WO2023067570A1 - Methods and nodes to facilitate simultaneous l1-rsrp measurements on multiple trp in inter-cell bm - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a method in a UE, configured with a plurality of Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs). The method comprises: determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation associated with a reference TRP; and in response to determining that the one or more TRPs meet the timing relation, performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs within a measurement time.

Description

Methods and nodes to facilitate simultaneous L1-RSRP measurements on multiple TRP in inter-cell BM

Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefits of priority of Patent Application No. 202111048032, entitled “Methods and nodes to facilitate simultaneous Ll-RSRP measurements on multiple TRP in inter-cell BM’ and filed at the Indian Patent Office on October 21, 2021, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] New Radio (NR) is designed to operate in higher frequency (mm wave frequencies) bands such as bands in the range of 24.2GHz to 71 GHz, which is also called as frequency range 2 (FR2). In the high frequency bands, the received signal power is attenuated with the square of frequency and the range of reception for these bands will be smaller compared to lower frequency bands. To achieve better coverage with the same transmission power for higher frequency bands, more antenna gain is required. More antenna gain can be achieved with the concept called beam forming. However, beam forming results in narrower beams. With beams becoming narrower, it is impossible to cover the entire area of a cell (as in the case of Long Term Evolution (LTE)) with one narrow beam. Hence, multiple narrow beams are required to be transmitted for covering the entire cell area.

[0003] Further lower frequency bands, such as bands in the range of 410 MHz to 6000 (or 7120) MHz also support beam forming and multiple beams to be transmitted to cover the cell coverage area.

[0004] Beam management (BM)

[0005] Considering multiple beam support to cover the cell area, and the UE mobility, mobility handling between beams have been specified in NR. With multiple narrow beams used, each beam is only optimal within a small area, and the signal strength outside the optimal beam area deteriorates quickly. Hence, frequent and fast beam switching may be needed to maintain high performance and continuous connectivity.

[0006] As shown in FIG. 1, multiple Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs) can be deployed under a single cell or multiple cells. In one example, TRPs can be considered as radio units and the scheduling for these TRPs can be assumed to be performed at a distributed unit (DU). [0007] In some examples, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) may be transmitted to a User Equipment (UE) from multiple TRPs. Since different TRPs may be located in different physical locations and have different beams, the propagation channels can be different. Based on UE mobility and propagation channel conditions, the UE may need to be switched from one TRP to another TRP. Since these beam switches can be faster than cell switches, to enable faster beam or TRP switching, the UE needs to measure the beam strength using low latency measurements, such as Layer 1 (LI) measurements (e.g. Ll-Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)).

[0008] Ll-RSRP measurements for reporting

[0009] When configured by the network, the UE shall be able to perform Ll-RSRP measurements of configured Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or CSI-RS and SSB resources for Ll-RSRP. In Release (Rel)- 16, the Ll-RSRP measurements shall be performed by the UE only for a serving cell, including Primay Cell, Primary Secondary Cell, or Secondary Cell (SCell), on the resources configured for Ll-RSRP measurements within the active Bandwidth Part (BWP). Ll-RSRP reporting is part of the link recovery procedure, which may also be called as a beam management procedure.

[0010] In Rel-16, the UE shall be able to measure all CSI-RS resources and/or SSB resources configured for Ll-RSRP for the active BWP, provided that the number of resources does not exceed the UE capability indicated by beamManagementSSB-CSI-RS. Where the Information element (IE) BeamManagementSSB-CSI-RS from Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.331 is shown below.

