WO2021044375A1 - Signalisation de capacité à connectivité multiple pour nœuds multiservices - Google Patents

Signalisation de capacité à connectivité multiple pour nœuds multiservices Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2021044375A1
WO2021044375A1 PCT/IB2020/058274 IB2020058274W WO2021044375A1 WO 2021044375 A1 WO2021044375 A1 WO 2021044375A1 IB 2020058274 W IB2020058274 W IB 2020058274W WO 2021044375 A1 WO2021044375 A1 WO 2021044375A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
network node
radio network
connectivity
service identifier
cell
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PCT/IB2020/058274
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English (en)
Inventor
Meysam AGHIGHI
Tobias AHLSTRÖM
Daniel Henriksson
Hasibur Rahman
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Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
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Publication of WO2021044375A1 publication Critical patent/WO2021044375A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W28/00—Network traffic management; Network resource management
    • H04W28/02—Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
    • H04W28/08—Load balancing or load distribution
    • H04W28/086—Load balancing or load distribution among access entities
    • H04W28/0861—Load balancing or load distribution among access entities between base stations
    • H04W28/0865—Load balancing or load distribution among access entities between base stations of different Radio Access Technologies [RATs], e.g. LTE or WiFi
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W28/00—Network traffic management; Network resource management
    • H04W28/02—Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
    • H04W28/08—Load balancing or load distribution
    • H04W28/0846—Load balancing or load distribution between network providers, e.g. operators
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W28/00—Network traffic management; Network resource management
    • H04W28/02—Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
    • H04W28/08—Load balancing or load distribution
    • H04W28/09—Management thereof
    • H04W28/0958—Management thereof based on metrics or performance parameters
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W28/00—Network traffic management; Network resource management
    • H04W28/02—Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
    • H04W28/08—Load balancing or load distribution
    • H04W28/09—Management thereof
    • H04W28/0958—Management thereof based on metrics or performance parameters
    • H04W28/0967—Quality of Service [QoS] parameters
    • H04W28/0983—Quality of Service [QoS] parameters for optimizing bandwidth or throughput
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H04W36/0005—Control or signalling for completing the hand-off
    • H04W36/0055—Transmission or use of information for re-establishing the radio link
    • H04W36/0069—Transmission or use of information for re-establishing the radio link in case of dual connectivity, e.g. decoupled uplink/downlink
    • H04W36/00692—Transmission or use of information for re-establishing the radio link in case of dual connectivity, e.g. decoupled uplink/downlink using simultaneous multiple data streams, e.g. cooperative multipoint [CoMP], carrier aggregation [CA] or multiple input multiple output [MIMO]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00—Connection management
    • H04W76/10—Connection setup
    • H04W76/15—Setup of multiple wireless link connections

Definitions

  • This application relates to control signaling in a telecommunication network.
  • the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) is currently working on standardization of the 5th generation of mobile radio access system, also called NG Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).
  • the NG-RAN may include nodes providing radio connections according to the standard for the new 5th generation radio access (NR), as well as nodes providing radio connections according to the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard.
  • NR new 5th generation radio access
  • LTE Long-Term Evolution
  • the NG-RAN needs to be connected to some network that provides non-access stratum functions and connection to communication networks outside NG-RAN, like the internet.
  • 5GC 5th Generation Core Network
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an NG-RAN architecture showing interfaces between gNBs, ng-eNBs and 5GC nodes.
  • NR and NG-RAN is introduced as an evolution of the Evolved Packet System
  • EPS Evolved Packet Core
  • E-UTRAN Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an E-UTRAN architecture showing interfaces between eNBs and MME/S- GW. Simultaneous use of LTE and NR
  • a mobile device can be connected simultaneously using NR and LTE.
  • MR-DC e.g., Multiple Radio Access Technology (RAT) Dual Connectivity
  • Examples of MR-DC include EN-DC and NE-DC, explained below.
  • EN-DC Multiple Radio Access Technology
  • NE-DC NE-DC
  • the user data can then be sent using both technologies.
  • either the eNB or the gNB is the master node and handles the signaling connection to the CN.
  • An example is shown in FIG. 4, where the CN is EPC and the eNB is the master node.
  • NR can be introduced in the network without having to introduce the 5GC.
  • This variant of combining LTE and NR is in 3GPP referred to as E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).
  • EN-DC E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity
  • NE-DC NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity
  • a method is performed by a radio network node, the method comprising: receiving, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of another radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the another radio network node, supports multi connectivity.
  • a radio network node is configured to: receive, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of another radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the another radio network node, supports multi-connectivity.
  • a radio network node comprises: processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the radio network node is configured to: receive, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of another radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the another radio network node, supports multi -connectivity.
  • a radio network node comprises: communication circuitry; and processing circuitry configured to: receive, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of another radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the another radio network node, supports multi -connectivity.
  • a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a radio network node, causes the radio network node to : receive, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of another radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the another radio network node, supports multi connectivity.
  • a method is performed by a radio network node, the method comprising: transmitting, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of the radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the radio network node, supports multi-connectivity.
  • a radio network node is configured to: transmit, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of the radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the radio network node, supports multi -connectivity.
  • a radio network node comprises: processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the radio network node is configured to: transmit, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of the radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the radio network node, supports multi -connectivity.
  • a radio network node comprises: communication circuitry; and processing circuitry configured to: transmit, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of the radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the radio network node, supports multi -connectivity.
  • a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a radio network node, causes the radio network node to: transmit, by the radio network node, control signaling indicating whether each service identifier of the radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell served by the radio network node, supports multi-connectivity.
  • Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s).
  • existing techniques for dual connectivity e.g., EN-DC or other MR-DC scenario
  • This solution is necessary to make dual connectivity (e.g., EN-DC or other MR-DC scenario) aware traffic steering sound and complete.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates communication network according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an E-UTRAN architecture according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary dual connectivity scenario according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary dual connectivity scenario according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates an example procedure for exchange of served cell and neighbor cell information according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a shared RAN scenario according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 8A illustrates a shared RAN scenario according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 8B illustrates a shared RAN scenario according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that includes radio control functions performed in a centralized computing environment according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary process for receiving control signaling according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary process for transmitting control signaling according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates a radio network node according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates a radio network node according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates a wireless network according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 15 illustrates a User Equipment according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 16 illustrates a virtualization environment according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 17 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 18 illustrates a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment telecommunication network according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 19 illustrates exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 20 illustrates exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 21 illustrates exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 22 illustrates exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments.
  • FIG. 23 illustrates a virtualization apparatus according to some embodiments.
  • EN-DC In the deployments of EN-DC, not every LTE cell will be EN-DC capable (e.g., for reasons such as having old hardware, not having license, or no NR deployment in that area). This means that only some eNBs on some LTE frequency layers will be EN-DC capable. For example, an operator could have many EN-DC capable eNBs on low-band frequencies while no EN-DC capable eNBs on mid/high- band.
  • the main task of a mobile radio network is to provide good radio connections for mobile devices to carry the services the users of the mobile want to utilize. In this process it its central to find the most suitable cells or antenna beams for every mobile as it moves around. This is today performed by requesting the mobile to measure strength and quality of radio signals from the serving beams as well from neighbor beams. The results of the measurements are reported to the RAN, which takes a decision on what cells shall serve the mobile in the following. Measurements on the target cell can require information about possibility of NR access. For example, EN- DC band combination possibility on the target LTE cell which require NR layer information. Further, this information is required for measuring NR coverage. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates a mobile device that is simultaneously using both LTE and NR, moving into a new LTE cell.
  • Mobile device is here used as the term for the equipment terminating the wireless connection from the base station. It need not be moving but can be stationary and can also be referred to as e.g. Station, Mobile Station or User Equipment.
  • the information can include identities, frequency and bandwidth of the cell, as well as the neighbor cells of the served cell.
  • the information can be used in the decision where to move a mobile that is reaching the border of a serving cell or ends its connection.
  • the bandwidth can be vital for certain services and a mobile with such a service can only be moved to a cell with enough bandwidth.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates an example procedure for exchange of served cell and neighbor cell information.
  • Network Sharing Network Sharing is a method of sharing some portions of network architecture among multiple parties. This is done mostly to save the cost or critical locations.
