP, range of the number of retransmission per TB, range of PSSCH RB number, range of MCS, maximum limit on channel occupancy ratio, etc. The UE can adjust these parameters on this resource pool based on a CBR measurement and PPPP of service. However, a Tx parameter adaptation based on single cell measurements is not efficient, due to the absence of information about neighboring cells and/or resource pools.

Based on SA2 V2X analysis [3GPP, TR 23.786] and RAN2 discussions, the 5G QoS Indicator (5QI) or QoS Flow ID (QFI) framework can be used as a basis for the QoS support for NR V2X in sidelink. PC5 5QIs (PQIs) have been proposed to be used for NR sidelink and the support of complete QoS framework for PC5 including QoS parameters such as latency, reliability, priority, data rate, etc. Sidelink QoS monitoring [3GPP R2-1904877] is under discussion in RAN2, which enables UEs to monitor, measure and report QoS metrics they actually experience in sidelink: enabling optimization of V2X communications (e.g., RRM), more guaranteed and reliable sidelink communications and feedback to the network for potential adjustment on the QoS related configuration and/or policy.

AS-Config IE contains information about RRC configuration information in the source eNodeB (eNB), which can be utilized by target eNB to determine the need to change the Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration during the handover (HO) preparation phase. The information can also be used after the HO is successfully performed or during the RRC connection re-establishment or resume. RRC messages that are sent either across the X2- or the Sl-interface, either to or from the eNB about sidelink PC5 (both Model/3 and Mode 2/4): SL-CommConfig-rl2, SL-DiscConfig-rl2, SL-V2X-ConfigDedicated-rl4 ( Specifies the dedicated configuration information for V2X sidelink communication). However, no inter-BS/node measurement reports are exchanged for sidelink V2X (Mode 2).

SUMMARY

In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages, embodiments of the present invention aim to improve the current implementations. An objective is to provide a network device and a method, which allow improved sidelink communication of a UE in a wireless communication network, specifically improved sidelink V2X communications. In particular, the coordination of UE sidelink communications in the wireless communication network should be enhanced. In addition, a required QoS should be supported by the sidelink communications. Further, interference at the sidelink for NR Mode 2 communications should be reduced. Moreover, safety and service continuity in V2X use cases should be improved.

The objective is achieved by the embodiments of the invention as described in the enclosed independent claims. Advantageous implementations of the embodiments of the invention are further defined in the dependent claims.

A first aspect of the invention provides a network device, configured to: receive sidelink radio information (SRI) and/or sidelink QoS information (SQI) from another network device, the SRI and/or SQI including at least one measurement related to a sidelink of a UE; and configure the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQI. The network device of the first aspect may be a RAN device, a BS, a gNB, a small cell, a cloud RAN device, or a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) device. Configuring the sidelink may comprise configuring sidelink parameters. Configuring the sidelink may comprise initially configuring the sidelink, reconfiguring the sidelink, or determining the sidelink. Configuring the sidelink, as will be discussed in the following, may comprises configuring a sidelink resource pool, configuring a validity area related to a sidelink resource pool, configuring a sidelink Tx parameter, configuring a scheduling duration for communications over the sidelink, and/or configuring resources for communication over the sidelink.

The one or more measurements included in the SRI and/or SQI are related to the sidelink of the UE. Those measurements may be provided by the UE (and possibly by one or more other UEs). Alternatively, those measurements may be provided by the UE(s) and some additional processing/combination may take place at the network device. Alternatively, those measurements could be done by the network device (and/or possibly another network device), e.g., the network device(s) may estimate a number of resources scheduled by a network device (BS) for a UE to make a sidelink communication. Configuring the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQI may comprise configuring the sidelink based on the at least one measurement included in the received SRI and/or SQI. Configuring the sidelink may further comprise configuring the sidelink based on other information included in the SRI and/or SQI (described further below).

