WO2023052623A1

WO2023052623A1 - Assisting integrated access and backhaul (iab) power control

Info

Publication number: WO2023052623A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/077359
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas Nilsson; Boris Dortschy; Magnus ÅSTRÖM; Behrooz MAKKI; Lei BAO
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2021-09-30
Filing date: 2022-09-30
Publication date: 2023-04-06

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus are disclosed. According to some embodiments, a first integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node (16) in communication with a second IAB node (16) is provided. The first IAB node (16) is configured to request an output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16), the requested output power adjustment being for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16); and receive a first medium access control-control element, MAC-CE, indicating the second IAB node (16) will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16), the adjustment of the output power being based on the requested output power adjustment.

Description

ASSISTING INTEGRATED ACCESS AND BACKHAUL (IAB) POWER CONTROL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to downlink power control and/or assistance of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node.

BACKGROUND

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile wireless devices (WD), as well as communication between network nodes and between WDs.

Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB)

Densification via the deployment of increasing network nodes (e.g., base stations, macro or micro base stations) is one of the mechanisms that can be employed to satisfy the ever- increasing demand for more and more bandwidth/capacity in mobile networks. Due to the availability of more spectrum in the millimeter wave (mmW) band, deploying small cells that operate in this band is an attractive deployment option for these purposes. However, deploying fiber to the small cells, which is the usual way in which small cells are deployed, can end up being very expensive and impractical. Thus, employing a wireless link for connecting the small cells to the operator’s network is a cheaper and more practical alternative with more flexibility and shorter time-to-market. One such solution is an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) network, where the operator can utilize part of the radio resources for the backhaul link.

FIG. l is a diagram of an example of multi-hop deployment in an IAB network. In FIG. 1, an IAB deployment that supports multiple hops is presented. The IAB donor node, i.e., IAB network node (in short, IAB donor) has a wired connection to the core network and the IAB nodes are wirelessly connected using NR to the IAB donor, either directly or indirectly via another IAB node. The connection between IAB donor/node and wireless devices is called an access link, whereas the connection between two IAB nodes or between an IAB donor and an IAB node is called a backhaul link.

Furthermore, FIG. 2 illustrates IAB terminologies in adjacent hops. As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the adjacent upstream node which is closer to the IAB donor node of an IAB node is referred to as a parent lAB-node of the lAB-node (also referred to as IAB node without the hyphen). The adjacent downstream node which is further away from the IAB donor node of an IAB node is referred to as a child node of the lAB-node. The backhaul link between the parent lAB-node and the lAB-node is referred to as parent (backhaul) link, whereas the backhaul link between the lAB-node and the child node is referred to as child (backhaul) link.

IAB architecture

One difference of the IAB architecture compared to 3GPP Release 10 (Rel-10) LTE relay (besides lower layer differences) is that the IAB architecture adopts the Central -Uni t/Distributed- Unit (CU/DU) split of network nodes in which time-critical functionalities are realized in DU closer to the radio, whereas the less time-critical functionalities are pooled in the CU with the opportunity for centralization. Based on this architecture, an lAB-donor contains both CU and DU functions. In particular, the lAB-donor contains all CU functions of the lAB-nodes under the same lAB-donor. Each lAB-node then hosts the DU function(s) of a network node. In order to be able to transmit/receive wireless signals to/from the upstream lAB-node or lAB-donor, each lAB-node has a mobile termination (MT), a logical unit providing a necessary set of wireless device-like functions. Via the DU, the lAB-node establishes RLC-channel to wireless devices and/or to MTs of the connected lAB-node(s). Via the MT, the lAB-node establishes the backhaul radio interface towards the serving lAB-node or lAB-donor. FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example for a two-hop chain of lAB-nodes under an lAB-donor.

IAB topologies

Wireless backhaul links are vulnerable to blockage, e.g., due to moving objects such as vehicles, due to seasonal changes (foliage), severe weather conditions (rain, snow or hail), or due to infrastructure changes (new buildings). Such vulnerability also applies to lAB-nodes. Also, traffic variations can create uneven load distribution on wireless backhaul links leading to local link or node congestion. In view of those concerns, the IAB topology supports redundant paths as another difference compared to the Rel-10 LTE relay.

The following topologies are considered in IAB as shown in the example of FIG. 4, where the arrow indicates the directionality of the graph:

Spanning tree (ST)

- Directed acyclic graph (DAG)

This means that one IAB node can have multiple child lAB-nodes and/or have multiple parent lAB-nodes. The multi-connectivity or route redundancy may be used for back-up purposes. It is also possible that redundant routes are used concurrently, e.g., to achieve load balancing, reliability, etc.

Resource configuration

Time-domain resource coordination In cases of in-band operation, the lAB-node is typically subject to the half-duplex constraint, i.e., an lAB-node can only be in either transmission or reception mode at a time. 3 GPP Release 16 (Rel-16) IAB considers the time-division multiplexing (TDM) case where the MT and DU resources of the same lAB-node are separated in time. Based on this consideration, the following resource types have been defined for IAB MT and DU, respectively.

From an lAB-node MT point-of-view, as in 3GPP Release 15 (Rel-15), one or more of the following example time-domain resources can be indicated for the parent link:

Downlink (DL) time resource;

- Uplink (UL) time resource;

Flexible (F) time resource.

From an lAB-node DU point-of-view, the child link may have one or more the following example types of time resources:

- DL time resource;

- UL time resource;

- F time resource;

- Not-available (NA) time resources (resources not to be used for communication on the DU child links).

Each of the downlink, uplink and flexible time-resource types of the DU child link can belong to one of two categories:

- Hard (H): The corresponding time resource is always available for the DU child link;

Soft (S): The availability of the corresponding time resource for the DU child link is explicitly and/or implicitly controlled by the parent lAB-node.

The IAB DU resources are configured per cell, and the H/S/NA attributes for the DU resource configuration are explicitly indicated per-resource type (D/U/F) in each slot. As a result, the semi-static time-domain resources of the DU part can be of seven types in total: Downlink- Hard (DL-H), Downlink-Soft (DL-S), Uplink-Hard (UL-H), Uplink-Soft (UL-S), Flexible-Hard (F-H), Flexible-Soft (F-S), and Not-Available (NA). The coordination relation between MT and DU resources are listed in Table 1.

Table 1 : Coordination between MT and DU resources of an lAB-node.

One example of such DU configuration is shown in FIG. 5.

Frequency-domain resource configuration

One of the objectives in the 3GPP Rel-17 IAB WID (e.g., IAB WID RP -201293) is to have specification of enhancements to the resource multiplexing between child and parent links of an IAB node, including: support of simultaneous operation (transmission and/or reception) of lAB-node’s child and parent links (i.e., MT Tx/DU Tx, MT Tx/DU Rx, MT Rx/DU Tx, MT Rx/DU Rx).

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example of frequency-domain DU resource configuration.

Capability indication

To facilitate the resource configuration, 3GPP describes in RANl#98bis that:

The donor CU and the parent node, i.e., parent IAB node can be made aware of the multiplexing capability between MT and DU (TDM required, TDM not required) of an IAB node to for any {MT CC, DU cell} pair.

RAN1#99 has further detailed the indication of the multiplexing capability as:

The indication of the multiplexing capability for the case of no-TDM between IAB MT and IAB DU is additionally provided with respect to each transmission-direction combination (per MT CC/DU cell pair):

- MT-TX/DU-TX

- MT-TX/DU-RX

- MT-RX/DU-TX

- MT-RX/DU-RX

The corresponding signaling has been defined in 3GPP such as in, for example, 3GPP TS 38.473, clause 9.3.1.108 as part of the Fl application protocol (Fl-AP) information element (IE), which is an L3 signaling.

Power Control

Generally, from a resource efficiency perspective, it is desirable to receive an as strong signal as possible, since that will help maximize SNR and thereby throughput. The fundamental rationale for power control is to provide a signal that allows the receiver to operate in its linear range. A too weak signal will not be detected due to existing noise, and a too strong signal may saturate the receiver, distorting the signal. To some amount, the receiver can adjust its amplification and thereby mitigate a too weak or too strong signal in the following processing stages. However, in case multiple wireless devices are connected to the same cell, a network node receiver may need a minimum level of amplification to receive the weakest wireless device, alternatively, a maximum level of (i.e., a reduced amount of) amplification to receive the strongest wireless device. Hence, practically, the receiver amplification may be restricted in its dynamic range.

Cell coverage is related to receiver linearity such that a network node may need to be able to receive a nearest wireless device with the lowest specified transmit power simultaneously as it receives a furthest wireless device with the highest specified transmit power.

The above problems are further exacerbated by the introduction of lAB-nodes that are expected to use a higher transmit power (for both IAB-MT and IAB-DU) than normal wireless devices and have a planned deployment ascertaining good (i.e., meeting a predefined criterion) BH link properties. Hence, simultaneously receiving from an lAB-node and a wireless device may result in even higher requirements on the parent IAB-node’ s receiver or the IAB node’s ability to perform power control such that the IAB-MT transmits with a power level closer to that of what a wireless device would use.

Downlink power control is introduced in Rel-17 for enhanced IAB in order for the IAB node to simultaneously receive from both a (presumably) stronger parent node and a weaker child node. Since IAB assumes planned deployment, it is expected that some links will be substantially better than others due to, e.g., LoS conditions. Downlink power control differs from UL power control such that the parent node may not only communicate with one node but many. Hence, there is a trade-off between reducing the transmitted signal power to one node in order to avoid clipping, or to instead schedule another node in parts of the spectrum.

Beam relations in NR

In high frequency range (FR2), multiple radio frequency (RF) beams may be used to transmit and receive signals at a network node and a wireless device. For each DL beam from a network node, there is typically an associated best wireless device Rx beam for receiving signals from the DL beam. The DL beam and the associated wireless device Rx beam forms a beam pair. The beam pair can be identified through a so-called beam management process in NR.

A DL beam is (typically) identified by an associated DL reference signal (RS) transmitted in the beam, either periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically. The DL RS for the purpose can be a Synchronization Signal (SS) and Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB) or a Channel State Information RS (CSI-RS). For each DL RS, a wireless device can do a Rx beam sweep to determine the best Rx beam associated with the DL beam. The best Rx beam for each DL RS is then memorized by the wireless device. By measuring all the DL RSs, the wireless device can determine and report to the network node the best DL beam to use for DL transmissions. Assuming the principle of channel reciprocity, the beam pair used for DL transmission can also be used in the UL to transmit a UL signal to the network node, often referred to as beam correspondence.

An example is shown in FIG. 7 in which a network node has a transmission point (TRP) with two DL beams each associated with an individual CSI-RS and a common SSB beam. Each of the DL beams is associated with a best wireless device Rx beam, i.e., wireless device Rx beam #1 is associated with the DL beam with CSLRS #1 and Rx beam #2 is associated with the DL beam with CSI-RS #2.

Due to wireless device movement or environment/channel change, the best DL beam for a wireless device may change over time and different DL beams may be used at different times. The DL beam used for a DL data transmission in Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) can be indicated by a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) field in the corresponding DCI (Downlink Control Information) scheduling the PDSCH or activating the PDSCH in case of SPS. The TCI field indicates a TCI state which contains a DL RS associated with the DL beam. In the DCI, a PUCCH resource is indicated for carrying the corresponding Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative ACK (NACK). The UL beam for used for transmission of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) is determined by a PUCCH spatial relation activated for the PUCCH resource. An example of PUCCH spatial relation information element (IE) is given in a later paragraph, the UL beam is indicated indirectly by a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource indicator (SRI), which points to one or more SRS resources associated with the PUSCH transmission. The SRS resource(s) can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. Each SRS resource is associated with an SRS spatial relation in which a DL RS (or another SRS) is specified. The UL beam for the PUSCH is implicitly indicated by the SRS spatial relation(s).

Spatial relations

Spatial relation is used in NR to refer to a spatial relationship between an UL channel or signal, such as PUCCH, PUSCH and SRS, and a DL (or UL) reference signal (RS), such as CSI- RS (DL RS), SSB (DL RS), or SRS (UL RS). If an UL channel or signal is spatially related to a DL RS, it means that the wireless device may transmit the UL channel or signal with the same beam used in receiving the DL RS previously. More precisely, the wireless device may transmit the UL channel or signal with the same spatial domain transmission filter used for the reception of the DL RS.

If a UL channel or signal is spatially related to a UL SRS, then the wireless device may apply the same spatial domain transmission filter for the transmission for the UL channel or signal as the one used to transmit the SRS. Using DL RSs as the source RS in a spatial relation is very effective when the wireless device can transmit the UL signal in the opposite direction from which it previously received the DL RS, or in other words, if the wireless device can achieve the same Tx antenna gain during transmission as the antenna gain it achieved during reception. This capability (referred to as beam correspondence) will not always be perfect: due to, e.g., imperfect calibration, the UL Tx beam may point in another direction, etc., resulting in a loss in UL coverage. To improve the performance in this situation, UL beam management based on SRS sweeping can be used, as illustrated in the examples of FIGS. 8-10. To achieve optimum performance, the procedure depicted in FIGS. 8-10 should be repeated as soon as the wireless devices Tx beam changes.

For PUCCH, up to 64 spatial relations can be configured for a wireless device and one of the spatial relations is activated by a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) for each PUCCH resource.

An example illustrates a PUCCH spatial relation IE that a UE can be configured with in NR is described below. This PUCCH spatial relation IE includes one of a SSB index, a CSI-RS resource identity (ID), and SRS resource ID as well as some power control parameters such as pathloss RS, closed-loop index, etc.

