WO2022116157A1

WO2022116157A1 - Receiving data in rrc idle/inactive state

Info

Publication number: WO2022116157A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/133922
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jianguo Liu; Tao Tao; Yan Meng; Yong Liu
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2020-12-04
Filing date: 2020-12-04
Publication date: 2022-06-09
Also published as: CN116530102A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to receiving data in RRC idle or inactive state. A network device initiates paging procedure to deliver triggering information through paging message to a terminal device in RRC idle or inactive state when it needs to deliver data to the device. The terminal device may be triggered to monitor physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for data reception in RRC idle or inactive state. Unlike the conventional paging procedure, the terminal device may not initiate RACH procedure to setup/resume RRC connection upon receiving the paging message with the triggering information while being still maintained in RCC idle or inactive state.

Description

RECEIVING DATA IN RRC IDLE/INACTIVE STATE

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for receiving data in Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle or inactive state.

BACKGROUND

According to current communication technologies, it proposes a solution for positioning user equipment. In the current communication technologies, if the user equipment is not in RRC connected state, the user equipment cannot be positioned. One solution is to wake up to the user equipment to perform positioning when positioning is needed. However, there is still no effective solution for how to position the user equipment when the user equipment is not in RRC connected state.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for receiving data in RRC idle or inactive state.

In a first aspect, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes; the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to receive, from a second device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state. The first device is yet caused to receive, from the second device, triggering information for monitoring data. The first device is further caused to monitor, at the first device, the data at the least one monitoring occasion.

In a second aspect, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes; the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to transmit, to a first device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state. The second device is further caused to receive data from a third device or a fourth device. The second device is also caused to transmit, to the first device, triggering information for monitoring the data. The second device is yet caused to transmit the data to the first device.

In a third aspect, there is provided a third device. The third device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes; the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third device to obtain data. The third device is further caused to select from a plurality of devices, at least one device for transmitting triggering information to a first device, the plurality of devices being in a radio access network-based notification area of the first device. The third device is also caused to transmit the data to the at least one device.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises receiving, at a first device and from a second device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state. The method further comprises receiving, from the second device, triggering information for monitoring data. The method also monitoring, at the first device, the data at the least one monitoring occasion.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises transmitting, at a second device and to a first device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state. The method also comprises receiving data from a third device or a fourth device. The method further comprises transmitting, to the first device, triggering information for monitoring the data. The method yet comprises transmitting the data to the first device.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises obtaining, at a third device, data. The method also comprises selecting, from a plurality of devices, at least one device for transmitting triggering information to a first device, the plurality of devices being in a radio access network-based notification area of the first device. The method further comprises transmitting the data to the at least one device.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a first device and from a second device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state; means for receiving, from the second device, triggering information for monitoring data; and means for monitoring, at the first device, the data at the least one monitoring occasion.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting, at a second device and to a first device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state; means for receiving data from a third device or a fourth device; means for transmitting, to the first device, triggering information for monitoring the data; and means for transmitting the data to the first device.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for obtaining, at a third device, data; means for selecting, from a plurality of devices, at least one device for transmitting triggering information to a first device, the plurality of devices being in a radio access network-based notification area of the first device; and means for transmitting the data to the at least one device.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of the above fourth, fifth and sixth aspects.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

Fig. 2 illustrates a signaling flow for paging triggered reception of data in RRC idle/inactive state according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second device according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a third device according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the future fifth generation (5G) , the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, an Integrated and Access Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

As mentioned above, the solution for positioning user equipment has been proposed. For example, Release-16 (Rel-16) native new radio (NR) positioning support has been standardized. As the result the following positioning solutions are now specified for NR Rel-16: Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) , Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA) , Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) , Uplink Angle of Arrival (UL-AoA) , and Multi-cell Round Trip Time (Multi-RTT) .

According to conventional technologies, Radio Access Technology (RAT) -dependent positioning techniques are limited to terminal devices which are in RRC connected mode. Therefore, the number of terminal devices that can be simultaneously positioned is limited. For example, in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) scenarios and other use cases, a massive number of terminal devices may require positioning service at the same time. Requiring all terminal devices to move to the RRC connected state may lead to a large signaling overhead. Further, additional latency is incurred prior to positioning of terminal device if not in connected state when position is requested. It may increase power consumption by requiring the terminal device to move to connected state prior to positioning.