  • MCN Multiple Operator Core Network
  • NodeB Radio Access Network part
  • RNCs Radio Network Controllers
  • PLMN IDs Public Land Mobile Network identification codes
  • SIB system information block 1
  • an eNB (or other base station) can report the dual connectivity (e.g., EN-DC) capability of its cells and their NR (or other RAT) neighbors, to its neighbor eNBs. This is used for EN-DC aware traffic steering.
  • EN-DC dual connectivity
  • a goals of EN-DC aware traffic steering can be either to (1) move UEs from an LTE layer where they cannot run EN-DC (reasons could be eNB having an old hardware, lack of license, not supported 3GPP band combinations for EN-DC, not supported UE band combinations for EN-DC, etc.) to an LTE layer where they can run EN-DC; (2) move UEs from an LTE layer where they can run EN-DC to another LTE layer where they can run EN-DC, but get a better service (usually throughput, e.g., by enabling access to NR high band).
  • a shared RAN scenario e.g., multiple PLMNs using a single cell
  • dual connectivity e.g., EN-DC
  • EN-DC dual connectivity
  • FIG. 7 An example is illustrated in FIG. 7, where eNBl belongs to operator 1 and does not provide EN-DC.
  • eNB2 belongs to operator 2 and does not provide EN-DC either.
  • eNB3 is using shared RAN and has an LTE cell that belongs to both operator 1 and operator 2. But it is only the UEs with subscription from operator 2 that can run EN-DC with the NR layer, because the gNB in that area belongs to operator 2 (or some other operator that has only EN-DC contract with operator 2).
  • eNBl will only know that the cell on eNB3 is EN-DC capable and will not know which operators (or PLMNs) can run EN-DC and which operators cannot. So, it will not be able to distinguish between the cell on eNB3 and another EN-DC capable cell that only belongs to operator 1.
  • the techniques describe herein can allow for enhanced dual connectivity-aware (e.g., EN-DC-aware) traffic steering that takes into account dual connectivity feature availability on a per-service identifier basis for cells that include multiple service identifiers (e.g., PLMN IDs).
  • dual connectivity-aware e.g., EN-DC-aware
  • PLMN IDs multiple service identifiers
  • this can be achieved by mapping the dual connectivity (e.g., EN-DC) capability of a cell (e.g., an LTE cell) to a service identifier (e.g., PLMN) for a particular service (e.g., operator) available through that cell, where one base station (e.g., eNB associated with the cell) tells its neighbor base stations (e.g., other eNBs), for each of its own cells, a list of service identifiers (e.g., PLMN IDs) that the cell is allowed to use for dual connectivity (e.g., EN-DC).
  • a service identifier e.g., PLMN
  • PLMN IDs e.g., PLMN IDs
  • FIG. 8A An example is illustrated in FIG. 8A, where gNB 1 belongs to operator 1 and does not provide NE-DC. Similarly, gNB2 belongs to operator 2 and does not provide NE-DC either. But gNB3 is using shared RAN and has an NR cell that belongs to both operator 1 and operator 2. But it is only the UEs with subscription from operator 2 that can run NE-DC with the NR layer, because the eNB in that area belongs to operator 2 (or some other operator that has only NE-DC contract with operator 2). Now, from an NE-DC traffic steering point of view, gNBl will only know that the cell on gNB3 is NE-DC capable and will not know which operators (or PLMNs) can run NE-DC and which operators cannot.
  • FIG. 8B Another example is illustrated in FIG. 8B, where eNB3 belongs to operator 2 and does not provide EN-DC. Similarly, eNB2 belongs to operator 1 and can only provide EN-DC with NR layer configured on gNB 1. But eNB 1 , on the other hand, is using shared RAN and has an LTE cell that belongs to both operator 1 and operator 2. But it is only the UEs with subscription from operator 2 that can run EN-DC with the NR layer, because the gNB2 in that area belongs to operator 2 (or some other operator that has only EN-DC contract with operator 2).
  • eNB3 will only know that the cell on eNB 1 is EN-DC capable and will not know which operators (or PLMNs) have NR layer configured and which operators do not have. So, it will not be able to distinguish between the cell on eNB3 and another EN-DC capable cell that only belongs to operator 1 where UE can run EN-DC.
  • an eNB may need information about the supported EN-DC band combination, combination of LTE and NR bands, for the UE where information regarding configured NR layer (NR cell) on each eNB is necessary. Without this information, an eNB might not properly decide the best EN-DC capable cell for EN-DC traffic steering.
  • EN-DC UEs For example, otherwise it might decide to either steer all EN-DC UEs to the EN-DC capable cell(s) or steer none of them.
  • the first option will result in unnecessary traffic steering of EN-DC UEs where UE cannot run EN-DC and access NR leg, and further overloading the EN-DC layer on eNB 1.
  • the second option will result in EN-DC UEs on eNB2 to stay there and not being able to run EN-DC at all and access NR.
  • FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication network 10 according to some embodiments.
  • the network 10 as shown includes radio network nodes 12A and 12B (e.g., in the form of base stations).
  • the radio network nodes 12A and 12B may be included in a radio access network (RAN) portion of the network 10, which may in turn connect to a core network (CN) portion (not shown).
  • RAN radio access network
  • CN core network
  • Each radio network node 12A, 12B serves one or more cells. As shown, for example, radio network node 12A serves N cells 14A-1,... 14A-N, for N A 1. and radio network node 12B serves M cells 14B-1,... 14B-M, for M A 1 Different cells may for instance be provided on different carrier frequencies, with different frequency bandwidths, and/or using different radio access technologies.
  • radio network node 12B is configured to transmit control signalling 16 to radio network node 12 A, e.g., directly over an interface (e.g., X2AP) established between the radio network nodes 12A, 12B or indirectly via one or more intermediate nodes (e.g., in the CN portion of the network 10).
  • Radio network node 12A correspondingly receives this control signalling 16.
  • the control signalling 16 indicates whether radio network node 12B, or a cell served by radio network node 12B, supports so-called multi-connectivity.
  • Multi-connectivity in this regard refers to the simultaneous connection of a wireless device 18 (e.g., at a radio resource control, RRC, layer) to multiple different radio network nodes, or to multiple different cells served by different radio network nodes.
  • the multiple different radio network nodes or cells may use the same radio access technology (e.g., both may use Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E- UTRA) or both may use New Radio (NR)).
  • E- UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
  • NR New Radio
  • the multiple different radio network nodes or cells may use different radio access technologies, e.g., one may use E-UTRA and another may use NR.
  • multi-connectivity is dual connectivity (DC) in which the wireless device 18 is simultaneously connected to two different radio network nodes, or to two different cells served by two different radio network nodes.
  • the wireless device 18 may be configured with a so-called master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG), where the MCG includes one or more cells served by the radio network node acting as a master node and the SCG includes one or more cells served by the radio network node acting as a secondary node.
  • MCG master cell group
  • SCG secondary cell group
  • the master node may be a master in the sense that it controls the secondary node.
  • E-UTRA-NR (EN) DC refers to where the master node uses E-UTRA and the secondary node uses NR
  • NR-E-UTRA (NE) refers to where the master node uses NR and the secondary node uses E-UTRA.
  • a cell supports multi -connectivity if the cell is able to be included in a MCG or SCG provided by a radio network node that supports multi-connectivity.
  • a radio network node supports multi-connectivity if the radio network node supports a wireless device connecting to the radio network node while the wireless device is also connected to another radio network node and/or if the radio network node is capable of acting as a master node or a secondary node.
  • control signalling 16 indicates whether radio network node 12B supports multi -connectivity
  • the control signalling 16 may indicate if the radio network node 12B supports wireless device 18 connecting to the radio network node 12B while the wireless device 18 is also connected to another radio network node.
  • control signalling 16 indicates whether a cell served by radio network node 12B supports multi-connectivity
  • the control signalling 16 may indicate if the cell is able to be included in a MCG or SCG provided by radio network node 12B.
  • the radio network node 12 may accommodate scenarios in which the radio network node 12 serves one or more cells that support multi-connectivity but also serves one or more cells that do not support multi -connectivity, e.g., because the cells rely on old hardware, do not have the requisite license, or do not have a need for the support due to not neighboring another cell.