The network device of the first aspect enables an exchange of information between two or more network devices in a wireless communications network, in particular of the one or more sidelink-related measurements. Thus, the coordination of sidelink communications in the network can be enhanced. For instance, a required QoS for sidelink V2X communications can be supported in the network, the interference at the sidelink can be reduced (in particular, for NR Mode 2 communications), and safety and service continuity in the V2X use cases can be supported. Overall, the network device of the first aspect thus enables improved sidelink communications of UEs in the network, specifically improved sidelink V2X communications. In an implementation form of the first aspect, the received SRI and/or SQI includes at least one measurement of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE, and the network device is configured to configure the sidelink resource pool based on the received SRI and/or SQL

One more resource pools may be provided by the network device to the UE (and possibly other UEs). The UE(s) may select the sidelink resources, using these sidelink resource pools, i.e. from these resource pools. The network device may configure these sidelink resource pools using the SRI and/or SQL A sidelink resource pool includes one or more sidelink resources. A sidelink resource may comprise or be a frequency resource like a subcarrier, and/or a time resource like a symbol, and/or a frequency-time resource, and/or a spatial resource like a beam or a spatial filter. Configuring a sidelink resource pool may comprise initially configuring the sidelink resource pool, reconfiguring or adapting the sidelink resource pool, or determining the sidelink resource pool.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the network device is further configured to configure a geographical validity area, in which the sidelink resource pool can be used by the UE, based on the received SRI and/or SQL

Multiple validity areas may also be configured. A validity area may also be an area without a sidelink resource pool. Different validity areas can have the same sidelink resource pool. The validity area may be a zone as described above. Configuring a validity area may comprise initially configuring the validity area, reconfiguring or adapting (e.g. resizing) the validity area, or determining the validity area.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the received SRI and/or SQI includes at least one measurement of a sidelink Tx parameter used by the UE, and/or the network device is configured to configure a sidelink Tx parameter used by the UE based on the received SRI and/or SQL

The network device may particularly configure the Tx parameter, of which at least one measurement is included in the SRI and/or SQL Configuring the Tx parameter may comprise initially configuring the Tx parameter, reconfiguring or adapting the Tx parameter, or determining the Tx parameter. The Tx parameter may comprise at least one of: a threshold; a (maximum) Tx power, a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), a range of a number of retransmissions.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the network device is further configured to configure a duration of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) for communications over the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQL

Configuring the SPS duration may comprise initially setting an SPS duration, changing an SPS duration, or determining an SPS duration.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the network device is further configured to configure one or more resources allocated for communications over the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQL

The one or more sidelink resources may in particular be allocated by a scheduler (network device), e.g., placed at a BS. Using the SRI and/or SQI, the scheduler can accordingly configure its allocations/grants for sidelink communication(s), e.g., a number of frequency resources, a number of time resources, a number of time-frequency resources, a number of spatial resources, etc.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the received SRI comprises at least one measurement of a sidelink radio metric, which indicates a state of a channel of the sidelink.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the at least one measurement of the sidelink radio metric includes at least one of: an average value of the metric over a certain zone or part of the zone; a maximum value of the metric in a certain zone or part of the zone; or all values of the at least one measurement of the metric.

The SRI could either include monitored/measured values of the sidelink radio metric, or could include expected/estimated/predicted values of the sidelink radio metric.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the sidelink radio metric comprises at least one of: a CBR; a CR; a sidelink reference signal received power (SL-RSRP), a sidelink received signal strength indicator (SL-RSSI); or load levels. The sidelink metric may alternatively or additionally comprise at least one of: a sidelink signal-signal to noise and interference ratio; a sidelink reference signal received quality; a block error rate.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the SRI further comprises at least one of: a cell ID of a cell served by the other network device; a zone ID of a zone associated with a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a resource pool ID of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a geographical area, in which the at least one measurement was performed; a resource identifier and/or time unit used by the UE for the sidelink communication; a channel and/or sub-channel identifier used by the UE for the sidelink communication; or a radio frequency used by the UE for the sidelink communication.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the SQI comprises at least one measurement of a sidelink QoS parameter, which comprises at least one of: a sidelink data rate; a sidelink latency; a sidelink packet error rate; a sidelink packet reception ratio; or a sidelink packet inter-reception.

The SQI could either include monitored/measured values of the sidelink QoS parameter, or could include expected/estimated/predicted values of the sidelink QoS parameter.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the at least one measurement of the sidelink QoS parameter comprises at least one of: an average value of the parameter over a certain zone or part of the zone; a maximum value of the parameter in a certain zone or part of the zone; or all values of the at least one measurement of the parameter.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the received SQI further comprises at least one of: a cell ID of a cell served by the other network device; a zone ID of a zone associated with a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a resource pool ID of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a geographical area, in which the at least one measurement was performed; a resource identifier and/or time unit used by the UE for the sidelink communication; a channel and/or sub-channel identifier used by the UE for the sidelink communication; or a radio frequency used by the UE for the sidelink communication.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the network device is further configured to send the received SRI and/or SQI to another network device.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the network device is further configured to receive at least one measurement related to a sidelink used by a UE from said UE, and send SRI and/or SQI including the at least one measurement received from said UE to another network device.