BeamManagementSSB-CSI-RS ::= SEQUENCE { maxNumberSSB-CSI-RS-ResourceOneTx ENUMERATED {n0, n8, nl6, n32, n64}, maxNumberCSI-RS-Resource ENUMERATED {n0, n4, n8, nl6, n32, n64}, maxNumberCSI-RS-ResourceTwoTx ENUMERATED {n0, n4, n8, nl6, n32, n64}, supportedCSI-RS-Density ENUMERATED {one, three, oneAndThree} OPTIONAL, maxNumberAperiodicCSI-RS-Resource ENUMERATED {n0, nl, n4, n8, nl6, n32, n64}

}

[0011] In Rel-16 and 17, a UE may be connected to two different TRPs at the same time to receive/transmit data from/to TRPs. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the UE is connected to TRP1 (which is associated with Physical Cell identifier (PCI)-l) and TRP2 (which is associated with PCI-2). In Rel-17, the UE is expected to be connected to a serving TRP (e.g. TRP1) all the time; it can be also connected to other TRPs. The other TRPs can be changed based on the signal strength of these TRPs. In this case, the serving TRP is mainly used for transmitting control information and the other TRPs are used for better throughput. If the UE moves within the larger underlying coverage area of TRP 1 as shown in FIG. 2, the UE may be switched from TRP2 to TRP3 or TRP4, etc., while maintaining connectivity with TRP1. To achieve this, the UE needs to measure Ll- RSRP on these TRPs (configured or detected neighbor TRPs, which are connected to the same DU but has different PCIs) periodically. [0012] The UE aggregates capability with regards to (w.r.t) the maximum number of beams measured for Ll-RSRP measurements for all PCIs, which may be the same as a single PCI. For example, the maximum number of SSBs to be measured by the UE as part of the CSI reporting framework may be the same, independently of how many PCIs are transmitted.

SUMMARY

[0013] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In inter-cell multiple TRPs (mTRP) of Rel- 17, the UE needs to be connected to two TRPs at the same time to receive and transmit data from the serving TRP/PCI and other PCIs/TRPs. Since the UE needs to receive data from both the serving TRP/PCI and the other TRPs/PCIs, the UE needs to maintain timing relationship with the serving TRP/PCI and the other TRPs/PCIs.

[0014] However, for inter-cell BM, the UE may be configured to measure up to 8 TRPs including the serving cell (serving TRP). Since these TRPs are assumed to be non-collocated, the time difference observed by the UE from these TRPs can be up to 3ps (assuming inter-TRP distance of 900m). Therefore, it may be difficult for the UE to measure more than one TRP at a time, while maintaining the different timing relationships with the different TRPs.

[0015] In this case, Ll-RSRP measurements from the different TRPs may have to be measured in Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) fashion. This results in longer measurement delay, which may affect the BM performance of inter-cell mTRP. Further, the UE may need to maintain up to 8 timing relationships with respect to the different TRPs to be measured, which results in higher UE complexity.

[0016] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0017] According to an embodiment, to reduce the latency of Ll-RSRP measurements on mTRPs, the UE can measure a TRP over a measurement time (Tm) provided that at least a receive timing proximity (RTP) condition is met for that TRP. Examples of conditions are:

[0018] - in one example, the RTP condition is met for a TRP, if the magnitude of the receive time difference between that TRP and a reference TRP at the UE is within a certain threshold;

[0019] - in another example, the RTP condition is met for a TRP provided that the signal from that TRP arrives at the UE is within two different time instances.

[0020] Examples of the reference TRP are serving TRP/PCI, other PCETRP, TRP with strongest received signal at the UE compared to received signals from other TRPs, TRP whose signal arrives first in time at the UE compared to the arrival of signals from other TRPs, TRP configured as reference TRP, etc. [0021] The number of TRPs to be measured simultaneously/in parallel within the Tm can be as follows:

[0022] - in one example, the UE measures all the TRPs within Tm which meet the at least one

RTP condition;

[0023] - in another example, the UE measures N number of TRPs within Tm provided that they meet the at least one RTP condition. The UE is not required to measure more than N TRPs if more than N TRPs meet the at least one RTP condition.

[0024] The disclosure also provides a UE reporting measurement result for TRPs which meet at least one RTP condition.

[0025] In one example, the report from the UE can be used at a network node (e.g. gNB) to schedule the RS from the TRPs at the same time, so that the UE can measure the Ll-RSRP on these TRPs at the same time.