  • the control signalling 16 may indicate which cells 14B-1,... 14B-M served by radio network node 12B, if any, support multi-connectivity. Signalling multi-connectivity support on such a cell by cell basis may prove advantageous for discriminating between the cells on the basis of multi-connectivity support in the context of certain procedures, such as mobility procedures.
  • the radio network node 12A performs traffic steering based on the control signalling 16, i.e., based on whether radio network node 12B or a cell served by radio network node 12B supports multi-connectivity.
  • the radio network node 12A may additionally or alternatively perform such traffic steering based on control signalling (not shown) received from the wireless device 18 indicating whether the wireless device 18 supports multi-connectivity.
  • performing traffic steering based on multi connectivity support may entail steering wireless devices (e.g., capable of multi connectivity) to a radio network node or cell that supports multi-connectivity.
  • traffic steering may entail steering wireless devices (e.g., not capable of multi-connectivity) to a radio network node or cell that does not support multi-connectivity.
  • multi-connectivity aware traffic steering herein may match wireless devices that support multi-connectivity with cells that support multi-connectivity and/or match wireless devices that do not support multi- connectivity with cells that do not support multi-connectivity. Such steering may advantageously conserve/reserve resources in cells that support multi -connectivity for devices that are actually capable of exploiting that multi-connectivity support.
  • some embodiments can avoid or mitigate increasing the load of cells that support multi-connectivity so much that multi-connectivity cannot be effectively provided to devices that support multi-connectivity.
  • the embodiments can in turn help realize the maximum service performance improvements attributable to multi-connectivity support.
  • control signaling 16 can indicate whether a neighbor radio network node (not shown) that neighbors radio network node 12B, or a cell served by the neighbor radio network node, supports multi-connectivity.
  • the radio network node 12A may perform traffic steering additionally or alternatively based on neighbor support for multi-connectivity. Indeed, these embodiments may be based on the underlying rationale that the ability to actually use any multi-connectivity supported by radio network node 12B or a cell served by radio network node 12B requires that there be a neighbor radio network node or cell that also supports multi-connectivity.
  • “signaling” and “signalling” are used interchangeably.
  • the radio network node 12A steers wireless devices capable of multi-connectivity to a radio network node or cell that supports multi-connectivity and that has a neighbor radio network node or cell that also supports multi-connectivity.
  • the radio network node 12A may steer wireless devices not capable of multi-connectivity to a radio network node or cell that does not support multi -connectivity, or to a radio network node or cell that supports multi -connectivity but that does not have a neighbor radio network node or cell that also supports multi-connectivity.
  • control signaling 16 may indicate one or more carrier frequencies and/or one or more frequency bandwidths supported by a neighbor radio network node (not shown) neighboring radio network node 12B or a cell served by the neighbor radio network node.
  • the radio network node 12A may perform traffic steering additionally or alternatively based on neighbor support for a carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth also supported by the wireless device 18.
  • these embodiments may be based on the underlying rationale that the ability to actually use any multi-connectivity supported by radio network node 12B or a cell served by radio network node 12B requires that there be a neighbor radio network node or cell that also supports multi -connectivity, and that the wireless device 18 be capable of using the neighbor’s carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth.
  • the radio network node 12A steers a wireless device capable of multi-connectivity to a radio network node or cell that supports multi-connectivity and that has a neighbor radio network node or cell which supports a carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth also supported by the wireless device.
  • the radio network node 12A steers a wireless device not capable of multi-connectivity to a radio network node or cell that does not support multi-connectivity or to a radio network node or cell that supports multi -connectivity but that does not have a neighbor radio network node or cell which supports a carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth also supported by the wireless device.
  • the radio network node 12A can perform such traffic steering in any way that prompts, triggers, commands, encourages, biases, or otherwise directly or indirectly controls the radio network node or cell that a wireless device uses for transmitting or receiving traffic.
  • traffic steering involves the radio network node 12A configuring certain condition(s) or threshold(s) (e.g., signal quality thresholds) that control the wireless device’s mobility between radio network nodes and cells.
  • certain condition(s) or threshold(s) e.g., signal quality thresholds
  • such traffic steering can involve the radio network node 12A sending or causing to be sent traffic steering commands to the wireless device 18 that order the wireless device 18 to steer its traffic towards or away from a certain radio network node or cell.
  • radio network nodes e.g., base stations
  • radio network nodes exchange one or more of the following kinds of information (e.g., via control signaling 16 described above): information on if neighbor LTE cells support EN-DC connections, information on if the NR neighbors to the neighbor LTE cell supports EN-DC, and/or information on frequency and bandwidth for these neighbor NR cells. This may advantageously enable the use of EN-DC in a more efficient way.
  • this new information exchange enables the system in some embodiments to steer mobiles that benefit from EN-DC to EN-DC capable cells and/or to steer mobiles that do not benefit from EN-DC to other cells.
  • the information will further make it possible in some embodiments to, in advance of any decision for a mobile, estimate the benefit of EN-DC in a target cell, depending on the bandwidth of the neighbor NR cell.
  • the information alternatively or additionally may further make it possible to, in advance of any decision for a mobile, determine if a target neighbor NR cell is possible to use for EN-DC for a specific mobile considering the capabilities of that mobile.
  • the capabilities could e.g. be the ability to use certain frequencies or frequency bands in combination with the neighbor LTE cell.
  • the described improved steering of the mobiles may also result in a better usage of the network resources and an increased network capacity.
  • an eNB controlling LTE cells informs neighbor eNBs whether or not EN-DC can be provided using different messages (e.g., which may comprise or be included in the control signaling 16 in Figure 1). Messages can be sent directly between the eNBs. Messages can also be sent via intermediate nodes, such as MMEs. Examples of messages that can be used are X2 Setup Request, X2 Setup Response and eNB Configuration Update, defined in 3GPP TS 36.423 vl5.3.0 X2 Application Protocol (X2AP). All of these messages contain the Served Cell Information information element (IE), which carries information about the cells controlled by the eNB.
  • IE Served Cell Information information element
  • An eNB controlling LTE cells in some embodiments alternatively or additionally informs neighbor eNBs about the NR cells that are neighbors to the LTE cells that the eNB controls.
  • Different messages can be used. Messages can be sent directly between the eNBs. Messages can also be sent via intermediate nodes, such as MMEs. Examples of messages that can be used (e.g., as control signaling 16 in Figure 1) are X2 Setup Request, X2 Setup Response and eNB Configuration Update, defined in 3 GPP TS 36.423 vl5.3.0 X2 Application Protocol (X2AP).
  • An NR Neighbour Information IE holding information on the neighbor NR cells, can be added to these messages.
  • the NR Neighbour Information IE defined in 3GPP TS 36.423 vl5.3.0 X2 Application Protocol (X2AP) can be reused to carry this information.
  • Information on the bandwidth and sub-carrier spacing of the neighbor NR cell can for example be transferred by adding that information to the NR Neighbour Information.
  • the bandwidth and sub-carrier spacing could be included in the NR Neighbour Information IE by including the NR Transmission Bandwidth IE.
  • Information on if the neighbour NR cell can provide EN-DC together with the LTE cell, whose neighbour it is, can for example be included in the NR Neighbour Information IE.
  • neighborhbor and “neighbour” are used interchangeably.
  • a cell e.g., an LTE cell, an NR cell
  • PLMN ID service identifier
  • the cell allows the connection and access of UEs from two or more operators, each associated with one of the PLMN IDs.
  • multiple different PLMN IDs can be used in a cell by one operator to distinguish between different services (e.g., packages, levels, subscriptions). In either case, however, some PLMN IDs of the cell can support dual connectivity, and some PLMN IDs of the cell cannot support dual connectivity.
  • the existence of multiple PLMNs can be mean that the cell can only provide dual connectivity (e.g., EN-DC) to the UEs having one (or more) of the PLMNs, but cannot provide dual connectivity to UEs having other supported PLMNs on this cell.
  • dual connectivity e.g., EN-DC
  • one cell e.g., an LTE cell, an NR cell
  • the multi -connectivity capability e.g., multi-RAT connectivity, such as EN-DC, NE-DC, NR-DC, or the like
  • neighbor nodes e.g., eNB, gNB
  • reporting e.g., transmitting to or receiving from other network nodes
  • reporting of multi-connectivity capability of each service identifier is performed in response to a change in multi-connectivity capability of one or more service identifier at the corresponding network node.
