WO2023012753A1 - Divisions géographiques pour la ta et la cgi - Google Patents

Divisions géographiques pour la ta et la cgi Download PDF

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WO2023012753A1
WO2023012753A1 PCT/IB2022/057328 IB2022057328W WO2023012753A1 WO 2023012753 A1 WO2023012753 A1 WO 2023012753A1 IB 2022057328 W IB2022057328 W IB 2022057328W WO 2023012753 A1 WO2023012753 A1 WO 2023012753A1
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areas
network
special
regions
area
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PCT/IB2022/057328
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Johan Rune
Helka-Liina MÄÄTTÄNEN
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Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
    • H04W48/16—Discovering, processing access restriction or access information

Definitions

  • the present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of wireless communications and more particularly to grid division techniques.
  • EPS evolved packet system
  • LTE long-term evolution
  • EPC evolved packet core
  • NB-IoT narrowband Internet of Things
  • LTE-M LTE for machines
  • mMTC massive machine type communications
  • 3GPP also specifies the 5G system (5GS).
  • 5GS is a new generation radio access technology intended to serve use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultrareliable and low latency communication (URLLC) and mMTC.
  • 5G includes the new radio (NR) access stratum interface and the 5G Core Network (5GC).
  • NR new radio
  • GC 5G Core Network
  • the NR physical and higher layers reuse parts of the LTE specification, and to that add needed components when motivated by the new use cases.
  • One such component is a sophisticated framework for beam forming and beam management to extend the support of the 3GPP technologies to a frequency range going beyond 6 GHz.
  • 3GPP release 15 3GPP started the work to prepare NR for operation in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) (e.g., satellite communications). The work was performed within the study item “NR to support Non-Terrestrial Networks” and resulted in TR 38.811.
  • NTN Non-Terrestrial Network
  • 3GPP release 16 the work to prepare NR for operation in an NTN network continued with the study item “Solutions for NR to support Non-Terrestrial Network”.
  • 3GPP release 17 contains both a work item on NR NTN and a study item on NB-IoT and LTE-M support for NTN.
  • a satellite radio access network usually includes the following components:
  • an earth-based gateway that connects the satellite to a base station or a core network, depending on the choice of architecture
  • a feeder link that refers to the link between a gateway and a satellite
  • a satellite may be categorized as low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), or geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite.
  • LEO includes typical heights ranging from 250 - 1,500 km, with orbital periods ranging from 90 - 120 minutes.
  • MEO includes typical heights ranging from 5,000 - 25,000 km, with orbital periods ranging from 3 - 15 hours.
  • GEO includes height at about 35,786 km, with an orbital period of 24 hours.
  • the transparent payload also referred to as bent pipe architecture
  • the satellite forwards the received signal between the terminal and the network equipment on the ground with only amplification and a shift from uplink frequency to downlink frequency.
  • the transparent payload architecture means that the gNB (base station in NR (New Radio)) is located on the ground and the satellite forwards signals/data between the gNB and the UE.
  • the satellite includes on-board processing to demodulate and decode the received signal and regenerate the signal before sending it back to the earth.
  • the regenerative payload architecture means that the gNB is located in the satellite.
  • FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating an example architecture of a satellite network with bent pipe transponders.
  • the gNB may be integrated in the gateway or connected to the gateway via a terrestrial connection (wire, optic fiber, wireless link).
  • Propagation delay is an important aspect of satellite communications that is different from the delay expected in a terrestrial mobile system.
  • the round-trip delay may, due to the orbit height, range from tens of milliseconds (ms) in the case of LEO to several hundreds of ms for GEO. This can be compared to the round-trip delays catered for in a cellular network which are limited to 1 ms.
  • the propagation delay may also be highly variable due to the high velocity of the LEO and MEO satellites and change in the order of 10 - 100 ps every second, depending on the orbit altitude and satellite velocity.
  • the timing advance (TA) the UE (user equipment) uses for its uplink transmissions is essential and has to be much greater than in terrestrial networks for the uplink and downlink to be time aligned at the gNB, as is the case in NR and LTE.
  • One of the purposes of the random access (RA) procedure is to provide the UE with a valid TA (which the network later can adjust based on the reception timing of uplink transmission from the UE).
  • pre-compensation TA The TA the UE uses for the RA preamble transmission is called “pre-compensation TA”.
  • One proposal is broadcast of a “common TA” that is valid at a certain reference point, e.g., a center point in the cell.
  • the UE calculates how its own precompensation TA deviates from the common TA, based on the difference between the UE’s own location and the reference point together with the position of the satellite.
  • the UE acquires its own position using GNSS measurements and the UE obtains the satellite position using satellite orbital data (including satellite position at a certain time) broadcast by the network.
  • the UE autonomously calculates the propagation delay between the UE and the satellite, based on the UE’s and the satellite’s respective positions, and the network/gNB broadcasts the propagation delay on the feeder link, i.e., the propagation delay between the gNB and the satellite.
  • the UE acquires its own position using GNSS measurements and the UE obtains the satellite position using satellite orbital data (including satellite position at a certain time) broadcast by the network.
  • the pre-compensation TA is then twice the sum of the propagation delay on the feeder link and the propagation delay between the satellite and the UE.
  • the gNB broadcasts a timestamp (in SIB9) that the UE compares with a reference timestamp acquired from GNSS. Based on the difference between the two timestamps, the UE can calculate the propagation delay between the gNB and the UE, and the pre-compensation TA is twice as long as this propagation delay.
  • a second important aspect closely related to the timing is a Doppler frequency offset induced by the motion of the satellite.
  • the access link may be exposed to Doppler shift in the order of 10 - 100 kHz in sub-6 GHz frequency band and proportionally higher in higher frequency bands.
  • the Doppler shift is varying, with a rate of up to several hundred Hz per second in the S-band and several kHz per second in the Ka-band.
  • tracking areas are used by the network to coarsely keep track of a UE’s whereabouts, especially UE’s in RRC IDLE (Radio Resource Control_IDLE) or RRC_INACTIVE state.
  • a tracking area (TA (not to be confused with the Timing Advance described above) is a set of cells and each cell belongs to one and only one TA.
  • a UE can identify the TA a cell belongs to from the Tracking Area Identity (TAI), which consists of the PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) ID and a Tracking Area Code (TAC), and which is broadcast in the system information of each cell.
  • TAI Tracking Area Identity
  • PLMN Public Land Mobile Network
  • TAC Tracking Area Code
  • a UE is configured with a list of TAs (in the form of a list of TAIs), representing the area the UE in RRC_IDLE state is allowed to move around in without informing the network of its location (where this area is referred to as the UE’s registration area). If the UE moves (re-selects) to a cell that does not belong to any of the TAs in the UE’s configured list of TAs, the UE has to inform the network.
  • a list of TAs in the form of a list of TAIs
  • This procedure is called Registration in 5G (where the UE sends a Registration Request NAS message to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) with the 5GS Registration Type IE set to “mobility registration updating”), while the corresponding procedure is called Tracking Area Update in LTE (where the UE sends a Tracking Area Update Request NAS message to the MME with the EPS Update Type IE set to “TA updating”).
  • the TAI of the UE’s current cell is not explicitly included in the Registration Request NAS message or the Tracking Area Update Request NAS message.
  • the gNB includes it in the User Location Information IE in the NGAP (Next Generation Application Protocol) message that conveys the Registration Request NAS message from the gNB to the AMF (i.e., the Initial UE Message NGAP message or possibly the Uplink NAS Transport NGAP message).