[0026] According to an aspect, there are provided methods in a UE and methods in a network node for reducing the latency of measurements (Ll-RSRP) on multiple TRPs. A method in the UE may comprise: determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation associated with a reference TRP; and in response to determining that the one or more TRPs meet the timing relation, performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs within a measurement time. A method in the network node may comprise: receiving measurements from the UE, the measurements performed on a reference signal from one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs within a measurement time, the one or more TRPs meeting a timing relation associated with a reference TRP; and performing one or more operational tasks or procedures based on the measurements.

[0027] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s):

[0028] - Reduction of measurement delay for measuring multiple TRPs at a UE;

[0029] - Efficient scheduling of RS at the gNB for UE Ll-RSRP measurement;

[0030] - Efficient beam management; and

[0031] - Enhancement and improvement in mobility across TRPs within multi-TRP.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Exemplary embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the following figures, in which:

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary Multi-TRP deployment.

[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary inter-cell multi-TRP with different cell ID (PCI).

[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a multi-TRP setup for beam management. [0036] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method in a UE, according to an embodiment.

[0037] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method in a network node, according to an embodiment.

[0038] FIG. 6 shows an example of a communication system, according to an embodiment.

[0039] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a UE, according to an embodiment.

[0040] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a network node, according to an embodiment.

[0041] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a host.

[0042] FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment.

[0043] FIG. 11 shows a communication diagram of a host

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0045] Terminology

[0046] In this disclosure, the term “node” is used to refer to a network node or a UE.

[0047] Examples of network nodes are NodeB (NB), base station (BS), multi -standard radio

(MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNB, gNB, MeNB, SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (CU) e.g. in a gNB, DU (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C- RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, TRP, RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. MSC, MME, etc.), O&M, OSS, SON, location server (e.g. LMF, E-SMLC, SUPL SLP) etc. The location server may also be called as a positioning node or positioning server.

[0048] The non-limiting term “UE” refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UEs are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, etc.

[0049] The term “radio access technology” (RAT) may refer to any RAT, e.g. UTRA, E- UTRA, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, NR, 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms “node, network node or radio network node” may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs. [0050] The term “signal” or “radio signal” used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of Downlink (DL) physical signals are RS such as Primary synchronization signal (PSS), Secondary SS (SSS), CSI-RS, DMRS, signals in SSB, DRS, CRS, TRS, PRS, DRS, etc. RS may be periodic, e.g. RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g. 20 ms, 40 ms, etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR- SSS and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols. One or multiple SSBs can be transmitted in one SSB burst, which is repeated with a certain periodicity, e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of a certain carrier frequency by one or more SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprises parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset w.r.t reference time (e.g. serving cell’s System Frame Number (SFN)), etc. Therefore, SMTC occasions may also occur with a certain periodicity, e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. Examples of uplink (UL) physical signals are RS such as SRS, DMRS etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information, e.g. data, control, etc. Examples of physical channels are PBCH, NPBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, sPUCCH, sPDSCH, sPUCCH, sPUSCH, MPDCCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, E-PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, NPUSCH, etc.

[0051] The term “time resource” used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, Transmission Time interval (TTI), interleaving time, slot, subslot, mini-slot, SFN cycle, hyper-SFN cycle (e.g. 10 SFN cycles) etc.

[0052] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary scenario for a mTRP setup for beam management. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a UE is connected to at least a serving cell or serving radio node (e.g. serving TRP (TRP-s)).

[0053] According to the NR Rel-17 capabilities, the UE may further be configured to receive from one or more of: a non-serving cell or non-serving radio node (e.g. non-serving TRP-N) or another radio node (e.g. another TRP), etc. The UE is configured to receive one or more channels (e.g. PDSCH and PDCCH) from the serving and/or from the non-serving cell (if configured). Also, TRP-s and TRP-N may further be associated with different PCIs, e.g. with PCH and PCI2 respectively. A non-serving cell may be defined as a cell with a PCI which is different from the serving cell PCI. Another name for a non-serving cell is an “additional cell”.