  • information regarding multi-connectivity services available for each service identifier are transmitted and/or received via intemode (e.g., between radio network nodes) communication.
  • An exemplary radio network nodes is a base station node (e.g., eNB, gNB).
  • a first base station can transmit a “served cell information” IE (in accordance with 3GPP TS 36.423) that includes a parameter for each PLMN ID that shows whether it is allowed for EN-DC or not.
  • Table 1 below includes a proposed insertion of a new parameter into the “served cell information” IE as described in 3GPP TS 36.423, with a new proposed parameter entitled “EN-DC allowed” (shown in italics) added into the “Broadcast PLMNs” group of parameters.
  • the absence of the parameter could, upon contract, mean that EN-DC is not allowed for UEs having that PLMN.
  • a radio network node is associated with a neighbor radio node and provides information of allowed service identifiers for which multi connectivity is supported using the radio network node together with the neighbour radio network node.
  • an enhanced EN-DC aware traffic steering process can include mapping an NR cell to its PLMN.
  • an eNB provides its neighbor eNB (or eNBs) a list of allowed PLMN for each of the eNB’s associated NR cells for each of the eNB’s LTE cells.
  • EN-DC NR Non-Standalone
  • One or more of the embodiments described herein can be applied to different mobility scenarios including but not limited to (e.g., in all described scenarios supported NR layer shall be considered based on UE’s supported PLMN for the operators it has contract with):
  • An LTE cell can have more than one PLMN ID and can have one or more NR cells (e.g., neighboring) deployed for (e.g., sharing) each corresponding PLMN. This will usually mean that the cell allows the connection and access of UEs from two or more operators, but potentially one operator could also use different PLMN IDs to distinguish different services. It can happen that the cell can only provide EN-DC to the UEs having one (or more) of the PLMNs and cannot provide EN-DC to UEs having other supported PLMNs on this cell.
  • NR cells e.g., neighboring
  • an LTE cell has information about only one operator’s configured NR cells based on its PLMN and can only provide NR access for EN-DC on this PLMN to this operator, and cannot provide NR access to UEs having other supported PLMNs on this cell.
  • one cell LTE, NR, ...
  • this information should be reported to neighbor nodes (eNB, gNB, etc.).
  • a parameter is present in served cell information exchanged between network nodes that reports information regarding PLMN ID supported by a neighboring node for multi -connectivity .
  • a parameter can be added (in the “served cell information” IE in 3GPP TS 36.423) for each NR neighbor of LTE cells that includes a list of allowed PLMNs for the NR neighbour, as shown in Table 2 below.
  • Table 2 below includes a proposed insertion of a new parameter into the “served cell information” IE as described in 3GPP TS 36.423, with a new proposed parameter entitled “Allowed PLMN List” (shown in italics) added into the “NR Neighbour Information” group of parameters.
  • the absence of the parameter can (e.g., upon contract or negotiation) mean that NR access for EN-DC (or other MR-DC scenario) and/or NR service is not allowed.
  • NR access for EN-DC or other MR-DC scenario
  • NR service is not allowed.
  • 3GPP standard-based messaging one of skill would appreciate that other possible modifications of intemode communication messaging are possible in order to communicate dual connectivity capabilities on a per PLMN basis, all of which are intended to be within the scope of this disclosure .
  • multi -connectivity capability of each service identifier associated with a cell can be exchanged using a proprietary extension of a 3GPP standard-based message, or a completely proprietary method of communication.
  • control signaling indicates whether each of a plurality of types of multi-connectivity are supported by a service identifier (e.g., of a radio network node, or of a cell served by a radio network node). For example, a parameter can be included that indicates whether EN-DC is supported, and a separate parameter can be included that indicates whether NE-DC is supported (e.g., called “NE-DC allowed”).
  • Table 1 Served Cell Information IE. New possible addition of EN-DC allowed
  • one or more external entities transmits and/or receives the multi-connectivity capabilities of the plurality of service identifiers (e.g., PLMN IDs) of a cell.
  • the plurality of service identifiers e.g., PLMN IDs
  • the radio network node is an external entity (e.g., an Operations Support System (OSS) entity) that collects and/or provides (e.g., from/to the relevant base station(s)) the information regarding cells in the network having several service identifiers (e.g., PLMN IDs) and the multi- connectivity capability status of each pair (e.g., cell and PLMN ID pairs).
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that includes radio control functions performed in a centralized computing environment.
  • base stations communicate PLMN ID and multi-connectivity capabilities between each other (e.g., via X2 interface) — for example, in an E-UTRAN or NG-RAN typically located in the radio control function (RCF) in an eNB, gNB or ng-eNB.
  • RCF radio control function
  • the RCF may be located physically in a distributed entity remote from (e.g., but close to) the base stations.
  • the RCF may be located physically in a data center in a central location (e.g., remote from distributed radio nodes RN).
  • the RCF function of communicating with radio network nodes (RN) and/or gathering cell and PLMN ID multi-connectivity capabilities is performed at one or more remote devices, such as hardware near the base stations, hardware in a centralized location, in a virtualized node (e.g., implemented in software on non-dedicated hardware) (e.g., in a centralized location), or anywhere in between.
  • RN radio network nodes
  • remote devices such as hardware near the base stations, hardware in a centralized location, in a virtualized node (e.g., implemented in software on non-dedicated hardware) (e.g., in a centralized location), or anywhere in between.
  • FIG 10 depicts an exemplary method 1000 performed by one or more node (e.g., electronic device) (e.g., radio network node 12A) in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the method 1000 comprises receiving (1002), by the radio network node (e.g., 12A), control signaling (e.g., 16) indicating whether each service identifier (e.g., PLMN ID) of another radio network node (e.g., 12B), or each service identifier of a cell (e.g., 14B-1,... 14B-M, for M ⁇ 1) served by the another radio network node, supports multi-connectivity (e.g., dual connectivity; EN-DC).
  • multi-connectivity e.g., dual connectivity; EN-DC
  • control signaling (e.g., 16) further indicates whether each service identifier (e.g., PLMN ID) of a neighbor radio network node (e.g., similar to 12B) that neighbors the another radio network node (e.g., 12B), or each service identifier of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node, supports multi- connectivity.
  • each service identifier e.g., PLMN ID
  • a neighbor radio network node e.g., similar to 12B
  • neighbors the another radio network node e.g., 12B
  • each service identifier of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node supports multi- connectivity.
  • control signaling further indicates one or more (e.g., multi-connectivity supported) carrier frequencies and/or one or more (e.g., multi connectivity supported) frequency bandwidths supported by each service identifier of a neighbor radio network node neighboring the another radio network node or each service identifier of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node.
  • information can be provided that indicates which carrier frequencies and/or frequency bandwidths are supported by a service identifier (e.g., PLMN ID).
  • This can affect steering based on whether a wireless device (e.g., UE) to be steered is actually able to support multi-connectivity using those particular frequencies and/or frequency bandwidths (e.g., in combination with other frequencies and/or frequency bandwidths currently available for multi -connectivity from another nearby node/cell).
  • a wireless device e.g., UE
  • frequency bandwidths e.g., in combination with other frequencies and/or frequency bandwidths currently available for multi -connectivity from another nearby node/cell.
  • the neighbor radio network node or the cell served by the neighbor radio network node, uses New Radio, NR.
  • the method 1000 further comprises performing (1004), by the radio network node, traffic steering based on the received control signaling.
  • performing traffic steering based on the received control signaling comprises one or more of: steering one or more wireless devices (e.g., UEs) (e.g., 18), of a specific service identifier, capable of multi connectivity to a radio network node or cell that supports multi-connectivity for that specific service identifier; and steering one or more wireless devices, of a specific service identifier, not capable of multi -connectivity to a radio network node or cell that does not support multi-connectivity for that specific service identifier.