Example of PUCCH-SpatialRelationlnfo information element

- ASN1 START

- TAG-PUCCH-SPATIALRELATIONINFO-START

PUCCH-SpatialRelationlnfo ::= SEQUENCE { pucch-SpatialRelationlnfold PUCCH-SpatialRelationlnfoId, servingCellld ServCelllndex OPTIONAL, - Need S reference Signal CHOICE { ssb-Index SSB-Index, csi-RS-Index NZP-CSI-RS-Resourceld, srs PUCCH-SRS

}, pucch-PathlossReferenceRS-Id PUCCH-PathlossReferenceRS-Id, pO-PUCCH-Id PO-PUCCH-Id, closedLoopIndex ENUMERATED { iO, i 1 }

PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfoExt-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { pucch-SpatialRelationlnfold-v 1610 PUCCH-SpatialRelationlnfoId- vl610 OPTIONAL, - Need S pucch-PathlossReferenceRS-Id-v 1610 PUCCH-PathlossReferenceRS-Id- vl610 OPTIONAL, -Need R

PUCCH-SRS ::= SEQUENCE { resource SRS-Resourceld, uplinkBWP BWP-Id

} - TAG-PUCCH-SPATIALRELATIONINFO-STOP

- ASN1STOP

QCL and TCI states

In NR, several signals can be transmitted from different antenna ports of a same network node. These signals can have the same large-scale properties such as Doppler shift/spread, average delay spread, or average delay. These antenna ports are then said to be quasi co-located (QCL).

If the wireless device knows that two antenna ports are QCL with respect to a certain parameter (e.g., Doppler spread), the wireless device can estimate that parameter based on one of the antenna ports and apply that estimate for receiving signal on the other antenna port.

For example, there may be a QCL relation between a CSLRS for tracking RS (TRS) and the PDSCH Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS). When the wireless device receives the PDSCH DMRS, the wireless device can use the measurements already made on the TRS to assist the DMRS reception.

Information about what assumptions can be made regarding QCL is signaled to the wireless device from the network/network node. In NR, four types of QCL relations between a transmitted source RS and transmitted target RS were defined:

Type A: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}

Type B: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}

Type C: {average delay, Doppler shift}

Type D: {Spatial Rx parameter}

QCL type D was introduced to facilitate beam management with analog beamforming and is referred to as spatial QCL. There is no existing strict definition of spatial QCL, but the understanding is that if two transmitted antenna ports are spatially QCL, the wireless device can use the same Rx beam to receive them. This is helpful for a wireless device that uses analog beamforming to receive signals, since the wireless device needs to adjust its RX beam in some direction prior to receiving a certain signal. If the wireless device knows that the signal is spatially QCL with some other signal it has received earlier, then it can safely use the same RX beam to receive also this signal. Note that for beam management, the discussion mostly revolves around QCL Type D, but it may also be necessary to convey a Type A QCL relation for the RSs to the wireless device, so that it can estimate all the relevant large-scale parameters.

Typically, this is achieved by configuring the wireless device with a CSLRS for tracking (TRS) for time/frequency offset estimation. To be able to use any QCL reference, the wireless device would have to receive it with a sufficiently good Signal to Interference Noise Ratio (SINK) (e.g., SINK meeting a predefined threshold). In many cases, this means that the TRS may have to be transmitted in a suitable beam to a certain wireless device.

To introduce dynamics in beam and transmission point (TRP) selection, the wireless device can be configured through RRC signaling with up to 128 TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states. Each TCI state contains QCL information related to one or two RSs. For example, a TCI state may contain CSI-RS1 associated with QCL Type A and CSI-RS2 associated with QCL TypeD. If a third RS, e.g., the PDCCH DMRS, has this TCI state as a QCL source, it means that the wireless device can derive Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread from CSI-RS1 and the Spatial Rx parameter (i.e., the RX beam to use) from CSL RS2 when performing the channel estimation for the PDCCH DMRS.

A first list of available TCI states is configured for PDSCH, and a second list of TCI states is configured for PDCCH. Each TCI state contains a pointer, known as TCI State ID, which points to the TCI state. The network/ network node then activates via MAC CE one TCI state for PDCCH (i.e., provides a TCI for PDCCH) and up to eight TCI states for PDSCH. The number of active TCI states the wireless device supports is a wireless device capability, but the maximum is 8.

Assume a wireless device has 4 activated TCI states (from a list of totally 64 configured TCI states). Hence, 60 TCI states are inactive for this particular wireless device and the wireless device needs not be prepared to have large scale parameters estimated for those inactive TCI states. But the wireless device continuously tracks and updates the large-scale parameters for the RSs in the 4 active TCI states. When scheduling a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to a wireless device, the DCI contains a pointer to one activated TCI state. The wireless device then knows which large scale parameter estimate to use when performing PDSCH DMRS channel estimation and thus PDSCH demodulation.

Rel-17 TCI state framework

One existing way of using spatial relation for UL beam indication in NR is cumbersome and inflexible. To facilitate UL beam selection for wireless devices equipped with multiple panels, a unified TCI framework will be introduced in NR Rel-17. Similar to the DL, where TCI states are used to indicate DL beams/TRPs, TCI states will also be used to select UL panels and beams used for UL transmissions (i.e., PUSCH, PUCCH, and SRS).

For the Rel-17 TCI state framework it was discussed that a wireless device can be configured with one out of two possible operation modes:

“Joint DL/UL TCI”, where one common beam is used for both DL and UL signal s/channels “Separate DL/UL TCI”, where one common beam can be used for DL signals/channels and a separate common beam can be used for UL signals/channels

For “Joint DL/UL TCI”, a single TCI state (Joint TCI state) is used to determine a TX/RX spatial filter for both DL signals/channels and UL signals/channels. For “Separate DL/UL TCI”, one DL TCI state can be used to indicate a RX spatial filter for DL signals/channels and a UL TCI state can be used to indicate TX spatial filter for UL signals/channels.

However, existing systems are not without issues. Existing cellular networks typically communicate in a strict hierarchy regarding power control - the DU (network node) is in control and the wireless device follows. Furthermore, the DU typically uses a fixed transmit power per subcarrier and only changes the modulation and coding scheme in order to compensate for a changing communication channel. By the introduction of IAB nodes, the same strict one-sided relation may no longer be preferable. For example, an lAB-node may be prevented from receiving a signal from a weaker and/or more distant transmitting wireless device due to simultaneous reception from a stronger transmitting parent lAB-node. Presently, there is no functionality described in 3 GPP specifications that allows for such simultaneous operation.

In the Rel-17 enhanced IAB WID, the following duplexing enhancements are described: Specification of lAB-node timing mode(s), extensions for DL/UL power control, and CLI (e.g., cross link interference) and interference measurements of backhaul (BH) links, as needed, to support simultaneous operation (transmission and/or reception) by lAB-node’ s child and parent links.

3GPP Rel-16 IAB considers the time-division multiplexing (TDM) case where the IAB- MT and IAB-DU resource of the same lAB-node are separated in time. The beam management procedure and signaling for the parent backhaul link and child backhaul link can be performed completely independently. For example, the DL beam indication for the parent backhaul link is about the parent lAB-node IAB-DU activating a TCI (e.g., transmission configuration indicatorstate in the DL TCI configuration, which is configured by the donor-CU for the parent-node IAB-DU (in terms of parent-DU SSB/CSI-RS), to adjust the DL receive beam of the IAB-MT. While the UL beam indication for the parent backhaul link is about the parent-DU activating a TCI-state of the UL TCI configuration, which is configured by the donor-CU for the parent-node IAB-DU (in terms of parent-DU SSB (synchronization signal block)/CSI-RS (channel state information reference signal), or IAB-MT SRS (sounding reference signal)), to adjust the UL transmit beam of the IAB-MT. Similarly, the DL beam indication for the child backhaul link is about the IAB-DU activating a TCI-state in the DL TCI configuration, which is configured by the donor-CU for the IAB-DU (in terms of IAB-DU SSB/CSI-RS), to adjust the DL receive beam of the child-node IAB-MT. While the UL beam indication for the child backhaul link is about the IAB-DU activating a spatial relation (for Rel-15/16 beam management framework) or a TCI-state of the UL TCI configuration (for Rel-17 beam management framework), which is configured by the donor-CU for the IAB-DU (in terms of IAB-DU SSB/CSI-RS, or child-MT SRS), to adjust the UL transmit beam of the child-MT. In the TDM operation mode, the four TCI configurations (parent-DU DL/UL TCI (spatial relation), IAB-DU DL/UL TCI (spatial relation)) can be separated. For simultaneous operation, when an lAB-node is capable of SDM, the IAB- MT and IAB-DU can use the same time- and frequency-domain resource simultaneously. As illustrated in FIG. 11, for simultaneous reception/RX (MT-RX/DU-RX), the DL transmission over the parent backhaul link and the UL transmission over the child link take place at the same time. In this case, the parent DU transmission beam used for the parent backhaul link (including DL transmission/TX power level) communication may have impact on IAB-node’ s reception of child-MT UL transmission for the child backhaul link. Similar, the child IAB-MT UL transmission (including child IAB-MT UL TX power) may have impact on IAB-node’ s reception of parent IAB-DU DL transmission for the parent backhaul link.

However, it is currently undefined how to allow the IAB node to indicate a DU DL transmission power adjustment, associated with spatial configurations, to enable simultaneous reception at the IAB node.

OFDM signal properties

NR uses OFDM for modulation. OFDM use multiple orthogonal subcarriers comprised within a single carrier. As a result, OFDM transmits multiple slower data symbols in parallel instead of transmitting a single data symbol at a time. One advantage with OFDM is that it easily allows a scalable bandwidth to be used in transmissions.

Due to randomization of transmitted data, the statistical properties of the OFDM signal are well defined, including the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). Hence, it is possible to determine the amount of clipping an OFDM signal is exposed to by assessing the statistical properties of the signal, e.g., its average power.

There currently exist certain challenge(s). In Rel-17 it has been agreed that DL power control of a parent IAB-DU is specified to facilitate simultaneous reception in an IAB-node. In doing so, the IAB-node may request a DL TX power adjustment and the parent IAB-DU provides a response to that request where it either acknowledges or does not acknowledge the request. DL power control is introduced to allow the IAB-node to simultaneously receive from both the parent IAB-DU and a child link, and to adjust the transmit power of the parent IAB-DU such that the received signals from both the parent IAB-DU and on a child link may be received with suitable power levels (e.g., both in the linear range of the receiver) and thereby be accurately decoded. Transmit power can be specified in power spectral density (PSD), i.e., transmit power per bandwidth unit whereas operation in the linear range is related to the total received power. For given PSD, since the received power depends on the used bandwidth (BW) which may vary from slot to slot, it is important for transmitter and receiver for which BW a power control request and response can be associated.

Hence, some existing system suffer from one or more challenges.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for downlink power control and/or assistance for a parent integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node.

One or more embodiments described herein allow and/or configure an IAB node to indicate to the parent lAB-node about the desired parent IAB-DU DL TX power, associated to different spatial configuration s), to enable simultaneous reception at lAB-node. By assisting the parent lAB-node to adjust its DU DL TX power, the IAB node may obtain more favorable channel or reception conditions (e.g., channel conditions below a noise threshold, SINR threshold, etc.) towards child lAB-nodes and/or wireless devices that are connected to the IAB- node. The objective can, e.g., be to reduce parent IAB-DU TX power such that the lAB-node is able to simultaneously receive a still relatively strong parent lAB-node signal (e.g., signal above a first threshold such as a first SINR threshold, etc.) and a weaker wireless device and/or child lAB-node signal (e.g., signal above a second threshold such as a second SINR threshold but below the first threshold) which otherwise may not be feasible to receive jointly. That is, in existing systems, the weaker wireless device signal may not be decodable if received simultaneously with the stronger parent IAB node signal.

One or more embodiments are based on the measured reception performance metric of the child link (i.e., SRS Reference Signal Reference Power (RSRP)) that the lAB-node can indicate to the parent lAB-node about a desired reception performance metric and/or desired adjustment of IAB-DU DL TX power level of the parent backhaul link which is needed to enable simultaneous reception at the lAB-node. That is, in one or more embodiments, the IAB node indicates to the parent IAB node a desired reception performance metric and/or desired adjustment of IAB-DU DL TX power level of the parent backhaul link, where the indication is based at least on a measurement reception performance metric of the child link between the child IAB node and the IAB node.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a first integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node in communication with a second IAB node is provided. The first IAB node is configured to request an output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node where the requested output power adjustment is for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node. The first IAB node is configured to receive a first medium access control -control element, MAC-CE, indicating the second IAB node will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node where the adjustment of the output power is based on the requested output power adjustment.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the first MAC-CE includes a first beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node that will be adjusted.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node is indicated in a second MAC-CE where the second MAC-CE includes a second beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB for which output power adjustment is being requested.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing circuitry is further configured to transmit a channel state information, CSI, report where the CSI report indicates whether the requested output power adjustment is for a next downlink transmission from the second IAB node.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node is indicated in a channel state information, CSI, report for link adaption.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the requested output power adjustment corresponds to at least one adjustment value where the at least one adjustment value is a positive value or negative value.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the requested output power adjustment is configured to be applied to one of a subset of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node and all of the plurality of transmission beams.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, from the second IAB node, estimate a value of a reception performance metric based on the received DL-RS, and determine a requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node where the requested output power adjustment is based on the determined requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing circuitry is further configured to measure a performance metric associated with a reference signal, RS, from a third IAB node where the requested output power adjustment is based on the measured performance metric associated with the RS from the third IAB node.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the performance metric is determined per transmission beam of the second IAB node based on one of a transmission configuration indicator, TCI, state, synchronization signal block, SSB, and CSI-RS.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the first IAB node includes an lAB-mobile termination, IAB-MT, and an IAB -distributed unit, IAB-DU where the simultaneous communication at the first IAB node corresponds to performing communication with the second IAB node using the IAB-MT simultaneously with communication with a third node using the IAB-DU.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the second IAB node is a parent IAB node to the first IAB node, and the third IAB node is a child IAB node to the first IAB node.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the first MAC-CE is a downlink power adjustment MAC-CE.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented by a first integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node in communication with a second IAB node is provided. An output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node is requested where the requested output power adjustment is for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node. A first medium access control-control element, MAC-CE, indicating the second IAB node will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node is received. The adjustment of the output power being based on the requested output power adjustment.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node is indicated in a second MAC-CE where the second MAC-CE includes a second beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB for which output power adjustment is being requested. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a channel state information, CSI, report is transmitted where the CSI report indicating whether the requested output power adjustment is for a next downlink transmission from the second IAB node.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the requested output power adjustment corresponds to at least one adjustment value, the at least one adjustment value being a positive value or negative value.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the requested output power adjustment is configured to be applied to one of: a subset of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node and all of the plurality of transmission beams.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, is received from the second IAB node, estimating a value of a reception performance metric is estimated based on the received DL-RS, and a requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node is determined where the requested output power adjustment is based on the determined requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a performance metric associated with a reference signal, RS, from a third IAB node is measured where the requested output power adjustment being based on the measured performance metric associated with the RS from the third IAB node.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the second IAB node is a parent IAB node to the first IAB node, and the third IAB node is a child IAB node to the first IAB node. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the first MAC-CE is a downlink power adjustment MAC-CE.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable medium stores executable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to request an output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at a first integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node where the requested output power adjustment is for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of a second IAB node, and receive a first medium access control -control element, MAC-CE, indicating the second IAB node will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node where the adjustment of the output power is based on the requested output power adjustment.

