WO2023007020A1 - Technique de sélection de cellules - Google Patents

Technique de sélection de cellules Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023007020A1
WO2023007020A1 PCT/EP2022/071479 EP2022071479W WO2023007020A1 WO 2023007020 A1 WO2023007020 A1 WO 2023007020A1 EP 2022071479 W EP2022071479 W EP 2022071479W WO 2023007020 A1 WO2023007020 A1 WO 2023007020A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
cells
cell
radio
lbt
radio device
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2022/071479
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Min Wang
Original Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Publication of WO2023007020A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023007020A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
    • H04W48/20—Selecting an access point
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H04W36/08—Reselecting an access point
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W74/00—Wireless channel access
    • H04W74/002—Transmission of channel access control information
    • H04W74/006—Transmission of channel access control information in the downlink, i.e. towards the terminal
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W74/00—Wireless channel access
    • H04W74/08—Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA
    • H04W74/0808—Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00—Connection management
    • H04W76/20—Manipulation of established connections
    • H04W76/27—Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a technique for selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN). More specifically, and without limitation, methods and devices are provided for selecting a cell in a RAN for a radio device, as well as for controlling such a selection.
  • RAN radio access network
  • the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines radio access technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR) inter alia for mobile broadband, which continues to drive the demands for higher overall traffic capacity and higher achievable end-user data rates in the wireless access network.
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • 5G NR Fifth Generation New Radio
  • Several scenarios in the future will require data rates of up to 10 Gbps in local areas.
  • These demands for very high system capacity and very high end-user date rates can be met by networks with distances between access nodes ranging from a few meters in indoor deployments up to roughly 50 m in outdoor deployments, i.e. with an infra-structure density considerably higher than the densest networks of today.
  • 5G NR supports a diverse set of use cases and a diverse set of deployment scenarios. The later includes deployment at both low frequencies (100s of MHz), and very high frequencies (mm waves in the tens of GHz).
  • Two operation frequency ranges are defined in NR Rel-15: FR1 from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz and FR2 from 24.250 GHz to 52.6 GHz.
  • 3GPP RAN is currently working on a work item on Supporting NR above 52.6GHz and leveraging FR2 design to the extent possible, this work item extends NR operation up to 71 GHz considering both licensed and unlicensed operation. Unlicensed operation typically requires a channel access mechanism such a listen before talk (LBT), whereas licensed operation can use a scheduling regime strictly controlled by the radio access network (RAN).
  • LBT listen before talk
  • RAN radio access network
  • a method of selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN) for a radio device comprises or initiates a step of selecting a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the first method aspect is performed by the radio device, e.g., a user equipment.
  • the radio device may camp on the selected cell.
  • the radio device may establish a data radio bearer (DRB) with the selected cell.
  • DRB data radio bearer
  • at least two cells may be selected.
  • the radio device may establish a DRB with each of the at least two selected cells for dual connectivity (e.g., multi-connectivity).
  • the cell may be selected for a (e.g., conditional) handover procedure (i.e. a mobility procedure).
  • the selecting of a cell may be a cell selection or a re-selecting (i.e., cell re selection).
  • the method may further comprise a step of performing a random access procedure towards the selected cell.
  • any one of the cells may be or may comprise a radio carrier (briefly: carrier) and/or a radio beam.
  • any one of the cells may be associated with a radio carrier (briefly: carrier) of the respective cell and/or a radio beam of the respective cell.
  • the LBT mode of the one or more cells may be indicative of whether or not the respective cell of the one or more cells is a cell supporting an LBT operation.
  • the respective cell being a cell supporting an LBT operation may also be referred to as the respective cell supporting an LBT operation.
  • the respective cell may be a cell supporting an LBT operation, if at least one or each of the respective cell is configured with an LBT operation on a radio channel of the respective cell; the respective cell is in a region in which an LBT operation is mandated on a radio channel of the respective cell; the respective cell is in a region in which an LBT operation on a radio channel of the respective cell avoids or reduces collisions on the radio channel of the respective cell; the respective cell is in a region in which an LBT operation on a radio channel of the respective cell avoids or reduces interference on the radio channel of respective cell; and the respective cell is in a region in which an LBT operation is not mandated on a radio channel of the respective cell and the LBT operation on the radio channel of the respective cell avoids or reduces interference on the radio channel in the respective cell and/or towards a neighboring cell of the respective cell.
  • the LBT operation may comprise performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) on the radio channel of the respective cell.
  • CCA clear channel assessment
  • the respective cell may be configured with an LBT operation on a radio channel of the respective cell may comprise performing the CCA on the radio channel of the respective cell.
  • the radio channel of the respective cell may be or may comprise one or more radio carriers of the respective cell.
  • the radio channel of the respective cell may be a radio channel for serving radio devices, optionally or potentially comprising the radio device performing the method.
  • the LBT operation may be mandated on the radio channel if the radio channel is shared by different radio access technologies (RATs). Alternatively or in addition, whether or not the LBT operation is mandated on the radio channel may depend on a frequency range used by the radio channel.
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • the respective cell may be a cell not supporting an LBT operation, if at least one or each of the respective cell is not configured with an LBT operation on a radio channel of the respective cell; and the respective cell is in a region in which an LBT operation is not mandated on a radio channel of the respective cell.
  • the radio device may be configured to only select cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the radio device e.g., according to the first method aspect
  • the radio device may be configured (e.g., to only select cells supporting an LBT operation) by receiving a configuration message from the RAN (e.g., from a serving cell out of the one or more cells).
  • being configured may encompass being preconfigured.
  • the radio device may be preconfigured (e.g., to only select cells supporting an LBT operation).
  • the radio device may be preconfigured according to a type of the radio device or a technical specification for the radio device.
  • the radio device (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be configured with a preference for selecting cells supporting an LBT operation over cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the radio device (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be configured with a preference for selecting cells not supporting an LBT operation over cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the preference may also be referred to as a priority.
  • the preference may be a primary criterion for the selecting.
  • the preference may exclude one or more measured cells independent (i.e., irrespective) of a (e.g., relative) radio signal strength of the respective measured cell.
  • the method may further comprise the step of measuring, at the radio device, one or more cells of the RAN.
  • the cell may be selected out of the one or more measured cells fulfilling a measurement configuration of the radio device.
  • the measurement configuration may comprise a radio signal strength threshold value for a radio signal strength of the respective measured cell (e.g., as measured at the radio device).
  • the respective measured cell may be fulfilling the measurement configuration if the radio signal strength of the respective measured cell is equal to or greater than the radio signal strength threshold value.
  • the respective measured cell may be fulfilling the measurement configuration if the radio signal strength of the respective measured cell is equal to or greater than the radio signal strength threshold value.
  • the radio signal strength may be or may comprise at least one of a received signal power, a reference signal received power (RSRP), a received signal quality, and a reference signal received quality (RSRQ).
  • RSRP reference signal received power
  • RSSQ reference signal received quality
  • the selecting of the cell out of the measured cells fulfilling the measurement configuration may depend on a comparison of results of the measuring among the measured cells fulfilling the measurement configuration.
  • the measurement configuration applied to the respective measured cell may depend on the LBT mode of the respective measured cell and/or a result of the measuring may be offset depending on the LBT mode of the respective measured cell.
  • the radio device may apply different measurement configurations to measured cells that support different LBT modes. (Herein, being offset may refer to the past participle of the verb offset.)
  • the measurement configuration applied to the respective measured cell and/or a result of the measuring may be biased towards cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement configuration may be more restrictive for measured cells not supporting an LBT operation compared to measured cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the radio signal strength threshold value may be greater for measured cells not supporting an LBT operation as compared to measured cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement configuration applied to the respective measured cell and/or a result of the measuring (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be biased towards cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement configuration may be more restrictive for measured cells supporting an LBT operation compared to measured cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the radio signal strength threshold value may be greater for measured cells supporting an LBT operation as compared to measured cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement configuration applied to the respective measured cell may be independent of the LBT mode of the respective measured cell.
  • the same measurement configuration may be applied to all of the one or more cells.
  • the measurement configuration may be unbiased as to the LBT mode of the respective measured cell.
  • the bias (i.e., being biased) may also be referred to as a prioritization.
  • the method (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be performed by the radio device.
  • the method may further comprise the step of receiving a control message from the RAN.
  • the control message may be indicative of a connection release or a connection suspend. At least one of the measuring and the selecting may be performed responsive to the receiving of the control message.
  • the connection release may relate to a radio connection between the radio device and the RAN, e.g., between the radio device and a cell of the RAN.
  • the cell of the RAN may be a cell serving the radio device prior to the connection release.
  • the control message may trigger (e.g., control or initiate), or the connection release may relate to, transiting (e.g., changing) a radio resource control (RRC) state of the radio device (e.g., relative to the RAN or a cell serving the radio device.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the control message may trigger, or the connection release may relate to, an RRC connection release procedure.
  • the control message indicative of a connection release or a connection suspend may be briefly referred to as a release message.
  • the control message may be an RRC message, e.g., an RRC release message.