  • UEs e.g., 18
  • performing traffic steering based on the received control signaling comprises one or more of: steering one or more wireless devices (e.g., UEs) (e.g., 18), of a specific service identifier, capable of multi connectivity to a radio network node or cell for that specific service identifier that supports multi-connectivity and that has a neighbor radio network node or cell that also supports multi-connectivity for that specific service identifier; and steering one or more wireless devices, of a specific service identifier, not capable of multi connectivity to a radio network node or cell that does not support multi-connectivity or to a radio network node or cell for that specific service identifier that supports multi connectivity but that does not have a neighbor radio network node or cell that also supports multi-connectivity for that specific service identifier.
  • UEs e.g., 18
  • steering wireless device traffic to a cell and PLMN ID pair that supports multi -connectivity is performed if that cell actually has a neighbour that supports multi-connectivity — otherwise, the steering would result in no multi -connectivity and thus can be a wasted action.
  • a wireless device that does not support multi connectivity can be steered to a cell that cannot support multi-connectivity, either due to not supporting the feature or due to not having a neighbour that would enable a connected wireless device to actually implement multi-connectivity (even if the cell supports the feature).
  • performing traffic steering based on the received control signaling comprises one or more of: steering one or more wireless devices (e.g., UEs) (e.g., 18), of a specific service identifier, capable of multi connectivity to a radio network node or cell that supports multi-connectivity for that specific service identifier with a neighbor radio network node or cell which supports (e.g., multi -connectivity using) a carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth for that specific service identifier also supported by the wireless device; and steering one or more wireless devices, of a specific service identifier, not capable of multi connectivity to a radio network node or cell that does not support multi-connectivity or to a radio network node or cell that supports multi-connectivity for that specific service identifier but that does not have a neighbor radio network node or cell which supports multi -connectivity using a carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth for that specific service identifier also supported by the wireless device.
  • UEs e.g., 18
  • steering can be based on which carrier frequencies and/or frequency bandwidths are supported by a service identifier (e.g., PLMN ID), which can affect whether a wireless device (e.g., UE) to be steered is actually able to support multi -connectivity using those particular frequencies and/or frequency bandwidths (e.g., in combination with other frequencies and/or frequency bandwidths currently available for multi-connectivity from another nearby node/cell).
  • a service identifier e.g., PLMN ID
  • steering wireless device traffic to a cell and PLMN ID pair that supports multi-connectivity is performed if that cell actually has a neighbour that supports multi-connectivity for a particular carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth (e.g., supported by the wireless device) — otherwise, the steering would result in no multi-connectivity and thus can be a wasted action.
  • a wireless device that does not support multi-connectivity can be steered to a cell that cannot support multi -connectivity, either due to not supporting the feature or due to not having a neighbour that would enable a connected wireless device to actually implement multi-connectivity (even if the cell supports the feature) for a particular carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth (e.g., supported by the wireless device).
  • the neighbor radio network node or cell uses New Radio, NR.
  • the method 1000 comprises determining whether the another radio network node, or the cell served by the another radio network node, and a neighbour radio network node neighboring the another radio network node both support multi-connectivity using one or more carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth combination permitted for a specific service identifier supported by the wireless device.
  • the neighbour radio network node neighboring the another radio network node both supporting multi -connectivity using one or more carrier frequency and/or frequency bandwidth combination permitted for the specific service identifier supported by the wireless device, steering the wireless device to the another radio network node.
  • the method 1000 comprises receiving the control signaling from one or more of the another radio network node or an external entity other than the another radio network node.
  • the method 1000 comprises receiving the control signaling during a procedure for setting up an interface or connection between the radio network node and the another radio network node. For example, during an initial set up procedure between two radio network nodes.
  • the control signaling comprises or is included in a Setup Request message of the procedure or a Setup Response message of the procedure.
  • the method 1000 comprises receiving the control signaling during a procedure for updating the radio network node about a change to a configuration of the another radio network node or a cell served by the another radio network node.
  • the control signaling is received due to a trigger that causes an update to be sent. Examples of such a trigger include a change in the multi - connectivity capability of a respective radio network node, or a cell serviced by the respective radio network node.
  • Such a trigger can cause the respective radio network node to provide control signaling that indicates to other nodes (e.g., neighbors) that its configuration has changed (e.g., multi -connectivity configuration).
  • control signaling comprises or is included in a Configuration Update message of the procedure.
  • control signaling comprises or is included in a Served Cell Information information element of a message.
  • At least a portion of the control signaling comprises or is included in an NR Neighbor Information information element of a message.
  • said multi-connectivity comprises dual connectivity.
  • said multi-connectivity comprises multi-radio dual connectivity.
  • said multi-connectivity comprises E-UTRA-NR, EN, dual connectivity.
  • said multi-connectivity comprises NR-E-UTRA, NE, dual connectivity.
  • the radio network node uses E-UTRA and is an enhanced Node B, eNB.
  • the another radio network node uses E-UTRA and is an enhanced Node B, eNB.
  • the control signaling indicates a list of service identifiers for each cell served by the another radio network node that supports multi connectivity connectivity.
  • the control signaling further indicates capabilities of a neighbor radio network node that neighbors the another radio network node, or of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node .
  • the capabilities include one or more of: a number of multiple-input-multiple-output, MIMO, layers supported; an average provided bitrate; sub-carrier spacing supported; carrier frequencies supported (e.g., for multi-connectivity); and frequency bandwidth supported (e.g., for multi -connectivity).
  • the another network node, or the cell served by the another network radio node supports a plurality of service identifiers that includes a first service identifier and a second service identifier.
  • the another radio network node For example, multiple operators each associated with a different PLMN ID are supported by the another radio network node, or the cell served by the another radio network node.
  • the another radio network node would broadcast the different PLMN IDs and allow radio access network connectivity to UEs for each of the different PLMN IDs.
  • control signaling indicates that the first service identifier supports multi -connectivity, and wherein control signaling indicates that the second service identifier does not support multi-connectivity.
  • a service identifier is a Public Land Mobile Network
  • PLMN identifier (e.g., also referred to as a PLMN ID).
  • the method 1000 further comprises: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.
  • FIG 11 depicts an exemplary method 1100 performed by one or more node (e.g., electronic device) (e.g., radio network node 12B) in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the method 1100 comprises transmitting (1102), by the radio network node (e.g., 12B), control signaling (e.g., 16) indicating whether each service identifier (e.g., PLMN ID) of the radio network node, or each service identifier of a cell (e.g., 14B-1, ⁇ 14B-M, for M 5 s 1) served by the radio network node, supports multi- connectivity (e.g., dual connectivity; EN-DC).
  • multi- connectivity e.g., dual connectivity; EN-DC
  • control signaling (e.g., 16) further indicates whether each service identifier (e.g., PLMN ID) of a neighbor radio network node (e.g., a node similar to 12B) that neighbors the radio network node (e.g., 12B), or each service identifier of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node, supports multi- connectivity.
  • each service identifier e.g., PLMN ID
  • a neighbor radio network node e.g., a node similar to 12B
  • neighbors the radio network node e.g., 12B
  • each service identifier of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node supports multi- connectivity.
  • control signaling (e.g., 16) further indicates one or more (e.g., multi-connectivity supported) carrier frequencies and/or one or more (e.g., multi-connectivity supported) frequency bandwidths supported by each service identifier (e.g., PLMN ID) of a neighbor radio network node (e.g., similar to 12B) neighboring the radio network node (e.g., 12B) or each service identifier of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node.
  • service identifier e.g., PLMN ID
  • the neighbor radio network node or the cell served by the neighbor radio network node, uses New Radio, NR.
  • the method comprises transmitting the control signaling (e.g., 16) to one or more of another radio network node (e.g., 12 A) or an external entity
  • radio network node (e.g., centralized environment in 2) other than the another radio network node.
  • the method comprises transmitting the control signaling during a procedure for setting up an interface or connection between the radio network node and the another radio network node.
  • the control signaling comprises or is included in a Setup
  • the method comprises transmitting the control signaling (e.g., 16) during a procedure for updating the another radio network node about a change to a configuration of the radio network node or a cell served by the radio network node.
  • the control signaling transmitting is performed in response to a trigger condition that includes a change to the multi-connectivity capability (or parameters thereof, such as supported frequency or the like) of one or more service identifiers supported by the network node or of one or more service identifiers of a cell served by the network node.