  • the eNB (Evolved NodeB (LTE base station)) includes the TAI of the UE’s current cell in the TAI IE in the S1AP message that conveys the Tracking Area Update Request NAS message from the eNB to the MME (i.e., the Initial UE Message S1AP message or possibly the Uplink NAS Transport S1AP message).
  • the AMF In response to a Registration Request NAS message (or a Tracking Area Update Request NAS message in LTE) the AMF (or the MME in LTE) responds with a Registration Accept NAS message (or a Tracking Area Update Accept NAS message in LTE) including a new TAI list including at least the TAI of the UE’s current cell (where the TAI list represents the UE’s new configured list of TAs, i.e. the UE’s new registration area).
  • the tracking area list a UE is configured with is related to core network (CN) initiated paging (i.e. the mechanism by which the network can reach a UE which is in RRC_IDLE state) in the sense that in order to be sure to reach the UE, the CN has to page the UE in all the cells of the TAs in the UE’s list of TAs.
  • the CN may page the UE in all these cells at the first page attempt, but the CN may also choose to first page the UE in a smaller number of cells, based on the UE’s last known location, and then increase or complement the cells in which the UE is paged in a second attempt in case the UE does not respond to the first page attempt.
  • CN core network
  • the CN can also use the UE’s current TA for other purposes and therefore the TAI of the UE’s current TA, as well as its serving cell ID may be signaled over the RAN-CN (Radio Access Network - Core Network) interface, e.g., from a gNB to an AMF.
  • RAN-CN Radio Access Network - Core Network
  • RNA may be a list of cells, a list of RAN Areas (identified by a list of RAN Area Codes (RANACs), which are unique within a TA) or a list of TAs.
  • RANACs RAN Area Codes
  • RNA update i.e., send an RRCResumeRequest message with the ResumeCause IE set to “rna-Update”.
  • RNA update i.e., send an RRCResumeRequest message with the ResumeCause IE set to “rna-Update”.
  • a UE may perform timer controlled periodic Registration (or Tracking Area Update) and periodic RNA update.
  • Non-Terrestrial Networks It is 3 GPP’s ambition to reuse for NTN as much as possible of the standards specified for NR in terrestrial networks but reusing the above described TA and RNA concepts in Non-Terrestrial Networks is not straightforward, since the satellites are moving relative to the earth, cells may be moving and gNBs may be moving.
  • Different concepts have been proposed, including that the TAI follows a cell as it moves or that the TAI is fixed to a geographical area and should be adopted and broadcast by the cell passing over the geographical area.
  • the geographically fixed TA concept has had the most traction in 3GPP and has eventually been agreed (on a general level) by RAN2.
  • a similar mechanism is relevant also for earth fixed beams/cells, because the cell covering the cell area may change with satellite and/or feeder link switches (at least conceptually because such events probably will involve change of the PCI).
  • a cell may have to broadcast multiple TAIs when moving across TA borders.
  • Momentary switching from one TAI to another is referred to as hard TAI update, or hard TAI switch, while broadcasting of multiple (e.g., two) TAIs while a TA border passes through the cell is referred to as soft TAI update, or soft TAI switch.
  • Hard switch means that each cell can broadcast only one tracking area code (in between the hard TAI switches). When this is combined with geographically/earth fixed tracking areas, it will create fluctuation at the border areas of these earth fixed tracking areas.
  • Hard TAI update is depicted in Figure 2.
  • Figure 2 shows a tracking area switch for earth moving beams/cells with hard TAI update (the satellites are moving from the right to the left).
  • Soft TAI update requires the network to broadcast more than one TAI in a moving cell while the cell passes over a TA border. This differs from the principle in NR and LTE that a cell belongs to only one TA. Soft TAI update is depicted in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows tracking area update for Earth moving beams with soft TAI update (the satellites are moving from the right to the left).
  • the surface of the earth should be divided into areas representing the TAs.
  • One possible approach is to divide the earth into a lot of geographical areas and each geographical area is mapped to a certain TAC.
  • UE derives the TAC based on its location information (the mapping rule between the geographical area and the TAC value is kept both on UE side and network side), forms the TAI based on the derived TAC and broadcast PLMN ID and reports the TAI to network via Registration Request message.
  • the AMF confirms the reported TAI and includes a TAI list as a registration area the UE is registered to in the Registration Accept message.
  • UE When UE moves to a new geographical area, UE derives the TAC based on the location information and forms the TAI based on the derived TAC and PLMN ID. If UE detects entering a tracking area that is not in the list of tracking areas that the UE previously registered to, a mobility registration update procedure will be triggered. UE reports the TAI derived by itself to network via Registration Request message. The AMF confirms the reported TAI and include a new TAI list for the UE in the Registration Accept message. The UE, upon receiving a Registration Accept message, shall delete its old TAI list and store the received TAI list.”
  • a related approach to earth fixed TAs and reporting of such comprises an index -based location reporting framework, where the UE receives a list of indexed reference locations from the network and reports an index of the list that matches a specific reporting criterion.
  • the network broadcasts or unicasts a list of reference locations and the UE reports a list index corresponding to its closest reference position.
  • the UE may be configured to trigger a report when its location is closer to a new reference location in the list.
  • the approach further includes that a reference location may be associated with one or more cell(s), tracking area(s) and/or PLMN(s).
  • NR Cell Global Identity In NR, the CGI consists of the PLMN ID (which consists of the MCC and the MNC) and 36 additional bits. Of the 36 additional bits, 4-14 bits represent the gNB ID (of the gNB serving the cell), while the remaining 22-32 bits represent the Cell ID.
  • 3GPP considers the concept of mapping a CGI to a geographically fixed area.
  • the purpose of this is to have a CGI that may be used in the communication between the NTN RAN and the NTN CN and which to a large extent hides the dynamic nature of the cells (which is visible in the RAN) from the CN.
  • the purpose would be to simplify various procedures affecting the CN, e.g., location/region specific features, CN/PLMN selection based on the country the UE is located in, Lawful Interception, and routing of emergency calls.
  • Some goals in this area are to ensure that the CGI constructed by NG-RAN corresponds to a fixed geographical area with a size comparable with a cell for TN including connected mode and initial access. Another goal is to ensure that the CGI constructed by NG-RAN can correspond to a fixed geographical area comparable with a TN cell with a radius of ⁇ 2km or more.
  • 3GPP TS 23.032 “Geographical Area Description (GAD)” provides geographical area descriptions which can be converted into an equivalent radio coverage map.
  • the shape definitions use the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) ellipsoid as a reference. For example, a point and radius are defined as follows:
  • the co-ordinates of an ellipsoid point are coded with an uncertainty of less than 3 meters.
  • the latitude is coded with 24 bits: 1 bit of sign and a number between 0 and 2 23 -l coded in binary on 23 bits.
  • the relation between the coded number N and the range of (absolute) latitudes X it encodes is the following (X in degrees):
  • N ⁇ — 23 X ⁇ N + 1 90 except for N 2 23 -l, for which the range is extended to include N+l.
  • the longitude expressed in the range -180°, +180°, is coded as a number between -2 23 and 2 23 -l, coded in 2's complement binary on 24 bits.
  • the relation between the coded number N and the range of longitude X it encodes is the following (X in degrees):
  • Inner radius is encoded in increments of 5 meters using a 16-bit binary coded number N.
  • N The relation between the number N and the range of radius r (in meters) it encodes is described by the following equation:
  • the uncertainty radius is encoded as for the uncertainty latitude and longitude.