Thus, one of the key enhancements under discussion is to support positioning for terminal devices in RRC idle and RRC inactive states. According to conventional technologies, there will be further work on NR positioning with most focusing on IIoT. One key objective is studying enhancements and solutions necessary to support the high accuracy (horizontal and vertical) , low latency, network efficiency, and device efficiency requirements for commercial uses cases. One of the use cases in the industry IoT is asset tracking. Asset tracker is a solution for tracking the locations of assets, which is becoming increasingly important in improving processes and increasing flexibility in industrial environments. For example, the asset tracking device will be some smart tags with low power tags: disposable, that can go to package (energy harvesting with minimal battery) ; persistent, that could be employee badge (one-year battery) ; and permanent, that is attached to powered entity.

Therefore, the use case requires objects to combine positioning and wireless communication technologies in a cost and power efficient manner.

Further, terminal devices that are in the network are considered in different RRC modes or states relative to the network. These include the RRC connected state, RRC inactive state, and RRC idle state. When a terminal device is in the RRC connected state, it can communicate with the network device using the typical NR physical channels and procedures. The terminal device in RRC idle state and RRC inactive state can save power when compared to being RRC connected state.

However, the terminal device in the RRC idle state and RRC inactive state doesn’t support data transmission. Hence, the terminal device has to setup and resume the connection for data transmission, which results in unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead.

As discussed above, according to some conventional technologies, the positioning device in RRC idle state and RRC inactive state must move to RRC connected state for receiving the positioning assistance data from the network. For this, the network will initiate the paging procedure for the device, and then the device will start 2/4-step Random Access (RA) procedure to setup or resume connection before data transfer. This results in unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead.

According to conventional technologies, Small Data Transmission (SDT) in RRC inactive state is proposed. It mainly focuses on UL small data transmission. Although the terminal device doesn’t need RRC connection state transition, the network still need to page the device firstly and then the device initiates a RRC connection resume procedure in RRC inactive state for downlink data transmission. This operation will cause extra signaling overhead, positioning latency reduction and power consumption due to new random access procedure.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for receiving data in RRC idle or inactive state is proposed. A network device initiates paging procedure to deliver triggering information through paging message to a terminal device in RRC idle or inactive state when it needs to deliver positioning assistance data to the device. The terminal device may be triggered to monitor physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for positioning assistance data reception. Unlike the conventional paging procedure, the terminal device may not initiate RACH procedure to setup/resume RRC connection upon receiving the paging message with the triggering information while being still maintained in RCC idle or inactive state.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication environment 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 100, which is a part of a communication network, comprises a device 110-1, a device 110-2, ...., a device 110-N, which can be collectively referred to as “device (s) 110. ” The communication environment 100 comprises a device 120-1, a device 120-2, ..., a device 120-3, which can be collectively referred to as “device (s) 120. ” The parameters N and M can be any suitable number. The communication environment 100 comprises a core network device 140. For example, the core network device 140 may comprise a Location Management Function (LMF) entity. In addition, the core network device 140 may comprise a 5G Core Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entity. The device 110 and the device 110 can communicate with each other.

The communication environment 100 may comprise any suitable number of devices and cells. In the communication environment 100, the device 110 and the device 120 can communicate data and control information to each other. In the case that the device 110 is the terminal device and the device 120 is the network device, a link from the device 120 to the device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL) , while a link from the device 110 to the device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL) . The device 120 and the device 110 are interchangeable.

It is to be understood that the number of devices and cells and their connections shown in Fig. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices and networks adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) and on the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which illustrates a signaling flow 200 for according to example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. In some example embodiments, the signaling flow 200 may involve the device 110-1 (referred to as the “first device 110-1” hereinafter) , the device 120-1 (referred to as the “second device 120-1” hereinafter) , the device 120-2 (referred to as the “third device 120-2” hereinafter) and the core network device 140 (referred to as the “fourth device 140” hereinafter) . Alternatively, the signaling flow 200 may involve the device 110-1, the device 120-1 and the core network device 140, which means that the second device and the third device may be the same one. Assuming that the first device is in a connected state (e.g., RRC connected state) with the third device, and then the third device indicates the first device to enter into an inactive state (e.g., RRC inactive state) . In some embodiments, the first device in the inactive state may perform cell reselection from the third device to the second device for paging reception. In this case, the second device serves as an anchor cell for the first device, and the third device serves as a last serving cell for the first device. In some alternative embodiments, the first device in the inactive state may does not perform cell reselection. In this case, the third device serves as both the anchor cell and the last serving cell for the first device. In other words, the second device and the third device is the same device. It should be noted that the singling flow 200 may involve any suitable devices. It should be noted that embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to general scenarios for data delivery in RRC idle or inactive state. For example, the data may be no latency traffic. Only for the purpose of illustrations, embodiments of the present disclosure are described with the reference to the scenario of positioning assistance information.