  • the control signaling (e.g., 16) comprises or is included in a Configuration Update message of the procedure.
  • control signaling comprises or is included in a Served Cell Information information element of a message. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the control signaling (e.g., 16) comprises or is included in an NR Neighbor Information information element of a message.
  • said multi-connectivity comprises dual connectivity. In some embodiments, said multi-connectivity comprises multi-radio dual connectivity. In some embodiments, said multi -connectivity comprises E-UTRA-NR, EN, dual connectivity. In some embodiments, multi-connectivity comprises NR-E-UTRA, NE, dual connectivity.
  • the radio network node uses E-UTRA and is an enhanced Node B, eNB. In some embodiments, the another radio network node uses E-UTRA and is an enhanced Node B, eNB.
  • control signaling indicates a list of service identifiers for each cell served by the radio network node that supports multi connectivity. In some embodiments, the control signaling further indicates capabilities of a neighbor radio network node that neighbors the another radio network node, or of a cell served by the neighbor radio network node.
  • the capabilities include one or more of: a number of multiple-input-multiple-output, MIMO, layers supported; an average provided bitrate; sub-carrier spacing supported; carrier frequencies supported (e.g., for multi connectivity); and frequency bandwidth supported (e.g., for multi -connectivity).
  • the radio network node supports (1104) a plurality of service identifiers that includes a first service identifier and a second service identifier. For example, multiple operators each associated with a different PLMN ID are supported by the radio network node, or the cell served by the radio network node. Thus, for example, the radio network node would broadcast the different PLMN IDs and allow radio access network connectivity to UEs for each of the different PLMN IDs.
  • control signaling e.g., 16 indicates (1106) that the first service identifier supports multi-connectivity, and wherein control signaling (e.g., 16) indicates that the second service identifier does not support multi-connectivity.
  • a service identifier is a Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN, identifier (e.g., also referred to as a PLMN ID).
  • the method further comprises obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.
  • the radio network nodes 12A, 12B may each be configured to perform both methods.
  • the radio network nodes 12A, 12B are configured to exchange control signalling 16 with each other, so that each of the radio network nodes 12A, 12B indicates to the other whether the radio network node (or a cell supported by the radio network node) supports multi -connectivity.
  • each of the radio network nodes 12A, 12B may be configured to perform traffic steering based on the control signalling that the radio network node receives.
  • the embodiments described above with respect to Figures 10 and 11 and methods 1000 and 1100 can be combined in any order or combination.
  • the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry.
  • the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures.
  • the circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and/or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory.
  • the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like.
  • DSPs digital signal processors
  • the processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc.
  • Program code stored in memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments.
  • the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein.
  • FIG. 12 for example illustrates a radio network node 1200 (e.g., radio network node 12 A) as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments.
  • the radio network node 1200 includes processing circuitry 1210 and communication circuitry 1220.
  • the communication circuitry 1220 e.g., radio circuitry
  • the processing circuitry 1210 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 10, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 1230.
  • the processing circuitry 1210 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates a radio network node 1300 (e.g., radio network node 12B) as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments.
  • the network node 1300 includes processing circuitry 1310 and communication circuitry 1320.
  • the communication circuitry 1320 is configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology.
  • the processing circuitry 1310 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 11, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 1330.
  • the processing circuitry 1310 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.
  • a computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above.
  • a computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.
  • Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program.
  • This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.
  • embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above.
  • Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device.
  • This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium.
  • Figure 14 illustrates a wireless network in accordance with some embodiments.
  • a wireless network such as the example wireless network illustrated in Figure 14.
  • the wireless network of Figure 14 only depicts network 1406, network nodes 1460 and 1460b, and WDs 1410, 1410b, and 1410c.
  • a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device.
  • network node 1460 and wireless device (WD) 1410 are depicted with additional detail.
  • the wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.
  • the wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system.
  • the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures.
  • particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Uong Term Evolution (UTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.
  • Network 1406 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks,
  • Network node 1460 and WD 1410 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network.
  • the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.
  • network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network.
  • network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)).
  • APs access points
  • BSs base stations
  • eNBs evolved Node Bs
  • gNBs NRNodeBs
  • Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations.
  • a base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay.
  • a network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • RRUs remote radio units
  • RRHs Remote Radio Heads
  • Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
  • DAS distributed antenna system
  • network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs.
  • MSR multi-standard radio
  • RNCs radio network controllers
  • BSCs base station controllers
  • BTSs base transceiver stations
  • transmission points transmission nodes
  • MCEs multi-cell/multicast coordination entities
  • core network nodes e.g., MSCs, MMEs
  • O&M nodes e.g., OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs.
  • network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.
  • network node 1460 includes processing circuitry 1470, device readable medium 1480, interface 1490, auxiliary equipment 1484, power source 1486, power circuitry 1487, and antenna 1462.
  • network node 1460 illustrated in the example wireless network of Figure 14 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein.
  • network node 1460 may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 1480 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).
  • network node 1460 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components.
  • network node 1460 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components)
  • one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes.
  • a single RNC may control multiple NodeB ’s.
  • each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
  • network node 1460 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs).
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 1480 for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1462 may be shared by the RATs).
  • Network node 1460 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1460, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1460.
  • Processing circuitry 1470 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 1470 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 1470 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • processing information obtained by processing circuitry 1470 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • Processing circuitry 1470 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1460 components, such as device readable medium 1480, network node 1460 functionality.
  • processing circuitry 1470 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 1480 or in memory within processing circuitry 1470. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein.
  • processing circuitry 1470 may include a system on a chip (SOC).
  • SOC system on a chip
  • processing circuitry 1470 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1472 and baseband processing circuitry 1474.
  • radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1472 and baseband processing circuitry 1474 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1472 and baseband processing circuitry 1474 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units
  • processing circuitry 1470 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 1480 or memory within processing circuitry 1470.
  • some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 1470 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • processing circuitry 1470 can be configured to perform the described functionality.
  • Device readable medium 1480 may comprise any form of volatile or non volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 1470.
  • volatile or non volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile,
  • Device readable medium 1480 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 1470 and, utilized by network node 1460.
  • Device readable medium 1480 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 1470 and/or any data received via interface 1490.
  • processing circuitry 1470 and device readable medium 1480 may be considered to be integrated.
  • Interface 1490 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node 1460, network 1406, and/or WDs 1410. As illustrated, interface 1490 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 1494 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 1406 over a wired connection. Interface 1490 also includes radio front end circuitry 1492 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 1462. Radio front end circuitry 1492 comprises filters 1498 and amplifiers 1496. Radio front end circuitry 1492 may be connected to antenna 1462 and processing circuitry 1470. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1462 and processing circuitry 1470.
  • Radio front end circuitry 1492 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 1492 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1498 and/or amplifiers 1496. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1462. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1462 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 1492. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1470. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • network node 1460 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 1492, instead, processing circuitry 1470 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 1462 without separate radio front end circuitry 1492.
  • processing circuitry 1470 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 1462 without separate radio front end circuitry 1492.
  • all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 1472 may be considered a part of interface 1490.
  • interface 1490 may include one or more ports or terminals 1494, radio front end circuitry 1492, and RF transceiver circuitry 1472, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 1490 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 1474, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
  • Antenna 1462 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1462 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 1490 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 1462 may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line.
  • antenna 1462 may be separate from network node 1460 and may be connectable to network node 1460 through an interface or port.
  • Antenna 1462, interface 1490, and/or processing circuitry 1470 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
  • antenna 1462, interface 1490, and/or processing circuitry 1470 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
  • Power circuitry 1487 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 1460 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 1487 may receive power from power source 1486. Power source 1486 and/or power circuitry 1487 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 1460 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 1486 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 1487 and/or network node 1460.
  • network node 1460 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 1487.
  • power source 1486 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 1487. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
  • Other types of power sources such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.
  • network node 1460 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 14 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein.
  • network node 1460 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 1460 and to allow output of information from network node 1460. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 1460.
  • wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices.
  • the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE).
  • Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air.
  • a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network.
  • Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE) a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc.
  • VoIP voice over IP
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • a wireless cameras a gaming console or device
  • a music storage device a playback appliance
  • a wearable terminal device a wireless endpoint
  • a mobile station a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (L
  • a WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to- infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device.