  • a polygon is defined as follows in 3GPP TS 23.032.
  • a polygon is an arbitrary shape described by an ordered series of points (in the example pictured in the drawing, A to E). The minimum number of points allowed is 3, and the maximum number of points allowed is 15. The points shall be connected in the order that they are given.
  • a connecting line is defined as the line over the ellipsoid joining the two points and of minimum distance (geodesic). The last point is connected to the first.
  • the list of points shall respect a number of conditions: a connecting line shall not cross another connecting line; and two successive points must not be diametrically opposed on the ellipsoid.
  • One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a network node for configuring a user equipment (UE) to report its location.
  • the method comprises sending to the UE at least a portion of an index of one or more areas, the index of one or areas covering the Earth and comprising a plurality of stripes parallel to the equator, each of the plurality of stripes is divided into at least one of the one or more areas such that each of the one or more areas is approximately the same size; and receiving from the UE a first indication if it has moved from one of the one or more areas to another of the one or more areas.
  • Another embodiment can comprise a method performed by a UE for reporting its location to a network node.
  • the method comprises detecting by the UE that it has moved from a first location to a second location based on at least a portion of an index, the index comprising one or more areas covering the Earth and comprising a plurality of stripes parallel to the equator, each of the plurality of stripes divided into at least one of the one or more areas such that each of the one or more areas is approximately the same size; and sending to a network node an indication that it has moved to the second location.
  • a further embodiment comprises a method performed by a telecommunications system of dividing the Earth into contiguous areas.
  • the method comprises dividing, by one or more servers, the Earth into a plurality of stripes, each of the plurality of stripes parallel to the equator; dividing, by the one or more servers, each of the stripes into one or more areas along an east-west plane, wherein each of the one or more areas have approximately the same size as each of the one or more areas in each of the other plurality of stripes; and indexing, by the one or more servers, all of the one or more areas to create an index.
  • embodiments of UEs, network nodes, and communication systems configured to use an indexed division of the Earth into one or more areas, comprising one or more processors configured with instructions operable to, when executed, perform methods set forth herein, are provided.
  • embodiments of a computer program product for creating and using an indexed division of the Earth into one or more areas comprising one or more non-transitory machine -readable storage mediums having program instructions thereon, which are configured to, when executed by one or more processors, perform methods set forth herein, are provided.
  • Fig. 1 illustrates an example of bent pipe architecture in an NTN
  • FIG. 2 illustrates the movement of TAs in an NTN
  • FIG. 3 illustrates the movement of TAs in an NTN
  • Fig. 4 illustrates the defining of a polygon-based area
  • FIG. 5 shows a schematic of possible area division techniques applied to the Earth as set forth in the present disclosure
  • Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 7 shows a flow chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 9 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure.
  • Fig. 10 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure.
  • special regions may be added to the basic area division methods, where the special regions are configured on top of the basic world-wide area grid (denoted as “default area grid” when special regions are introduced) and where special area grids are configured for the special regions (e.g., with sparser/larger areas or denser/smaller areas than in the default area grid).
  • Particular embodiments include configuration of the area division schemes and suggested potential configuration parameters.
  • inventions which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein.
  • Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages.
  • particular embodiments provide efficient, yet lean (in terms of overhead), means for supporting earth fixed tracking areas and earth fixed areas associated with CGIs.
  • the means include methods for dividing the earth’s surface into contiguous areas in an easily indexed way, with optional additional means for configuration of different area sizes in different regions.
  • gNB would be replaced by “eNB”
  • AMF would be replaced by “MME”
  • NGAP would be replaced by “S1AP”
  • Registration Request would be replaced by “Tracking Area Update Request”
  • Registration Accept would be replaced by “Tracking Area Update Accept”.
  • network is sometimes used to refer to a network node, which typically will be a gNB (e.g. in an NR based NTN) or an AMF in 5G, but which may also be an eNB (e.g. in an LTE based NTN) or an MME, or a base station or an access point in another type of network, or any other network node with the ability to directly or indirectly communicate with a UE.
  • a gNB e.g. in an NR based NTN
  • AMF in 5G
  • eNB e.g. in an LTE based NTN
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • GNSS Global Navigation Satellite Systems
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • GLONASS Russian Global Navigation Satellite System
  • BeiDou Navigation Satellite System Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System
  • European Galileo European Galileo
  • TAI switch and “TAI update” are used interchangeably herein.
  • CGI area an earth fixed area associated with a CGI.
  • the basic method can be applied to either earth fixed TAs or earth fixed CGI areas.
  • One beneficial approach is to use the basic method for both TAs and CGI areas and ensure a consistent relation between the two.
  • Another beneficial approach is to use the basic method for earth fixed TAs and then define contiguous CGI areas in relation to the TAs.
  • the methods are primarily described in terms of “areas”, with additions of specific aspects for TAs and CGI areas respectively.
  • Certain embodiments can leverage the latitude/longitude pattern model to form, or define, a grid with the property that it smoothly follows the surface of a globe.
  • Embodiments under the present disclosure can utilize various approaches to provide area division. These basic area division schemes can provide a basic framework to area division, at least until special regions are to be considered. The special regions may need to be treated differently due to geographical oddities.
  • Figure 5 illustrates aspects of several different division schemes described herein. At lines 50 and 55, different granularities are shown. Line of TAs (or CGI areas in certain embodiments) 50 has more divisions in one lap around the Earth, line 55 has fewer. Alternatively, lines 50, 55 could illustrate cell sizes with different granularities.
  • granularity 1 0.5 km
  • granularity 2 1 km
  • granularity 3 2 km
  • granularity 4 5 km
  • granularity 5 10 km
  • granularity 6 50 km
  • granularity 7 100 km
  • granularity 8 500 km
  • granularity 9 1000 km
  • granularity 1 65536 areas
  • granularity 2 32768 areas
  • granularity 3 16384 areas
  • granularity 4 8192 areas
  • granularity 5 4096 areas
  • granularity 6 2048 areas
  • granularity 7 1024 areas
  • granularity 8 512 areas
  • granularity 9 256 areas
  • granularity 1 65536 areas
  • granularity 2 32768 areas
  • granularity 3 16384 areas
  • granularity 4 8192 areas
  • granularity 5 4096 areas
  • granularity 6 2048 areas
  • granularity 7 1024 areas
  • granularity 8
  • each “stripe” can be 1 latitudinal degree wide (e.g., between latitude 0 degrees and latitude 1 degrees, between latitude 1 degrees and latitude 2 degrees, etc., with the same principle used for the northern and southern hemispheres). This gives 180 stripes, each one following a latitude around the earth.
  • each stripe could have a width corresponding to 0.1 latitudinal degree.
  • the number of areas within each stripe would then be different for different stripes, such that, the closer the stripe is to one of the poles, the fewer areas it contains.
  • An illustration of this concept can be seen in Figure 5. Lines of TAs (or CGI areas in some embodiments) 60 and 70 neighbor each other, but line 70 is closer to the equator 80 and each TA in line 60 extends further east-west.
  • each area in a stripe spans the stripe’s entire width (i.e., from the south edge of the stripe to the north edge of the stripe, while the number of areas in the west-east direction within a stripe (one lap around the earth) is what is varied between different stripes.
  • the areas may be indexed. Different indexing principle are applicable. As one example, the areas may be indexed, starting with the most northern stripe at longitude 0 degrees, going a full lap around the stripe, then the indexing continues in the next stripe to the south, starting at longitude 0 degrees, etc. Another indexing alternative could be that each area is indicated by pairs of indexes, one for north/south and one for east/west.