[0054] The UE may be configured by a TRP-s or serving cell (e.g., PCell, PSCell, SCell, etc.) to perform signal measurements (e.g. Ll-RSRP measurements, LI- Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR), etc.) on one or more neighbor cells or neighbor TRPs (such as TRP2, TRP3, TRP8) which may be detected or to be detected or are detectable. The UE may be configured to measure signal measurements (e.g. Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, etc.) on a maximum number, NMAX, (e.g., based on UE capability, it may be 7) of cells or TRPs which include other TRPs (serving TRP is not included in NMAX).

[0055] Note that the term “TRP” is a term that is not defined in 3GPP. When it is said that a UE is configured to measure on a TRP, it is meant that the UE is configured to measure on a given reference signal, an SSB or a CSI-RS, which is transmitted from that TRP. However, from the standard specification perspective, all that the UE needs to know is which SSB or CSI-RS to measure on, it does not know the identity of the “TRP” from which this reference signal or SSB was transmitted. That part is up to network implementation.

[0056] Each cell defining SSB is associated with a PCI. A CSI-RS configured for measurement may be configured to be quasi-co-located (QCLed) with an SSB. It means in practice that the SSB and the CSI-RS are transmitted from the same TRP and commonly also with the same radiation pattern (e.g. beam) from that TRP. Hence, the UE can use the SSB to assist reception of the CSI-RS since they experience similar radio channel. If that SSB is associated with a nonserving cell PCI or additional PCI, then it can also be said that the CSI-RS belongs to the nonserving cell.

[0057] In some examples, Ll-RSRP may refer to any type of signal measurements performed by the UE on a RS of a cell or TRP. Examples of signal measurements are Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, LI -Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), etc. To facilitate the UE to perform the measurements, the UE may be configured by a network node (e.g. serving TRP) with RS configuration related to the RSs transmitted by one or more TRPs. In one example, the RS configuration may comprise SSB configuration or SMTC configuration, e.g. periodicity, number of SSBs in SSB bursts, etc. In one example, the RS configuration may comprise CSI-RS configuration, e.g. periodicity of CSI-RS resource, number of CSI-RS resources in the CSI-RS resource occasion, etc.

[0058] In some examples, TRP may refer to any type of radio node transmitting at least RSs (e.g. SSB) used by the UE for measurements. The TRP may further be configured (e.g. by the serving TRP) for enabling the UE to operate one or more channels, e.g. receiving and/or transmitting channels. The TRP may also be called a cell.

[0059] In the following, a method in a UE for performing measurements (e.g. Ll-RSRP) in parallel on multiple TRPs will be described.

[0060] For example, the UE is configured by the network using RRC signalling, for example, to perform measurements on a target TRP (e.g. TRPm) over a measurement time (Tm) provided that at least one of the receive timing proximity (RTP) conditions is met for that TRP. The RTP defines a timing relation between a reception time at the UE of a signal transmitted by the target TRP and a reference time or a reference time window or time duration. The reference time can be a reception time at the UE of a signal from a reference TRP. The reference time window can be a difference between the reception times at the UE of signals from two different TRPs. The RTP condition can be determined based on a rule, which can be pre-defined or configured by the network node.

[0061] The UE may further be configured by the network to evaluate whether the UE meets at least one RTP condition periodically or on an event triggered basis or conditionally (e.g. when certain conditions or criterion are met). Examples of conditional or even triggered based evaluations are:

[0062] - for example, the UE may determine whether the UE meets at least one RTP condition for a TRP, before performing a measurement on a TRP;

[0063] - in another example, the UE may determine whether the UE meets at least one RTP condition for a TRP, if the signal level of a reference TRP falls below a certain threshold (Hs) (e.g. RSRP of the serving TRP is below Hs, and/or RSRP of the non-serving TRP is below Hs, etc.). The threshold Hs can be pre-defined or configured by the network node;

[0064] - in another example, the UE may determine whether the UE meets at least one RTP condition for a TRP, if the magnitude of the receive time difference between a signal received at the UE from TRP-s and a signal received at the UE from TRP-N exceeds a certain threshold (HSN). The threshold HSN can be pre-defined or configured by the network node.