  • D2D device-to-device
  • V2V vehicle-to-vehicle
  • V2I vehicle-to- infrastructure
  • V2X vehicle-to-everything
  • a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node.
  • the WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device.
  • M2M machine-to-machine
  • the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard.
  • NB-IoT narrow band internet of things
  • machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).
  • a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
  • a WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.
  • wireless device 1410 includes antenna 1411, interface 1414, processing circuitry 1420, device readable medium 1430, user interface equipment 1432, auxiliary equipment 1434, power source 1436 and power circuitry 1437.
  • WD 1410 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 1410, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 1410.
  • Antenna 1411 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 1414. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 1411 may be separate from WD 1410 and be connectable to WD 1410 through an interface or port. Antenna 1411, interface 1414, and/or processing circuitry 1420 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 1411 may be considered an interface.
  • interface 1414 comprises radio front end circuitry 1412 and antenna 1411.
  • Radio front end circuitry 1412 comprise one or more filters 1418 and amplifiers 1416.
  • Radio front end circuitry 1414 is connected to antenna 1411 and processing circuitry 1420, and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1411 and processing circuitry 1420.
  • Radio front end circuitry 1412 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 1411.
  • WD 1410 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 1412; rather, processing circuitry 1420 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 1411.
  • some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1422 may be considered a part of interface 1414.
  • Radio front end circuitry 1412 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 1412 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1418 and/or amplifiers 1416. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1411. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1411 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 1412. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1420. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • Processing circuitry 1420 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 1410 components, such as device readable medium 1430, WD 1410 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein.
  • processing circuitry 1420 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 1430 or in memory within processing circuitry 1420 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.
  • processing circuitry 1420 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 1422, baseband processing circuitry 1424, and application processing circuitry 1426.
  • the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • processing circuitry 1420 ofWD 1410 may comprise a SOC.
  • RF transceiver circuitry 1422, baseband processing circuitry 1424, and application processing circuitry 1426 may be on separate chips or sets of chips.
  • part or all of baseband processing circuitry 1424 and application processing circuitry 1426 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 1422 may be on a separate chip or set of chips.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1422 and baseband processing circuitry 1424 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 1426 may be on a separate chip or set of chips.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1422, baseband processing circuitry 1424, and application processing circuitry 1426 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips.
  • RF transceiver circuitry 1422 may be a part of interface 1414.
  • RF transceiver circuitry 1422 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 1420.
  • processing circuitry 1420 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 1430, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium.
  • some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 1420 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • processing circuitry 1420 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1420 alone or to other components ofWD 1410, but are enjoyed by WD 1410 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.
  • Processing circuitry 1420 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 1420, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 1420 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 1410, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • processing information obtained by processing circuitry 1420 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 1410, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • Device readable medium 1430 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 1420.
  • Device readable medium 1430 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 1420.
  • RAM Random Access Memory
  • ROM Read Only Memory
  • mass storage media e.g., a hard disk
  • removable storage media e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)
  • processing circuitry 1420 and device readable medium 1430 may be considered to be integrated.
  • User interface equipment 1432 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 1410. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 1432 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 1410. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 1432 installed in WD 1410.
  • User interface equipment 1432 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 1432 is configured to allow input of information into WD 1410, and is connected to processing circuitry 1420 to allow processing circuitry 1420 to process the input information.
  • User interface equipment 1432 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 1432 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 1410, and to allow processing circuitry 1420 to output information from WD 1410. User interface equipment 1432 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 1432, WD 1410 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.
  • Auxiliary equipment 1434 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 1434 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.
  • Power source 1436 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used.
  • WD 1410 may further comprise power circuitry 1437 for delivering power from power source 1436 to the various parts of WD 1410 which need power from power source 1436 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein.
  • Power circuitry 1437 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry.
  • Power circuitry 1437 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 1410 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable.
  • Power circuitry 1437 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 1436. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 1436. Power circuitry 1437 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 1436 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 1410 to which power is supplied.
  • Figure 15 illustrates a User Equipment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Figure 15 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein.
  • a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).
  • a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).
  • UE 1500 may be any UE identified by the 3 rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • UE 1500 as illustrated in Figure 15, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3 rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards.
  • 3GPP 3 rd Generation Partnership Project
  • the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although Figure 15 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa.
  • UE 1500 includes processing circuitry 1501 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 1505, radio frequency (RF) interface 1509, network connection interface 1511, memory 1515 including random access memory (RAM) 1517, read-only memory (ROM) 1519, and storage medium 1521 or the like, communication subsystem 1531, power source 1533, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • Storage medium 1521 includes operating system 1523, application program 1525, and data 1527. In other embodiments, storage medium 1521 may include other similar types of information.
  • Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in Figure 15, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
  • processing circuitry 1501 may be configured to process computer instructions and data.
  • Processing circuitry 1501 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine- readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware- implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general- purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above.
  • the processing circuitry 1501 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.
  • input/output interface 1505 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device.
  • UE 1500 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 1505.
  • An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device.
  • a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 1500.
  • the output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof.
  • UE 1500 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 1505 to allow a user to capture information into UE 1500.
  • the input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like .
  • the presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user.
  • a sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof.
  • the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.
  • RF interface 1509 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna.
  • Network connection interface 1511 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 1543a.
  • Network 1543a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof.
  • network 1543a may comprise a Wi-Fi network.
  • Network connection interface 1511 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like.
  • Network connection interface 1511 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.
  • RAM 1517 may be configured to interface via bus 1502 to processing circuitry 1501 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers.
  • ROM 1519 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 1501.
  • ROM 1519 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory.
  • Storage medium 1521 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives.
  • storage medium 1521 may be configured to include operating system 1523, application program 1525 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 1527.
  • Storage medium 1521 may store, for use by UE 1500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • Storage medium 1521 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD-DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HDDS holographic digital data storage
  • DIMM external mini-dual in-line memory module
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user
  • Storage medium 1521 may allow UE 1500 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data.
  • An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1521, which may comprise a device readable medium.
  • processing circuitry 1501 may be configured to communicate with network 1543b using communication subsystem 1531.
  • Network 1543a and network 1543b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks.
  • Communication subsystem 1531 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 1543b.
  • communication subsystem 1531 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.11, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like.
  • Each transceiver may include transmitter 1533 and/or receiver 1535 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 1533 and receiver 1535 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.
  • the communication functions of communication subsystem 1531 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof.
  • communication subsystem 1531 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication.
  • Network 1543b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof.
  • network 1543b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network.
  • Power source 1513 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 1500.
  • communication subsystem 1531 may be configured to include any of the components described herein.
  • processing circuitry 1501 may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 1502.
  • any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 1501 perform the corresponding functions described herein.
  • the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 1501 and communication subsystem 1531.
  • the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
  • Figure 16 illustrates a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • FIG 16 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1600 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.
  • virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources.
  • virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).
  • a node e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node
  • a device e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device
  • some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1600 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 1630. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.
  • the functions may be implemented by one or more applications 1620 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
  • Applications 1620 are run in virtualization environment 1600 which provides hardware 1630 comprising processing circuitry 1660 and memory 1690.
  • Memory 1690 contains instructions 1695 executable by processing circuitry 1660 whereby application 1620 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.
  • Virtualization environment 1600 comprises general-purpose or special- purpose network hardware devices 1630 comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 1660, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors.
  • processors or processing circuitry 1660 which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors.
  • Each hardware device may comprise memory 1690-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 1695 or software executed by processing circuitry 1660.
  • Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 1670, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 1680.
  • NICs network interface controllers
  • Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media 1690-2 having stored therein software 1695 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 1660.
  • Software 1695 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 1650 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 1640 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • Virtual machines 1640 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1650 or hypervisor.
  • Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 1620 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 1640, and the implementations may be made in different ways.
  • processing circuitry 1660 executes software 1695 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 1650, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM).
  • Virtualization layer 1650 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 1640.
  • hardware 1630 may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1630 may comprise antenna 16225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1630 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 16100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1620.
  • CPE customer premise equipment
  • NFV network function virtualization
  • NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
  • virtual machine 1640 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non- virtualized machine.