Further, there is a need for an indication such that the bandwidth of the signal, upon which the power control request is based, is clearly understood by both the requesting and responding nodes.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Some embodiments of the current disclosure relate to a method to allow a parent network node to utilize different transmit power during communication with a network node. The different transmit powers depend on the bandwidth of the signal such that a more wideband signal may be restricted in its transmit power in order to avoid clipping in the receiver of the network node.

Network node aspect

1. A method in a wireless network node for adjusting the transmission power of a parent network node in communication with the network node, the method comprising one or more of: a. Receiving a resource configuration including a first and at least a second bandwidth b. Determining a need for a power adjustment related to the first bandwidth c. Determining a first power adjustment value in relation to the first bandwidth d. Signaling a power control request including the first power adjustment value to the parent node

2. Example 1 and following signaling the request further a. Receiving a power control response with a second power adjustment value b. Determining a mode of simultaneous reception based on the response

3. Example 1 and where the need is determined by first receiving a signal with the first bandwidth and determining a need for power adjustment in said signal 4. Example 1 and where the need is determined based on receiving a signal with another bandwidth and from it determining there is a need for power adjustment for a signal with the first bandwidth

5. Example 1 and where the power control request includes information about the first bandwidth and/or a slot reference and/or a resource configuration reference related to the first bandwidth

6. Example 3 and where the transmission time of the power control request is related to the reception time of the first signal

7. Example 1 and where the need for a power adjustment is determined based on one or more of a. A determined saturation of the received signal b. A determined statistic of the received signal, e.g., average power level, average subcarrier power, or subcarrier power distribution c. A reception error level in relation to one or more of the following signal properties i. MCS ii. Rank iii. Power iv. Interference level e.g., SINR d. Hardware capabilities e. A reception quality of transmitted signals from one or multiple other network nodes in the same or adjacent carriers

8. All above Examples and where the need is related to a preferred setting for simultaneous reception in the network node

9. Example 1 where the first power adjustment value in the signaling of the power control request is expressed relative to a reference bandwidth or to a power for a signal with a reference bandwidth

10. Example 9 and where the reference bandwidth is related to one of a. Subcarrier spacing b. Physical resource block c. Resource block group d. Bandwidth part e. Carrier bandwidth f. Received configuration of a reference bandwidth g. A pre-configured value 11. All above Examples and where the power control request signaling is either a. MAC-CE b. PUCCH c. UCI d. Included in a measurement report e. per parent DU DL TX beam(s), and or per parent DU DL TX TCI state(s)

12. All above Examples and where the resource configuration is related to a H/S/NA configuration of the network node.

13. Example 11 and where the resource configuration is related to a dynamic availability indication of Soft resource

Parent node aspect

1. A method in a parent wireless network node for adjusting the transmission power in communication with a network node, the method comprising a. Receiving a power control request including a first power adjustment value from the network node b. Determining a power control response c. Signaling the power control response, including a second power adjustment value, to the network node

2. Example 1 and following signaling further a. Determining a bandwidth and a transmit power for communication with the network node b. Scheduling the network node according to the determined bandwidth and associated transmit power c. Transmitting a signal with a transmit power and bandwidth to the network node

3. Example 1 and prior to receiving the request, transmitting a signal with a first transmit power and a first bandwidth to the network node

4. Example 1 and where the power control request further includes a bandwidth, slot or resource configuration reference associated to the power control request

5. Example 1 and where the first bandwidth is implicitly determined from the reception instant of the request

6. Example 1 and where the second power adjustment value represents an indication of a change in signal power for a signal with a first bandwidth

7. Example 1 and where the power control response includes information about the first bandwidth and/or a slot reference and/or a resource configuration reference related to the first bandwidth 8. Example 2 and where, if the bandwidth is the first bandwidth, the transmit power is adjusted with the power adjustment value in the power control response

9. All above Examples and where the power control response signaling is either a. MAC-CE b. PDCCH c. DCI d. A part of a measurement report e. per parent DU DL TX beam(s), and or per parent DU DL TX TCI state(s).

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The advantage of the proposed solution is that it allows a parent network node to adjust its transmit power based on the bandwidth of the signal when transmitting to a network node. Thereby, the network node may avoid clipping in transmissions with a large bandwidth but may still benefit from a higher transmission power in transmissions with a smaller bandwidth where clipping is anyway not a problem. By allowing this flexibility, the parent network node can further choose to schedule a smaller BW with a higher transmit PSD or a larger bandwidth with a lower transmit PSD.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a diagram of a multi-hop deployment in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of IAB terminologies in adjacent hops;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of IAB architecture;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of ST and DAG graphs;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of time-domain DU resource configuration;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example frequency-domain DU resource configuration;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example of transmission and reception with multiple beams;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a first step in UL beam management using an SRS sweep;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a second step in UL beam management using an SRS sweep;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a third step in UL beam management using an SRS sweep;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of simultaneous RX at an lAB-node in SDM operation, based on Rel-15/Rel-16 beam management framework; FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of several entities of the communication system of FIG. 12 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein; FIG. 15 is a block diagram of another example of a wireless device according to principles disclosed herein;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of another example of a network node according to principles disclosed herein;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an example host according to principles disclosed herein;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an example virtualization environment according to principles disclosed herein;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of an example process in an IAB node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of another example process in an IAB node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of another example process of an IAB node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a wireless device over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of implementing some embodiments of the current disclosure in regard to the network node aspect;

FIG. 24 is flowchart of some embodiments of the current disclosure in regard to the parent node aspect;

FIG. 25 is a diagram of a system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of an IAB node aspects of Embodiment 1 according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of an IAB node aspects of Embodiment 2 according to the present disclosure; and

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a parent IAB node aspects of Embodiment 3 according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is sensible, from a network perspective, to seek to maximize overall network performance, something that may not be feasible without the parent lAB-node changing transmit power.

Regarding Parent IAB-DU DL TX power control:

The desired DL TX power adjustment, indicated by the IAB-MT to its parent-node to assist with the parent-node’s DL TX power allocation, is provided at least for specific time resources. The desired DL TX power adjustment can further be associated with spatial configuration, (e.g., MT’s DL RX beams).

- However, there are no signaling details for any such DL TX power control, e.g., indication via MAC-CE, PUCCH, or legacy CSI framework.

Support an lAB-node indicating adjustment to its DL TX power to a child node (e.g., in response to receiving the DL TX power assistance information from the child node) at least for specific time resources.

The DL TX power adjustment indication can further be associated with spatial configuration, (e.g., MT’s DL RX beams).

- However, there are no signaling details for the DL TX power adjustment indication.

Hence, there is a need for methods to allow the lAB-node to indicate the desired (e.g., requested, target, etc.) parent lAB-node DU DL TX power, associated with spatial configurations, to enable simultaneous reception at the IAB node and thereby increase the network performance.

Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to downlink power control and/or assistance of a parent IAB node. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.

As used herein for the various Embodiments, NACK signaling may corresponds to signaling that indicates a denial, declining, etc., and is not associated with HARQ processes.

As used herein for various Embodiments, ACK signaling may corresponds to signaling that indicates acceptance, approval, acknowledgement, etc., and is not associated with HARQ processes.

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

The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a wireless device (WD) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The WD herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD over radio signals, such as wireless device (WD). The WD may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) WD, machine type WD or WD capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with WD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device etc.

Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and/or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and/or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

In some embodiments, the general description elements in the form of “one of A and B” corresponds to A or B. In some embodiments, at least one of A and B corresponds to A, B or AB, or to one or more of A and B. In some embodiments, at least one of A, B and C corresponds to one or more of A, B and C, and/or A, B, C or a combination thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Some embodiments are directed to downlink power control and/or assistance of a parent IAB node. Referring again to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 12 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3 GPP -type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and/or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as IAB 16 which is a type of network node 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each IAB node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20, and is able to communicate with each other via the IAB configuration described herein. That is, IAB node 16 may be a parent IAB node 16 (e.g., parent IAB node 16c in one example), child IAB node 16 and/or IAB node 16 (e.g., IAB node 16b in one example) where the designation of parent IAB node 16, child IAB node 16 and IAB node 16 is relative to the perspective of the each IAB node 16, as described herein. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding IAB 16a. A second WD 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding IAB 16b. While a plurality of WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole WD is in the coverage area or where a sole WD is connecting to the corresponding IAB node 16. Note that although only two WDs 22 and three IAB nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more WDs 22 and IAB nodes 16.

Also, it is contemplated that a WD 22 can be in simultaneous communication and/or configured to separately communicate with more than one IAB nodes 16 and more than one type of IAB node 16 and/or network node 16. For example, a WD 22 can have dual connectivity with an IAB node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different IAB node 16 that supports NR. As an example, WD 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTEZE-UTRAN and a gNB for NR/NG-RAN.

An IAB node 16 such as a parent IAB node 16 is configured to include an adjustment unit 24 which is configured to perform one or more parent IAB node 16 functions as described herein such as with respect to power control and/or assistance for parent IAB node 16. An IAB node 16, such as an IAB node 16 that has a parent IAB node 16, is configured to include an indication unit 26 which is configured to perform one or more IAB node 16 functions as described herein such as with respect to power control and/or assistance for parent IAB node 16.

In particular, in one or more examples, IAB node 16b is a child IAB node 16b (also referred to as child IAB node 16) that is configured to communicate with IAB node 16a (referred to as IAB node 16) via a child link 28 (i.e., wireless backhaul link), and IAB node 16 is configured to communicate with IAB node 16c which is a parent IAB node 16c (referred to as parent IAB node 16) via a parent link 30 (i.e., wireless backhaul link).

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the IAB nodes 16 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 13.

The communication system 10 includes an IAB node 16c provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 32 enabling it to communicate with the other IAB nodes 16 and WD 22. The hardware 32 may include a radio interface 34 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection with a WD 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the IAB node 16c, and for communicating with one or more other IAB nodes 16 via a wireless backhaul link. The radio interface 34 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 34 includes an array of antennas to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

In the embodiment shown, the hardware 32 of the IAB node 16c further includes processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may include a processor 38 and a memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 36 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 40, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Thus, the IAB node 16c further has software 42 stored internally in, for example, memory 40, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the IAB node 16c via an external connection. The software 42 may be executable by the processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by IAB node 16. Processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing IAB node 16c functions described herein. The memory 40 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and/or processing circuitry 36, causes the processor 38 and/or processing circuitry 36 to perform the processes described herein with respect to IAB node 16c. For example, processing circuitry 36 of the IAB node 16c may include adjustment unit 24 (e.g., when operating as a parent IAB node 16) which is configured to perform one or more parent IAB node 16 functions as described herein such as with respect to downlink power control and/or assistance for a parent IAB node 16. IAB nodes 16a and 16b may include corresponding hardware 32 and software 42 as described above except that the unit stored and/or configured to provide functionality may be different. For example, the processing circuitry 36 of the IAB node 16a may include indication unit 26 (e.g., when operating as an IAB node 16 having a parent IAB node 16) which is configured to perform one or more IAB node 16 functions as described herein such as with respect to downlink power control and/or assistance for a parent IAB node 16. One or more IAB nodes 16 may include mobile termination (MT) and distributed unit (DT) as illustrated in FIG. 3 where the MT and DT may be implemented by one or more of HW 32 and SW 42.

The communication system 10 further includes the WD 22 already referred to. The WD 22 may have hardware 44 that may include a radio interface 46 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection with a IAB node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located. The radio interface 46 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 46 includes an array of antennas 48 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

The hardware 44 of the WD 22 further includes processing circuitry 50. The processing circuitry 50 may include a processor 52 and memory 54. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 50 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 52 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 54, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). Thus, the WD 22 may further comprise software 56, which is stored in, for example, memory 54 at the WD 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the WD 22. The software 56 may be executable by the processing circuitry 50. The software 56 may include a client application 58. The client application 58 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the WD 22.

The processing circuitry 50 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by WD 22. The processor 52 corresponds to one or more processors 52 for performing WD 22 functions described herein. The WD 22 includes memory 54 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 56 and/or the client application 58 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 52 and/or processing circuitry 50, causes the processor 52 and/or processing circuitry 50 to perform the processes described herein with respect to WD 22.

In some embodiments, the inner workings of the IAB node 16 and WD 22 may be as shown in FIG. 13 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 12.