  • a radio resource control (RRC) state of the radio device may transit, responsive to the control message, from an RRC connected state to an RRC idle state, or from an RRC connected state to an RRC inactive state, or from an RRC inactive state back to the RRC inactive state, or from an RRC inactive state to an RRC idle state.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the radio device may transit from the RRC connected state to the RRC inactive state, if (e.g., only if) a signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2) and at least one DRB are set up (e.g., established) in the RRC connected state.
  • SRB2 signaling radio bearer 2
  • the radio device may transit from an RRC inactive state, when the radio device tries to resume an RRC connected state, back to the RRC inactive state.
  • the radio device may transit from an RRC inactive state, when the radio device tries to resume an RRC connected state, to an RRC idle state.
  • the radio device (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be directed by the RAN from a serving cell using a licensed band to one or more cells using an unlicensed band.
  • the radio device (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be directed by the RAN from a serving cell using an unlicensed band to one or more cells using an unlicensed band.
  • the radio device may be directed by the RAN from a serving cell not supporting an LBT operation to one or more cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the radio device (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be directed by the RAN from a serving cell not supporting an LBT operation to one or more cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the radio device may be directed to a cell by the RAN as a result of the selecting of a cell, optionally wherein configuration information (e.g., cell reselection criteria and/or the control message) received from the RAN defines a frequency range or a set of cell identifiers for the measuring and/or the selecting.
  • configuration information e.g., cell reselection criteria and/or the control message
  • the configuration information may be indicative of a black list of cells excluded from the measuring and/or the selecting.
  • the configuration information may be indicative of a white list of cells to which the measuring and/or the selecting is limited.
  • directing and directed may encompass redirecting and redirected, respectively.
  • any (e.g., serving) cell using a licensed or unlicensed band may mean that the radio channel and/or the radio carrier and/or the radio beam of the respective cell is in a licensed or unlicensed band.
  • licensed band may relate to unshared spectrum.
  • the licensed band may relate to spectrum (i.e., a frequency domain) that is used by a single radio access technology (RAT).
  • RAT radio access technology
  • unlicensed band may relate to shared spectrum.
  • the unlicensed band may relate to spectrum (i.e., a frequency domain) that is used or usable by two or more RATs.
  • the one or more cells to which the radio device is directed by the RAN and/or the one or more cells indicated in the control message may also be referred to as the one or more directed (or redirected) cells.
  • One or more radio carries used by the one or more directed cells may also be referred to as directed (or redirected) carriers.
  • the control message may be indicative of at least one of a release cause of the connection release or a suspend cause of the connection suspend; the one or more cells to which the radio device is directed by the RAN; one or more radio carriers of the one or more cells to which the radio device is directed by the RAN; an LBT mode associated with each of the one or more cells to which the radio device is directed by the RAN; an LBT mode associated with each of the one or more radio carriers of the one or more cells to which the radio device is directed by the RAN; information on priority handling between the one or more cells, or radio carriers of the one or more cells, to which the radio device is directed by the RAN; a preference indicator indicative of whether or not the radio device shall give a preference for selecting cells supporting an LBT operation over cells not supporting an LBT operation and/or whether the radio device shall limit the selecting to cells supporting an LBT operation; a preference indicator indicative of whether or not the radio device shall give a preference for selecting cells not supporting an LBT operation over cells supporting an LBT operation;
  • Biasing the measuring may comprise applying a measurement configuration that is biased and/or basing a result of the measuring.
  • the radio device may be directed by the RAN according to the control message.
  • the method may further comprise or initiate the step of transmitting, from the radio device to the RAN, a measurement report that is indicative of a result of the measuring.
  • the result for different measured cells may be reported differently or selectively depending on the LBT mode of the respective measured cell.
  • the measurement report (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may only contain measurement results of one or more measured cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement report (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may only contain measurement results of one or more measured cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement report (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may contain measurement results of one or more measured cells supporting an LBT operation and measurement results of one or more measured cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement results (e.g., according to the first method aspect) may be arranged within the measurement report depending on the LBT mode of the respective measured cell.
  • the measurement results for an LBT mode that is given a preference by the radio device may be arranged at a position within the measurement report, wherein the position is received and/or processed by the RAN (e.g., by the serving cell of the radio device) prior to measurement results for another LBT mode in the measurement report.
  • the measurement report may be transmitted to a serving cell of the radio device in the RAN.
  • the method may further comprise the step of receiving a configuration message from the RAN, the configuration message being indicative of a configuration of the radio device for a conditional handover. At least one of the measuring and the selecting may be performed responsive to the receiving of the configuration message.
  • the radio device may perform the conditional handover according to the configuration message and/or based on the result of the measuring and/or for one or more selected cells resulting from the selecting.
  • a configuration message may be indicative of one or more identifiers of one or more candidate target cells, respectively, in the RAN.
  • the configuration message may be indicative of at least one LBT mode supported and/or associated with at least one or each of the one or more candidate target cells.
  • the handover may be or may comprise a mobility procedure.
  • the radio device may perform a handover or a random access procedure to the selected cell or each of the selected cells.
  • the radio device may perform the handover or the random access procedure to the selected cell or the selected cells for a predefined or configured number of attempts and/or for a predefined and/or configured period of time.
  • the selected cell or the selected cells may support or may be associated with a preferred LBT mode.
  • the radio device may further select a cell that is associated with or supporting an LBT mode other than the preferred LBT mode for the handover or the random access procedure random access procedure after exceeding the predefined or configured number of attempts and/or after expiry of the predefined and/or configured period of time.
  • a cell not supporting an LBT procedure may be selected (e.g., according to the first method aspect) for radio communicating in the selected cell, if a volume of pending data or a priority requirement or a latency requirement or a quality of service (QoS) requirement of the radio communication is higher than a predefined threshold.
  • QoS quality of service
  • a cell supporting an LBT procedure may be selected for radio communicating in the selected cell, if a volume of pending data or a priority requirement or a latency requirement or a QoS requirement of the radio communication is lower than a predefined threshold.
  • the LBT mode that is given a preference or that is biased may depend on at least one of a volume of data pending for transmission or reception; a priority requirement of data pending for transmission or reception or a priority requirement of a service using the data; a latency requirement of data pending for transmission or reception; a quality of service (QoS) requirement of data pending for transmission or reception; a measured system congestion or a channel occupancy; a measured radio signal strength of the serving cell and/or of the target cell; a measured performance of downlink receptions and/or uplink transmissions in the serving cell and/or in the target cell; and occupied radio resources of the serving cell and/or of the target cell.
  • QoS quality of service
  • the radio signal strength may be measured in terms of at least one of a reference signal receiver power (RSRP), a reference signal receiver quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a signal to noise ratio (SNR), a signal to interference ratio (SIR), and a signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR).
  • RSRP reference signal receiver power
  • RSRQ reference signal receiver quality
  • RSSI received signal strength indicator
  • SNR signal to noise ratio
  • SIR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference ratio
  • SINR signal to interference and noise ratio
  • SINR signal to interference and noise ratio
  • SINR signal to interference
  • a method of controlling a radio device for selecting a cell of a radio access network comprises or initiates the step of transmitting a control message to the radio device for controlling the selecting of a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the second method aspect may further comprise any feature and/or any step disclosed in the context of the first method aspect, or a feature and/or step corresponding thereto, e.g., a receiver counterpart to a transmitter feature or step, or a base station counterpart to a radio device feature or step.
  • the second method aspect may be performed by the RAN, e.g., a base station or a cell or a network node of the RAN, optionally the base station or the cell or the network node that is serving the radio device.
  • the RAN e.g., a base station or a cell or a network node of the RAN, optionally the base station or the cell or the network node that is serving the radio device.
  • the control message may control the radio device such that the selected cell depends on the LBT mode of the one or more cells (e.g., the one or more LBT modes supported by or associated with the respective one of the one or more cells).
  • the control message may be transmitted from the RAN, e.g., from a cell serving the radio device (i.e., the serving cell) in the RAN.
  • the control message (e.g., according to the second method aspect) may be indicative of a connection release or a connection suspend.
  • the control message may be configured to control the radio device to measure, at the radio device, one or more cells of the RAN.
  • the control message may be configured to control the radio device to select a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on the LBT mode of the one or more cells.
  • the features and steps related to the measuring and/or all features hereinbelow are disclosed interpedently or in combination with the selecting of a cell.
  • the features and steps related to the measuring and/or all features hereinbelow may be comprised in a method of controlling or initiating a handover of the radio device.
  • the method may further comprise or initiate the step of receiving, from the radio device at the RAN, a measurement report that is indicative of a result of measuring, at the radio device, one or more cells of the RAN.
  • the result for different measured cells may be reported differently or selectively depending on the LBT mode of the respective measured cell.
  • the measurement report (e.g., according to the second method aspect) may only contain measurement results of one or more measured cells supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement report (e.g., according to the second method aspect) may only contain measurement results of one or more measured cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement report (e.g., according to the second method aspect) may contain measurement results of one or more measured cells supporting an LBT operation and measurement results of one or more measured cells not supporting an LBT operation.
  • the measurement (e.g., according to the second method aspect) result may be arranged within the measurement report depending on the LBT mode of the respective measured cell.
  • the method may further comprise or initiate the step of sending a handover signaling to a target cell for initiating a handover of the radio device to the target cell.
  • the target cell may be determined based on the result of the measuring indicated in the measurement report.