  • stripes with different widths may also be supported, e.g., wider stripes closer to the equator and narrower stripes closer to the poles or vice versa.
  • wider stripes closer to the poles could be an alternative way to even out the sizes of the areas, albeit with the consequence that the areas close to the poles become long and narrow.
  • Another option may be to have multiple areas in the north-south direction within a single stripe. Different stripes may have different numbers of areas in the north-south direction. As an example, using a larger number of aeras in the north-south direction within the stripes closer to the equator is an alternative way to even out the sizes of the areas, albeit with the consequence that the areas close to the equator become long and narrow. Different numbers of areas in the north-south direction per stripe for different stripes may be combined with different widths of the stripes. Both these options may also be combined with having different numbers of areas in the west-east direction (i.e., a full lap around the earth along a latitude) per stripe.
  • the TA index (i.e., the area index) can be used as the TAC, e.g., in the communication between the RAN and the CN.
  • the area granularity e.g., measured by the longest area side or the diagonal
  • Fitting the index into the TAC parameter is not a requirement, but may be beneficial as it may reduce the standardization impact, as well as the impact on the core network (when adapting it from terrestrial NR to NR based NTN).
  • the TA index is the TAC, i.e., the TA index and the TAC are identical, one and the same.
  • Alternatives include using an extended TAC or a completely new parameter.
  • the NR CGI consists of the PLMN ID plus 36 additional bits. If these 36 bits are used to fit the CGI area index (i.e., the area index), it would allow an area granularity (e.g., in terms of the length of the longest area side) of around 150 meters. In NR, the 36 bits are divided into a gNB ID of 22-32 bits and a cell ID of 4-14 bits.
  • a certain gNB always serves a certain CGI area, because of the movements of the satellites and the dynamic association between satellites and gNBs, and because actual cell borders are fuzzy while geographical CGI area borders are distinct and fixed.
  • a pragmatic option is to skip the gNB ID significance of the CGI in NTN, at least in the RAN-CN communication.
  • fitting the CGI area index into the legacy CGI is not a requirement, although it may be beneficial as it may reduce the standardization impact, as well as the impact on the core network (when adapting it from terrestrial NR to NR based NTN).
  • Alternatives include using an extended CGI, a CGI with modified internal structure, or a completely new parameter.
  • This principle can help ensure that a CGI area is always contained within a single TA (i.e., no CGI area will ever cross a TA border), which means that reporting of the CGI area index implicitly also informs the network of the TA the UE is located in.
  • the CGI area index could be only locally unique within a TA, meaning that to unambiguously point out a CGI area, the combination of the CGI area index and the index of the TA the CGI area is contained in would be needed.
  • Configuration parameters needed to support this may include e.g., the parameters N and M (or just N if N and M are always equal), wherein the configuration parameters may be standardized or signaled via broadcast or dedicated signaling (e.g. as previously described).
  • the area division methods described above may be further evolved by introducing the possibility to configure different area densities on different parts of the earth.
  • regions that need special treatment.
  • terms are created such as “default area grid”, which is the area grid that is configured using the previously described means/methods (the basic area division schemes), and “special region” which is a region configured “on top” of the default area grid, and in which a different area grid is configured and used, where the area grid configured within a special region may be referred to as “special area grid” and an area in a special area grid may be referred to as a “special area”.
  • special region or area 62 of Figure 5 has a special area grid within it.
  • Special region 62 could be a remote spot in an ocean, or a dense city, or may need special treatment for other reasons. There may be multiple special regions and wherever there is no special region configured, the default area grid applies. An area in the default area grid may be referred to as a default area. Good use cases for such special regions with area configurations that deviate from the default area grid include e.g., having denser or smaller areas in densely populated regions and sparser or larger areas in largely unpopulated regions such as the Pacific Ocean.
  • One way to define a special region could be to configure two positions, e.g. represented by two default areas in the default area grid, representing two defined corners of a square (or rather a skewed square in the latitude/longitude grid) (e.g. the corner furthest to the northwest and the corner furthest to the southeast), within which larger or smaller areas would be used than in the default area grid, i.e. a sparser or denser area grid could be used inside the special area.
  • a simple way to define the area grid within a special region could be to state that groups of default areas are merged into larger areas, or that each default area is split into a group of smaller areas.
  • a leaner approach is preferable.
  • One way is to indicate two exact positions/locations (e.g., represented by a latitude and a longitude), representing a top left and a bottom right corner of a skewed square. For example, these could the corner locations furthest to the northwest and furthest to the southeast.
  • the two locations are preferably not areas in the default area grid.
  • the four corners are inter-connected with lines following latitudes and longitudes (for instance, if the two configured corners are 30° North, 10 ° East, and 10 ° North, 30 ° East, then the other two corners are 30 ° North, 30 ° East (upper right corner, furthest to the northeast), and 10 ° North, 10 ° East (lower left corner, furthest to the southwest)).
  • latitudes and longitudes for instance, if the two configured corners are 30° North, 10 ° East, and 10 ° North, 30 ° East, then the other two corners are 30 ° North, 30 ° East (upper right corner, furthest to the northeast), and 10 ° North, 10 ° East (lower left corner, furthest to the southwest)).
  • latitudes and longitudes for instance, if the two configured corners are 30° North, 10 ° East, and 10 ° North, 30 ° East, then the other two corners are 30 ° North, 30 ° East (upper right corner, furthest to the northeast
  • the parts of such a border default area that are outside the special region constitute the default area while the parts that fall inside the special region are ignored from the default area point of view and are seen as belonging to the special region and will follow the special area division configured within the special region.
  • the border default area is essentially pruned, or clipped.
  • An alternative is that the parts of a border default area that fall outside the special region are merged with a neighbor default area in the same stripe.
  • a rule may be that if more than half a border default area falls within the special region, the parts that fall outside the special region are merged with the neighbor default grid area in the same stripe. Other rules for treating border areas are possible.
  • particular embodiments can configure a special region of any shape, e.g., a circle, an ellipse, square, a polygon, etc.
  • Various parameters may be used to configure or define various shapes.
  • a polygon may be defined using a set of positions, which are interconnected by straight lines (or lines following the earth’s surface or the surface of the WGS 84 ellipsoid).
  • a circle can be defined using a center position and a radius.
  • An ellipse may be defined using various combinations of parameters related to the ellipse’s characteristics, such as the center point, the focal points, the semi-major axis and the semi-minor axis and/or the eccentricity.
  • special region 92 in Figure 5 comprises an ellipse.
  • Special area 92 can stand outside of a line of TAs (e.g., lines 50 or 55), or could comprise a region within a line of TAs (or line of CGI areas in other embodiments).
  • an ellipse include the following examples.
  • One example includes: semi-minor axis; semi-major axis; and directional angle, e.g., in relation to north. This may also be implicit. For example, if it is assumed to be parallel with the satellite orbit’s projection on the earth’s surface, e.g., if the satellite’s orbit passes over the cell center.
  • Another example includes: semi-minor axis; eccentricity; and directional angle, e.g., in relation to north. This may also be implicit. For example, if it is assumed to be parallel with the satellite orbit’s projection on the earth’s surface, e.g., if the satellite’s orbit passes over the cell center.
  • Another example includes: semi-major axis; eccentricity; and directional angle, e.g., in relation to north. This may also be implicit. For example, if it is assumed to be parallel with the satellite orbit’s projection on the earth’s surface, e.g., if the satellite’s orbit passes over the cell center.