The wireless connection between the WD 22 and the IAB node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc. In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.

Although FIGS. 12 and 13 show various “units” such as adjustment unit 24 and indication unit 26 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

FIG. 14 shows another example of a communication system 10 in accordance with some embodiments.

In the example, the communication system 10 includes a telecommunication network 11 that includes an access network 12, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 14, which includes one or more core network nodes 15. The access network 12 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 16A and 16B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 16), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) access node or non-3GPP Access Point (AP). The network nodes 16 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices 22, such as by connecting wireless devices 22A, 22B, 22C, and 22D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as wireless devices 22) to the core network 14 over one or more wireless connections.

Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 10 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes 16, wireless devices 22, 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. The communication system 10 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

The wireless devices 22 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 16 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 16 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the wireless devices 22 and/or with other network nodes 16 or equipment in the telecommunication network 11 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 11.

In the depicted example, the core network 14 connects the network nodes 16 to one or more hosts, such as host 13. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 14 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 15) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the wireless devices 22, network nodes 16, and/or hosts 13, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 15. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF). The host 13 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 12 and/or the telecommunication network 11, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 13 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of wireless devices 22, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

As a whole, the communication system 10 of FIG. 14 enables connectivity between the wireless devices 22, network nodes 16, and hosts 13. In that sense, the communication system

10 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

In some examples, the telecommunication network 11 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 11 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 11. For example, the telecommunication network

11 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some wireless devices 22, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other wireless devices 22, and/or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further wireless devices 22.

In some examples, the wireless devices 22 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a wireless device 22 may be designed to transmit information to the access network 12 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 12. Additionally, a wireless device 22 may be configured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a wireless device 22 may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., be configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

In the example, a hub 21 communicates with the access network 12 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more wireless device 22 (e.g., wireless device 22C and/or 22D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 16B). In some examples, the hub 21 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding wireless device 22. For example, the hub 21 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 14 for the wireless device 22. As another example, the hub 21 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the wireless device 22. Commands or instructions may be received from the wireless device 22, network nodes 16, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 21. As another example, the hub 21 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for wireless device data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 21 may be a content source. For example, for a wireless device 22 that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 21 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node 16, which the hub 21 then provides to the wireless device 22 either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 21 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the wireless device 22, in particular in if one or more of the wireless devices 22 are low energy loT devices.

The hub 21 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 16B. The hub 21 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 21 and wireless devices 22 (e.g., wireless device 22C and/or 22D), and between the hub 21 and the core network 14. In other examples, the hub 21 is connected to the core network 14 and/or one or more wireless devices 22 via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 21 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 12 and/or to another wireless device 22 over a direct connection. In some scenarios, wireless devices 22 may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 16 while still connected via the hub 21 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 21 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the wireless devices 22 from/to the network node 16B. In other embodiments, the hub 21 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the wireless devices 22 and the network node 16B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels. FIG. 15 shows another example of wireless device 22 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device 22 refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a wireless device 22 include, but are not limited to, a user equipment (UE), smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

A wireless device 22 may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehi cl e-to- Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X). In other examples, a wireless device 22 may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a wireless device 22 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). Alternatively, a wireless device 22 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).

The wireless device 22 includes processing circuitry 48 that is operatively coupled via a bus 51 to an input/output interface 47, a power source 49, memory 52, a communication/radio interface 46, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain wireless devices 22 may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 15. The level of integration between the components may vary from one wireless device 22 to another wireless device 22. Further, certain wireless devices 22 may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

The processing circuitry 48 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 52. The processing circuitry 48 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 48 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

In the example, the input/output interface 47 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include 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. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the wireless device 22. Examples of an input device 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 presencesensitive 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, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

In some embodiments, the power source 49 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 49 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 49 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the wireless device 22 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging the power source 49. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 49 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device 22 to which power is supplied.

The memory 52 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 52 includes one or more application programs 53, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 55. The memory 52 may store, for use by the wireless device 22, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. The memory 52 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), 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 RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and/or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 52 may allow the wireless device 22 to access instructions, application programs, and 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 as or in the memory 52, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

The processing circuitry 48 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 46. The communication interface 46 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 62. The communication interface 46 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another wireless device 22 or a network node 16 in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 58 and/or a receiver 60 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 58 and receiver 60 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 62) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 46 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, 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. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

Regardless of the type of sensor, a wireless device 22 may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 46, or via a wireless connection to a network node 16. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device 22 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node 16 via another wireless device 22. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

As another example, a wireless device 22 comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the wireless device 22 may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

A wireless device 22, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A wireless device 22 in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the wireless device 22 shown in FIG. 15.

As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a wireless device 22 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 wireless device 22 and/or a network node 16. The wireless device 22 may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the wireless device 22 may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a wireless device 22 may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

In practice, any number of wireless devices 22 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device 22 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device 22 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device 22 may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second wireless device 22 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a wireless device 22 might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

FIG. 16 shows a network node 16 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node 16 refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device 22 and/or with other network nodes 16 or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes 16 include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

Network node 16 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto BSs, pico BSs, micro BSs, or macro BSs. A network node 16 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node 16 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio BS such as centralized digital units and/or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio BS may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

Other examples of network nodes 16 include multiple Transmission Point (multi -TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi -Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell/Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

The network node 16 includes processing circuitry 36, memory 40, a communication interface 34, and a power source 64. The network node 16 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 16 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple Node Bs. In such a scenario, each unique Node B and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node 16. In some embodiments, the network node 16 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., an antenna 66 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 16 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 16, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 16.

The processing circuitry 36 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, 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 16 components, such as the memory 40, to provide network node 16 functionality.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 36 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 36 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 68 and baseband processing circuitry 70. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 68 and the baseband processing circuitry 70 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 68 and the baseband processing circuitry 70 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

The memory 40 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 36. The memory 40 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 36 and utilized by the network node 16. The memory 40 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 36 and/or any data received via the communication interface 34. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 36 and the memory 40 are integrated.

The communication interface 34 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network nodel6, access network 12, and/or wireless device 22. As illustrated, the communication interface 34 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 72 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 34 also includes radio front-end circuitry 74 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 66. The radio front-end circuitry 74 comprises filters 76 and amplifiers 78. The radio front-end circuitry 74 may be connected to the antenna 66 and the processing circuitry 36. The radio front-end circuitry 74 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 66 and the processing circuitry 36. The radio front-end circuitry 74 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes 16 or wireless device 22 via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 74 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 76 and/or the amplifiers 78. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 66. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 66 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 74. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 36. In other embodiments, the communication interface 34 may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 16 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 74; instead, the processing circuitry 36 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 66. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 74 is part of the communication interface 34. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 34 includes the one or more ports or terminals 72, the radio frontend circuitry 74, and the RF transceiver circuitry 74 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 34 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 70, which is part of a digital unit (not shown). The antenna 66 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 66 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 74 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 66 is separate from the network node 16 and connectable to the network node 16 through an interface or port.

The antenna 66, the communication interface 34, and/or the processing circuitry 36 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 16. Any information, data, and/or signals may be received from a wireless device 22, another network node 16, and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 66, the communication interface 34, and/or the processing circuitry 36 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 16. Any information, data, and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device 22, another network node 16, and/or any other network equipment.

The power source 64 provides power to the various components of the network node 16 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 64 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 16 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 16 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 64. As a further example, the power source 64 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

Embodiments of the network node 16 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 16 for providing certain aspects of the network node 16’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 16 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 16 and to allow output of information from the network node 16. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 16.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a host 13 in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 13 may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and/or software including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 13 may provide one or more services to one or more wireless devices 22.

The host 13 includes processing circuitry 80 that is operatively coupled via a bus 82 to an input/output interface 84, a network interface 86, a power source 88, and memory 90. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as FIGS. 15-16, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 13.

The memory 90 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 92 and data 94, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a wireless device 22 for the host 13 or data generated by the host 13 for a wireless device 22. Embodiments of the host 13 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 92 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). The host application programs 92 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 13 may select and/or indicate a different host for Over-The-Top (OTT) services for a wireless device 22. The host application programs 92 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 96 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 96 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node 16, wireless device 22, core network node 15, or host 13. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node 15 or host 13), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

Applications 98 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 96 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware 100 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 102 (also referred to as hypervisors or VM Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 104 A and 104B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 104), and/or perform any of the functions, features, and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 102 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 104.

The VMs 104 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 102. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 98 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 104, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, a VM 104 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 104, and that part of the hardware 100 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs 104, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 104 on top of the hardware 100 and corresponds to the application 98.

The hardware 100 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 100 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 100 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 106, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 98. In some embodiments, the hardware 100 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a RAN or a BS. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 108 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of an example process in an IAB node 16 (e.g., parent IAB node 16) according to some embodiments of the disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of parent IAB node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the adjustment unit 24), processor 38, and/or radio interface 34. Parent IAB node 16 is configured to receive (Block S10) an indication, the indication indicating one of a target performance metric of downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16, and a target power adjustment of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16, as described herein. Parent IAB node 16 is configured to cause (Block S20) transmission of an adjustment indication where the adjustment indication indicating whether the parent IAB node 16 accepted one of the suggested performance metric and suggested power adjustment, as described herein.

According to one or more embodiments, the target performance metric corresponds to a target value for a future downlink transmission of the parent IAB 16 where the target value is one of a reference signal received quality, RSRQ, signal to interference noise ratio, SINR, and signal to noise, SNR, value. According to one or more embodiments, the target power adjustment indicates a downlink transmission power for a parent IAB backhaul link that is expected to be used simultaneously as a spatial relation of a child IAB link.

According to one or more embodiments, the adjustment indication indicates that the IAB node 16 is allowed to switch to simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an acknowledgement, and where the adjustment indication indicates for the IAB node 16 to remain in non-simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an negative acknowledgement. The acknowledgement and negative acknowledgement not being part of a Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of an example process in an IAB node 16 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of IAB node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the indication unit 26), processor 38, and/or radio interface 34. IAB node 16 is configured to perform (Block S30) at least one measurement, as described herein. IAB node 16 is configured to determine (Block S40), based on the at least one measurement, one of a target performance metric of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node, and a target power adjustment of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16, as described herein. IAB node 16 is configured to cause (Block S50) transmission of an indication to the parent IAB node 16 where the indication is configured to indicate one of the target performance metric and suggested power adjustment.

According to one or more embodiments, the target performance metric corresponds to a target value for a future downlink transmission of the parent IAB 16 where the target value is one of a reference signal received quality, RSRQ, signal to interference noise ratio, SINR, and signal to noise, SNR, value, as described herein. According to one or more embodiments, the target power adjustment indicates a downlink transmission power for a parent IAB backhaul link that is expected to be used simultaneously as a spatial relation of a child IAB link, as described herein.

According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 36 is further configured to receive an adjustment indication where the adjustment indication indicates whether the parent IAB node 16 accepted one of the target performance metric and target power adjustment, as described herein. According to one or more embodiments, the adjustment indication indicates that the IAB node 16 is allowed to switch to simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an acknowledgement, and where the adjustment indication indicates for the IAB node 16 to remain in non-simultaneous reception mode (e.g., TDM mode) when the adjustment indication is an negative acknowledgement. The acknowledgement and negative acknowledgement not being part of a Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of another example process in an IAB node 16 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of IAB node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the indication unit 26), processor 38, and/or radio interface 34. IAB node 16 is configured to request (Block S60) an output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node 16 where the requested output power adjustment is for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node 16, as described herein. IAB node 16 is configured to receive (Block S70) a first medium access control-control element, MAC-CE , indicating the second IAB node 16 will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node 16 where the adjustment of the output power is based on the requested output power adjustment, as described herein. According to one or more embodiments, the first MAC-CE includes a first beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node 16 that will be adjusted.

According to one or more embodiments, the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node 16 is indicated in a second MAC-CE where the second MAC-CE includes a second beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node 16 for which output power adjustment is being requested.

According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 36 is further configured to transmit a channel state information, CSI, report where the CSI report indicates whether the requested output power adjustment is for a next downlink transmission from the second IAB node 16.

According to one or more embodiments, the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node 16 is indicated in a channel state information, CSI, report for link adaption.

According to one or more embodiments, the requested output power adjustment corresponds to at least one adjustment value where the at least one adjustment value is a positive value or negative value.

According to one or more embodiments, the requested output power adjustment is configured to be applied to one of a subset of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node 16 and all of the plurality of transmission beams.

According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 36 is further configured to: receive a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, from the second IAB node 16, estimate a value of a reception performance metric based on the received DL-RS and determine a requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node 16 where the requested output power adjustment is based on the determined requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node 16.

According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuitry 36 is further configured to measure a performance metric associated with a reference signal, RS, from a third IAB node 16 where the requested output power adjustment is based on the measured performance metric associated with the RS from the third IAB node 16.

According to one or more embodiments, the performance metric is determined per transmission beam of the second IAB node 16 based on one of a transmission configuration indicator, TCI, state, synchronization signal block, SSB, and CSI-RS. According to one or more embodiments, the first IAB node 16 includes an lAB-mobile termination, IAB-MT, and an IAB -distributed unit, IAB-DU where the simultaneous communication at the first IAB node 16 corresponds to performing communication with the second IAB node 16 using the IAB-MT simultaneously with communication with a third node using the IAB-DU.

According to one or more embodiments, the second IAB node 16 is a parent IAB node 16 to the first IAB node 16, and the third IAB node 16 is a child IAB node 16 to the first IAB node 16.

According to one or more embodiments, the first MAC-CE is a downlink power adjustment MAC-CE.

FIG. 22 shows a communication diagram of a host 13 communicating via a network node 16 with a wireless device 22 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the wireless device 22 (such as the wireless device 22A of FIG. 14 and/or the wireless device 22 of FIG. 15), the network node 16 (such as the network node 16A of FIG. 14 and/or the network node 16 of FIG. 16), and the host 13 (such as the host 13 of FIG. 14 and/or the host 13 of FIG. 17) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 22.