  • the handover signaling may be sent from the serving cell of the radio device to the target cell.
  • the target cell e.g., according to the second method aspect
  • the target cell may be determined by sequentially processing measurement results of the measured cells as arranged in the measurement report.
  • the handover signaling may be a handover request.
  • the target cell may be a (e.g., direct) neighbor cell of the serving cell.
  • the serving cell may also be referred to as a source cell.
  • the handover signaling may be indicative of at least one of an identifier of the radio device; and at least one LBT mode that is supported, or given a preference, by the radio device.
  • the method may be performed at the RAN and/or by a base station of the RAN and/or by a base station of the serving cell of the radio device.
  • the method may further comprise any of the steps or the features of the first method aspect or any step or feature corresponding thereto.
  • a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing any one of the steps of the first method aspect and/or any one of the steps of the second method aspect when the computer program product is executed on one or more computing devices, optionally stored on a computer-readable recording medium.
  • a radio device for selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN) for the radio device.
  • the radio device comprises memory operable to store instructions and processing circuitry operable to execute the instructions, such that the radio device is operable to select a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the radio device may further be operable to perform any one of the steps of the first method aspect.
  • a radio device for selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN) for the radio device is provided.
  • the radio device is configured to select a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the radio device (e.g., according to the other first device aspect) may further be configured to perform any one of the steps of the first method aspect.
  • a user equipment (UE) for selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN) for the UE is provided.
  • the UE is configured to communicate with a base station or with a radio device functioning as a gateway.
  • the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to select a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the processing circuitry of the UE may be further configured to execute any one of the steps of the first method aspect.
  • a base station for controlling a radio device for selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN) is provided.
  • the base station comprises memory operable to store instructions and processing circuitry operable to execute the instructions, such that the base station is operable to transmit a control message to the radio device for controlling the selecting of a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the base station (e.g., according to the second device aspect) may further be operable to perform any one of the steps of the second method aspect.
  • a base station for controlling a radio device for selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN) is provided.
  • the base station is configured to transmit a control message to the radio device for controlling the selecting of a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the base station (e.g., according to the other second device aspect) may further be configured to perform any one of the steps of the second method aspect.
  • a base station for controlling a user equipment (UE) for selecting a cell of a radio access network (RAN) is provided.
  • UE user equipment
  • RAN radio access network
  • the base station is configured to communicate with the UE.
  • the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to transmit a control message to the UE for controlling the selecting of a cell out of one or more cells of the RAN depending on a listen before talk (LBT) mode of the one or more cells.
  • LBT listen before talk
  • the processing circuitry of the base station may be further configured to execute any one of the steps of the second method aspect.
  • a communication system including a host computer.
  • the communication system comprises processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular or ad hoc radio network for transmission to a user equipment (UE).
  • UE user equipment
  • the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry.
  • the processing circuitry of the UE being configured to execute any one of the steps of the first method aspect.
  • the communication system may further include the UE.
  • the communication system (e.g., according to the system aspect), wherein the radio network may further comprise a base station, or a radio device functioning as a gateway, which is configured to communicate with the UE.
  • the communication system (e.g., according to the system aspect), wherein the base station, or the radio device functioning as a gateway, may comprise processing circuitry, which is configured to execute any one of the steps of the second method aspect.
  • the communication system (e.g., according to the system aspect), wherein the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.
  • any radio device may be a user equipment (UE).
  • UE user equipment
  • Any one of the method aspects may be embodied by a method of handling mobility, e.g., with regards to LBT operation mode in unlicensed band.
  • the technique may be applied in the context of 3GPP New Radio (NR) or 3GPP Long Term evolution (LTE).
  • NR New Radio
  • LTE Long Term evolution
  • the technique may be implemented in accordance with a 3GPP specification, e.g., for 3GPP release 16 or 17.
  • the technique may be implemented for 3GPP LTE or 3GPP NR based on or according to a modification of at least one of the 3GPP document TS 38.331, version 16.5.0; the 3GPP document TS 36.331, version 16.5.0 3GPP document TS 38.300, version 16.6.0; the 3GPP document TS 36.300, version 16.6.0; the 3GPP document TS 38.314, version 16.3.0; the 3GPP document TS 36.314, version 16.0.0.
  • the radio device may be a user equipment (UE), e.g., according to a 3GPP specification.
  • the radio device and the RAN may be wirelessly connected in an uplink (UL) and/or a downlink (DL) through a Uu interface.
  • a SL may enable a direct radio communication between proximal radio devices, e.g., the remote radio device and the relay radio device, optionally using a PC5 interface. Services provided using the SL or the PC5 interface may be referred to as proximity services (ProSe).
  • ProSe proximity services
  • Any radio device (e.g., the remote radio device and/or the relay radio device and/or the further radio device) supporting a SL may be referred to as ProSe-enabled radio device.
  • the relay radio device may also be referred to as ProSe UE-to-Network Relay.
  • the radio device and/or the RAN may form, or may be part of, a radio network, e.g., according to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) or according to the standard family IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi).
  • 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project
  • Wi-Fi Wi-Fi
  • the first method aspect and the second method aspect may be performed by one or more embodiments of the radio device and the RAN (e.g., a base station), respectively.
  • the RAN may comprise one or more base stations, e.g., performing the third method aspect.
  • the radio network may be a vehicular, ad hoc and/or mesh network comprising two or more radio devices, e.g., acting as the remote radio device and/or the relay radio device and/or the further remote radio device.
  • the radio devices may be a 3GPP user equipment (UE) or a Wi-Fi station (STA).
  • the radio device may be a mobile or portable station, a device for machine- type communication (MTC), a device for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-loT) or a combination thereof.
  • MTC machine- type communication
  • NB-loT narrowband Internet of Things
  • Examples for the UE and the mobile station include a mobile phone, a tablet computer and a self-driving vehicle.
  • Examples for the portable station include a laptop computer and a television set.
  • Examples for the MTC device or the NB-loT device include robots, sensors and/or actuators, e.g., in manufacturing, automotive communication and home automation.
  • the MTC device or the NB-loT device may be implemented in a manufacturing plant, household appliances and consumer electronics.
  • the RAN may be implemented by one or more base stations (e.g., network nodes).
  • the radio device may be wirelessly connected or connectable (e.g., according to a radio resource control, RRC, state or active mode) with the at least one base station of the RAN.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the base station may encompass any station that is configured to provide radio access to any of the radio devices.
  • the base stations may also be referred to as cell, transmission and reception point (TRP), radio access node or access point (AP).
  • the base station and/or the relay radio device may provide a data link to a host computer providing the user data to the remote radio device or gathering user data from the remote radio device.
  • Examples for the base stations may include a 3G base station or Node B (NB), 4G base station or eNodeB (eNB), a 5G base station or gNodeB (gNB), a Wi-Fi AP and a network controller (e.g., according to Bluetooth, ZigBee or Z-Wave).
  • the RAN may be implemented according to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or 3GPP New Radio (NR).
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • Any aspect of the technique may be implemented on a Physical Layer (PHY), a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and/or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer of a protocol stack for the radio communication.
  • PHY Physical Layer
  • MAC Medium Access Control
  • RLC Radio Link Control
  • PDCP packet data convergence protocol
  • RRC Radio Resource Control
  • referring to a protocol of a layer may also refer to the corresponding layer in the protocol stack.
  • referring to a layer of the protocol stack may also refer to the corresponding protocol of the layer. Any protocol may be implemented by a corresponding method.
  • a computer program product comprises program code portions for performing any one of the steps of the method aspect disclosed herein when the computer program product is executed by one or more computing devices.
  • the computer program product may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium.
  • the computer program product may also be provided for download, e.g., via the radio network, the RAN, the Internet and/or the host computer.
  • the method may be encoded in a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and/or an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or the functionality may be provided for download by means of a hardware description language.
  • FPGA Field-Programmable Gate Array
  • ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit
  • the first device aspect may be configured to perform any one of the steps of the first method aspect.
  • the second device aspect may be configured to perform any one of the steps of the second method aspect.
  • a communication system including a host computer.
  • the host computer comprises a processing circuitry configured to provide user data, e.g., included in the first and/or second data of the multi-layer transmission.
  • the host computer further comprises a communication interface configured to forward the first and/or second data to a cellular network (e.g., the RAN and/or the base station) for transmission to a UE.
  • a processing circuitry of the cellular network is configured to execute any one of the steps of the first and/or second method aspects.
  • the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, which is configured to execute any one of the steps of the first and/or second method aspects.
  • the communication system may further include the UE.
  • the cellular network may further include one or more base stations configured for radio communication with the UE and/or to provide a data link between the UE and the host computer using the first and/or second method aspects.
  • the processing circuitry of the host computer may be configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data and/or any host computer functionality described herein.
  • the processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.
  • Any one of the devices, the UE, the base station, the communication system or any node or station for embodying the technique may further include any feature disclosed in the context of the method aspect, and vice versa.
  • any one of the units and modules disclosed herein may be configured to perform or initiate one or more of the steps of the method aspect.
  • Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a device for selecting a cell of a RAN
  • Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a device for controlling a radio device for selecting a cell of a RAN
  • Fig. 3 shows a flowchart for a method of selecting a cell of a RAN, which method may be implementable by the device of Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 4 shows a flowchart for a method of controlling a radio device for selecting a cell of a RAN, which method may be implementable by the device of Fig. 2;
  • Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a first example of a radio network comprising embodiments of the devices of Figs. 1 and 2 for performing the methods of Figs. 3 and 4, respectively;
  • Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a signaling diagram resulting from embodiments of the devices of Figs. 1 and 2 performing the methods of Figs. 4 and 5, respectively, in radio communication;
  • Fig. 7 shows a schematic block diagram of a relay radio device embodying the device of Fig. 2;
  • Fig. 8 shows a schematic block diagram of a radio access network embodying the device of Fig. 3;
  • Fig. 9 schematically illustrates an example telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer
  • Fig. 10 shows a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station or radio device functioning as a gateway with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection;
  • Figs. 11 and 12 show flowcharts for methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station or radio device functioning as a gateway and a user equipment.
  • WLAN Wireless Local Area Network
  • 3GPP LTE e.g., LTE-Advanced or a related radio access technique such as MulteFire
  • Bluetooth according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), particularly Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Mesh Networking and Bluetooth broadcasting, for Z-Wave according to the Z-Wave Alliance or for ZigBee based on IEEE 802.15.4.
  • SIG Bluetooth Special Interest Group
  • Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a device 100 for selecting a cell of a RAN for a radio device.
  • the device is generically referred to by reference sign 100.
  • the device 100 comprises a selecting module 106 that performs the selecting step of the first method aspect.
  • the device 100 comprises a receiving module 102 and/or a measuring module 104 that perform the steps 302 and 304, respectively, of the first method aspect.
  • the device 100 may also be referred to as, or may be embodied by, the radio device (or briefly: UE).
  • the radio device 100 and the RAN e.g., a serving base station or a serving cell of the RAN
  • the RAN or the base station of the RAN may be embodied by or may embody the device 200.
  • Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a device 200 for controlling a radio device for selecting a cell of a RAN.
  • the device is generically referred to by reference sign 200.
  • the device 200 comprises a transmitting module that performs the transmitting step 402 of the second method aspect.
  • the device 200 may also be referred to as, or may be embodied by, the RAN or a base station of the RAN (or briefly: eNB or gNB).
  • the base station 200 and the radio device may be in direct radio communication, e.g., at least for the control message.
  • the radio device may be embodied by the device 100.
  • Fig. 3 shows an example flowchart for a method 300 according to the first method aspect.
  • the method 300 may comprise at least one of the steps 302, 304 and 306 illustrated in Fig. 3 and/or disclosed for the first method aspect.
  • the steps 302 and 304 may be optional steps.
  • the method 300 may be performed by the device 100.
  • the modules 102, 104 and 106 may perform the steps 302, 304 and 306, respectively.
  • Fig. 4 shows an example flowchart for a method 400 of the second method aspect.
  • the method 400 comprises a step 402 illustrated in Fig. 4 and/or disclosed for the second method aspect.
  • the method 400 may be performed by the device 200.
  • the module 202 may perform the step 402.
  • the technique may be applied to uplink (UL), downlink (DL) or direct communications between radio devices, e.g., device-to-device (D2D) communications or sidelink (SL) communications.
  • Each of the transmitting station 100 and receiving station 200 may be a radio device or a base station.
  • any radio device may be a mobile or portable station and/or any radio device wirelessly connectable to a base station or RAN, or to another radio device.
  • the radio device may be a user equipment (UE), a device for machine-type communication (MTC) or a device for (e.g., narrowband) Internet of Things (loT).
  • UE user equipment
  • MTC machine-type communication
  • LoT narrowband Internet of Things
  • Two or more radio devices may be configured to wirelessly connect to each other, e.g., in an ad hoc radio network or via a 3GPP SL connection.
  • any base station may be a station providing radio access, may be part of a radio access network (RAN) and/or may be a node connected to the RAN for controlling the radio access.
  • the base station may be an access point, for example a Wi-Fi access point.
  • Fig. 5 schematically illustrates an embodiment of the RAN 500 comprising a plurality of cells 502.
  • Each of the cells 502 may provide radio access to one or more radio devices 700 through base stations 800.
  • At least one of the radio devices 700 embodies the first aspect (i.e., a device 100).
  • At least one of the base stations 800 embodies the second aspect (i.e., a device 200).
  • the cells 502 of the RAN support different LBT modes, e.g., LBT is supported as indicated by “LBT (+)” or not as indicated by “LBT (-)".
  • the (e.g., serving) base station 800 may transmit a control message 510 to the radio device 700.
  • the control message 510 may initiate (i.e., trigger) and/or control the selecting 306 performed by the radio device 700.
  • the radio device 700 may transmit a measurement report 520 to the base station 800, e.g., to assist in a handover procedure.
  • the radio device 100 or 700 is referred to as a UE 100
  • the base station 200 or 800 is referred to as a gNB 200.
  • At least some embodiments may fulfill, e.g., regarding LBT mode (i.e., no LBT versus LBT) in unlicensed bands from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz, at least one of the following agreements.
  • LBT mode i.e., no LBT versus LBT
  • the gNB 200 should indicate to the UE 100 this gNB-UE connection is operating in LBT mode or no-LBT mode.
  • some embodiments support both cell-specific (common for all UEs in a cell as part of system information or dedicated RRC signaling or both) and UE- specific (which can be different for different UEs in a cell as part of UE-specific RRC configuration) gNB indication.
  • Contention Exempt Short Control Signaling rules apply to the transmission of msgl for the 4-step random access procedure (RACH) and MsgA for the 2-step RACH for all supported SCS.
  • the 10% over any 100ms interval restriction is applicable to all available msgl/msgA resources configured (not limited to the resources actually used) in a cell.
  • the 10% over any 100ms interval restriction is applicable to the msgl/msgA transmission from one UE perspective.
  • UL signals and/or channels can be transmitted with Contention Exempt Short Control Signaling rule, such as msg3, SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH without user plain data, etc.
  • Contention Exempt Short Control Signaling rule such as msg3, SRS, PUCCH, PUSCH without user plain data, etc.
  • the gNB 200 may signal to the UE 100 on the LBT mode, i.e., LBT mode (e.g., the respective cell is supporting an LBT operation) or non-LBT mode (e.g., the respective cell is not supporting an LBT operation).
  • LBT mode e.g., the respective cell is supporting an LBT operation
  • non-LBT mode e.g., the respective cell is not supporting an LBT operation
  • the signaling can be cell specific or UE specific. It is therefore expected that the LBT mode may affect how mobility is handled for the UE, meaning that mobility procedures need to be updated with regards to how to handle different LBT modes in different cells.
  • Embodiments of the technique may provide rules and/or UE actions on how to select target cells according to the LBT mode signaled or configured are proposed.
  • the UE 100 selects 306 the target cells according to at least one of the following options.
  • Option 1 The UE 100 is configured or preconfigured to only select cells supporting LBT operation.
  • the UE 100 is configured or preconfigured to only select cells not supporting LBT operation.
  • Option 3 The UE 100 is configured or preconfigured with a priority order between cells supporting LBT operation and cells without supporting LBT operation.
  • the UE 100 is configured or preconfigured with different measurement configurations (e.g., Cell selection RX level value (dB), or Cell selection quality value (d B)) for cells supporting different LBT modes. In this way, the UE 100 is able to differentiate between cells supporting LBT and cells without supporting LBT.
  • different measurement configurations e.g., Cell selection RX level value (dB), or Cell selection quality value (d B)
  • the UE 100 is configured or preconfigured with additional offsets different for cells supporting different LBT modes. In this way, the UE 100 is able to differentiate between cells 502 supporting LBT and cells 502 without supporting LBT.
  • the control message 510 may be an RRC release message and/or may carry at least one of the following information:
  • a priority indicator indicating whether the UE shall prioritize the cells supporting LBT over the other cells no supporting LBT and/or whether the UE shall prioritize the cells not supporting LBT over the other cells supporting LBT.
  • the control message 510 is indicative of an offset, which is added to the measurement results of the radio signal strength for priority handling purpose.
  • the control message 510 is indicative of configurations which are applied to the cells for priority handling purpose.
  • control message 510 may be an RRC release message and/or may carry the following information:
  • the UE 100 may be configured with a measurement configuration containing a LBT mode.
  • the UE 100 measures the target cells supporting the LBT mode.
  • the LBT mode supported by the target cell may be also included in the handover signaling messages (i.e., the signaling between the UE 100 and the gNB 200, the signaling between the serving gNB 200 and the neighbor gNB 200).
  • noise or a signal-to-noise ratio SNR
  • SINR signal-to-noise ratio
  • a corresponding step, feature or effect is also disclosed for noise and/or interference or a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR).
  • the subject technique may be applicable to unlicensed operations (such as LAA/eLAA/feLAA/MuLteFire, NR unlicensed operation (NR-U)) in any unlicensed band (e.g., 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band or unlicensed band from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz).
  • LBT may also interchangeably called as clear channel assessment (CCA), shared spectrum access procedure etc.
  • CCA clear channel assessment
  • the carrier on which the LBT is applied may belong to a shared spectrum or an unlicensed band or band with contention based access etc.
  • channel or "subband” is used to stand for a bandwidth segment or a group of physical resource blocks (PRBs) of a carrier.