  • Another example includes: focal distance; sum of the distances from a point on the border line to each of the focal points (which is constant for all points on the border according to the definition of an ellipse); and directional angle, e.g., in relation to north. This may also be implicit. For example, if it is assumed to be parallel with the satellite orbit’s projection on the earth’s surface, e.g., if the satellite’s orbit passes over the cell center.
  • a special area grid preferably is configured within the special region.
  • the latitude/longitude pattern could be followed inside a special region too, and the stripe principle could also be used.
  • the internal area could be divided into a grid pattern or a stripe pattern.
  • Special region 92 could also comprise additional special regions within.
  • the special area grid and thus the size of the special areas in the special area grid inside a special region could be configured in various ways. One way could be to configure the size of a special area and some indication of the start, or offset, of the special area grid.
  • the size of a special area could be to indicate the length of a northsouth side (e.g., a length along a longitude in the skewed square/rectangle constituting the special area), or the latitudinal angle width of a north-south side, and the length of a west-east side using the longitudinal angle width. Then there could be various options for where to start the special area grid pattern within the special region, such as how to shift it west-east and north-south. One way could be to start the special region’s internal special area grid in the north-south direction at the special region’s northmost point and start the special region’s internal special area grid in the westeast direction at the special region’s westmost point.
  • the configuration may indicate the number of special areas in the north-south direction between the special region’s northmost point and southmost point, as well as in the west-east direction between the special region’s westmost point and eastmost point.
  • Yet another way may be to use the same configuration means (i.e., the same types of configuration parameters and configuration principles) for a special area grid as for the default area grid, but regard only the part of the configured special area grid that is located inside the concerned special region as valid.
  • the same special area grid configuration (e.g., created using the same configuration means as for configuration of the default area grid) could be referenced from the configuration of each of the concerned special regions.
  • the indexing of the areas is affected.
  • One indexing method could be that first the default areas in the default area grid are indexed as previously described, and then the indexing continues with the special areas inside the special regions, wherein the special regions are ordered (so that the indexing goes through one special region after the other in a defined order).
  • One way to order the special regions is to base the order on the order in which the special regions are configured. For instance, if a list of special region configurations is provided, the indexing goes through these special regions in the order in which the special region configurations appear in the list.
  • Another way to order the special regions could be to order them based on their relative locations on the earth’s surface.
  • One option for such scheme could be that the special regions are ordered (and potentially numbered, e.g., from 0 and upwards):
  • the default areas are indexed in the first step above, as one option, all the default areas are indexed, ignoring the existence of the special regions (the indexed default areas cover the entire surface of the earth even though the default areas inside a special region are not used). As another option, the default areas that are completely hidden, or invalidated, by special regions are ignored and skipped in the indexing.
  • a special region with a sparse special area grid could be configured to cover most of the Pacific Ocean, and then smaller special regions could be configured on top of the large special region, where these smaller special regions could cover major islands or groups of islands and use denser special area grids.
  • Each layer may contain one or more non-overlapping special region(s).
  • the default area grid constitutes the lowest layer, while all special regions belong to higher layers.
  • the indexing of areas i.e., default areas and special areas
  • indexing can start with the default areas in the default area grid and then continue with the next higher layer (using the above-described principles for indexing of special areas in special regions) and so on.
  • each layer can be completely indexed without regards to any special region on higher layers.
  • areas (default areas or special areas) that are completely hidden by special regions on higher layers are ignored and skipped in the indexing.
  • An alternative to using continuous indexing through all layers could be to have separate indexing on each layer and then the layer number (e.g., the default area grid could be layer 0, the next higher layer could be layer 1, etc.) together with the index uniquely point out an area (a default area or a special area).
  • the system information could indicate which configuration that is used. It would also be possible to be more flexible and include all (or parts of) the relevant area configuration parameters in the system information. For instance, for the default area grid, or if no special regions are used/configured, one or more of the following (non-limiting) information items could be included in the configuration information:
  • stripe width possibly per stripe if different widths area configured for different stripes
  • number of areas in the west-east direction per stripe different numbers of areas in the west-east direction may be configured for different stripes
  • any combination of the following (non-limiting) additional parameters related to special regions and their internal special area grids may complement the above listed potential configuration parameters for the default area grid:
  • indexing principle e.g., whether hidden/invalidated areas should be ignored in the indexing
  • CGI areas may be configured in relation to the TAs, as previously described, in which case one or more of the following (non-limiting) configuration parameters may be used to configure the relation between the CGI areas and the TAs:
  • some parameters are standardized, as a single set or as multiple sets that the signaling information in the network can point at, with the pointer and the remaining parameters flexibly configured via the SI (and/or possibly via dedicated signaling, e.g., overriding all or a subset of the configuration parameters in the SI, possibly including the pointer);
  • the area configuration (as a pointer to a specified configuration or in the form of a set of configuration parameters) can be provided in a dedicated signaling message. It could be an RRC message (such as an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCRelease message), or a MAC (Medium Access Control) message (e.g., using a new MAC CE).
  • RRC message such as an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCRelease message
  • a MAC (Medium Access Control) message e.g., using a new MAC CE.
  • different UEs may be provided different area configurations, using dedicated signaling or group signaling. Some embodiments may broadcast this information (e.g., in the system information).
  • UEs may select (preferably in a predictable way) between different area configurations transmitted by a node or base station, based on UE properties.
  • Types UE properties could be e.g., UE capabilities, or UE types (e.g., NB-IoT, BL, CE, etc.).
  • the choice of area configuration may also depend on the UE’s location, e.g., if the UE is located within a certain region, the UE applies a certain area configuration. Note that this could be one way of realizing the above-described special region concept. In, or near, a special region a UE could apply a certain configuration.
  • a UE may report the index of an area it is currently located in, e.g., a TA or a CGI area, in a message to the serving gNB.
  • the message could comprise e.g., an RRC message (such as an RRCSetupRequest message, an RRCSetupComplete message, a UEAssistancelnformation message or a UEInformationResponse message or in a new RRC message) or a MAC message (e.g., using a new MAC CE).
  • the serving gNB may then in turn forward the area information to the core network, e.g., to the AMF, using an NGAP message.
  • the serving gNB may translate it into another form, e.g., a TAC or a CGI or another parameter, which is sent to the core network.
  • the UE reports its accurate location, e.g., based on GNSS measurement(s), to the serving gNB and the serving gNB translates this into an area index or a TAC or a TAI or a CGI or another parameter, which is sent to the core network.
  • the UE would not see the entire world at the same time, it is enough to locally index an area/region expected to be covered e.g., during on RRC connection. For example, if a MAC CE is used for reporting a location (unless the MAC CE has huge size), there is a limited number of bits in a field of the body of the MAC CE that represent an index to a location/area. As MAC CEs are used only in RRC_CONNECTED mode, the meaning of the index base can be given in the UE’s RRC configuration.
  • the network configures the UE with indexing of the local area that may be used in the uplink MAC CE location reporting.
  • MAC CE is a quick way to inform the network about a change of the UE’s location within a configured area. The same configuration may be valid through some handovers. It may be further specified that if the UE crosses outside of the configured, locally indexed area, the UE notifies the network via RRC level, e.g., with UE assistance information. In response, the network may provide the UE with a new locally indexed area/region.