Like the host 13, embodiments of the host 13 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 13 also includes software, which is stored in or is accessible by the host 1302 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the wireless device 22 connecting via an OTT connection 110 extending between the wireless device 22 and the host 13. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 110.

The network node 16 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 13 and the wireless device 22 via a connection 120. The connection 120 may be direct or pass through a core network 14 (like the core network 14 of FIG. 14) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

The wireless device 22 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by the wireless device 22 and executable by the wireless device 22’ s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the wireless device 22 with the support of the host 13. In the host 13, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 110 terminating at the wireless device 22 and the host 13. In providing the service to the user, the wireless device 22's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 110 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The wireless device 22's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 110.

The OTT connection 110 may extend via the connection 120 between the host 13 and the network node 16 and via a wireless connection 122 between the network node 16 and the wireless device 22 to provide the connection between the host 13 and the wireless device 22. The connection 120 and the wireless connection 122, over which the OTT connection 110 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 13 and the wireless device 22 via the network node 16, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 110, in step S72, the host 13 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the wireless device 22. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a wireless device 22 that shares data with the host 13 without explicit human interaction. In step S74, the host 13 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the wireless device 22. The host 13 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the wireless device 22. The request may be caused by human interaction with the wireless device 22 or by operation of the client application executing on the wireless device 22. The transmission may pass via the network node 16 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step S76, the network node 16 transmits to the wireless device 22 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 13 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step S78, the wireless device 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the wireless device 22 associated with the host application executed by the host 13.

In some examples, the wireless device 22 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 13. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 13. Accordingly, in step S80, the wireless device 22 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the wireless device 22. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the wireless device 22 initiates, in step S82, transmission of the user data towards the host 13 via the network node 16. In step S84, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 16 receives user data from the wireless device 22 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 13. In step S86, the host 13 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the wireless device 22.

One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the wireless device 22 using the OTT connection 110, in which the wireless connection 122 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the e.g., data rate, latency, power consumption, etc. and thereby provide benefits such as e.g., reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.

In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 13. As another example, the host 13 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a wireless device for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 13 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 13 may store surveillance video uploaded by a wireless device 22. As another example, the host 13 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR which it can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to wireless devices 22. As other examples, the host 13 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and/or transmitting data.

In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 110 between the host 13 and the wireless device 22 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 110 may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 13 and/or the wireless device 22. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 110 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 110 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 16. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary wireless device 22 signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like by the host 13. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 110 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., wireless devices 22, network nodes 16, hosts 13) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information 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. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, 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. In another example, 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.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, 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. Network node aspect

FIG. 23 illustrates a method of implementing some embodiments of the current disclosure in regard to the network node aspect. Some embodiments include a method in a wireless network node for adjusting the transmission power of a signal with a first bandwidth that is received by the network node and which is transmitted by a parent network node.

In a first step (S87), the node 16 receives a resource configuration including a first and at least a second bandwidth. The configuration may be a semi-static H/S/NA configuration and/or a dynamic Soft-IA indication (allowing the node to determine Soft-Is Not Available resources).

In a second step (S88), the node 16 determines a need for a power adjustment. This may be determined, e.g., by assessing a signal statistic, e.g., the average signal power per subcarrier of a received signal with the first bandwidth and comparing it to known performance of the node 16’s receiver for the current configuration. The receiver itself may also indicate that a too large part of the signal is in the non-linear region or in the saturation region of the receiver. A third means to detect deviation from the linear region is to assess the reception error rate in relation to the received MCS, rank and signal power and known interference levels. Additionally, or alternatively, the node may determine the need based on a signal with another bandwidth and based on signal statistics from that signal determine a need for a signal with a first bandwidth. The need may further be related to a mode of simultaneous reception in the network node 16, such that the network node 16 may only operate in simultaneous reception if the power control request is granted.

In a third step (S89), the node 16 determines a power adjustment value, i.e., an amount by which the power needs to be changed (increased or decreased) to either avoid clipping or saturation or avoid the non-linear region of the receiver. Similar to the second step, the power adjustment value may be determined by comparing the determined signal power or PSD. Alternatively, or additionally, the power adjustment value may be determined by inserting a signal statistic, e.g., the average signal power, PSD or signal variance or similar into a table from which the adjustment value is derived. Additionally, or alternatively, the node may determine the value based on a signal with another bandwidth and based on signal statistics from that signal determine a value of the power adjustment for a signal with a first bandwidth. The adjustment value may further be expressed in relation to a reference bandwidth or to a power for a signal with a reference bandwidth, e.g., the power adjustment value is always indicated per subcarrier or per bandwidth unit.

In a fourth step (S90), the node signals a power control request to the parent node 16, including the power adjustment value. Signaling may be one or more of MAC-CE, PUCCH, UCI or some other signaling that is established between the node 16 and the parent node 16. The power control request can also be a part of the measurement report from the lAB-node to the parent lAB-node, e.g., on the signal with the first transmit power and first bandwidth. The signal could be one of the DL-RS (Downlink reference signal), e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, or a new dedicated DL-RS. The signal could further be a PDSCH signal including reference signals. The power control request may further indicate the bandwidth, slot of the received signal or active resource configuration during reception of the signal. Additionally, or alternatively, the power control request may be transmitted at a time associated with the first bandwidth or resource configuration, e.g., with a determined delay relative the reception of the first signal.

In an optional fifth step (S91), the network node 16 receives a power adjustment response from the parent node 16, in which a second power adjustment value is provided. The response may also include a configuration, slot, or bandwidth for which it is valid.

In an optional sixth step (S92), the node 16 may determine that a mode of simultaneous reception is possible for slots associated with the first bandwidth.

Parent node aspect

FIG. 24 illustrates some embodiments of the current disclosure in regard to the parent node 16 aspect. Some embodiments include a method in a parent network node 16 for adjusting the transmission power of a signal that is transmitted by the parent node 16 and is received by a network node 16. The parent node 16 may have a wired upstream connection to the core network 14, or a wireless upstream connection to its parent node 16.

In an optional first step (S93), the parent network node 16 transmits a signal with a first transmit power and a first bandwidth to the network node 16. The signal could be one of the DL-RS (Downlink reference signal), e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, or a new dedicated DL-RS. The signal could further be a PDSCH signal including reference signals.

In a second step (S94), the parent node 16 receives a power control request including a first power adjustment value from the network node 16. The power adjustment value represents a desired change in transmit power or PSD with respect to a signal with a first bandwidth. The request may further include an indication of the first bandwidth, e.g., a bandwidth or a slot or resource configuration associated with the first bandwidth. Alternatively, or additionally, the first bandwidth may be implicitly determined by the time when which the request is received such that the request is received at a predefined time in relation to a transmission with the first bandwidth.

In a third step (S95), the parent node 16 determines a power control response to the network node 16. The response may be to not acknowledge the request, or it may be an acknowledgement of the request. The acknowledgement may further contain a second power adjustment value, indicating by what amount the transmit power will be adjusted in future signals transmitted with the first bandwidth. The response may further be a partial acknowledgement such that the second responded adjustment value is different from the first requested adjustment value.

In a fourth step (S96), the power control response is signaled to the network node 16. Signaling may take place in MAC-CE, PDCCH, DCI, or some other signaling that is established between the node 16 and the parent network node 16.

In an optional step (S97) following the signaling response, a second signal bandwidth may be determined with a second transmit power. In case the second bandwidth is the first bandwidth, the transmit power or PSD is adjusted according to the second power adjustment value.

In yet an optional step (S98), the parent node 16 schedules the network node 16 according to the determined bandwidth and transmit power.

In a final optional step (S99), the parent node 16 transmits a signal with the determined bandwidth and transmit power.

Having generally described arrangements for downlink power control and/or assistance for a parent IAB node 16, details for these arrangements, functions and processes are provided as follows, and which may be implemented by the IAB node 16 and/or wireless device.

Some embodiments provide downlink power control and/or assistance for a parent IAB node 16. FIG. 25 illustrates a system based on FIG. 12. The context of the present disclosure is an IAB network where an IAB node 16 may be connected upstream to a parent lAB-node 16 and downstream to a wireless device 22 and/or a child IAB node 16. The parent lAB-node 16 may, in turn, also connect a wireless device 22, or other IAB nodes 16. If two IAB nodes 16 (including Parent lAB-nodes 16 and child IAB nodes 16/wireless devices 22) are configured to be received simultaneously at the IAB node 16, their received power at the IAB node 16, for respective node, must not differ too much (e.g., within a threshold, or within a range from each other), such as within 10 dB, for the IAB node 16 to be able to decode both signals. To obtain approximately the same receive power (e.g., receive power of the parent IAB node signal and receive power of the child IAB node 16/wireless device 22 signal are within, for example, lOdB of each other), the IAB node can assist the transmitting IAB nodes 16 to increase or decrease its transmission power. Typically, since a parent lAB-node 16 has often a better channel, due the priority of the parent backhaul link, towards the IAB node 16, than child lAB-nodes 16 or wireless devices 22, the lAB-node 16 may request the parent lAB-node 16 to decrease its transmission power towards the IAB node 16. For child IAB nodes 16, or wireless devices 22, it may not be a problem for the lAB-node 16 to control the UL TX power, which can follow the legacy UL power control.

Embodiment 1 IAB node aspect

Embodiment 1 relates to a method at the IAB node 16 to indicate to the parent lAB-node 16 a preferred value of a performance metric to assist the parent IAB-DU to set the DL TX power for one or multiple DL TX beams.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart related to Embodiment 1. In a first step (Block SI 00), the IAB- node 16 receives a measurement request from the parent lAB-node 16 to perform measurements on one or multiple beams of the parent IAB-DU DL transmission, e.g., based on SSBs/CSI- RS/DMRS.

In the second step (Block 102), the lAB-node 16 performs measurements on parent IAB- DU DL transmission, e.g., based on SSBs/CSI-RS/DMRS. The lAB-node 16 can for example measure one or more of Reference Signal Reference Quality (RSRQ), RSRP, SINR, SNR, path loss, etc. on the DL reference signals.

In the third step (Block 104), the IAB node 16 measures the performance of the child IAB-MT UL or another child IAB UL transmission. The measured performance metric can for example be one of RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, SNR, path loss, etc.

In the fourth step (Block SI 06), the IAB node 16 determines a preferred value for the performance metric, for example a target RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, SNR for potential future parent IAB-DU DL transmission. The performance metric can differ for different parent lAB-node 16 beams, which means for example that different performance metrics can be determined for different parent lAB-node 16 beams (where a parent lAB-node 16 beam for example can be associated with a TCI state, SSB, CSI-RS, etc.).

In the fifth step (Block SI 08), the IAB node 16 indicates the desired performance metric to the parent lAB-node 16 in the associated parent backhaul link beam report, besides the measured performance metric, e.g., RSRP/RSRQ/SINR. Another possibility is that the desired performance metric is indicated to the parent lAB-node 16 in MAC-CE.

In the sixth step (Block SI 10), the lAB-node 16 receives an acknowledgment (ACK)/negative ACK (NACK) message from the parent lAB-node 16. The ACK/NACK message is used to indicate to the lAB-node 16 whether the parent lAB-node 16 will apply the recommended performance metrics or not.

If the ACK signaling is received (Block SI 12), it will allow the lAB-node to switch to the simultaneous reception mode.

If the NACK signaling is received (Block SI 14), the lAB-node 16 remains in the TDM mode.

Other embodiments related to Embodiment 1 In one embodiment, the reception performance metric may be one of RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, SNR, path loss, etc.

In one embodiment, the performance metric could be measured on SSB, CSI-RS, or PDSCH DMRS from the parent IAB-DU, or SRS, SSB, etc. from the child IAB-MT.

In one embodiment, the desired performance metric may depend or be based on how much interference leaks over from the parent IAB 16 DL transmission to the child IAB 16 UL transmission. In another embodiment, the desired performance metric would depend on how the UL power control loop is configured for the child IAB-MT or another child link. The higher the target SINR for the UL power control for a child link, the higher the power (i.e., higher performance metric, like RSRP) that can be used by the parent lAB-node 16 as well. In yet another embodiment, the desired performance metric would depend on what kind of SINR that is required for the child UL communication. In another related embodiment, the desired performance metric would depend on the interference cancelation algorithms. In another related embodiment, the parent IAB-DU DL TX power adjustment would depend on the dynamic range of the analog-to-digital converter at the lAB-node 16 receiver (the smaller dynamic range, the more sensitive the receiver will be to power differences between the reception on parent backhaul link and the reception on child link).

In one embodiment, a single value of a reception performance metric is determined and indicated for all parent lAB-node 16 transmission beams. In another embodiment, a single value of a reception performance metric is determined and indicated per parent lAB-node 16 transmission beam, or a subset of all parent transmission beams, where a parent lAB-node 16 beam could be indicated by using, for example, an SSB index, CSI-RS index, or a TCI state ID.

In one embodiment, the preferred (or IAB recommended) reception performance metric is indicated in MAC-CE. In one related embodiment, the performance metric can be indicated in the same MAC-CE which is used to indicate the preferred/restricted parent lAB-node 16 beams. In another related embodiment, the preferred reception performance metric is indicated in a new dedicated MAC-CE. In yet another related embodiment, the performance metric can be used to indicate the preferred/restricted parent lAB-node 16 beams.

In one embodiment, the preferred reception performance metric is included in an uplink control information (UCI).

In one embodiment, the preferred reception performance metric is included in a beam report. In a related embodiment, the performance metric is included in the legacy beam report. In another related embodiment, the performance metric is included in a new dedicated beam report.