  • Each of virtual machines 1640, and that part of hardware 1630 that executes that virtual machine be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 1640, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).
  • VNE virtual network elements
  • VNF Virtual Network Function
  • one or more radio units 16200 that each include one or more transmitters 16220 and one or more receivers 16210 may be coupled to one or more antennas 16225.
  • Radio units 16200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 1630 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.
  • control system 16230 which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 1630 and radio units 16200.
  • Figure 17 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments.
  • a communication system includes telecommunication network 1710, such as a 3GPP- type cellular network, which comprises access network 1711, such as a radio access network, and core network 1714.
  • Access network 1711 comprises a plurality of base stations 1712a, 1712b, 1712c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 1713a, 1713b, 1713c.
  • Each base station 1712a, 1712b, 1712c is connectable to core network 1714 over a wired or wireless connection 1715.
  • a first UE 1791 located in coverage area 1713c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1712c.
  • a second UE 1792 in coverage area 1713a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1712a. While a plurality of UEs 1791, 1792 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 1712.
  • Telecommunication network 1710 is itself connected to host computer 1730, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm.
  • Host computer 1730 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1721 and 1722 between telecommunication network 1710 and host computer 1730 may extend directly from core network 1714 to host computer 1730 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1720.
  • Intermediate network 1720 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 1720, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 1720 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
  • the communication system of Figure 17 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1791, 1792 and host computer 1730.
  • the connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1750.
  • Host computer 1730 and the connected UEs 1791, 1792 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 1750, using access network 1711, core network 1714, any intermediate network 1720 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries.
  • OTT connection 1750 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection 1750 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications.
  • base station 1712 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 1730 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 1791. Similarly, base station 1712 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 1791 towards the host computer 1730.
  • Figure 18 illustrates a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.
  • host computer 1810 comprises hardware 1815 including communication interface 1816 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 1800.
  • Host computer 1810 further comprises processing circuitry 1818, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities.
  • processing circuitry 1818 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions.
  • Host computer 1810 further comprises software 1811, which is stored in or accessible by host computer 1810 and executable by processing circuitry 1818.
  • Software 1811 includes host application 1812.
  • Host application 1812 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE 1830 connecting via OTT connection 1850 terminating at UE 1830 and host computer 1810. In providing the service to the remote user, host application 1812 may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 1850.
  • Communication system 1800 further includes base station 1820 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1825 enabling it to communicate with host computer 1810 and with UE 1830.
  • Hardware 1825 may include communication interface 1826 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 1800, as well as radio interface 1827 for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection 1870 with UE 1830 located in a coverage area (not shown in Figure 18) served by base station 1820.
  • Communication interface 1826 may be configured to facilitate connection 1860 to host computer 1810. Connection 1860 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Figure 18) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system.
  • hardware 1825 of base station 1820 further includes processing circuitry 1828, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions.
  • Base station 1820 further has software 1821 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.
  • Communication system 1800 further includes UE 1830 already referred to. Its hardware 1835 may include radio interface 1837 configured to set up and maintain wireless connection 1870 with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE 1830 is currently located. Hardware 1835 of UE 1830 further includes processing circuitry 1838, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions.
  • UE 1830 further comprises software 1831, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1830 and executable by processing circuitry 1838.
  • Software 1831 includes client application 1832. Client application 1832 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1830, with the support of host computer 1810.
  • an executing host application 1812 may communicate with the executing client application 1832 via OTT connection 1850 terminating at UE 1830 and host computer 1810.
  • client application 1832 may receive request data from host application 1812 and provide user data in response to the request data.
  • OTT connection 1850 may transfer both the request data and the user data.
  • Client application 1832 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
  • host computer 1810, base station 1820 and UE 1830 illustrated in Figure 18 may be similar or identical to host computer 1730, one of base stations 1712a, 1712b, 1712c and one of UEs 1791, 1792 of Figure 17, respectively.
  • the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 18 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 17.
  • OTT connection 1850 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer 1810 and UE 1830 via base station 1820, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE 1830 or from the service provider operating host computer 1810, or both. While OTT connection 1850 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).
  • Wireless connection 1870 between UE 1830 and base station 1820 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1830 using OTT connection 1850, in which wireless connection 1870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the throughput and/or latency and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time.
  • a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 1850 may be implemented in software 1811 and hardware 1815 of host computer 1810 or in software 1831 and hardware 1835 of UE 1830, or both.
  • sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection 1850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 1811, 1831 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.
  • the reconfiguring of OTT connection 1850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station 1820, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 1820. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer 1810’s measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like .
  • the measurements may be implemented in that software 1811 and 1831 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 1850 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
  • Figure 19 illustrates methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • FIG 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 17 and 18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 19 will be included in this section.
  • the host computer provides user data.
  • substep 1911 (which may be optional) of step 1910, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application.
  • the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE.
  • the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.
  • Figure 20 illustrates methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • FIG 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 17 and 18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 20 will be included in this section.
  • the host computer provides user data.
  • the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application.
  • the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • step 2030 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.
  • Figure 21 illustrates methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 17 and l8. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 21 will be included in this section.
  • step 2110 the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 2120, the UE provides user data.
  • substep 2121 (which may be optional) of step 2120, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application.
  • substep 2111 (which may be optional) of step 2110, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer.
  • the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user.
  • the UE initiates, in substep 2130 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer.
  • step 2140 of the method the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • Figure 22 illustrates methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • FIG 22 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 17 and 18. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 22 will be included in this section.
  • the base station receives user data from the UE.
  • the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer.
  • the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.
  • Figure 23 illustrates a virtualization apparatus in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Figure 23 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 2300 in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in Figure 14).
  • the apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device or network node (e.g., wireless device 1410 or network node 1460 shown in Figure 14) (e.g., 12A, 12B in Figure 1).
  • Apparatus 2300 is operable to carry out the example method described with reference to Figures 10 and 11 and possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the method of Figure VV is not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus 2300. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.
  • Virtual Apparatus 2300 may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like.
  • the processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc.
  • Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments.
  • the processing circuitry may be used to cause receiving unit 2302, transmitting unit 2304, and (optional) steering unit 2306, and any other suitable units of apparatus 2300 to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • apparatus 2300 includes receiving unit 2302, transmitting unit 2304, and (optional) steering unit 2306.
  • Receiving unit 2302 is configured to receiving control signaling (e.g., 16).
  • Receiving unit 2304 is configured to transmit control signaling (e.g., 16).
  • Traffic steering unit 2306 is configured to cause traffic steering (e.g., to one or more network nodes) of one or more wireless devices (e.g., UEs) based at least on control signaling (e.g., 16).
  • the term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.
  • EARFCN E-UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Number ECGI E-UTRA Cell Global Identity eNB Evolved Node B en-gNB E-UTRA-NR-gNB EPC Evolved Packet Core EPS Evolved Packet System E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network gNB 5th Generation Node B IE Information Element LTE Long Term Evolution MME Mobility Management Entity NE-DC NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity ng-eNB NG eNB NG-RAN 5th Generation Radio Access Network NS A Non-Stand Alone RAN Radio Access Network RCF Radio Control Function RN Radio Node scs Sub-carrier Spacing
  • E-SMLC Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre
  • ECGI Evolved CGI eNB
  • NodeB E-UTRAN NodeB ePDCCH enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel
  • GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network gNB Base station in NR GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
  • NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel NR New Radio

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  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
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  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne des procédés, des systèmes et des dispositifs ayant trait à la signalisation de commande relative à la prise en charge de connectivité multiple. Selon certains modes de réalisation, un nœud de réseau radio reçoit une signalisation de commande indiquant si chaque identifiant de service d'un autre nœud de réseau radio ou chaque identifiant de service d'une cellule desservie par l'autre nœud de réseau radio prend en charge une connectivité multiple. Selon certains modes de réalisation, un nœud de réseau radio transmet une signalisation de commande indiquant si chaque identifiant de service du nœud de réseau radio ou chaque identifiant de service d'une cellule desservie par le nœud de réseau radio prend en charge une connectivité multiple.
PCT/IB2020/058274 2019-09-06 2020-09-04 Signalisation de capacité à connectivité multiple pour nœuds multiservices WO2021044375A1 (fr)

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