  • tracking areas may be used as borders of the preconfigured areas/regions. This may be used in both RRC_CONNECED and RRC_IDLE mode. For example, it may be predefined which Earth-fixed TAs use certain location indexing schemes within. Then, when the TA of the UE is known by the network, the index of the location can also be deduced with the TA or list of TAs.
  • a similar approach may be understood within a cell of group of cells. Here, a cell is associated with a CGI, which is understood to be fixed on geographical area.
  • RRC_CONNECTED In both RRC_CONNECTED and RRC_IDLE modem the same concept may be applied although the signaling may be different. If an RRC_IDLE mode UE keeps track of its location index within a certain CGI or TA, it may readily inform the network about CGI and TA and more specific location. In RRC_CONNECTED mode, it may be used in RRC uplink messages assuming that the network knows in which TA area the UE is located.
  • Figures 6 to 8 show several possible method embodiments under the present disclosure. The illustrated methods of Figures 6-8 can be modified to comprise any additional modifications and steps described herein.
  • Method 600 of Figure 6 is a method performed by a network node for configuring a UE to report its location.
  • Step 610 is sending to the UE at least a portion of an index of one or more areas, the index of one or areas covering the Earth and comprising a plurality of stripes parallel to the equator, each of the plurality of stripes is divided into at least one of the one or more areas such that each of the one or more areas is approximately the same size.
  • Step 620 is receiving from the UE a first indication if it has moved from one of the one or more areas to another of the one or more areas.
  • Method 700 of Figure 7 is a method performed by a UE for reporting its location to a network node.
  • Step 710 is detecting by the UE that it has moved from a first location to a second location based on at least a portion of an index, the index comprising one or more areas covering the Earth and comprising a plurality of stripes parallel to the equator, each of the plurality of stripes divided into at least one of the one or more areas such that each of the one or more areas is approximately the same size.
  • Step 720 is sending to a network node an indication that it has moved to the second location.
  • Method 800 of Figure 8 is a method performed by a telecommunications system of dividing the Earth into contiguous areas.
  • Step 810 is dividing, by one or more servers, the Earth into a plurality of stripes, each of the plurality of stripes parallel to the equator.
  • Step 820 is dividing, by the one or more servers, each of the stripes into one or more areas along an eastwest plane, wherein each of the one or more areas have approximately the same size as each of the one or more areas in each of the other plurality of stripes.
  • Step 830 is indexing, by the one or more servers, all of the one or more areas to create an index.
  • a wireless network such as the example wireless network illustrated in Figure 9.
  • the wireless network of Figure 9 only depicts network 906, network nodes 960 and 960b, and WDs 910, 910b, and 910c.
  • a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device.
  • network node 960 and wireless device (WD) 910 are depicted with additional detail.
  • the wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.
  • Network node 960 can comprise a base station, satellite or another component in a telecommunication system, or combinations of the foregoing.
  • the wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system.
  • the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures.
  • particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
  • Bluetooth Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.
  • Network 906 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.
  • PSTNs public switched telephone networks
  • WANs wide-area networks
  • LANs local area networks
  • WLANs wireless local area networks
  • wired networks wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.
  • Network node 960 and WD 910 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network.
  • the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.
  • network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network.
  • network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).
  • APs access points
  • BSs base stations
  • eNBs evolved Node Bs
  • gNBs NR NodeBs
  • Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations.
  • a base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay.
  • a network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • RRUs remote radio units
  • RRHs Remote Radio Heads
  • Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
  • DAS distributed antenna system
  • network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs (Mobile Switching Center), MMEs (Mobility Management Entity)), O&M (Operation and Maintenance) nodes, OSS (Operations Support System) nodes, SON (Self Optimized Network) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs (Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre)), and/or MDTs (Minimization of Drive Tests).
  • MSR multi-standard radio
  • RNCs radio network controllers
  • BSCs base station controllers
  • BTSs base transceiver stations
  • transmission points transmission nodes
  • MCEs multi-cell/multicast coordination entities
  • core network nodes e.
  • a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.
  • network node 960 includes processing circuitry 970, device readable medium 980, interface 990, auxiliary equipment 984, power source 986, power circuitry 987, and antenna 962.
  • network node 960 illustrated in the example wireless network of Figure 9 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein.
  • network node 960 may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 980 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).
  • Network node 960 can comprise a base station, backend system of servers managing aspects of a telecommunication system, or other components with a telecommunication system, such as an AMF.
  • network node 960 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB (base station) component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components.
  • network node 960 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components)
  • one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes.
  • a single RNC may control multiple NodeB’s.
  • each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
  • network node 960 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs).
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • Network node 960 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 960, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 960.
  • Processing circuitry 970 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 970 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 970 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • processing information obtained by processing circuitry 970 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • Processing circuitry 970 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 960 components, such as device readable medium 980, network node 960 functionality.
  • processing circuitry 970 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 980 or in memory within processing circuitry 970. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein.
  • processing circuitry 970 may include a system on a chip (SOC).
  • SOC system on a chip
  • processing circuitry 970 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 972 and baseband processing circuitry 974.
  • radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 972 and baseband processing circuitry 974 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 972 and baseband processing circuitry 974 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units
  • processing circuitry 970 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 980 or memory within processing circuitry 970.
  • some or all of the functionalities may be provided by processing circuitry 970 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • processing circuitry 970 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 970 alone or to other components of network node 960, but are enjoyed by network node 960 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.
  • Device readable medium 980 may comprise any form of volatile or nonvolatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 970.
  • volatile or nonvolatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-vol
  • Device readable medium 980 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 970 and, utilized by network node 960.
  • Device readable medium 980 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 970 and/or any data received via interface 990.
  • processing circuitry 970 and device readable medium 980 may be considered to be integrated.
  • Interface 990 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between network node 960, network 906, and/or WDs 910.
  • interface 990 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 994 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 906 over a wired connection.
  • Interface 990 also includes radio front end circuitry 992 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 962.
  • Radio front end circuitry 992 comprises filters 998 and amplifiers 996.
  • Radio front end circuitry 992 may be connected to antenna 962 and processing circuitry 970.
  • Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 962 and processing circuitry 970.
  • Radio front end circuitry 992 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection.
  • Radio front end circuitry 992 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 998 and/or amplifiers 996. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 962. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 962 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 992. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 970.
  • the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • network node 960 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 992, instead, processing circuitry 970 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 962 without separate radio front end circuitry 992. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 972 may be considered a part of interface 990. In still other embodiments, interface 990 may include one or more ports or terminals 994, radio front end circuitry 992, and RF transceiver circuitry 972, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 990 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 974, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
  • Antenna 962 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 962 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 990 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 962 may comprise one or more omnidirectional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz.
  • An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction
  • a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area
  • a panel antenna may be a line-of-sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line.
  • the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO.
  • antenna 962 may be separate from network node 960 and may be connectable to network node 960 through an interface or port.
  • Antenna 962, interface 990, and/or processing circuitry 970 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 962, interface 990, and/or processing circuitry 970 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
  • Power circuitry 987 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 960 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 987 may receive power from power source 986. Power source 986 and/or power circuitry 987 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 960 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 986 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 987 and/or network node 960.
  • network node 960 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 987.
  • power source 986 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 987. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
  • Other types of power sources such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.
  • network node 960 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein.
  • network node 960 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 960 and to allow output of information from network node 960. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 960.
  • wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices.
  • the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE).
  • Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air.
  • a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network.
  • Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc.
  • VoIP voice over IP
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • a wireless cameras a gaming console or device
  • a music storage device a playback appliance
  • a wearable terminal device a wireless endpoint
  • a mobile station a tablet, a laptop, a laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device
  • a WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to- every thing (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device.