The second device 120-1 transmits 2005 a search space configuration to the first device 110-1. The search space configuration indicates at least one monitoring occasion. The first device 110-1 is not in RRC connected state. For example, the first device 110-1 may be in RRC idle state. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may be in RRC inactive state.

In some example embodiments, the search space configuration may indicate a certain range that possibly carries PDCCH. For example, the first device 110-1 may determine one or more monitoring occasions for reception of data. Only as an example, the first device 110-1 may perform blind decoding throughout the search space to find PDCCH which carries the data. The certain region in which the first device 110-1 performs blind decoding may be called Search Space.

In some example embodiments, the search space may be a common search space. For example, the search space configuration may be predefined. Alternatively, the search space configuration may be transmitted via RRC signaling. For example, the search space configuration may be transmitted in system information block (SIB) .

Alternatively, the search space configuration may indicate a new search space which is configured for data. The search space configuration may be transmitted via broadcast signaling. For example, a search space identity may be defined in an information element (IE) PDCCH-ConfigCommon to configure the search space. Table 1 illustrates an example configuration of the search space.

Table 1

In some example embodiments, the core network device 140 may trigger the third device 120-2 to initiate a paging procedure for delivering the data to the first device 110-1. The third device 120-2 obtains data. In some example embodiments, the third device 120-2 may generate 2010 the data. For example, the third device 120-2 may determine the positioning assistance information for the first device 110-1, for example, uplink positioning. Alternatively, the fourth device 140 may transmit 2012 the data to the third device 120-2. In other embodiments, the fourth device 140 may transmit the data to the second device 120-1. The data may be transmitted using NRPPa protocol.

In an example embodiment, the third device 120-2 may be triggered to initiate the paging procedure after receiving the data from the fourth device 140. For example, the data may comprise positioning assistance information. In some example embodiments, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) . For example, a frequency of the PRS may be in the positioning assistance information. The positioning assistance information may comprise a bandwidth of the PRS. In addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise a period of the PRS transmission. The number of symbols of the PRS may also be included in the positioning assistance information. Additionally, the positioning assistance information may comprise a resource identifier of the PRS.

In some example embodiments, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a positioning measurement. For example, the positioning assistance information may indicate a type of the positioning measurement. In some example embodiments, the type of the positioning measurement may comprise one or more of: reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , relative time of arrival (RTOA) , angle of arrival (AoA) , angle of departure (AoD) , time difference of arrival (TDOA) , or a multi-cell round trip time (Multi-RTT) .

In other embodiments, the positioning assistance information may a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement. For example, the positioning assistance information may a period for reporting the positioning measurement. For example, the positioning assistance information may conditions for triggering the transmission of the positioning measurement. Alternatively or in addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise an uplink measurement result. For example, the uplink measurement result may be used for synchronization error cancellation for combined usage of Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) and UL-TDOA.

In another example embodiment, the fourth device 140 may transmit a request to the third device 120-2 to indicate the paging procedure. The third device 120 may be triggered to initiate the paging procedure after receiving the request. In some example embodiments, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. For example, a frequency of the SRS may be in the positioning assistance information. The positioning assistance information may comprise a bandwidth of the SRS. In addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise a period of the SRS transmission. The number of symbols of the SRS may also be included in the positioning assistance information. Additionally, the positioning assistance information may comprise a resource identifier of the SRS. Alternatively, the positioning assistance information may comprise an activation or inactivation for the SRS transmission. It should be noted that the positioning assistance information may comprise any suitable parameters for positioning. The positioning assistance information is not limited to above example information.