In one embodiment, if the parent lAB-node 16 rejects the power control request for a certain TCI state, this TCI state is deactivated for simultaneous reception. In one related embodiment, the same power control request is used to deactivate a set of DU DL TX beams, or a set of DU DL TCI states.

In one embodiment, the DL power control assisting information from the lAB-node 16 to the parent lAB-node 16 can be a target SINR-level, or a target RSRQ-level, etc.

In one embodiment, the lAB-node 16 can also measure the RSRP/RSRQ/SINR level using the CSI-RS measurement framework. In a related embodiment, the preferred reception performance metric is included in a CSI-RS report.

In one embodiment, in a CSI report, a flag is used to indicate if the value of the preferred reception performance metric should be applied for the coming parent lAB-node DL transmission or not.

In one embodiment, the lAB-node 16 receives a DCI that is scheduling a DL transmission, and where the DCI includes a bitfield indicating if the parent lAB-node 16 has adapted the DL TX power according to the indicated preferred value of a reception performance metric.

In one embodiment, the IAB node 16 receives a MAC-CE, and where the MAC-CE includes an indication whether the parent IAB node 16 will apply the recommended power settings or not. In a related embodiment, the lAB-node 16 receives a MAC-CE where the MAC- CE includes information for which parent lAB-node 16 beams (based on, e.g., SSBs, CSI-RS, TCI states) the recommended power control settings will be applied.

In one embodiment, the granted parent IAB-DU DL power adjustment is valid for a fixed period and after that a new DL power control request should be applied. In one related embodiment, the granted parent IAB-DU DL power adjustment is valid to a NACK is received.

Embodiment 2

IAB node aspect

FIG. 27 is a flowchart related to Embodiment 2, where a method at the IAB node 16 indicates to the parent lAB-node 16 a desired adjustment of the parent IAB-DU DL TX power level for one or a set of DU DL TX beams.

In a first step (Block SI 16), the lAB-node receives the measurement request from the parent lAB-node 16 to perform measurement on one or multiple parent IAB-DU DL transmission beams, e.g., based on SSBs/CSI-RS/DMRS.

In a second step (Block SI 18), the lAB-node performs measurement on parent IAB-DU DL transmission, e.g., based on SSBs/CSI-RS/DMRS.

In a third step (Block SI 20), the IAB node 16 measures the performance of the child IAB-MT UL or any child UL transmission, for example, RSRP, SNR, SINR. The measurement can be performed on an IAB-DU beam that is associated with a TCI state/spatial relation that will be used for coming reception of child backhaul link from the child IAB-MT or reception of another child link.

In a fourth step (Block S122), the IAB node 16 determines a preferred adjustment of the parent IAB-DU DL TX power for the TCI state of the parent backhaul link, which is expected to be used simultaneously as the TCI state/spatial relation of the child link.

In a fifth step (Block S124), the IAB node 16 indicates the desired parent IAB-DU DL TX power adjustment to the parent lAB-node 16 in the associated parent backhaul link beam report, besides the measured RSRP. In an alternative version, the desired parent IAB-DU DL TX power adjustment is indicated in a CSI report for link adaptation, together with for example one or more of a CQI, MCS and/or PMI.

In a sixth step (Block SI 26), the lAB-node 16 receives the ACK/NACK message from the parent lAB-node 16.

If the ACK signaling is received (Block S128), the lAB-node 16 switches to the simultaneous reception mode.

If the NACK signaling is received (Block S130), the lAB-node 16 remains in the TDM mode.

Other Embodiments related to Embodiment 2

In one embodiment, the reception performance metric of the child IAB 16 UL transmission is one of RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, SNR, path loss, etc.

In one embodiment, the performance metric used to determine the adjustment of the parent IAB-DU DL TX power is the difference between estimated and preferred values of the reception performance metric.

In one embodiment, the parent IAB-DU DL-RS is CSI-RS or SSB, etc.

In one embodiment, the adjustment of parent IAB-DU TX power level may depend or be based on how much interference leaks over from the parent IAB 16 DL transmission to the child IAB 16 UL transmission. In another embodiment, the parent IAB-DU DL TX power adjustment would depend on how the UL power control loop is configured for the child IAB 16 UL. In yet another embodiment, the parent IAB-DU DL TX power adjustment would depend on what kind of SINR that is required for the child IAB-MT UL communication. In another related embodiment, the parent IAB-DU DL TX power adjustment would depend on the interference cancelation algorithms. In another related embodiment, the parent IAB-DU DL TX power adjustment would depend on the dynamic range of the analog-to-digital converter at the IAB- node 16 receiver (the smaller dynamic range, the more sensitive the receiver will be to power differences between the reception on parent backhaul link and the reception on child link). In one embodiment, the desired output power adjustment indication is included in a CSI- report for beam reporting. In one embodiment, the desired output power adjustment indication is included in a CSI-report for link adaptation. In one embodiment, the desired output power adjustment is indicated in a new dedicated report.

In one embodiment, the desired output power is indicated with a bitfield, where each codepoint corresponds to one value in a list of RRC-configured power adjustment values. In an alternative embodiment, the desired output power is indicated with a bitfield, where each codepoint corresponds to one of a pre-specified list of power adjustment values. In a related embodiment, the size of the bitfield depends on the number of candidate RRC-configured power adjustment values. In another related embodiment, one of the power adjustment values is equal to zero. In yet another related embodiment, all power adjustment values are either zero or positive or all power adjustment values are zero or negative. In a further related embodiment, some power adjustment values are positive, and some are negative.

In one embodiment, the IAB node 16 receives a DCI scheduling a DL transmission, and where the DCI includes a bitfield indicating if the parent lAB-node 16 has adapted the DL TX power according to the indicated preferred value of a reception performance metric.

Parent lAB-node 16 (parent IAB node 16 or parent node 16) aspects

FIG. 28 is a flowchart related to Embodiment 3 where a method at the parent lAB-node 16 determines the DU DL TX power for one or a set of DU DL TX beams (or DL TCI states), based on the assisting information from the lAB-node 16.

In a first step (Block SI 32) the parent lAB-node 16 (parent node) configures/activates the lAB-node 16 to perform measurement one or multiple beams of the parent IAB-DU DL transmission.

In a second step (Block S134) the parent lAB-node 16 receives the measurement reports on one or multiple parent DU DL-RS, in terms of performance metric, e.g., RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, etc. In a related embodiment, the measurement report includes a request on adjustment of the parent IAB-DU DL TX power. In one example, the power adjustment request is a desired (e.g., target, requested, etc.) value of a performance metric at the receiver of the IAB-MT. In another example, the power adjustment request is a desired change of the parent IAB-DU DL TX power.

In a third step (Block S136), the parent lAB-node 16 derives the DL TX power level based on the received assisting information. The parent lAB-node 16 also determines a set of TX beams with which simultaneous RX at the lAB-node 16 can be applied.

If the parent lAB-node 16 can adjust the DU TX power, it will send the ACK signaling to the lAB-node 16, as in the third step (Block S138), the parent lAB-node 16 will adjust the TX power as in the step (Block S140).

If the parent lAB-node 16 cannot adjust the DU TX power accordingly, the parent IAB- node 16 will send the NACK signaling to the lAB-node 16 (Block S142).

Other embodiments

In one embodiment, the parent lAB-node 16 configures/activates the lAB-node 16 to perform measurement on parent IAB-DU DL transmission for one or multiple parent IAB-DU TX beams. The DL-RS can be one from and/or associated with one ofl the TCI states, CSLRS, DMRS, SSBs, etc.

In one embodiment, the parent lAB-node 16 receives measurement reports from the IAB- node 16 on one or multiple of TCI states, or CSLRS, DMRS, SSBs etc. In a related embodiment, in the same measurement report, the parent lAB-node 16 receives desired performance metric with respect to the associated DL-RS, and the performance metric can be one of RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, path loss, etc. In another related embodiment, in the same measurement report, the parent lAB-node 16 receives desired adjustment of parent IAB-DU DL power level.

In one embodiment, the parent lAB-node 16 can determine the desired DU DL power level for a certain DL TX beam based on the received assisting information, e.g., the desired performance metric, or the desired adjustment of DL power level. In one related embodiment, the parent lAB-node 16 can determine the desired DU DL power level for a set of DL TX beams, or DL TCI state, based on the received assisting information.

In one embodiment, the parent lAB-node 16 determines the set of preferred DL TX beams (i.e., beams meeting a predefined criterion), or DL TCI states based on comparing a performance metric derived from the measurement report of respective beams towards a threshold. In a related embodiment, the set of preferred parent IAB-DU TX beams, or DL TCI states includes the TX beams, or TCI states where a performance metric exceeding the threshold.

In one embodiment, the parent lAB-node 16 can deactivate certain DL TCI state(s) which are not suited to perform simultaneous RX at the lAB-node 16, based on the assisting information from the lAB-node 16. In one embodiment, the parent lAB-node 16 acknowledges the lAB-node 16 about the determined set of DL TX beams, or DL TCI states, and adjusts the TX power according to the transmitted power control acknowledgement. The DL power control acknowledgement can be included in a MAC-CE, or a DCI.

In one embodiment, the granted parent IAB-DU DL power adjustment is valid for a fixed period and after that a new DL power control request may be applied. In one related embodiment, the granted parent IAB-DU DL power adjustment is valid to a NACK is received.

IAB node 16 aspects:

Non-liming Examples Related to Embodiment 1

Example 1. A method in a IAB node 16 for indicating a preferred value of a reception performance metric for parent lAB-node DL transmission, the method comprising

- Receiving a DL-RS (Downlink reference signal) and estimating a value of a reception performance metric

- Determining a preferred value of a reception performance metric

Indicate to parent lAB-node the determined value of the reception performance metric.

Example 2. The method of Example 1 where the reception performance metric is one of RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, SNR, etc.

Example 3. The method of Example 2, where a single value of a reception performance metric is determined and indicated for all parent IAB node 16 beams (based on, e.g., TCI states/SSBs/CSI-RS)

Example 4. The method of Example 2 where a single value of a reception performance metric is determined and indicated per parent IAB node 16 beam for all or a subset of all parent IAB nodes 16 beams (based on, e.g., TCI states/SSBs/CSI-RS)

Example 5. The method of any one of Examples 1-4 where the value of the reception performance metric is indicated in MAC-CE (Medium Access Control Element).

Example 6. The method of Example 5 where the value of the reception performance metric is used to indicate preferred/restricted parent IAB node 16 beams

Example 7. The method of Example 5 where a new dedicated MAC-CE is used to indicate the value of the preferred reception performance metric

Example 8. The method of Example 7 where other information is included in the same MAC-CE, for example a set of preferred/restricted parent IAB node 16 beams

Example 9. The method of any one of Examples 1-8, where the value of the reception performance metric is included in a UCI (Uplink Control Information)

Example 10. The method of Example 8, where the value of the reception performance metric is included in a beam report Example 11. The method of Example 8, where the value of the reception performance metric is included in a new dedicated report

Example 12. The method of Example 8, where the value of the reception performance metric is included in CSI-RS report

Example 13. The method of any one of Examples 1-12, where a CSI report indicates with a flag if the value of the reception performance metric should be applied for the coming parent IAB node 16 DL transmission or not

Example 14. The method of any one of Examples 1-3, where the IAB node 16 receives a DCI that is scheduling a DL transmission, and where the DCI includes a bitfield indicating if the parent IAB node 16 has adapted the DL TX power according to the indicated value of a reception performance metric

Example 15. The method of any one of Examples 1-14, where the IAB node 16 receives a MAC-CE, and where the MAC-CE includes indication whether the parent IAB node 16 will apply the recommended power settings or not.

Example 16. The method of Example 14 where the MAC-CE includes an information for which parent IAB node 16 beams (based on, e.g., SSBs, CSLRS, TCI states) the recommended power control settings will be applied for.

Non-Limiting Examples Related to Embodiment 2:

Example 2.1. A method in an IAB node 16 for indicating desired DL power adjustment from parent IAB node, the method including:

- Receiving a DL-RS and estimating a value of a reception performance metric

- Determining a preferred value of the reception performance metric for a coming/scheduled parent IAB node 16 DL transmission

Indicate to parent IAB node 16 the desired output power adjustment based on the estimated and preferred values of the reception performance metric

Example 2.2. The method of Example of 2.1 where the reception performance metric is one of RSRQ, RSRP, SINR, SNR.

Example 2.3. The method of Example 2.2 where the value of the reception performance metric is the difference between estimated and preferred values of the reception performance metric

Example 2.4. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.3, where the DL-RS is a CSI- RS/SSB/DMRS, etc.

Example 2.5. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.4, where the desired output power adjustment indication is included in a shared MAC-CE, or a dedicated new MAC-CE. Example 2.6. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.5, where the desired output power adjustment indication is included in a CSI-report for link adaptation

Example 2.7. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.6, where the desired output power adjustment indication is included in a CSI-report for beam reporting

Example 2.8. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.7, where the desired output power adjustment is indicated in a new dedicated report.