The UE, from which the network device receives the at least one measurement may be different from the UE, for which at least one sidelink related measurement is included in the SRI and/or SQI received from the other network device.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the network device is further configured to receive information about the sidelink from the other network device; and/or send information about the sidelink to the other network device.

In particular, the network device may exchange, with the other network device, information about the configuration of the sidelink (e.g., sidelink resource pool(s) configuration(s), frequency information, bandwidth information, sidelink resource configuration, UE Tx/Rx configurations for sidelink transmissions).

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the network device is further configured to receive a request to configure the sidelink from a management device, and configure the sidelink based further on the received request.

The network device may also provide SRI and/or SQI to a network management device (or core network entity or application server) for sidelink re-configuration (e.g., resource pools optimization). The management device, based on received SRI and/or SQI, can configure the sidelink (e.g., sidelink resource pools, validity area etc.). In an implementation form of the first aspect, the received SRI and/or SQI comprises at least one measurement that is provided with information that the measurement was logged by the UE for a certain amount of time and/or in a certain geographical area.

A second aspect of the invention provides a method for a network device, the method comprising: receiving SRI and/or SQI from another network device, the SRI and/or SQI including at least one measurement related to a sidelink of a UE, and configuring the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQL

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the received SRI and/or SQI includes at least one measurement of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE, and the method comprises configuring the sidelink resource pool based on the received SRI and/or SQL

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises configuring a geographical validity area, in which the sidelink resource pool can be used by the UE, based on the received SRI and/or SQL

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the received SRI and/or SQI includes at least one measurement of a sidelink Tx parameter used by the UE, and/or the method comprises configuring a sidelink Tx parameter used by the UE based on the received SRI and/or SQL

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises configuring a duration of semi-persistent scheduling for communications over the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQL

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises configuring one or more resources allocated for communications over the sidelink based on the received SRI and/or SQL

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the received SRI comprises at least one measurement of a sidelink radio metric, which indicates a state of a channel of the sidelink. In an implementation form of the second aspect, the at least one measurement of the sidelink radio metric includes at least one of: an average value of the metric over a certain zone or part of the zone; a maximum value of the metric in a certain zone or part of the zone; or all values of the at least one measurement of the metric.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the sidelink radio metric comprises at least one of: a CBR; a CR; a sidelink reference signal received power (SL-RSRP), a sidelink received signal strength indicator (SL-RSSI); or load levels.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the SRI further comprises at least one of: a cell ID of a cell served by the other network device; a zone ID of a zone associated with a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a resource pool ID of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a geographical area, in which the at least one measurement was performed; a resource identifier and/or time unit used by the UE for the sidelink communication; a channel and/or sub-channel identifier used by the UE for the sidelink communication; or a radio frequency used by the UE for the sidelink communication.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the SQI comprises at least one measurement of a sidelink QoS parameter, which comprises at least one of: a sidelink data rate; a sidelink latency; a sidelink packet error rate; a sidelink packet reception ratio; or a sidelink packet inter-reception.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the at least one measurement of the sidelink QoS parameter comprises at least one of: an average value of the parameter over a certain zone or part of the zone; a maximum value of the parameter in a certain zone or part of the zone; or all values of the at least one measurement of the parameter.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the received SQI further comprises at least one of: a cell ID of a cell served by the other network device; a zone ID of a zone associated with a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a resource pool ID of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE for the sidelink; a geographical area, in which the at least one measurement was performed; a resource identifier and/or time unit used by the UE for the sidelink communication; a channel and/or sub-channel identifier used by the UE for the sidelink communication; or a radio frequency used by the UE for the sidelink communication.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises sending the received SRI and/or SQI to another network device.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises receiving at least one measurement related to a sidelink used by a UE from said UE, and send SRI and/or SQI including the at least one measurement received from said UE to another network device.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises receiving information about the sidelink from the other network device; and/or send information about the sidelink to the other network device.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises receiving a request to configure the sidelink from a management device, and configure the sidelink based further on the received request.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the received SRI and/or SQI comprises at least one measurement that is provided with information that the measurement was logged by the UE for a certain amount of time and/or in a certain geographical area.