  • PRBs physical resource blocks
  • LBT mode may stand for an indicator indicating whether the UE supports LBT operation. Therefore, there are at least two LBT modes defined, e.g., including supporting an LBT operation and not supporting an LBT operation.
  • a cell supporting LBT may mean different cases, e.g. including at least one of the following:
  • the cell 502 is configured with LBT operation, or the cell is in a region where LBT is mandated, or the cell is in a region where LBT is not mandated, however, it is beneficial to perform LBT to avoid collisions or interferences in the cell or towards other cells.
  • a cell not supporting LBT may mean different cases, e.g. including at least one of the following: The cell 502 is not configured with LBT operation, or the cell 502 is in a region where LBT is not mandated.
  • the UE 100 applies at least one of the following options to determine which target cell shall be selected among the cells supporting different LBT modes.
  • a failure condition e.g. radio link failure, reconfiguration failure, integrity check failure
  • Option 1 The UE is configured or preconfigured to only select cells supporting LBT operation.
  • Option 2 The UE is configured or preconfigured to only select cells not supporting LBT operation.
  • the UE is configured or preconfigured with a priority order between cells supporting LBT operation and cells without supporting LBT operation.
  • the UE may apply the same measurement configuration, (e.g., Cell selection RX level value (d B), or Cell selection quality value (dB), measurement window, etc.) for all the cells.
  • d B Cell selection RX level value
  • dB Cell selection quality value
  • the UE 100 shall always prioritize cells 502 without LBT operation over other cells supporting LBT operation. In this case, the UE 100 will always select a cell 502 without LBT operation if it is feasible, e.g., although the other cells 502 with LBT operation may provide stronger radio signal strength to the UE than the cell without LBT operation. The UE will only select a cell with LBT operation if there is not any target cell without LBT operation fulfilling the cell selection conditions.
  • the UE 100 shall always prioritize cells with LBT operation over other cells without LBT operation. In this case, the UE 100 will always select a cell 502 with LBT operation if it is feasible although the other cells without LBT operation may provide stronger radio signal strength to the UE than the cell with LBT operation. The UE 100 will only select a cell without LBT operation if there is not any target cell with LBT operation fulfilling the cell selection conditions.
  • the UE 100 is configured or preconfigured with different measurement configurations (e.g., Cell selection RX level value (dB), or Cell selection quality value (dB)) for cells supporting different LBT modes. In this way, the UE 100 is able to differentiate between cells supporting LBT and cells without supporting LBT.
  • different measurement configurations e.g., Cell selection RX level value (dB), or Cell selection quality value (dB)
  • different radio link measurement thresholds are configured to the UE 100 so that the UE 100 is able to achieve prioritization between cells in at least one or either of the following cases.
  • Case 1 Cells 502 supporting LBT ar prioritized over cells without supporting LBT.
  • the UE 100 applies lower threshold for cells supporting LBT, while higher threshold for cells without supporting LBT.
  • Case 2 Cells 502 without supporting LBT is prioritized over cells supporting LBT.
  • the UE applies lower threshold for cells without supporting LBT, while higher threshold for cells supporting LBT.
  • Option 5 The UE 100 is configured or preconfigured with additional offsets for cells supporting different LBT modes. In this way, the UE 100 is able to differentiate between cells supporting LBT and cells without supporting LBT.
  • an additional offset (e.g., positive offset) is added to the measurement results (e.g., SSB RSRP or CSI-RS based RSRP) of cells which need to be prioritized over other cells.
  • an additional offset (e.g., negative offset) is added to the measurement results (e.g., SSB RSRP or CSI-RS based RSRP) of cells which need to be down-prioritized over other cells.
  • the network 500 (e.g., the gNB 200) initiates the RRC connection release procedure (e.g., transmits the control message 510)
  • the procedure and/or the second detailed embodiment may also be used to release and redirect a UE 100 to another frequency.
  • the network may redirect the UE 100 to a carrier or cells on unlicensed band while the UE was served on licensed band.
  • the network 500 may redirect the UE 100 to a carrier or cells on licensed band while the UE was served on unlicensed band.
  • the network may redirect the UE to one or multiple cells not supporting LBT operation while the UE was served on cells not supporting LBT operation.
  • the network 500 may redirect the UE 100 to one or multiple cells supporting LBT operation while the UE 100 was served on cells not supporting LBT operation.
  • the network 500 e.g., the gNB 200
  • the UE may first attempt a cell supporting LBT, if the attempt fails, the UE may attempt another cell not supporting LBT. It may be also possible that the UE may first attempt a cell not supporting LBT, if the attempt fails, the UE may attempt another cell supporting LBT.
  • the network may redirect the UE to a carrier or cells not supporting LBT operation. If the UE fails to perform redirection towards the indicated carrier or cells within the maximum latency or the maximum number of attempts, The UE needs to go to RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE (if RRC release carries a suspend indicator), and perform ordinary less often DL measurement for cell selection or reselection. During that cell selection or reselection procedure, the UE may only select cells supporting LBT operation.
  • the network may redirect the UE to a carrier or cells supporting LBT operation. If the UE fails to perform redirection towards the indicated carrier or cells within the maximum latency or the maximum number of attempts, The UE needs to go to RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE (if RRC release carries a suspend indicator), and perform ordinary less often DL measurement for cell selection or reselection. During that cell selection or reselection procedure, the UE may only select cells not supporting LBT operation.
  • the RRC release message (e.g., the control message 510) may carry at least one of the following information: release cause redirected carriers redirected cells
  • LBT mode associated with each redirected carrier LBT mode associated with each redirected cell information on priority handling between redirected cells/carriers o e.g., a priority indicator indicating whether the UE shall prioritize the cells supporting LBT over the other cells no supporting LBT, or the UE shall prioritize the cells not supporting LBT over the other cells supporting LBT o e.g., an offset which is added to the measurement results of the radio signal strength for priority handling purpose o e.g., a configuration which is applied to the cells for priority handling purpose a maximum latency within which the UE needs to perform access to the redirected carriers/cells a maximum number of attempts within which the UE needs to perform access to the redirected carriers/cells
  • the UE 100 is configured with one or multiple measurement configurations, wherein at least one of the measurement configurations comprises information of LBT mode, instructing the UE 100 to measure cells 502 supporting the configured LBT mode.
  • the UE 100 only measures the cells 502 supporting the configured LBT mode according to the measurement configuration.
  • the UE 100 may not measure the other cells 502 not supporting the configured LBT mode according to the measurement configuration.
  • the UE 100 is configured with at least one measurement configurations for measuring cells supporting LBT operation. Meanwhile, the UE 100 is also configured with at least one measurement configurations for measuring cells not supporting LBT operation.
  • the UE 100 builds a measurement report 520 containing measurement results of cells following at least one of the following options.
  • the measurement report 520 only contains measurement results of cells supporting LBT operation.
  • the measurement report 520 only contains measurement results of cells not supporting LBT operation.
  • the measurement report 520 contains measurement results of cells not supporting LBT operation and measurement results of cells supporting LBT operation.
  • the UE 100 may first place and/or include measurement results of cells supporting a specific LBT mode, then place and/or include measurement results of cells supporting a different LBT mode. By doing this, the gNB 200 is able to first receive measurement results of cells supporting the specific LBT mode.
  • the UE 100 applies any one of the options disclosed herein according to a configuration or a pre-configuration. Alternatively, which option is applicable for the UE is captured in a technical specification and/or in a hard coded fashion in the UE 100.
  • a serving gNB 200 upon reception of one or more measurement reports 520 from the UE 100, a serving gNB 200 sends a handover signaling 530 (e.g., handover request) to a neighbor gNB 200 for requesting admission of a handover.
  • the handover signaling is indicative of at least one of a UE ID and one or multiple UE-supported LBT modes.
  • the neighbor gNB 200 may decide whether to accept the request message according to UE supported LBT mode.
  • the neighbor gNB 200 replies to the serving gNB 200 (e.g., via handover response) indicating acceptance or rejection of the request. If the request is rejected, the neighbor gNB may also indicate the rejection cause in the response message.
  • the response message may also contain one or multiple LBT modes the neighbor gNB support.
  • the serving gNB 200 may further include one or multiple LBT modes the neighbor gNB support in a handover command signaling, which is sent to the UE.
  • the UE 100 accesses the target cells according to the LBT mode signaled in the handover command.
  • the UE 100 is configured or preconfigured with one or multiple candidate target cells 502, e.g., each being associated with one or more specific LBT modes.
  • the UE 100 may be signaled of (i.e., receive a configuration message indicative of) at least one of the following: an ID of a candidate target cell; and one or multiple supported LBT modes associated with the candidate target cell.
  • the UE 100 may apply similar options which are captured in the first detailed embodiment to select 306 the most suitable target cell 502 in case multiple target cells fulfill the conditions of conditional handover.
  • the UE 100 may first select 306 one or more target cells supporting a specific LBT mode.
  • the UE 100 may then select (or fallback to) target cells supporting a different LBT mode. In this way, the likelihood that the UE establishes a connection to the target cell will be increased. A maximum time period or a maximum number of attempts may be defined accordingly.
  • the UE 100 is allowed to switch to target cells with a different LBT mode.