Example 2.9. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.8, where the desired output power is indicated with a bitfield, where each codepoint corresponds to one in a list of RRC configured power adjustment values

Example 2.10. The method of Example 2.7 where the desired output power is indicated with a bitfield, where each codepoint corresponds to one of a pre-specified list of power adjustment values

Example 2.11. The method of Example 2.8 where the size of the bitfield depends on the number of candidate RRC-configured power adjustment values

Example 2.12. The method of any one of Examples 2.8 and 2.9 where one of the power adjustment values is equal to zero

Example 2.13. The method of any one of Examples 2.8 and 2.9 where all power adjustment values are either zero or positive or all power adjustment values are zero or negative

Example 2.14. The method of any one of Examples 2.8 and 2.9 where some power adjustment values are positive, and some are negative

Example 2.15. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.14 where the lAB-node receives a DCI that is scheduling a DL transmission, and where the DCI includes a bitfield indicating if the parent lAB-node has adapted the DL TX power according to the indicated preferred value of a reception performance metric

Example 2.16. The method of any one of Examples 2.1-2.5 where the IAB node receives a MAC-CE, and where the MAC-CE includes indication whether the parent IAB node will apply the recommended power settings or not

Example 2.17. The method of Example 2.15 where the MAC-CE includes an information for which parent lAB-node beams (based on, e.g., SSBs, CSI-RS, TCI states) the recommended power control settings will be applied for

Parent IAB node 16 aspects

Non-Limiting Examples Related to Embodiment 3:

Example 3.1. A method in a parent IAB node 16 for controlling the power in transmissions to an IAB node 16, the method including: (Optional) Configure the IAB node 16 to perform (CSI-RS/DMRS/SSB) measurements on one or multiple (CSI-RS/DMRS/SSB) beams transmitted by the parent IAB node 16

- Receive a measurement report for one or multiple (CSI-RS/DMRS/SSB) beams from the IAB node 16

- Receive a DL power control request from the IAB node 16

- Determine a set of beams for which request is valid

Signal to the IAB node 16 a power control acknowledgement including the determined set of beams, in, e.g., MAC-CE, or DCI, etc.

Example 3.2. The method of Example 3.1 where the set of beams is determined based on comparing a performance metric derived from the measurement report of respective beams towards a threshold.

Example 3.3. The method of Example 3.2 where a performance metric exceeding the threshold includes the beam in the determined set of beams

Example 3.4. The method of any one of Examples 3.1-3.3, further including signaling the determined set, adjusting the power according to the transmitted power control acknowledgement

Example 3.5. The method of any one of Examples 3.1-3.4, where the performance metric is one of path loss/RSRP/RSRQ/SINR

Some Additional Examples

Example Al. An integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node 16 configured to communicate with at least a parent IAB node 16, the IAB node 16 configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface 34 and/or comprising processing circuitry 36 configured to: perform at least one measurement; determine, based on the at least one measurement, one of a target performance metric of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and a target power adjustment of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and cause transmission of an indication to the parent IAB node 16, the indication configured to indicate the one of the target performance metric and suggested power adjustment.

Example A2. The IAB node 16 of Example Al, wherein the target performance metric corresponds to a target value for a future downlink transmission of the parent IAB nodel6, the target value being one of a reference signal received quality, RSRQ, signal to interference noise ratio, SINR, and signal to noise, SNR, value. Example A3. The IAB node 16 of Example Al, wherein the target power adjustment indicates a downlink transmission power for a parent IAB backhaul link that is expected to be used simultaneously as a spatial relation of a child IAB link.

Example A4. The IAB node 16 of Example Al, wherein the processing circuitry 36 is further configured to receive an adjustment indication, the adjustment indication indicating whether the parent IAB node 16 accepted one of the target performance metric and target power adjustment.

Example A5. The IAB node 16 of Example A4, wherein the adjustment indication indicates that the IAB node 16 is allowed to switch to simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an acknowledgement; and the adjustment indication indicates for the IAB node 16 to remain in non-simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an negative acknowledgement; and the acknowledgement and negative acknowledgement not being part of a Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process.

Example Bl. A method implemented by an integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node 16 that is configured to communicate with at least a parent IAB node 16, the method comprising: performing at least one measurement; determining, based on the at least one measurement, one of: a target performance metric of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and a target power adjustment of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and causing transmission of an indication to the parent IAB node 16, the indication configured to indicate one of the target performance metric and suggested power adjustment.

Example B2. The method of Example Bl, wherein the target performance metric corresponds to a target value for a future downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16, the target value being one of a reference signal received quality, RSRQ, signal to interference noise ratio, SINR, and signal to noise, SNR, value.

Example B3. The method of Example B 1 , wherein the target power adjustment indicates a downlink transmission power for a parent IAB backhaul link that is expected to be used simultaneously as a spatial relation of a child IAB link.

Example B4. The method of Example Bl, further comprising receiving an adjustment indication, the adjustment indication indicating whether the parent IAB node 16 accepted one of the target performance metric and target power adjustment. Example B5. The method of Example B4, wherein the adjustment indication indicates that the IAB node 16 is allowed to switch to simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an acknowledgement; and the adjustment indication indicates for the IAB node 16 to remain in non-simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an negative acknowledgement; and the acknowledgement and negative acknowledgement not being part of a Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process.

Example Cl . A parent integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node 16 configured to communicate with at least an IAB node 16, the parent IAB node 16 configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface 34 and/or processing circuitry 36 configured to receive an indication, the indication indicating one of: a target performance metric of downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and a target power adjustment of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and cause transmission of an adjustment indication, the adjustment indication indicating whether the parent IAB node 16 accepted one of the suggested performance metric and suggested power adjustment.

Example C2. The parent IAB node 16 of Example Cl, wherein the target performance metric corresponds to a target value for a future downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16, the target value being one of a reference signal received quality, RSRQ, signal to interference noise ratio, SINR, and signal to noise, SNR, value.

Example C3. The parent IAB node 16 of Example Cl, wherein the target power adjustment indicates a downlink transmission power for a parent IAB backhaul link that is expected to be used simultaneously as a spatial relation of a child IAB link.

Example C4. The parent IAB node of Example C3, wherein the adjustment indication indicates that the IAB node 16 is allowed to switch to simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an acknowledgement; and the adjustment indication indicates for the IAB node 16 to remain in non-simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an negative acknowledgement; and the acknowledgement and negative acknowledgement not being part of a Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process.

Example DI . A method implemented by a parent integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node 16 that is configured to communicate with at least an IAB node 16, the method comprising: receiving an indication, the indication indicating one of: a target performance metric of downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and a target power adjustment of a downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16; and causing transmission of an adjustment indication, the adjustment indication indicating whether the parent IAB node 16 accepted one of the suggested performance metric and suggested power adjustment.

Example D2. The method of Example DI, wherein the target performance metric corresponds to a target value for a future downlink transmission of the parent IAB node 16, the target value being one of a reference signal received quality, RSRQ, signal to interference noise ratio, SINR, and signal to noise, SNR, value.

Example D3. The method of Example D 1 , wherein the target power adjustment indicates a downlink transmission power for a parent IAB backhaul link that is expected to be used simultaneously as a spatial relation of a child IAB link.

Example D4. The method of Example D3, wherein the adjustment indication indicates that the IAB node 16 is allowed to switch to simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an acknowledgement; and the adjustment indication indicates for the IAB node to remain in non-simultaneous reception mode when the adjustment indication is an negative acknowledgement; and the acknowledgement and negative acknowledgement not being part of a Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process.

Group A Examples

1. A method performed by wireless network node 16 for adjusting the transmission power of a parent network node 16 in communication with the network node 16, the method comprising one or more of: a. receiving a resource configuration including a first and at least a second bandwidth; b. determining a need for a power adjustment related to the first bandwidth; c. determine a first power adjustment value in relation to the first bandwidth; and d. signal a power control request including the first power adjustment value to the parent node 16.

2. The method of example 1 further comprising the step of: a. receiving a power control response with a second power adjustment value; and/or b. determining a mode of simultaneous reception based on the response.

3. The method of any of the previous e examples where the need is determined by first receiving a signal with the first bandwidth and determining a need for power adjustment in said signal. The method of any of the previous examples where the need is determined based on receiving a signal with another bandwidth and from it determining there is a need for power adjustment for a signal with the first bandwidth. The method of any of the previous examples where the power control request includes information about the first bandwidth and/or a slot reference and/or a resource configuration reference related to the first bandwidth. The method of any of the previous examples where the transmission time of the power control request is related to the reception time of the first signal. The method of any of the previous examples where the need for a power adjustment is determined based on one or more of a. a determined saturation of the received signal; b. a determined statistic of the received signal, e.g., average power level, average subcarrier power, or subcarrier power distribution; c. a reception error level in relation to one or more of the following signal properties such as: MCS, Rank, Power, Interference level e.g., SINR; d. hardware capabilities; and e. a reception quality of transmitted signals from one or multiple other network nodes in the same or adjacent carriers. The method of any of the previous examples where the need is related to a preferred setting for simultaneous reception in the network node 16. The method of any of the previous examples where the first power adjustment value in the signaling of the power control request is expressed relative to a reference bandwidth or to a power for a signal with a reference bandwidth. The method of any of the previous examples where the reference bandwidth is related to one or more of Subcarrier spacing, Physical resource block, Resource block group, Bandwidth part, Carrier bandwidth, Received configuration of a reference bandwidth, and A pre-configured value. The method of any of the previous examples where the power control request signaling is one or more of a MAC-CE, a PUCCH, a UCI, Included in a measurement report, and per parent DU DL TX beam(s), and or per parent DU DL TX TCI state(s). The method of any of the previous examples where the resource configuration is related to a H/S/NA configuration of the network node 16. 13. The method of any of the previous example where the resource configuration is related to a dynamic availability indication of Soft resource.

14. The method of any of the previous examples, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node 16.

Group B Examples

15. A method performed by a parent wireless network node 16 for adjusting the transmission power in communication with a network node 16, the method comprising one or more of: a. receiving a power control request including a first power adjustment value from the network node 16; b. determining a power control response; and c. signaling the power control response, including a second power adjustment value, to the network node.

16. The method of any of the previous examples further comprising one or more of: a. determining a bandwidth and a transmit power for communication with the network node; b. scheduling the network node according to the determined bandwidth and associated transmit power; and c. transmitting a signal with a transmit power and bandwidth to the network node.

17. The method of any of the previous examples where, prior to receiving the request, transmitting a signal with a first transmit power and a first bandwidth to the network node.

18. The method of any of the previous examples where, the power control request further includes a bandwidth, slot or resource configuration reference associated to the power control request.

19. The method of any of the previous examples where, the first bandwidth is implicitly determined from the reception instant of the request.

20. The method of any of the previous examples where, the second power adjustment value represents an indication of a change in signal power for a signal with a first bandwidth.

21. The method of any of the previous examples where, the power control response includes information about the first bandwidth and/or a slot reference and/or a resource configuration reference related to the first bandwidth.

22. The method of any of the previous examples where, if the bandwidth is the first bandwidth, the transmit power is adjusted with the power adjustment value in the power control response.

23. The method of any of the previous examples where, the power control response signaling is one or more of: a MAC-CE, a PDCCH, a DCI, a part of a measurement report, and per parent DU DL TX beam(s), and or per parent DU DL TX TCI state(s).

24. The method of any of the previous examples, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

25. A user equipment (or other wireless device 22) for adjusting the transmission power of a parent network node 16, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A examples; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

26. A network node 16 (or other device) for adjusting the transmission power in communication with a network node 16, the network node 16 comprising: processing circuitry 36 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B examples; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry 36.

27. A user equipment (UE) (or other wireless device 22) for adjusting the transmission power of a parent network node 16, the wireless device 22 comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry 74 connected to the antenna 66 and to processing circuitry 36, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 66 and the processing circuitry 36; the processing circuitry 36 being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A examples; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry 36 and configured to allow input of information into the wireless device 22 to be processed by the processing circuitry 36; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry 36 and configured to output information from the wireless device 22 that has been processed by the processing circuitry 36; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry 36 and configured to supply power to the wireless device 22.

28. A host 13 configured to operate in a communication system 10 to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host 13 comprising: processing circuitry 80 configured to provide user data; and a network interface 86 configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a wireless device 22 wherein the wireless device 22 comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface 46 and processing circuitry 48 of the wireless device 22 being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A examples to receive the user data from the host 13.

29. The host 13 of the previous example, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node 16 configured to communicate with the wireless device 22 to transmit the user data to the wireless device 22 from the host 13.

30. The host 13 of the previous 2 examples, wherein: the processing circuitry 80 of the host 13 is configured to execute a host application 92, thereby providing the user data; and the host application 92 is configured to interact with a client application executing on the wireless device 22, the client application being associated with the host application 92.

31. A method implemented by a host 13 operating in a communication system 10 that further includes a network node 16 and a wireless device 22, the method comprising: providing user data for the wireless device 22; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the wireless device 22 via a cellular network comprising the network node 16, wherein the wireless device 22 performs any of the operations of any of the Group A examples to receive the user data from the host 13.

32. The method of the previous example, further comprising: at the host 13, executing a host application 92 associated with a client application executing on the wireless device 22 to receive the user data from the wireless device 22.

33. The method of the previous example, further comprising: at the host 13, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the wireless device 22, the input data being provided by executing the host application 92, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application 92.

34. A host 13 configured to operate in a communication system 10 to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host 13 comprising: processing circuitry 80 configured to provide user data; and a network interface 86 configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a wireless device 22, wherein the wireless device 22 comprises a communication interface 46 and processing circuitry 48, the communication interface 46 and processing circuitry 48 of the wireless device 22 being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A examples to transmit the user data to the host 13.

35. The host 13 of the previous example, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node 16 configured to communicate with the wireless device 22 to transmit the user data from the wireless device 22 to the host 13.

36. The host 13 of the previous 2 examples, wherein: the processing circuitry 80 of the host 13 is configured to execute a host application 92, thereby providing the user data; and the host application 92 is configured to interact with a client application executing on the wireless device 22, the client application being associated with the host application 92.

37. A method implemented by a host 13 configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node 16 and a wireless device 22, the method comprising: at the host 13, receiving user data transmitted to the host 13 via the network node 16 by the wireless device 22, wherein the wireless device 22 performs any of the steps of any of the Group A examples to transmit the user data to the host 13.

38. The method of the previous example, further comprising: at the host 13, executing a host application 92 associated with a client application executing on the wireless device 22 to receive the user data from the wireless device 22.

39. The method of the previous example, further comprising: at the host 13, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the wireless device 22, the input data being provided by executing the host application 92, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application 92.