The third device 120-2 selects 2015 one or more devices from a plurality of devices for paging the first device 110-1. The plurality of devices may belong to a set of cells in Radio Access Network (RAN) Notification Area (RNA) of the first device 110-1. For example, the third device 120-2 may select all devices (cells) in the RNA of the first device 110-1 to page the first device 110-1 to monitor the data.

Alternatively, the third device 120-2 may select a set of devices (cells) from the plurality of devices. In some example embodiments, the set of devices may be selected based on a last anchor cell of the first device 110-1. The set of devices may be selected based on a last serving cell of the first device 110-1. Alternatively or in addition, the third device 120-2 may select the set of devices based on location information of the first device 110-1. In other embodiments, the set of devices may be selected based on mobility information of the first device 110-1.

Only as an example, the third device 120-2 may select one or more cells around the last anchor cell to be the set of cells if communication time between the first deice 110-1 and the last anchor is lower than a threshold. Alternatively, the third device 120-2 may select one or more cells around the location information estimated at the fourth device 140 based on UL PRS. In other embodiment, the AMF may select the set of cells based on the location information of the first device 110-1 and signal the set of cells to third device 120-2 to page the first device 110-1. In some example embodiments, the third device 120-2 may also indicate paging procedures at other unselected cells. In this way, it reduces network signaling overhead for data transmission as only part of the cells in the RNA needs to transmit the positioning assistance data information for the first device 110-1 in RRC idle/inactive state.

Only for the purpose of illustrations, the second device 120-1 may be selected by the third device 120-2 or the AMF entity. The third device 120-2 transmits 2020 the data to the second device 120-1. The data may be transmitted via any suitable signaling between the second device 120-1 and the third device 120-2. For example, the data may be transmitted in a backhaul link between the second device 120-1 and the third device 120-52. An X2 interface may be used for the transmission of the data. Embodiments are not limited in this aspect.

The second device 120-1 transmits 2025 triggering information to the first device 110-1 for monitoring the data. For example, the triggering information may be transmitted in a paging message. In this way, it reduces network signaling overhead for data transmission.

By way of example, the second device 120-1 may page the first device 110-1 with a monitoring triggering signaling (MTS) indication which is an example of the triggering information. The MTS indication may be used to indicate the first device 110-1 to monitor the data for a period until the first device 110-1 detects the PDCCH for the data. In some example embodiments, the triggering information may be carried in a UE-specific paging record for the first device 110-1.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110-1 may determine 2030 a period for monitoring the data. For example, the period may be predefined. Alternatively, the period may be implicitly determined based on the search space configuration. For example, the period may be from a current monitoring occasion to a next monitoring occasion. In some example embodiments, the period may be configured with the triggering information. Alternatively, an indication of the period may be transmitted via RRC signaling.

The first device 110-1 monitors 2035 the data at the least one monitoring occasion. The second device 120-1 transmits 2040 the data to the first device 110-1. For example, the data may be transmitted in a paging message. In some example embodiments, the first device 110-1 may suspend the monitoring after the period. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may suspend the monitoring until the first device 110-1 successfully detects the data. Unlike the conventional paging procedure, the first device 110-1 may not initiate random access channel (RACH) procedure to setup/resume the RRC connection procedure upon receiving the triggering information while being still maintained in RCC idle or inactive state. In this way, there is no RRC connection state transition and not RACH procedure, thereby saving power.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110-1 may transmit 2045 an acknowledgment to the second device 120-1 if the data is detected. In an example embodiment, the acknowledgment may be transmitted to the second device 120-1 on a configured grant (CG) resource. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may transmit the acknowledgment on a RACH resource. In other embodiments, the acknowledgment may be transmitted on a PUCCH resource which is configured via system information.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device receives triggering information for monitoring data. The terminal device is able to receive data while maintaining in RRC idle state or RRC inactive state. In this way, there is not RRC connection state transition and no or simplified RACH procedure. Further, paging overheads are reduced. Moreover, it can benefit UE power saving, end-to-end positioning latency reduction and signaling overhead reduction.

Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of an example method 300 implemented at a first device 110-1 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 300 will be described from the perspective of the first device 110-1.

At block 310, the first device 110-1 receives a search space configuration. The search space configuration indicates at least one monitoring occasion. The first device 110-1 is not in RRC connected state. For example, the first device 110-1 may be in RRC idle state. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may be in RRC inactive state.