  • the UE may select the target cells supporting a specific LBT mode, which is determined according to at least one of the following conditions (i.e., dependencies):
  • the services and/or applications and/or traffic types which are being employed by the UE o E.g., for high priority services and/or applications and/or traffic types, it may be beneficial to skip LBT operation to reduce potential latency and signaling overhead due to LBT operations. o Alternatively or in addition, for low priority services and/or applications and/or traffic types, it may be more suitable to apply LBT operation so that the UE may release resources to other services and/or applications and/or traffic types with high priority.
  • Second condition QoS requirements of the services/applications/traffic types which are being employed by the UE 100.
  • QoS requirements of the services/applications/traffic types which are being employed by the UE 100.
  • services/applications/traffic types without critical QoS requirement it may be more suitable to apply LBT operation so that the UE may release resources to other services/applications/traffic types with critical QoS requirements.
  • Third condition a Data volume of the UE 100. o E.g., it may be more appropriate for the UE to skip LBT operation if the data volume is above a configured threshold so that the data transmission can be speeded up. Otherwise, if there is low data volume, it may be fine for the UE to apply LBT operation.
  • the measured system congestion or channel occupancy o E.g., in low system congestion or channel occupancy, it may be better to skip LBT operation since the resources are sufficient for transmissions, therefore, collision between transmissions may unlikely occur o E.g., in high system congestion or channel occupancy, it may be better to apply LBT operation since resource utilization and spectrum efficiency can be improved with LBT operation.
  • no LBT operation is beneficial for the UE especially when there is low interference, low load or strong radio strength detected. In this case, there may be sufficient resources available for UEs to access the channel. Otherwise, when there is high interference, high load or weak radio strength detected, it is likely that the UE may experience collision when accessing the channel. In this case, it may be useful for the UE to apply LBT, based on which the UE performances transmissions only when the LBT indicates that the channel is idle.
  • the measured performance of DL receptions and/or UL transmissions in terms of metrics such as packet delay, packet loss, packet error rate, jitter, data rate etc. o E.g., when the performance metrics indicate that the UE has been experiencing good performance, meaning that the UE is unlikely/seldom experiencing collision during transmissions or receptions. In this case, the UE is recommended to skip LBT operation otherwise, the performance metrics indicate that the UE has been experiencing bad performance, meaning that the UE is likely/often experiencing collision during transmissions or receptions. In this case, the UE is recommended to apply LBT operation to avoid potential collision during transmissions or receptions.
  • metrics such as packet delay, packet loss, packet error rate, jitter, data rate etc.
  • Seventh condition The occupied resources by transmissions in frequency domain and/or time domain o
  • the restriction for short control signaling transmissions e.g., RACH messages , SRS , PUCCH , PUSCH without user plain data
  • the restriction for short control signaling transmissions e.g., RACH messages , SRS , PUCCH , PUSCH without user plain data
  • the UE shall apply LBT operation prior to any subsequent transmission of those control signaling.
  • the UE can skip LBT operation prior to any subsequent transmission of those control signaling.
  • short control signaling transmissions e.g., RACH messages , SRS , PUCCH , PUSCH without user plain data
  • the UE 100 may check whether the restriction for short control signaling transmissions is met, from either one cell perspective or one UE perspective. o In an example, when the UE has been occupying frequency resources more than X% of any Y PRBs for the transmissions the UE shall apply LBT operation prior to any subsequent transmission. Otherwise, when the UE has been occupying frequency resources no more than X% of any Y PRBs for the transmissions, the UE can skip LBT operation prior to any subsequent transmission.
  • X and Y can be configured or preconfigured to the UE. Alternatively, X and Y are captured in specs in hard coded fashion.
  • a Location of the UE 100 o In case the UE is in a region where LBT is mandated, the UE shall apply LBT operation prior to any transmission. In case the UE has moved to a region where LBT is not mandated, the UE may skip LBT operation prior to a transmission.
  • the UE's battery life o the UE's remaining battery life may affect whether the UE shall apply or skip LBT operation if the UE has sufficient remaining battery life, the UE may perform LBT operation prior to a transmission. While if the UE has low remaining battery life, the UE may skip LBT operation prior to a transmission.
  • Tenth condition The UE's power class or recently used transmission power o
  • the UE is more likely to create interference to surrounding nodes, it is safer for the UE to apply LBT operation prior to a transmission.
  • the UE's power class is low or the recent used transmission power is low, the UE is less likely to create interference to surrounding nodes, the UE may skip LBT operation prior to a transmission.
  • the UE 100 may perform actions according to configuration or signaling from the gNB, or pre-configuration captured in specifications. Alternatively, how the UE shall behave (e.g., how to select target cells according to LBT mode) may be captured in specifications and/or in a hard coded fashion.
  • the signaling e.g., a NAS signaling
  • the UE 100 may perform actions according to configuration or signaling from the gNB, or pre-configuration captured in specifications.
  • how the UE shall behave may be captured in specifications and/or in a hard coded fashion.
  • at least one of the following may be also included in the signaling (e.g., a NAS signaling) between the UE 100 and a core network associated to the RAN 500, or between the gNB 200 and the core network: a UE 100 preferred LBT mode, and a the LBT mode supported by a target cell.
  • the signaling between the UE 100 and the gNB 200 may be carried via at least one of the following signaling alternatives: RRC signaling; MAC CE; a Control PDU of a protocol layer (e.g., SDAP, PDCP, RLC); LI signaling carried in a physical channel (e.g., PDCCH); and the signaling between gNBs may be carried via X2 or XN interfaces.
  • RRC signaling e.g., MAC CE
  • a Control PDU of a protocol layer e.g., SDAP, PDCP, RLC
  • LI signaling carried in a physical channel e.g., PDCCH
  • the signaling between gNBs may be carried via X2 or XN interfaces.
  • physical layer aspects may include at least one of:
  • a further (i.e. "new") SCS e.g., 480 kHz and 960 kHz may be specified, and/or maximum bandwidth(s) may be defined, for operation in this frequency range for data and control channels and reference signals, only NCP supported.
  • a common design framework shall be adopted for 480 kHz to 960 kHz.
  • Timeline-related aspects adapted to 480 kHz and 960 kHz, e.g., bandwidth part (BWP) and beam switching timing, HARQ timing, UE processing, preparation and computation timelines for PDSCH, PUSCH/SRS and CSI, respectively.
  • BWP bandwidth part
  • HARQ timing HARQ timing
  • UE processing preparation and computation timelines for PDSCH, PUSCH/SRS and CSI, respectively.
  • additional SCS e.g., 240 kHz, 480 kHz, 960 kHz
  • additional SCS e.g., 480 kHz, 960 kHz
  • physical layer procedure(s) may include at least one of:
  • Both LBT and No-LBT related procedures may be specified. For No-LBT case, no additional sensing mechanism is specified. (ii) If needed, omni-directional LBT, directional LBT and receiver assistance in channel access may be specified.
  • energy detection threshold enhancement may be specified.
  • radio interface protocol architecture and procedures may include:
  • a core specifications for UE, gNB and RRM requirements may include at least one of:
  • One or more further bands for the frequency range from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz may be specified.
  • a definition of the one or more bands should include UL and/or DL operation and excludes ITS spectrum in this frequency range.
  • - RF core requirements may be specified for the gNB 200 and the UE 100 for the one or more bands in the above frequency range, including a limited set of example band combinations (see below Note 1).
  • the Wl can be completed provided requirements for at least one band combination involving a new NR-U band is specified as long as it is in line with country-specific regulatory directives.
  • UEs supporting a band in the range of 52.6G Hz to 71 GHz are not required to support 480 kHz SCS and 960 kHz SCS.
  • the maximum FFT size required to operate the system in 52.6 GHz- 71GHz frequency is 4096, and the maximum of RBs per carrier is 275 RBs.
  • Note 4 the system is designed to support both single-carrier and multi carrier operation.
  • RAN plenary will decide whether new FR (e.g. FR3) shall be defined for the frequency range from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz or the existing FR2 shall be extended to cover frequency range from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz.
  • new FR e.g. FR3
  • NR and/or NR-U operation in the 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz can be in stand-alone or aggregated via carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC) with an anchor carrier.
  • CA carrier aggregation
  • DC dual connectivity
  • At least some embodiments may perform mobility in idle mode (e.g., RRC IDLE), optionally as described in clause 9.2.1 of the 3GPP document TS 38.300, version 16.6.0.
  • mobility handling for UE in RRC IDLE may use at least one of the following features.
  • At least some embodiments may perform Cell Selection, e.g., as described below.
  • PLMN selection in NR is based on the 3GPP PLMN selection principles.
  • Cell selection is required on transition from RM-DEREGISTERED to RM- REGISTERED, from CM-IDLE to CM-CONNECTED and from CM-CONNECTED to CM- IDLE and is based on the following principles:
  • the UE NAS layer identifies a selected PLMN and equivalent PLMNs
  • CD-SSBs located on the synchronization raster (e.g. according to clause 5.2.4 of the 3GPP document TS 38.300, version 16.6.0):
  • the UE searches the NR frequency bands and for each carrier frequency identifies the strongest cell as per the CD-SSB. It then reads cell system information broadcast to identify its PLMN(s):
  • the UE may search each carrier in turn (“initial cell selection”) or make use of stored information to shorten the search (“stored information cell selection”).