The method of the second aspect and its implementation forms achieve the same advantages and effects as described above for the network device of the first aspect and its respective implementation forms. Furthermore, the same definitions, explanations and variants as given above with respect to the network device of the first aspect apply.

A third aspect of the invention provides a computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the method of the second aspect or any of its implementation forms to be performed. In the above aspects and implementation forms, the communication among network devices (i.e. to exchange SRI and/or SQI) can take place via any interface e.g., either directly via (e.g., Xn in 5G, X2 in LTE), or any core network interface. It has to be noted that all devices, elements, units and means described in the present application could be implemented in the software or hardware elements or any kind of combination thereof. All steps which are performed by the various entities described in the present application as well as the functionalities described to be performed by the various entities are intended to mean that the respective entity is adapted to or configured to perform the respective steps and functionalities. Even if, in the following description of specific embodiments, a specific functionality or step to be performed by external entities is not reflected in the description of a specific detailed element of that entity which performs that specific step or functionality, it should be clear for a skilled person that these methods and functionalities can be implemented in respective software or hardware elements, or any kind of combination thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above described aspects and implementation forms of the present invention will be explained in the following description of specific embodiments in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which

FIG. 1 illustrates how a cell can cover more than one zone or resource pool, and that a zone or resource pool can span across two or more cells.

FIG. 2 shows a network device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows an example of SRI/SQI, which is exchanged between network devices according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a general frame work of an information exchange between network devices according to embodiments of the invention. FIG. 5 shows an example of an interaction between a management device and a network device according to an embodiment of the invention, for resource pool optimization. FIG. 6 illustrates an information exchange, in case of an out-of-coverage UE, between network devices according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a method according to an embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2 shows a network device 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. The network device 200 may generally be a RAN device or a RAN entity. The network device 200 may in particular be a BS, a small cell, a cloud RAN device, an MEC device, etc. The network device 200 is configured to support a coordination between sidelink communications, specifically sidelink V2X communications in a wireless communication network.

Notably, the network device 200 may comprise processing circuitry (not shown in FIG. 2) configured to perform, conduct or initiate the various operations of the network device 200 described herein. The processing circuitry may comprise hardware and software. The hardware may comprise analog circuitry or digital circuitry, or both analog and digital circuitry. The digital circuitry may comprise components such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or multi-purpose processors. In one embodiment, the processing circuitry comprises one or more processors and a non-transitory memory connected to the one or more processors. The non-transitory memory may carry executable program code which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the network device 200 to perform, conduct or initiate the operations or methods described herein.

The network device 200 is configured to receive SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 from another network device 200’ (which may be configured exactly like the network device 200, i.e. network device 200 and network device 200’ may be interchangeable). To this end, the network device 200 may comprise a receiving unit, which is configured to receive the SRI and/or the SQL The SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 includes at least one measurement 203 related to a sidelink 204 of a UE 205.

The network device 200 is further configured to configure (or adapt or reconfigure or determine) the sidelink 204 based on the received SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, in particular based on the at least one measurement 203. To this end, the network device 200 may comprise a configuring unit, which is configured to configure the sidelink 204. The configuring unit may be implemented by processing circuitry, e.g. as described above.

Multiple network devices 200/200’ may exchange one or more SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 in the wireless communication network, wherein each SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 may include at least one sidelink-related measurement 203. That is, an inter-cell exchange of the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 may be performed. Thereby, the at least one measurement 203 of one or more sidelinks 204, e.g., measurements 203 of one or more sidelink resource pools, may be exchanged among neighboring cells/network devices 200/200’ (or other RAN entities).