  • D2D device-to-device
  • V2V vehicle-to-vehicle
  • V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure
  • V2X vehicle-to- every thing
  • a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node.
  • the WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device.
  • M2M machine-to-machine
  • the WD may be a UE implementing the 3 GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard.
  • NB-IoT narrow band internet of things
  • machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).
  • a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
  • a WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.
  • wireless device 910 includes antenna 911, interface 914, processing circuitry 920, device readable medium 930, user interface equipment 932, auxiliary equipment 934, power source 936 and power circuitry 937.
  • WD 910 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 910, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 910.
  • Antenna 911 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 914.
  • antenna 911 may be separate from WD 910 and be connectable to WD 910 through an interface or port.
  • Antenna 911, interface 914, and/or processing circuitry 920 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD.
  • radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 911 may be considered an interface.
  • interface 914 comprises radio front end circuitry 912 and antenna 911.
  • Radio front end circuitry 912 comprise one or more filters 918 and amplifiers 916.
  • Radio front end circuitry 914 is connected to antenna 911 and processing circuitry 920 and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 911 and processing circuitry 920.
  • Radio front end circuitry 912 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 911.
  • WD 910 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 912; rather, processing circuitry 920 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 911.
  • some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 922 may be considered a part of interface 914.
  • Radio front end circuitry 912 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 912 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 918 and/or amplifiers 916. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 911. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 911 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 912. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 920. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • Processing circuitry 920 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 910 components, such as device readable medium 930, WD 910 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 920 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 930 or in memory within processing circuitry 920 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.
  • processing circuitry 920 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 922, baseband processing circuitry 924, and application processing circuitry 926.
  • the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • processing circuitry 920 of WD 910 may comprise a SOC.
  • RF transceiver circuitry 922, baseband processing circuitry 924, and application processing circuitry 926 may be on separate chips or sets of chips.
  • part or all of baseband processing circuitry 924 and application processing circuitry 926 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 922 may be on a separate chip or set of chips.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 922 and baseband processing circuitry 924 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 926 may be on a separate chip or set of chips.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 922, baseband processing circuitry 924, and application processing circuitry 926 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips.
  • RF transceiver circuitry 922 may be a part of interface 914.
  • RF transceiver circuitry 922 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 920.
  • processing circuitry 920 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 930, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium.
  • some or all of the functionalities may be provided by processing circuitry 920 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • processing circuitry 920 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 920 alone or to other components of WD 910, but are enjoyed by WD 910 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.
  • Processing circuitry 920 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 920, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 920 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 910, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • processing information obtained by processing circuitry 920 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 910, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
  • Device readable medium 930 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 920.
  • Device readable medium 930 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 920.
  • processing circuitry 920 and device readable medium 930 may be considered to be integrated.
  • User interface equipment 932 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 910. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 932 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 910. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 932 installed in WD 910. For example, if WD 910 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD 910 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected).
  • usage e.g., the number of gallons used
  • a speaker that provides an audible alert
  • User interface equipment 932 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 932 is configured to allow input of information into WD 910 and is connected to processing circuitry 920 to allow processing circuitry 920 to process the input information. User interface equipment 932 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 932 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 910, and to allow processing circuitry 920 to output information from WD 910. User interface equipment 932 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 932, WD 910 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.
  • Auxiliary equipment 934 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 934 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.
  • Power source 936 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used.
  • WD 910 may further comprise power circuitry 937 for delivering power from power source 936 to the various parts of WD 910 which need power from power source 936 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein.
  • Power circuitry 937 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry.
  • Power circuitry 937 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 910 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable.
  • Power circuitry 937 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 936. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 936. Power circuitry 937 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 936 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 910 to which power is supplied.
  • Figure 10 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).
  • a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).
  • UE 1000 may be any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • UE 1000 is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • 5G 5th Generation Partnership Project
  • UE 1000 includes processing circuitry 1001 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 1005, radio frequency (RF) interface 1009, network connection interface 1011, memory 1015 including random access memory (RAM) 1017, read-only memory (ROM) 1019, and storage medium 1021 or the like, communication subsystem 1031, power source 1033, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • Storage medium 1021 includes operating system 1023, application program 1025, and data 1027. In other embodiments, storage medium 1021 may include other similar types of information.
  • Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in Figure 10, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
  • processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to process computer instructions and data.
  • Processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine -readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above.
  • the processing circuitry 1001 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.
  • input/output interface 1005 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device.
  • UE 1000 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 1005.
  • An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device.
  • a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 1000.
  • the output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof.
  • UE 1000 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 1005 to allow a user to capture information into UE 1000.
  • the input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like.
  • the presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user.
  • a sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof.
  • the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.
  • RF interface 1009 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna.
  • Network connection interface 1011 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 1043a.
  • Network 1043a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a localarea network (FAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof.
  • network 1043a may comprise a Wi-Fi network.
  • Network connection interface 1011 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like.
  • Network connection interface 1011 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.
  • RAM 1017 may be configured to interface via bus 1002 to processing circuitry 1001 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers.
  • ROM 1019 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 1001.
  • ROM 1019 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory.
  • Storage medium 1021 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives.
  • storage medium 1021 may be configured to include operating system 1023, application program 1025 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 1027.
  • Storage medium 1021 may store, for use by UE 1000, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • Storage medium 1021 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external microDIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD-DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HDDS holographic digital data storage
  • DIMM external mini-dual in-line memory module
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity
  • Storage medium 1021 may allow UE 1000 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data.
  • An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1021, which may comprise a device readable medium.
  • processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to communicate with network 1043b using communication subsystem 1031.
  • Network 1043a and network 1043b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks.
  • Communication subsystem 1031 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 1043b.
  • communication subsystem 1031 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.10, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like.
  • RAN radio access network
  • Each transceiver may include transmitter 1033 and/or receiver 1035 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 1033 and receiver 1035 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.
  • the communication functions of communication subsystem 1031 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof.
  • communication subsystem 1031 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication.
  • Network 1043b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof.
  • network 1043b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network.
  • Power source 1013 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 1000.
  • communication subsystem 1031 may be configured to include any of the components described herein.
  • processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 1002.
  • any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 1001 perform the corresponding functions described herein.
  • the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 1001 and communication subsystem 1031.
  • the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
  • computing devices described herein may include the illustrated combination of hardware components
  • computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components.
  • a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface.
  • non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
  • processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
  • some or all of the functionalities may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.
  • controller computer system
  • computing system are defined broadly as including any device or system — or combination thereof — that includes at least one physical and tangible processor and a physical and tangible memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that may be executed by a processor.
  • the term “computer system” or “computing system,” as used herein is intended to include personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, hand-held devices (e.g., mobile telephones, PDAs, pagers), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, multi-processor systems, network PCs, distributed computing systems, datacenters, message processors, routers, switches, and even devices that conventionally have not been considered a computing system, such as wearables (e.g., glasses).
  • the memory may take any form and may depend on the nature and form of the computing system.
  • the memory can be physical system memory, which includes volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or some combination of the two.
  • the term “memory” may also be used herein to refer to non-volatile mass storage such as physical storage media.
  • the computing system also has thereon multiple structures often referred to as an “executable component.”
  • the memory of a computing system can include an executable component.
  • executable component is the name for a structure that is well understood to one of ordinary skill in the art in the field of computing as being a structure that can be software, hardware, or a combination thereof.