  • the UE seeks to identify a suitable cell; if it is not able to identify a suitable cell it seeks to identify an acceptable cell. When a suitable cell is found or if only an acceptable cell is found it camps on that cell and commence the cell reselection procedure:
  • a suitable cell is one for which the measured cell attributes satisfy the cell selection criteria; the cell PLMN is the selected PLMN, registered or an equivalent PLMN; the cell is not barred or reserved and the cell is not part of a tracking area which is in the list of "forbidden tracking areas for roaming";
  • An acceptable cell is one for which the measured cell attributes satisfy the cell selection criteria and the cell is not barred.
  • the IAB-MT applies the cell selection procedure as described for the UE with the following differences: - The IAB-MT ignores cell-barring or cell-reservation indications contained in cell system information broadcast;
  • the IAB-MT only considers a cell as a candidate for cell selection if the cell system information broadcast indicates IAB support for the selected PLMN or the selected SNPN.
  • a UE On transition from RRC_CONNECTED or RRCJ INACTIVE to RRCJDLE, a UE should camp on a cell as result of cell selection according to the frequency be assigned by RRC in the state transition message if any.
  • the UE should attempt to find a suitable cell in the manner described for stored information or initial cell selection above. If no suitable cell is found on any frequency or RAT, the UE should attempt to find an acceptable cell.
  • the cell quality is derived amongst the beams corresponding to the same cell (see clause 9.2.4 of TS 38.300 V16.6.0).
  • Some embodiments may perform Cell Reselection, e.g., as described below.
  • a UE in RRCJDLE performs cell reselection.
  • the principles of the procedure are the following:
  • CD-SSBs located on the synchronization raster (e.g. according to clause 5.2.4 of the document TS 38.300, version 16.6.0).
  • the UE 100 makes measurements of attributes of the serving and neighbor cells to enable the reselection process:
  • Cell reselection may identify the cell that the UE 100 should camp on. It is based on cell reselection criteria which involves measurements of the serving and neighbor cells, e.g. including at least one of:
  • Intra-frequency reselection is based on ranking of cells
  • Inter-frequency reselection is based on absolute priorities where a UE tries to camp on the highest priority frequency available;
  • An NCL can be provided by the serving cell to handle specific cases for intra- and inter-frequency neighboring cells;
  • - Black lists can be provided to prevent the UE from reselecting to specific intra- and inter-frequency neighboring cells;
  • White lists can be provided to request the UE to reselect to only specific intra- and inter-frequency neighboring cells
  • the cell quality is derived amongst the beams corresponding to the same cell (see clause 9.2.4 of TS 38.300 V16.6.0).
  • At least some embodiments may perform mobility in an inactive mode (e.g., RRC INACTIVE), optionally as described in clause 9.2.2 of the 3GPP document TS 38.300, version 16.6.0.
  • mobility handling for the UE 100 in RRC INACTIVE may use at least one of the following features.
  • RRC INACTIVE is a state in which a UE 100 remains in a connected state of connection management (CM), CM-CONNECTED, and can move within an area configured by NG-RAN (e.g., the RAN-based Notification Area, RNA) without notifying NG-RAN.
  • CM connected state of connection management
  • NG-RAN e.g., the RAN-based Notification Area, RNA
  • the last serving gNB node 200 may keep the UE context and the UE-associated NG connection with the serving AMF and UPF.
  • the last serving gNB 200 If the last serving gNB 200 receives DL data from the UPF or DL UE-associated signaling from the AMF (except the UE Context Release Command message) while the UE is in RRCJNACTIVE, it pages in the cells corresponding to the RNA and may send XnAP RAN Paging to neighbor gNB(s) if the RNA includes cells of neighbor gNB(s).
  • the last serving gNB may page in the cells corresponding to the RNA and may send XnAP RAN Paging to neighbor gNB(s) if the RNA includes cells of neighbor gNB(s), in order to release UE explicitly.
  • the last serving gNB may page involved UEs in the cells corresponding to the RNA and may send XnAP RAN Paging to neighbor gNB(s) 200 if the RNA includes cells of neighbor gNB(s) 200 in order to explicitly release involved UEs 100.
  • the gNB 200 may behave according to the 3GPP document TS 23.501, e.g., version 16.9.0.
  • the AMF provides to the NG-RAN node the Core Network Assistance Information to assist the NG-RAN node's decision whether the UE can be sent to RRCJN ACTIVE.
  • the Core Network Assistance Information includes the registration area configured for the UE, the Periodic Registration Update timer, and the UE Identity Index value, and may include the UE specific DRX, an indication if the UE is configured with Mobile Initiated Connection Only (MICO) mode by the AMF, and the Expected UE Behavior.
  • MICO Mobile Initiated Connection Only
  • the UE specific DRX and UE Identity Index value are used by the NG-RAN node for RAN paging.
  • the Periodic Registration Update timer is taken into account by the NG-RAN node to configure Periodic RNA Update timer.
  • the NG-RAN node takes into account the Expected UE Behavior to assist the UE RRC state transition decision.
  • the NG-RAN node may configure the UE 100 with a periodic RNA Update timer value.
  • the gNB 200 may behave as specified in the 3GPP document TS 23.501, e.g., version 16.9.0.
  • the receiving gNB triggers the XnAP Retrieve UE Context procedure to get the UE context from the last serving gNB and may also trigger an Xn-U Address Indication procedure including tunnel information for potential recovery of data from the last serving gNB.
  • the receiving gNB shall perform the slice-aware admission control in case of receiving slice information and becomes the serving gNB and it further triggers the NGAP Path Switch Request and applicable RRC procedures.
  • the serving gNB triggers release of the UE context at the last serving gNB 200 by means of the XnAP UE Context Release procedure.
  • the gNB 200 shall:
  • the receiving gNB can perform establishment of a new RRC connection instead of resumption of the previous RRC connection.
  • UE context retrieval will also fail and hence a new RRC connection needs to be established if the serving AMF changes.
  • a UE 100 in the RRC INACTIVE state is required to initiate RNA update procedure when it moves out of the configured RNA.
  • the receiving gNB When receiving RNA update request from the UE, the receiving gNB triggers the XnAP Retrieve UE Context procedure to get the UE context from the last serving gNB and may decide to send the UE back to RRC INACTIVE state, move the UE into RRC CONNECTED state, or send the UE to RRC IDLE.
  • the last serving gNB decides not to relocate the UE context, it fails the Retrieve UE Context procedure and sends the UE back to RRC INACTIVE, or to RRC IDLE directly by an encapsulated RRCRelease message.
  • At least some embodiments may perform Cell Reselection, e.g., a UE in RRCJNACTIVE performs cell reselection.
  • the principles of the procedure are as for the RRCJDLE state (cf. clause 9.2.1.2 in the 3GPP document TS 38.300, version 16.6.0).
  • At least some embodiments may perform RAN-Based Notification Area, e.g., a UE in the RRCJNACTIVE state can be configured by the last serving NG-RAN node with an RNA, e.g. wherein:
  • the RNA can cover a single or multiple cells, and shall be contained within the CN registration area; in this release Xn connectivity should be available within the RNA;
  • a RAN-based notification area update (RNAU) is periodically sent by the UE and is also sent when the cell reselection procedure of the UE selects a cell that does not belong to the configured RNA.
  • a UE is provided an explicit list of cells (one or more) that constitute the RNA.
  • a UE is provided (at least one) RAN area ID, where a RAN area is a subset of a CN Tracking Area or equal to a CN Tracking Area.
  • a RAN area is specified by one RAN area ID, which consists of a TAC and optionally a RAN area Code;
  • NG-RAN may provide different RNA definitions to different UEs but not mix different definitions to the same UE at the same time.
  • UE shall support all RNA configuration options listed above.
  • Some embodiments may perform (e.g., general) procedure of RRC re establishment.
  • a UE in RRC_CONNECTED may initiate the re-establishment procedure to continue the RRC connection when a failure condition occurs (e.g. radio link failure, reconfiguration failure, integrity check failure).
  • a failure condition e.g. radio link failure, reconfiguration failure, integrity check failure.
  • Fig. 6 discloses an example of the re-establishment procedure started by the UE 100.
  • Fig. 6 (or alternatively Figure 9.2.3.3-1 in the 3GPP document TS 38.300, version 16.6.0) illustrates re-establishment procedure, e.g. according to the 3GPP TS 38.300, version 16.6.0, clause 9.2.3.3.
  • the UE 100 re-establishes the connection, providing the UE Identity (PCI+C- RNTI) to the gNB where the trigger for the re-establishment occurred.
  • PCI+C- RNTI UE Identity
  • the gNB If the UE Context is not locally available, the gNB, requests the last serving gNB to provide UE Context data.
  • the last serving gNB provides UE context data.
  • the gNB continues the re-establishment of the RRC connection.
  • the message is sent on SRB1.
  • the gNB may perform the reconfiguration to re-establish SRB2 and DRBs when the re-establishment procedure is ongoing.
  • the gNB If loss of user data buffered in the last serving gNB shall be prevented, the gNB provides forwarding addresses, and the last serving gNB provides the SN status to the gNB.