The one or more sidelink-related measurements 203 may comprise:

• Included in the SRI 201: e.g., CBR, CR

• Included in the SQI 202: e.g., latency, data rate

The inter-cell exchange of the sidelink-related measurements 203 can be used for RAN- based sidelink configuration, in particular for RAN-based resource pool (re)configuration (Mode 2 NR V2X), for instance:

• Resource pool(s) and zone(s) 301 adaptation (e.g. resources, geographical area planning). For example, the network device 200 may be configured to configure one or more sidelink resource pools based on the received SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, in particular based on the at least one measurement 203. The network device 200 may also configure, based on the received SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, a geographical validity area, in which the one or more sidelink resource pools can be used by a UE 205. The network device 200 may also configure one or more resources allocated for communications over the sidelink 204 based on the received SRI 201 and/or SQI 202. • UE sidelink Tx parameter(s) optimization or scheduling optimization. For example, the network device 200 may configure one or more Tx parameters used by the UE 205 based on the received SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, in particular based on the at least one measurement 203. The network device 200 may also configure, based on the received SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, a duration of SPS for communications over the sidelink.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 exchange between network devices 200/200’ according to embodiments of the invention. In the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 is included the at least one measurement 203 related to the sidelink 204 (e.g. between two UEs 205), e.g. a sidelink radio measurement, like a CBR and/or a CR of the sidelink 204, and/or a QoS measurement of the sidelink 204, like latency and/or reliability. The one or more measurements 203 can be of sidelink resource pools among neighboring network devices 200/200’ (of neighboring cells). Each sidelink resource pool may correspond to a zone 301. Zones 301 may span more than one cell (served by one network device 200/200’). A cell can cover more than one zone 301. The one or more measurements 203 may be used for zone 301 and/or sidelink resource pool configuration, e.g.:

• Configuration or reconfiguration of one or more sidelink resource pools (e.g., adapting a number of resources allocated in a sidelink resource pool or a zone 301; or performing a (new) zone 301 planning, or resizing, etc.).

• Adjustment of one or more UE 205 sidelink Tx parameters (e.g., adjusting a threshold, a (maximum) Tx power, a MCS, a number of subchannels, and/or a range of the number of retransmissions, etc.).

FIG. 4 illustrates a general framework of the information exchange, i.e. exchange of SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, between network devices 200/200’ according to embodiments of the invention.

The SRI 201 exchanged between the network devices 200/200’ (here exemplarily BSs) via Xn or SI can include any of the following fields:

• Cell ID

• Zone ID

• Resource pool ID • Geographical area of collected measurement(s) 203 for this cell (e.g., subset of zone or resource pool)

Resource ID and/or time unit Channel and/or sub-channel ID Sidelink radio frequency CBR PSSCH CBR PSCCH CR

SL-RSRP SL-RSSI Load levels

Different reporting configurations can be considered for the inter-cell exchange of the CBR and/or the CR etc. For instance, average values from the center of the zone grid/resource pool, or a part of it, could be exchanged; and/or maximum values from the center of the zone grid, or a part of it, could be exchanged; and/or all collected values at the cell e.g., via UE measurement report(s), could be exchanged.

The SQI 202 exchanged between the network devices 200/200’ (here exemplarily BSs) via Xn or SI can include any of the following fields:

Cell ID Zone ID

Resource pool ID

Geographical area of collected measurement(s) 203 for this cell (e.g., subset of zone or resource pool)

Resource ID and/or time unit Channel and/or sub-channel ID

Sidelink radio frequency Sidelink data rate (e.g., per PQI)

Sidelink latency (e.g. per PQI)

Sidelink packet error rate (e.g., per PQI)

Sidelink PRR Sidelink PIR Different reporting configurations can be considered for the inter-cell QoS exchange for any of the above parameters. For instance, average values from the center of the zone grid/resource pool, or a part of it, could be exchanged; and/or maximum values from the center of the zone grid, or a part of it, could be exchanged; and/or all collected values at the cell e.g., via UE measurement report(s), could be exchanged.

Furthermore, monitored (detected; measured) or expected QoS values could be exchanged (the latter, e.g., based on prediction, statistical analysis etc.).

FIG. 5 shows an example of an interaction between a management device 500 (e.g. OAM or V2X Application Server/AF or any other core network entity) and a network device 200 according to an embodiment of the invention (e.g. a RAN device or entity). Generally, the network device 200 may receive a request 501 to configure the sidelink 204 from the management device 500 (see left side of FIG. 5), and may then configure the sidelink 204 based further on the received request 501 (e.g. based on parameters like Zone ID, Pool ID, etc. included in the request 501; in addition to configuring the sidelink 204 based on the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202). The interaction may specifically be used for sidelink resource pool optimization. The network device 200 may reply with ACK or NACK to the request 501 of the management device 500.