  • an executable component may include software objects, routines, methods, and so forth, that may be executed by one or more processors on the computing system, whether such an executable component exists in the heap of a computing system, or whether the executable component exists on computer-readable storage media.
  • the structure of the executable component exists on a computer-readable medium in such a form that it is operable, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, to cause the computing system to perform one or more functions, such as the functions and methods described herein.
  • Such a structure may be computer-readable directly by a processor — as is the case if the executable component were binary.
  • the structure may be structured to be interpretable and/or compiled — whether in a single stage or in multiple stages — so as to generate such binary that is directly interpretable by a processor.
  • executable component is also well understood by one of ordinary skill as including structures that are implemented exclusively or near-exclusively in hardware logic components, such as within a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), Program-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), or any other specialized circuit.
  • FPGA field programmable gate array
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • ASSPs Program-specific Standard Products
  • SOCs System-on-a-chip systems
  • CPLDs Complex Programmable Logic Devices
  • the communication system may include a complex of computing devices executing any of the method of the embodiments as described above and data storage devices which could be server parks and data centers.
  • a computer is generally understood to comprise one or more processors or one or more controllers, and the terms computer, processor, and controller may be employed interchangeably.
  • the functions may be provided by a single dedicated computer or processor or controller, by a single shared computer or processor or controller, or by a plurality of individual computers or processors or controllers, some of which may be shared or distributed.
  • the term “processor” or “controller” also refers to other hardware capable of performing such functions and/or executing software, such as the example hardware recited above.
  • the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof.
  • aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, as nonlimiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
  • a computing system includes a user interface for use in communicating information from/to a user.
  • the user interface may include output mechanisms as well as input mechanisms.
  • output mechanisms might include, for instance, speakers, displays, tactile output, projections, holograms, and so forth.
  • Examples of input mechanisms might include, for instance, microphones, touchscreens, projections, holograms, cameras, keyboards, stylus, mouse, or other pointer input, sensors of any type, and so forth.
  • embodiments described herein may comprise or utilize a special purpose or general-purpose computing system.
  • Embodiments described herein also include physical and other computer-readable media for carrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or data structures.
  • Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computing system.
  • Computer -readable media that store computer-executable instructions are physical storage media.
  • Computer-readable media that carry computer-executable instructions are transmission media.
  • embodiments disclosed or envisioned herein can comprise at least two distinctly different kinds of computer-readable media: storage media and transmission media.
  • Computer-readable storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, solid state drives (“SSDs”), flash memory, phase-change memory (“PCM”), CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical and tangible storage medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of computerexecutable instructions or data structures and that can be accessed and executed by a general purpose or special purpose computing system to implement the disclosed functionality or functionalities.
  • computer-executable instructions may be embodied on one or more computer-readable storage media to form a computer program product.
  • Transmission media can include a network and/or data links that can be used to carry desired program code in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and that can be accessed and executed by a general purpose or special purpose computing system. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
  • program code in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures can be transferred automatically from transmission media to storage media (or vice versa).
  • computerexecutable instructions or data structures received over a network or data link can be buffered in RAM within a network interface module (e.g., a “NIC”) and then eventually transferred to computing system RAM and/or to less volatile storage media at a computing system.
  • a network interface module e.g., a “NIC”
  • storage media can be included in computing system components that also — or even primarily — utilize transmission media.
  • a computing system may also contain communication channels that allow the computing system to communicate with other computing systems over, for example, a network.
  • the methods described herein may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computing systems and computing system configurations.
  • the disclosed methods may also be practiced in distributed system environments where local and/or remote computing systems, which are linked through a network (either by wired data links, wireless data links, or by a combination of wired and wireless data links), both perform tasks.
  • the processing, memory, and/or storage capability may be distributed as well.
  • Cloud computing environments may be distributed, although this is not required. When distributed, cloud computing environments may be distributed internationally within an organization and/or have components possessed across multiple organizations.
  • cloud computing is defined as a model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). The definition of “cloud computing” is not limited to any of the other numerous advantages that can be obtained from such a model when properly deployed.
  • a cloud-computing model can be composed of various characteristics, such as on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, measured service, and so forth.
  • a cloud-computing model may also come in the form of various service models such as, for example, Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“PaaS”), and Infrastructure as a Service (“laaS”).
  • SaaS Software as a Service
  • PaaS Platform as a Service
  • laaS Infrastructure as a Service
  • the cloud-computing model may also be deployed using different deployment models such as private cloud, community cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, and so forth.
  • the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially,” as used herein, represent an amount or condition close to the specific stated amount or condition that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result.
  • the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount or condition that deviates by less than 10%, or by less than 5%, or by less than 1%, or by less than 0.1%, or by less than 0.01% from a specifically stated amount or condition.
  • references to referents in the plural form does not necessarily require a plurality of such referents. Instead, it will be appreciated that independent of the inferred number of referents, one or more referents are contemplated herein unless stated otherwise.
  • references in the specification to "one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
  • first and second etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments.
  • the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.
  • systems, devices, products, kits, methods, and/or processes, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure may include, incorporate, or otherwise comprise properties or features (e.g., components, members, elements, parts, and/or portions) described in other embodiments disclosed and/or described herein. Accordingly, the various features of certain embodiments can be compatible with, combined with, included in, and/or incorporated into other embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, disclosure of certain features relative to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure should not be construed as limiting application or inclusion of said features to the specific embodiment. Rather, it will be appreciated that other embodiments can also include said features, members, elements, parts, and/or portions without necessarily departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
  • any feature herein may be combined with any other feature of a same or different embodiment disclosed herein.
  • various well-known aspects of illustrative systems, methods, apparatus, and the like are not described herein in particular detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the example embodiments. Such aspects are, however, also contemplated herein.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

Procédés et systèmes de division de la Terre en zones de suivi ou en zones d'identification de cellule en vue d'une utilisation dans un système de télécommunication. Dans certains modes de réalisation, un nœud ou une station de base peut envoyer à un équipement utilisateur (UE) au moins une partie d'un indice d'une ou plusieurs zones, l'indice d'une ou plusieurs zones couvrant la Terre et comprenant une pluralité de bandes parallèles à l'équateur, chaque bande de la pluralité de bandes étant divisée en au moins une zone desdites zones de telle sorte que chacune desdites zones est approximativement de taille égale. Dans d'autres modes de réalisation, l'indice peut être préchargé ou téléchargé sur l'UE. L'indice peut fournir à l'UE un système géométrique pour indiquer à un nœud ou à une station de base quand l'UE s'est déplacé de l'une desdites zones à une autre desdites zones.
PCT/IB2022/057328 2021-08-05 2022-08-05 Divisions géographiques pour la ta et la cgi WO2023012753A1 (fr)

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Citations (1)

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WO2020144572A1 (fr) * 2019-01-11 2020-07-16 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Appareil et procédé permettant un positionnement fondé sur un index dans un réseau non terrestre

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WO2020144572A1 (fr) * 2019-01-11 2020-07-16 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Appareil et procédé permettant un positionnement fondé sur un index dans un réseau non terrestre

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3GPP TS 23.032
ERICSSON: "Connected mode aspects for NTN", vol. RAN WG2, no. electronic; 20210809 - 20210827, 6 August 2021 (2021-08-06), XP052034751, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://ftp.3gpp.org/tsg_ran/WG2_RL2/TSGR2_115-e/Docs/R2-2108341.zip R2-2108341 Connected mode aspects for NTN.docx> [retrieved on 20210806] *
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