  • the gNB performs path switch.
  • the gNB triggers the release of the UE resources at the last serving gNB.
  • At least some embodiment may use an RRC release. Load balancing is achieved in NR with handover, redirection mechanisms upon RRC release and through the usage of inter-frequency and inter-RAT absolute priorities and inter-frequency Qoffset parameters.
  • the network initiates the RRC connection release procedure to transit a UE in RRC_CONNECTED to RRCJDLE; or to transit a UE in RRC_CONNECTED to RRCJN ACTIVE only if SRB2 and at least one DRB is setup in RRC_CONNECTED; or to transit a UE in RRCJNACTIVE back to RRCJNACTIVE when the UE tries to resume; or to transit a UE in RRCJNACTIVE to RRCJDLE when the UE tries to resume.
  • the procedure can also be used to release and redirect a UE to another frequency.
  • Fig. 7 shows a schematic block diagram for an embodiment of the device 100.
  • the device 100 comprises processing circuitry, e.g., one or more processors 704 for performing the method 300 and memory 706 coupled to the processors 704.
  • the memory 706 may be encoded with instructions that implement at least one of the modules 102, 104 and 106.
  • the one or more processors 704 may be 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, microcode and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components of the device 100, such as the memory 706, radio device functionality.
  • the one or more processors 704 may execute instructions stored in the memory 706.
  • Such functionality may include providing various features and steps discussed herein, including any of the benefits disclosed herein.
  • the expression "the device being operative to perform an action” may denote the device 100 being configured to perform the action. As schematically illustrated in Fig.
  • the device 100 may be embodied by a radio device 700, e.g., functioning as a UE.
  • the radio device 700 comprises a radio interface 702 coupled to the device 100 for radio communication with one or more base stations, e.g., functioning as a gNB.
  • Fig. 8 shows a schematic block diagram for an embodiment of the device 200.
  • the device 200 comprises processing circuitry, e.g., one or more processors 804 for performing the method 400 and memory 806 coupled to the processors 804.
  • the memory 806 may be encoded with instructions that implement at least the module 202.
  • the one or more processors 804 may be 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, microcode and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components of the device 200, such as the memory 806, base station functionality.
  • the one or more processors 804 may execute instructions stored in the memory 806.
  • Such functionality may include providing various features and steps discussed herein, including any of the benefits disclosed herein.
  • the expression "the device being operative to perform an action” may denote the device 200 being configured to perform the action.
  • the device 200 may be embodied by a base station 800, e.g., functioning as a gNB.
  • the base station 800 comprises a radio interface 802 coupled to the device 200 for radio communication with one or more radio devices, e.g., functioning as a UE.
  • a communication system 900 includes a telecommunication network 910, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network 911, such as a radio access network, and a core network 914.
  • the access network 911 comprises a plurality of base stations 912a, 912b, 912c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 913a, 913b, 913c.
  • Each base station 912a, 912b, 912c is connectable to the core network 914 over a wired or wireless connection 915.
  • a first user equipment (UE) 991 located in coverage area 913c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 912c.
  • a second UE 992 in coverage area 913a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 912a. While a plurality of UEs 991, 992 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 912.
  • Any of the base stations 912 and the UEs 991, 992 may embody the device 100.
  • the telecommunication network 910 is itself connected to a host computer 930, 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.
  • the host computer 930 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.
  • the connections 921, 922 between the telecommunication network 910 and the host computer 930 may extend directly from the core network 914 to the host computer 930 or may go via an optional intermediate network 920.
  • the intermediate network 920 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network 920, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 920 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
  • the communication system 900 of Fig. 9 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected UEs 991, 992 and the host computer 930.
  • the connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 950.
  • the host computer 930 and the connected UEs 991, 992 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection 950, using the access network 911, the core network 914, any intermediate network 920 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries.
  • the OTT connection 950 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 950 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications.
  • a base station 912 need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 930 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 991.
  • the base station 912 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 991 towards the host computer 930.
  • the performance or range of the OTT connection 950 can be improved, e.g., in terms of increased throughput and/or reduced latency.
  • the host computer 930 may indicate to the RAN 500 (e.g., to the base station) or the radio device (e.g., on an application layer) the QoS of the traffic.
  • the LBT mode may be selected according to the indicated QoS.
  • a host computer 1010 comprises hardware 1015 including a communication interface 1016 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1000.
  • the host computer 1010 further comprises processing circuitry 1018, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities.
  • the processing circuitry 1018 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.
  • the host computer 1010 further comprises software 1011, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 1010 and executable by the processing circuitry 1018.
  • the software 1011 includes a host application 1012.
  • the host application 1012 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 1030 connecting via an OTT connection 1050 terminating at the UE 1030 and the host computer 1010.
  • the host application 1012 may provide user data, which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1050.
  • the user data may depend on the location of the UE 1030.
  • the user data may comprise auxiliary information or precision advertisements (also: ads) delivered to the UE 1030.
  • the location may be reported by the UE 1030 to the host computer, e.g., using the OTT connection 1050, and/or by the base station 1020, e.g., using a connection 1060.
  • the communication system 1000 further includes a base station 1020 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1025 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1010 and with the UE 1030.
  • the hardware 1025 may include a communication interface 1026 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1000, as well as a radio interface 1027 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1070 with a UE 1030 located in a coverage area (not shown in Fig. 10) served by the base station 1020.
  • the communication interface 1026 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1060 to the host computer 1010.
  • the connection 1060 may be direct, or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Fig.
  • the hardware 1025 of the base station 1020 further includes processing circuitry 1028, 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.
  • the base station 1020 further has software 1021 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.
  • the communication system 1000 further includes the UE 1030 already referred to.
  • Its hardware 1035 may include a radio interface 1037 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 1070 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 1030 is currently located.
  • the hardware 1035 of the UE 1030 further includes processing circuitry 1038, 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.
  • the UE 1030 further comprises software 1031, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1030 and executable by the processing circuitry 1038.
  • the software 1031 includes a client application 1032.
  • the client application 1032 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1030, with the support of the host computer 1010.
  • an executing host application 1012 may communicate with the executing client application 1032 via the OTT connection 1050 terminating at the UE 1030 and the host computer 1010.
  • the client application 1032 may receive request data from the host application 1012 and provide user data in response to the request data.
  • the OTT connection 1050 may transfer both the request data and the user data.
  • the client application 1032 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
  • the host computer 1010, base station 1020 and UE 1030 illustrated in Fig. 10 may be identical to the host computer 930, one of the base stations 912a, 912b, 912c and one of the UEs 991, 992 of Fig. 9, respectively.
  • the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Fig. 10, and, independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Fig. 9.
  • the OTT connection 1050 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 1010 and the UE 1030 via the base station 1020, 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 the UE 1030 or from the service provider operating the host computer 1010, or both. While the OTT connection 1050 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).
  • the wireless connection 1070 between the UE 1030 and the base station 1020 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 the UE 1030 using the OTT connection 1050, in which the wireless connection 1070 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may reduce the latency and improve the data rate and thereby provide benefits such as better responsiveness and improved QoS.
  • a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, QoS and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 may be implemented in the software 1011 of the host computer 1010 or in the software 1031 of the UE 1030, or both.
  • sensors may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 1050 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 1011, 1031 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.
  • the reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1050 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 1020, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1020. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer's 1010 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 1011, 1031 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or "dummy" messages, using the OTT connection 1050 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
  • Fig. 11 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 Figs. 9 and 10. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 11 will be included in this paragraph.
  • 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 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.
  • Fig. 12 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 Figs. 9 and 10. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 12 will be included in this paragraph.
  • 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.
  • the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.
  • a radio device i.e., a UE
  • the control of the RAN e.g., a eNB or gNB
  • assistance by the UE e.g., in the selecting and measuring and measurement report.

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  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

Une technique de sélection d'une cellule (502) d'un réseau d'accès radio, RAN (500), pour un dispositif radio (100 ; 700) est décrite. Selon un aspect de procédé de la technique mis en œuvre par le dispositif radio (100 ; 700), une cellule (502) est sélectionnée parmi une ou plusieurs cellules (502) du RAN (500) en fonction d'un mode LBT (« écouter avant de parler ») des cellules (502).
PCT/EP2022/071479 2021-07-30 2022-07-29 Technique de sélection de cellules WO2023007020A1 (fr)

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US20210084583A1 (en) * 2018-04-04 2021-03-18 Zte Corporation Systems and methods for base station selection in licensed and unlicensed spectrums

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20210084583A1 (en) * 2018-04-04 2021-03-18 Zte Corporation Systems and methods for base station selection in licensed and unlicensed spectrums
US20210022056A1 (en) * 2018-05-10 2021-01-21 Lg Electronics Inc. Method and apparatus for deprioritizing access on unlicensed band based on ue preference in wireless communication system

Non-Patent Citations (3)

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Title
NOKIA ET AL: "Channel access mechanism", vol. RAN WG1, no. e-Meeting; 20210519 - 20210527, 11 May 2021 (2021-05-11), XP052006199, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://ftp.3gpp.org/tsg_ran/WG1_RL1/TSGR1_105-e/Docs/R1-2104455.zip R1-2104455 Channel access.docx> [retrieved on 20210511] *
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