It is also possible that the network device 200 sends a request 502 to enable RAN-based sidelink resource pools to the management device 500 (see right side of FIG. 5). This request 502 may include Zone ID, Pool ID, etc. The management device 500 may reply with ACK or NACK or STOP to this request 502 of the network device 200.

The interaction/coordination between the network device 200 and the management device 500 can be performed to activate RAN-level sidelink resource pool configuration or reconfiguration and/or a V2X optimization, in order to avoid concurrent optimizations. Inter-cell SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 exchange could be enabled by/after this interaction. The coordination/interaction between the network device 200 and the management device 500 may be introduced for sidelink-related measurements 203 of one or more sidelink resource pools among neighboring network devices 200/200’, i.e. to:

Enable and configure inter-cell sidelink measurements 203 exchange • Exchange measurements 203 of sidelink 204 among network devices 200/200’ that participate in a validity area.

FIG. 6 illustrates an information exchange between network devices 200 according to embodiments of the invention, for the case that a UE 205 is out-of-coverage (Mode 2 NR V2X Communications - Out of Coverage Case).

The inter network device 200 information exchange, i.e. of SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, e.g. including one or more measurements 203 of sidelink resource pools, could be exchanged among the network devices 200, even in specific scenarios where the UE 205 has no coverage of any network device 200 (here BS). For instance, for smaller or larger regions of no coverage. The network devices 200 may in this scenario receive logged (i.e. out-of coverage) reporting from the UE 205, and can (re)configure the sidelink 204 in the area without coverage. For example, they can (re)configure one or more sidelink resource pools (e.g., size, resources) allocated to that area without coverage. In particular, the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 may comprise at least one measurement 203 that is provided with information that the measurement 203 was logged by the UE 205, from which it is received, either for a certain amount of time and/or in a certain geographical area. That is, the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 may comprise a logged measurement 203 and an online (in-coverage) measurement 203, respectively. A Mode 2 of the sidelink communication may be used.

According to RAN2105 agreements, RAN2 supports Mode 2 resource configuration for a given validity area, in which UE(s) 205 does not need to acquire a new Mode 2 resource configuration while moving in the validity area, as least when this configuration is provided by the System Information Block (SIB), e.g. to reuse valid area of New Radio (NR) SIB. The purpose of the validity area is to keep the sidelink resources unchanged, in order to achieve a stable performance and to reduce the latency, while the UE(s) 205 is moving within certain area. A validity area may also be a zone 301 as described above.

Exchange of radio measurements 203 and QoS information, via the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, can be used to adapt a validity area configuration e.g., to increase allocated resources to a resource pool of the validity area. That means, the network device 200 may configure the (geographical) validity area, in which the sidelink resource pool can be used by the UE 205, based on the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, in particular based on the at least one measurement 103 included in the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202.

FIG. 7 shows a method 700 according to an embodiment of the invention. The method 700 may be performed by or at a network device 200 or at a network device 200’. The method 700 comprises a step 701 of receiving SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 from another network device 200’, wherein the SRI 201 and/or SQI 202 includes at least one measurement 203 related to a sidelink 204 of a UE 205. Further, the method 700 comprises a step 701 of configuring (or reconfiguring, or adapting, or determining) the sidelink 204 based on the received SRI 201 and/or SQI 202, in particular based on the at least one measurement 203.

The present invention has been described in conjunction with various embodiments as examples as well as implementations. However, other variations can be understood and effected by those persons skilled in the art and practicing the claimed invention, from the studies of the drawings, this disclosure and the independent claims. In the claims as well as in the description the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in the mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation.

Claims

1. A network device (200), configured to: receive sidelink radio information, SRI, (201) and/or sidelink Quality of Service, QoS, information, SQI, (202) from another network device (200’), the SRI (201) and/or SQI (202) including at least one measurement (203) related to a sidelink (204) of a User Equipment, UE (205); and configure the sidelink (204) based on the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202).

2. The network device (200) according to claim 1, wherein: the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202) includes at least one measurement (203) of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE (205), and the network device (200) is configured to configure the sidelink resource pool based on the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202).