40. A host 13 configured to operate in a communication system 10 to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host 13 comprising: processing circuitry 80 configured to provide user data; and a network interface 86 configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node 16 in a cellular network for transmission to a wireless device 22, the network node 16 having a communication interface 34 and processing circuitry 36, the processing circuitry 36 of the network node 16 configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B examples to transmit the user data from the host 13 to the wireless device 22.

41. The host 13 of the previous example, wherein: the processing circuitry 80 of the host 13 is configured to execute a host application 92 that provides the user data; and the wireless device 22 comprises processing circuitry 48 configured to execute a client application associated with the host application 92 to receive the transmission of user data from the host 13.

42. A method implemented in a host 13 configured to operate in a communication system 10 that further includes a network node 16 and a wireless device 22, the method comprising: providing user data for the wireless device 22; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the wireless device 22 via a cellular network comprising the network node 16, wherein the network node 16 performs any of the operations of any of the Group B examples to transmit the user data from the host 13 to the wireless device 22.

43. The method of the previous example, further comprising, at the network node 16, transmitting the user data provided by the host 13 for the wireless device 22.

44. The method of any of the previous 2 examples, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application 92 that interacts with a client application executing on the wireless device 22, the client application being associated with the host application 92.

45. A communication system 10 configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system 10 comprising: a host 13 comprising: processing circuitry 80 configured to provide user data for a wireless device 22, the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface 86 configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the wireless device 22, the network node 16 having a communication interface 34 and processing circuitry 36, the processing circuitry 36 of the network node 16 configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B examples to transmit the user data from the host 13 to the wireless device 22.

46. The communication system 10 of the previous example, further comprising: the network node 16; and/or the wireless device 22.

47. A host 13 configured to operate in a communication system 10 to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host 13 comprising: processing circuitry 80 configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface 86 configured to receive the user data from a network node 16 in a cellular network, the network node 16 having a communication interface 34 and processing circuitry 36, the processing circuitry 36 of the network node 16 configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B examples to receive the user data from a wireless device 22 for the host 13.

48. The host 13 of the previous 2 examples, wherein: the processing circuitry 80 of the host 13 is configured to execute a host application 92, thereby providing the user data; and the host application 92 is configured to interact with a client application executing on the wireless device 22, the client application being associated with the host application 92.

49. The host 13 of the any of the previous 2 examples, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

50. A method implemented by a host 13 configured to operate in a communication system 10 that further includes a network node 16 and a wireless device 22, the method comprising: at the host 13, initiating receipt of user data from the wireless device 22, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node 16 has received from the wireless device 22, wherein the network node 16 performs any of the steps of any of the Group B examples to receive the user data from the wireless device 22 for the host 13.

51. The method of the previous example, further comprising at the network node 16, transmitting the received user data to the host 13.

Therefore, one or more embodiments described herein advantageously allows an IAB node 16 to assist a parent IAB node 16 to change its DL transmit power in order to allow for more flexible scheduling and thereby to use its own resources more efficiently. Further, this greater flexibility may come at only a small cost (e.g., minimal added signaling, etc.). Hence, overall network performance is increased.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices. Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s). lx RTT CDMA2000 lx Radio Transmission Technology

2G Second Generation

3G Third Generation

3 GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

4G Fourth Generation

5G Fifth Generation

6G Sixth Generation

AAC Advanced Audio Coding

ABS Almost Blank Subframe

AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

AP Access Point

AR Augmented Reality

ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit

ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode

AUSF Authentication Server Function

AVC Advanced Video Coding

AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

BCH Broadcast Channel

BS Base Station

BSC Base Station Controller BTS Base Transceiver Station

CA Carrier Aggregation

CC Carrier Component

CCCH SDU Common Control Channel Service Data Unit

CD Compact Disk

CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access

CGI Cell Global Identifier

CIR Channel Impulse Response

CP Cyclic Prefix

CPE Customer Premise Equipment

CPICH Common Pilot Channel

CPU Central Processing Unit

CQI Channel Quality information

C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier

CSI Channel State Information

D2D Device-to-Device

DAS Distributed Antenna System

DASH Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over Hypertext Transfer

Protocol

DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

DCI Downlink Control Information

DIMM Dual In-line Memory Module

DL Downlink

DL-RS Downlink Reference Signal

DM Demodulation

DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

DRX Discontinuous Reception

DSP Digital Signal Processor

DSRC Dedicated Short-Range Communication

DTX Discontinuous Transmission

DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel

DUT Device Under Test

DVD Digital Video Disk

ECGI Evolved Cell Global Identifier

E-CID Enhanced Cell Identifier (positioning method) Ec/No CPICH received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band

EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory eMBB enhanced Mobile Broadband eMBMS evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services eMTC enhanced Machine Type Communication eNB evolved Node B EN-DC Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network New Radio - Dual Connectivity ePDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

E-SMLC Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre eUICC embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network

FDD Frequency Division Duplex

FFS For Further Study

FLAC Free Lossless Audio Codec

FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array gNB NR Node B GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System GPS Global Positioning System

GSM Global System for Mobile Communications

HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

HDDS Holographic Digital Data Storage

HD-DVD High Density Digital Versatile Disc

HEVC High Efficiency Video Coding

HLS Hypertext Transfer Protocol Live Streaming

HO Handover

HRPD High Rate Packet Data

HSPA High Speed Packet Access

HSS Home Subscriber Server

HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol IAB Integrated Access and Backhaul

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers loT Internet of Things

ISIM Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module iUICC integrated Universal Integrated Circuit Card LEE Laptop Embedded Equipment LME Laptop Mounted Equipment

LoRaWAN Long Range Wide Area Network

LOS Line of Sight

LPP Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol

LPWAN Low Power Wide Area Network

LTE Long Term Evolution

M2M Machine-to-Machine

MAC Medium Access Control

MAC Message Authentication Code

MCE Multi -Cell/Multicast Coordination Entity

MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

MIB Master Information Block

MME Mobility Management Entity mMTC Massive Machine Type Communication mmW Millimeter Wave MPEG Moving Picture Experts Group

MR-DC Multi -Radio Dual Connectivity

MSC Mobile Switching Center

MSR Multi -Standard Radio

MTC Machine Type Communication multi-TRP multiple Transmission Point NB-IoT Narrowband Internet of Things NEF Network Exposure Function NFC Near Field Communication

NFV Network Function Virtualization

NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel

NR New Radio O&M Operation and Maintenance OCNG Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access Channel

Noise Generator

OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

OSS Operations Support System

OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival

OTT Over-The-Top

PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel

PCell Primary Cell

PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

PDA Personal Digital Assistant

PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

PDP Profile Delay Profile

PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

PGW Packet Gateway

PHICH Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Indicator

Channel

PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

PMI Precoder Matrix Indicator

PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

PROM Programmable Read Only Memory

PRS Positioning Reference Signal

PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

QUIC Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection

RACH Random Access Channel

RAID Redundant Array of Independent Disks

RAM Random Access Memory

RAN Radio Access Network

RAT Radio Access Technology

RF Radio Frequency RFID Radio Frequency Identification

RLC Radio Link Control

RUM Radio Link Management

RNC Radio Network Controller

RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

ROM Read Only Memory

RRC Radio Resource Control

RRH Remote Radio Head

RRM Radio Resource Management

RRU Remote Radio Unit

RS Reference Signal

RSCP Received Signal Code Power

RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR

Reference Signal Received Power

RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR

Reference Symbol Received Quality

RS SI Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

RTMP Real-Time Messaging Protocol

RTSP Real-Time Streaming Protocol

SCH Synchronization Channel

SCell Secondary Cell

SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

SDRAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

SDU Service Data Unit

SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy

SFN System Frame Number

SGW Serving Gateway

SI System Information

SIB System Information Block

SIM Subscriber Identity Module

SMF Session Management Function

SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

SOC System on a Chip

SON Self-Organizing Network SONET Synchronous Optical Networking

SS Synchronization Signal

SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Intemet Protocol

TDD Time Division Duplex

TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

TOA Time of Arrival

TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

TTI Transmission Time Interval

UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

UE User Equipment

UICC Universal Integrated Circuit Card

UL Uplink

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

UPF User Plane Function

URLLC Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication

USB Universal Serial Bus

USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module

UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival

V2I Vehicle-to-Infrastructure

V2V Vehi cl e-to- Vehicle

V2X Vehicle-to-Everything

VM Virtual Machine

VMM Virtual Machine Monitor

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol

VR Virtual Reality

VVC Versatile Video Coding

WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiplexing Access

WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

WLAN Wide Local Area Network

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A first integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node (16) in communication with a second IAB node (16), the first IAB node (16) configured to: request an output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16), the requested output power adjustment being for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16); and receive a first medium access control -control element, MAC-CE, indicating the second IAB node (16) will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16), the adjustment of the output power being based on the requested output power adjustment.

2. The first IAB node (16) of Claim 1, wherein the first MAC-CE includes a first beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node (16) that will be adjusted.

3. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-2, wherein the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16) is indicated in a second MAC-CE, the second MAC-CE including a second beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB for which output power adjustment is being requested.

4. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-3, wherein the processing circuitry (36) is further configured to transmit a channel state information, CSI, report, the CSI report indicating whether the requested output power adjustment is for a next downlink transmission from the second IAB node (16).

5. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-2, wherein the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16) is indicated in a channel state information, CSI, report for link adaption.

6. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-5, wherein the requested output power adjustment corresponds to at least one adjustment value, the at least one adjustment value being a positive value or negative value.

7. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-6, wherein the requested output power adjustment is configured to be applied to one of a subset of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node (16); and all of the plurality of transmission beams.

8. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-7, wherein the processing circuitry (36) is further configured to: receive a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, from the second IAB node (16); estimate a value of a reception performance metric based on the received DL-RS; and determine a requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16), the requested output power adjustment being based on the determined requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16).

9. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-8, wherein the processing circuitry (36) is further configured to measure a performance metric associated with a reference signal, RS, from a third IAB node (16), the requested output power adjustment being based on the measured performance metric associated with the RS from the third IAB node (16).

10. The first IAB node (16) of Claim 9, wherein the performance metric is determined per transmission beam of the second IAB node (16) based on one of a transmission configuration indicator, TCI, state, synchronization signal block, SSB, and CSLRS.

1 l.The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-10, wherein the first IAB node (16) includes an lAB-mobile termination, IAB-MT, and an IAB -distributed unit, IAB-DU, the simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16) corresponding to performing communication with the second IAB node (16) using the IAB-MT simultaneously with communication with a third node using the IAB-DU.

12. The first IAB node (16) of Claim 11, wherein the second IAB node (16) is a parent IAB node (16) to the first IAB node (16); and the third IAB node (16) is a child IAB node (16) to the first IAB node (16).

13. The first IAB node (16) of any one of Claims 1-12, wherein the first MAC-CE is a downlink power adjustment MAC-CE.

14. A method implemented by a first integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node (16) in communication with a second IAB node (16), the method comprising: requesting (S60) an output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16), the requested output power adjustment being for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16); and receiving (S70) a first medium access control -control element, MAC-CE, indicating the second IAB node (16) will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16), the adjustment of the output power being based on the requested output power adjustment.

15. The method of Claim 14, wherein the first MAC-CE includes a first beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node (16) that will be adjusted.

16. The method of any one of Claims 14-15, wherein the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16) is indicated in a second MAC-CE, the second MAC-CE including a second beam indication indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node (16) for which output power adjustment is being requested.

17. The method of any one of Claims 14-16, further comprising transmitting a channel state information, CSI, report, the CSI report indicating whether the requested output power adjustment is for a next downlink transmission from the second IAB node (16).

18. The method of any one of Claims 14-15, wherein the requested output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16) is indicated in a channel state information, CSI, report for link adaption.

19. The method of any one of Claims 14-18, wherein the requested output power adjustment corresponds to at least one adjustment value, the at least one adjustment value being a positive value or negative value.

20. The method of any one of Claims 14-19, wherein the requested output power adjustment is configured to be applied to one of a subset of a plurality of transmission beams of the second IAB node (16); and all of the plurality of transmission beams.

21. The method of any one of Claims 14-20, further comprising: receiving a downlink reference signal, DL-RS, from the second IAB node (16); estimating a value of a reception performance metric based on the received DL-RS; and determining a requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16), the requested output power adjustment being based on the determined requested value of the reception performance metric for the at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16).

22. The method of any one of Claims 14-21, further comprising measuring a performance metric associated with a reference signal, RS, from a third IAB node (16), the requested output power adjustment being based on the measured performance metric associated with the RS from the third IAB node (16).

23. The method of Claim 22, wherein the performance metric is determined per transmission beam of the second IAB node (16) based on one of a transmission configuration indicator, TCI, state, synchronization signal block, SSB, and CSLRS.

24. The method of any one of Claims 14-23, wherein the first IAB node (16) includes an lAB-mobile termination, IAB-MT, and an IAB -distributed unit, IAB-DU, the simultaneous communication at the first IAB node (16) corresponding to performing communication with the second IAB node (16) using the IAB-MT simultaneously with communication with a third node using the IAB-DU.

25. The method of Claim 24, wherein the second IAB node (16) is a parent IAB node (16) to the first IAB node (16); and the third IAB node (16) is a child IAB node (16) to the first IAB node (16).

26. The method of any one of Claims 14-25, wherein the first MAC-CE is a downlink power adjustment MAC-CE.

27. A computer readable medium (40) storing executable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor (38) to: request an output power adjustment for simultaneous communication at a first integrated access and backhaul, IAB, node (16), the requested output power adjustment being for adjustment of an output power of at least one transmission beam of a second IAB node (16); and receive a first medium access control -control element, MAC-CE, indicating the second IAB node (16) will adjust the output power of at least one transmission beam of the second IAB node (16), the adjustment of the output power being based on the requested output power adjustment.