Alternatively, the search space configuration may indicate a new search space which is configured for data. The search space configuration may be transmitted via broadcast signaling. For example, a search space identity may be defined in an information element (IE) PDCCH-ConfigCommon to configure the search space.

At block 320, the first device 110-1 receives triggering information from the second device 120-1 for monitoring the data. In this way, it reduces network signaling overhead for data transmission.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110-1 may determine a period for monitoring the data. For example, the period may be predefined. Alternatively, the period may be implicitly determined based on the search space configuration. For example, the period may be from a current monitoring occasion to a next monitoring occasion. In some example embodiments, the period may be configured with the triggering information. Alternatively, an indication of the period may be transmitted via RRC signaling.

At block 330, the first device 110-1 monitors 2030 the data at the least one monitoring occasion. The second device 120-1 transmits the data to the first device 110-1. For example, the data may be transmitted in a paging message.

In some example embodiments, the data may comprise positioning assistance information. For example, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) . For example, a frequency of the PRS may be in the positioning assistance information. The positioning assistance information may comprise a bandwidth of the PRS. In addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise a period of the PRS transmission. The number of symbols of the PRS may also be included in the positioning assistance information. Additionally, the positioning assistance information may comprise a resource identifier of the PRS.

In some example embodiments, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. For example, a frequency of the SRS may be in the positioning assistance information. The positioning assistance information may comprise a bandwidth of the SRS. In addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise a period of the SRS transmission. The number of symbols of the SRS may also be included in the positioning assistance information. Additionally, the positioning assistance information may comprise a resource identifier of the SRS. Alternatively, the positioning assistance information may comprise an activation or inactivation for the SRS transmission. It should be noted that the positioning assistance information may comprise any suitable parameters for positioning. The positioning assistance information is not limited to above example information.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110-1 may suspend the monitoring after the period. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may suspend the monitoring until the first device 110-1 successfully detects the data. Unlike the conventional paging procedure, the first device 110-1 may not initiate random access channel (RACH) procedure to setup/resume the RRC connection procedure upon receiving the triggering information while being still maintained in RCC idle or inactive state. In this way, there is no RRC connection state transition and not RACH procedure, thereby saving power.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110-1 may transmit an acknowledgment to the second device 120-1 if the data is detected. In an example embodiment, the acknowledgment may be transmitted to the second device 120-1 on a configured grant (CG) resource. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may transmit the acknowledgment on a RACH resource. In other embodiments, the acknowledgment may be transmitted on a PUCCH resource which is configured via system information.

Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of an example method 400 implemented at a second device 120-1 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of the second device 120-1. It should be noted that the dashed blocks are optional.

At block 410, the second device 120-1 transmits a search space configuration to the first device 110-1. The search space configuration indicates at least one monitoring occasion. The first device 110-1 is not in RRC connected state. For example, the first device 110-1 may be in RRC idle state. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may be in RRC inactive state. In some example embodiments, the search space configuration may indicate a certain range that possibly carries PDCCH.

At block 420, the second device 120-1 receives data from the third device 120-2 or the fourth device 140. In some example embodiments, the data may comprise positioning assistance information. For example, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a PRS. For example, a frequency of the PRS may be in the positioning assistance information. The positioning assistance information may comprise a bandwidth of the PRS. In addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise a period of the PRS transmission. The number of symbols of the PRS may also be included in the positioning assistance information. Additionally, the positioning assistance information may comprise a resource identifier of the PRS.

In some example embodiments, the type of the positioning measurement may comprise one or more of: reference signal received power (RSRP) , reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , relative time of arrival (RTOA) , angle of arrival (AoA) , angle of departure (AoD) , time difference of arrival (TDOA) , or a multi-cell round trip time (Multi-RTT) .

At block 430, the second device 120-1 transmits triggering information to the first device 110-1 for monitoring the data. In this way, it reduces network signaling overhead for data transmission.

At block 440, the second device 120-1 transmits the data to the first device 110-1. For example, the data may be transmitted in a paging message.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120-1 may receive an acknowledgment from the first device 110-1the if the data is detected. In an example embodiment, the acknowledgment may be transmitted to the second device 120-1 on a configured grant (CG) resource. Alternatively, the first device 110-1 may transmit the acknowledgment on a RACH resource. In other embodiments, the acknowledgment may be transmitted on a PUCCH resource which is configured via system information.

Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a third device 120-2 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the third device 120-2. It should be noted that the dashed blocks are optional.

At block 510, the third device 120-2 obtains the date. In some embodiments, the third device 120-2 may generate the data. Alternatively, the third device 120-2 may receive the data from the fourth device 140. In some example embodiments, the core network device 140 may trigger the third device 120-2 to initiate a paging procedure for delivering the data to the first device 110-1. In an example embodiment, the third device 120-2 may be triggered to initiate the paging procedure after receiving the data from the fourth device 140. In some example embodiments, the data may comprise positioning assistance information. In some embodiments, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) . For example, a frequency of the PRS may be in the positioning assistance information. The positioning assistance information may comprise a bandwidth of the PRS. In addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise a period of the PRS transmission. The number of symbols of the PRS may also be included in the positioning assistance information. Additionally, the positioning assistance information may comprise a resource identifier of the PRS.

In another example embodiment, the third device 120-2 may receive a request from the fourth device 140 to indicate the paging procedure. The third device 120 may be triggered to initiate the paging procedure after receiving the request. In some example embodiments, the positioning assistance information may comprise a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. For example, a frequency of the SRS may be in the positioning assistance information. The positioning assistance information may comprise a bandwidth of the SRS. In addition, the positioning assistance information may comprise a period of the SRS transmission. The number of symbols of the SRS may also be included in the positioning assistance information. Additionally, the positioning assistance information may comprise a resource identifier of the SRS. Alternatively, the positioning assistance information may comprise an activation or inactivation for the SRS transmission. It should be noted that the positioning assistance information may comprise any suitable parameters for positioning. The positioning assistance information is not limited to above example information.

At block 520, the third device 120-2 selects one or more devices from a plurality of devices for paging the first device 110-1. The plurality of devices may belong to a set of cells in Random Access Network (RAN) Notification Area (RNA) of the first device 110-1. For example, the third device 120-2 may select all devices (cells) in the RNA of the first device 110-1 to page the first device 110-1 to monitor the data.

Only as an example, the third device 120-2 may select one or more cells around the last anchor cell to be the set of cells if communication time between the first deice 110-1 and the last anchor is lower than a threshold. Alternatively, the third device 120-2 may select one or more cells around the location information estimated at the fourth device 140 based on UL PRS. In other embodiment, the AMF may select the set of cells based on the location information of the first device 110-1 and signal the set of cells to third device 120-2 to page the first device 110-1. In some example embodiments, the third device 120-2 may also indicate paging procedures at other unselected cells. In this way, it reduces network signaling overhead for data transmission as only part of the cells in the RNA needs to transmit the positioning assistance data information for the first device 110-1 in RRC idle/inactive state. Only for the purpose of illustrations, the second device 120-1 may be selected by the third device 120-2 or the AMF entity.

At block 530, the third device 120-2 transmits the data to the second device 120-1. The data may be transmitted via any suitable signaling between the second device 120-1 and the third device 120-2. Embodiments are not limited in this aspect.

In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 300 (for example, the first device 110-1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 300. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first device 110-1. In some example embodiments, the means may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause performance of the apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a first device and from a second device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state; means for receiving, from the second device, triggering information for monitoring data; and means for monitoring, at the first device, the positioning assistance information at the least one monitoring occasion.

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the search space configuration comprises: means for receiving the search space configuration via RRC signaling or broadcast signaling.

In some example embodiments, the data comprises positioning assistance information, and the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of: a configuration of a positioning reference signal, a configuration of a positioning measurement, a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement, an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for in accordance with a determination that the data is detected, transmitting an acknowledgment to the second device.

In some example embodiments, the acknowledgment is transmitted on a configured grant resource, a random access channel resource, or a physical uplink control channel resource.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining a period for monitoring the data; and means for suspending the monitoring after the period.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the period comprises one of: means for determining the period from the triggering information, means for determining the period based on the search space configuration, means for receiving an indication of the period via RRC signaling, or means for determining the period from preconfigured information.

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the triggering information comprises means for receiving the triggering information through a paging message.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second comprises a network device.