3. The network device (200) according to claim 2, further configured to: configure a geographical validity area, in which the sidelink resource pool can be used by the UE (205), based on the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202).

4. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein: the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202) includes at least one measurement (203) of a sidelink Tx parameter used by the UE (205), and/or the network device (200) is configured to configure a sidelink Tx parameter used by the UE (205) based on the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202).

5. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 4, further configured to: configure a duration of semi-persistent scheduling for communications over the sidelink (204) based on the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202).

6. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 5, further configured to: configure one or more resources allocated for communications over the sidelink (204) based on the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202).

7. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein: the received SRI (201) comprises at least one measurement (203) of a sidelink radio metric, which indicates a state of a channel of the sidelink (204).

8. The network device (200) according to claim 7, wherein: the at least one measurement (203) of the sidelink radio metric includes at least one of:

- an average value of the metric over a certain zone (301) or part of the zone

(301);

- a maximum value of the metric in a certain zone (301) or part of the zone (301); or - all values of the at least one measurement of the metric.

9. The network device (200) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein: the sidelink radio metric comprises at least one of:

- a channel busy ratio, CBR; - a channel occupancy ratio, CR;

- a sidelink reference signal received power, SL-RSRP;

- a sidelink received signal strength indicator, SL-RSSI; or

- load levels. 10. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 9, wherein: the SRI (201) further comprises at least one of:

- a cell ID of a cell served by the other network device (200’);

- a zone ID of a zone (301) associated with a sidelink resource pool used by the UE (205) for the sidelink (204); - a resource pool ID of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE (205) for the sidelink (204);

- a geographical area, in which the at least one measurement (203) was performed;

- a resource identifier and/or time unit used by the UE (205) for the sidelink communication; - a channel and/or sub-channel identifier used by the UE (205) for the sidelink (204) communication; or

- a radio frequency used by the UE (205) for the sidelink communication.

11. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 10, wherein: the SQI (202) comprises at least one measurement (203) of a sidelink QoS parameter, which comprises at least one of:

- a sidelink data rate;

- a sidelink latency;

- a sidelink packet error rate;

- a sidelink packet reception ratio; or

- a sidelink packet inter-reception.

12. The network device (200) according to claim 11, wherein: the at least one measurement (203) of the sidelink QoS parameter comprises at least one of:

- an average value of the parameter over a certain zone (301) or part of the zone

(301);

- a maximum value of the parameter in a certain zone (301) or part of the zone (301); or

- all values of the at least one measurement of the parameter.

13. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 12, wherein: the received SQI (202) further comprises at least one of:

- a cell ID of a cell served by the other network device (200’);

- a zone ID of a zone (301) associated with a sidelink resource pool used by the UE (205) for the sidelink (204);

- a resource pool ID of a sidelink resource pool used by the UE (205) for the sidelink (204);

- a resource identifier and/or time unit used by the UE (205) for the sidelink communication;

- a channel and/or sub-channel identifier used by the UE (205) for the sidelink communication; or - a radio frequency used by the UE (205) for the sidelink communication.

14. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 13, further configured to: send the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202) to another network device (200’).

15. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 14, configured to: receive at least one measurement (203) related to a sidelink (204) used by a UE

(205) from said UE (205), and send SRI (201) and/or SQI (202) including the at least one measurement (203) received from said UE (205) to another network device (200’).

16. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 15, configured to: receive information about the sidelink (204) from the other network device (200’); and/or send information about the sidelink (204) to the other network device (200’).

17. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 16, further configured to: receive a request (501) to configure the sidelink (204) from a management device (500), and configure the sidelink (204) based further on the received request (501).

18. The network device (200) according to one of the claims 1 to 17, wherein: the received SRI (201) and/or SQI (202) comprises at least one measurement

(203) that is provided with information that the measurement (203) was logged by the UE (205) for a certain amount of time and/or in a certain geographical area.

19. A method (700) for a network device (200), the method (700) comprising: receiving (701) sidelink radio information, SRI, (201) and/or sidelink Quality of

Service, QoS, information, SQI, (202) from another network device (200’), the SRI (201) and/or SQI (202) including at least one measurement (203) related to a sidelink (204) of a User Equipment, UE, (205) and configuring (701) the sidelink (204) based on the received SRI (201) and/or SQI

(202).

20. A computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the method (700) of claim 19 to be performed.