In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 400 (for example, the second device 120-1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second device 120-1. In some example embodiments, the means may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause performance of the apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for transmitting, at a second device and to a first device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state; means for receiving data from a third device or a fourth device; means for transmitting, to the first device, triggering information for monitoring the data; and means for transmitting, to the first device, the data.

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the search space configuration comprises: means for transmitting the search space configuration via RRC signaling or broadcast signaling.

In some example embodiments, the data comprises positioning assistance information and the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of: a configuration of a positioning reference signal, a configuration of a positioning measurement, a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement, an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving, from the first device, an acknowledgment indicating the data is detected by the first device.

In some example embodiments, the acknowledgment is received on one of: a configured grant resource, a random access channel resource, or a physical uplink control channel resource.

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the triggering information comprises means for transmitting the triggering information through a paging message.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a network device, the third device comprises a further network device, and the fourth device comprises a location management function.

In some example embodiments, a third apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the third device 120-2) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the third device 120-2. In some example embodiments, the means may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause performance of the apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for obtaining data at a third device; means for selecting, from a plurality of devices, at least one device for transmitting triggering information to a first device, the plurality of devices being in a radio access network-based notification area of the first device; and means for transmitting, to the at least one device, the data.

In some example embodiments, the means for selecting the at least one device comprises means for selecting the at least one device based on at least one of: a last serving cell of the first device, location information of the first device, mobility information of the first device, or information indicating the at least one device received from a core network device.

In some example embodiments, the means for obtaining the data comprises means for receiving the downlink data from a fourth device; or means for generating the downlink data at the third device.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device, the at least one device comprises a network device, the third device comprises a further network device, and the fourth device comprises a location management function.

Fig. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the device 101 or the device 120 as shown in Fig. 1. As shown, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

The communication module 640 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 610 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 600 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 624, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 610. The program 630 may be stored in the memory, e.g., ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 630 so that the device 600 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to Figs. 2 to 5. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Fig. 9 shows an example of the computer readable medium 900 in form of an optical storage disk. The computer readable medium has the program 630 stored thereon.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above with reference to Figs. 5 to 7. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A first device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program codes;

the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:

receive, from a second device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state;

receive, from the second device, triggering information for monitoring data; and

monitor, at the first device, the data at the least one monitoring occasion.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to receive the search space configuration by:

receiving the search space configuration via RRC signaling or broadcast signaling.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the data comprises positioning assistance information, and wherein the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of:

a configuration of a positioning reference signal,

a configuration of a positioning measurement,

a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement,

an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or

an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to:

in accordance with a determination that the data is detected, transmit an acknowledgment to the second device.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment is transmitted on a configured grant resource, a random access channel resource, or a physical uplink control channel resource.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to:

determine a period for monitoring the data; and

suspend the monitoring after the period.
The first device of claim 6, wherein the first device is caused to determine the period by:

determining the period from the triggering information,

determining the period based on the search space configuration,

receiving an indication of the period from the second device via RRC signaling, or

determining the period from preconfigured information.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to receive the triggering information by:

receiving the triggering information through a paging message.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.
A second device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program codes;

the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to:

transmit, to a first device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state;

receive data from a third device or a fourth device;

transmit, to the first device, triggering information for monitoring the data; and

transmit the data to the first device.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to transmit the search space configuration by:

transmitting the search space configuration via RRC signaling or broadcast signaling.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the data comprises positioning assistance information, and wherein the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of:

a configuration of a positioning reference signal,

a configuration of a positioning measurement,

a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement,

an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or

an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to:

receive, from the first device, an acknowledgment indicating the data is detected by the first device.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the acknowledgment is received on one of:

a configured grant resource,

a random access channel resource, or

a physical uplink control channel resource.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to transmit the triggering information by:

transmitting the triggering information through a paging message.
The second device of any of claims 10-15, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a network device, the third device comprises a further network device, the fourth device comprises a location management function.
A third device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program codes;

the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third device to:

obtaining data;

select, from a plurality of devices, at least one device for transmitting triggering information to a first device, the plurality of devices being in a radio access network-based notification area of the first device; and

transmit the data to the at least one device.
The third device of claim 17, wherein the third device is caused to select the at least one device by:

selecting the at least one device based on at least one of:

a last serving cell of the first device,

location information of the first device,

mobility information of the first device, or

information indicating the at least one device received from a core network device.
The third device of claim 17, wherein the data comprises positioning assistance information, and wherein the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of:

a configuration of a positioning reference signal,

a configuration of a positioning measurement,

a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement,

an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or

an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.
The third device of claim 17, wherein the third device is caused to obtain downlink data by:

receiving the downlink data from a fourth device; or

generating the downlink data at the third device.
The third device of any one of claims 17-20, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the at least one device comprises a network device and the third device comprises a further network device.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a first device and from a second device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state;

receiving, from the second device, triggering information for monitoring data; and

monitoring, at the first device, the data at the least one monitoring occasion.
The method of claim 22, wherein receiving the search space configuration comprises:

receiving the search space configuration via RRC signaling or broadcast signaling.
The method of claim 22, wherein the data comprises positioning assistance information, and wherein the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of:

a configuration of a positioning reference signal,

a configuration of a positioning measurement,

a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement,

an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or

an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.
The method of claim 22, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that the data is detected, transmitting an acknowledgment to the second device.
The method of claim 22, wherein the acknowledgment is transmitted on a configured grant resource, a random access channel resource, or a physical uplink control channel resource.
The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining a period for monitoring the data; and

suspending the monitoring after the period.
The method of claim 27, wherein determining the period comprises one of:

determining the period from the triggering information,

determining the period based on the search space configuration,

receiving an indication of the period via RRC signaling, or

determining the period from preconfigured information.
The method of claim 22, wherein receiving the triggering information comprises:

receiving the triggering information through a paging message.
The method of any of claims 22-29, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second comprises a network device.
A method comprising:

transmitting, at a second device and to a first device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state;

receiving data from a third device or a fourth device;

transmitting, to the first device, triggering information for monitoring the data; and

transmitting the data to the first device.
The method of claim 31, wherein transmitting the search space configuration comprises:

transmitting the search space configuration via RRC signaling or broadcast signaling.
The method of claim 31, wherein the data comprises positioning assistance information, and wherein the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of:

a configuration of a positioning reference signal,

a configuration of a positioning measurement,

a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement,

an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or

an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.
The method of claim 31, further comprising:

receiving, from the first device, an acknowledgment indicating the data is detected by the first device.
The method of claim 31, wherein the acknowledgment is received on one of:

a configured grant resource,

a random access channel resource, or

a physical uplink control channel resource.
The method of claim 31, wherein transmitting the triggering information comprises:

transmitting the triggering information through a paging message.
The method of any of claims 31-36, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a network device, the third device comprises a further network device, the fourth device comprises a location management function.
A method comprising:

obtaining data at a third device;

selecting, from a plurality of devices, at least one device for transmitting triggering information to a first device, the plurality of devices being in a radio access network-based notification area of the first device; and

transmitting the data to the at least one device.
The method of claim 38, wherein selecting the at least one device comprises:

selecting the at least one device based on at least one of:

a last serving cell of the first device,

location information of the first device,

mobility information of the first device, or

information indicating the at least one device received from a core network device.
The method of claim 38, wherein the data comprises positioning assistance information, and wherein the positioning assistance information comprises at least one of:

a configuration of a positioning reference signal,

a configuration of a positioning measurement,

a configuration of reporting the positioning measurement,

an indication for deactivating a transmission of the sounding reference signal, or

an indication for activating a transmission of the sounding reference signal.
The method of claim 38, wherein obtaining the data comprises:

receiving the downlink data from a fourth device; or

generating the downlink data at the third device.
The method of any one of claims 38-41, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the at least one device comprises a network device, and the third device comprises a further network device.
An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, at a first device and from a second device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state;

means for receiving, from the second device, triggering information for monitoring data; and

means for monitoring, at the first device, the data at the least one monitoring occasion.
An apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting, at a second device and to a first device, a search space configuration indicating at least one monitoring occasion, the first device being in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or a RRC idle state;

means for receiving data from a third device or a fourth device;

means for transmitting, to the first device, triggering information for monitoring the data;

and means for transmitting the data to the first device.
An apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining data at a third device;

means for selecting, from a plurality of devices, at least one device for transmitting triggering information to a first device, the plurality of devices being in a radio access network-based notification area of the first device; and

means for transmitting the data to the at least one device.
A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 22 to 30, or to perform the method of any of claims 31-37, or to perform the method of any of claims 38-42.