[0065] Some examples of rules related to the RTP conditions are described below:

[0066] 1) In one example, the RTP condition is met for TRPm, if the magnitude of the receive time difference (AT) between a signal (Sm) received at the UE from the TRPm (e.g. TRP which may be measured) and a signal (Sr) received at the UE from a reference TRP (e.g. TRPr) at the UE is within a certain time difference threshold (Ht), where: AT = Tm - Tr

[0067] with Tm = the time instance or moment when the UE receives the signal, Sm, from TRPm (i.e. Sm is transmitted by TRPm);

[0068] with Tr = the time instance or moment when the UE receives the signal, Sr, from TRPr (i.e. Sr is transmitted by TRPr).

[0069] Examples of signals of Sm and Sr can be reference signals, e.g. SSB, CSI-RS, etc.

[0070] The threshold, Ht, can be pre-defined or configured by the network node. In one example, Ht may correspond to or is a function of a maximum receive time difference (MRTD) requirement, e.g. Ht = f(a, MRTD), where a is a margin. [0071] Examples of the function can be a maximum, minimum, sum, ceil, floor, product, xth, percentile, etc. In one specific example, the threshold can be given as follows, Ht = a + MRTD. [0072] In some examples, a = 0, or a < 0, or a > 0.

[0073] Examples of reference TRP (TRPr) are:

[0074] - Serving TRP (e g. TRP1),

[0075] - Non-serving TRP (e g. TRP2),

[0076] - TRP with strongest received signal (e.g. received power of RS) at the UE compared to received signals of other TRPs,

[0077] - TRP whose signal arrives first in time at the UE compared to the arrival of signals of other TRPs,

[0078] - TRP configured as reference TRP based on pre-defined rule or by the network node, etc.

[0079] 2) In another example, the RTP condition is met for TRPm provided that the UE can receive a signal (Sm) transmitted by TRPm (or Sm arrives at the UE) within time instances or between time instances: Ti ±5ti and T2 ±5t2.

[0080] Where: Ti and T2 are different time instances or moments at the UE and 5ti and 5t2 are margins. In one example, Ti and/or T2 may be configured by the network node. In another example, Ti can be the time of arrival of the signal from a first TRP (TRP1) and T2 can be the time of arrival of the signal from a second TRP (TRP2). In one example: 5ti =0 and/or ±5t2 =0. In another example: 5ti < 0 and/or ±5t2 < 0. In another example: 5ti > 0 and/or ±5t2 > 0, etc.

[0081] In one example, TRP1 can be a serving TRP (TRP-s) and TRP2 can be a non-serving TRP (TRP-N). In another example, TRP1 has the strongest received signal (e.g. highest or largest RSRP) at the UE compared to received signals from other TRPs. In some examples, TRP2 can have the second strongest received signal at the UE compared to received signals from other TRPs. [0082] Parallel measurements on multiple TRPs during Tm:

[0083] The UE may be able to perform measurements on a set of TRPs during the same measurement time, Tm, provided that the UE meets at least one RTP condition for all the TRPs in that set. The measurement time may be called a measurement period, an evaluation period, a cell detection or an identification period, a beam index (e.g. SSB index) acquisition or a detection period, etc. The performing of the measurements on a TRP may refer to performing the measurement on the signal (e.g. RS) transmitted by that TRP. The measurements performed on multiple TRPs during Tm may be referred to or called as simultaneous measurements or parallel measurements. The UE may however obtain measurement samples for measurements on different TRPs at the same time or at different times. The measurement sampling is up to UE implementation.

[0084] The number of TRPs to be measured by the UE simultaneously/parallel within Tm, if the at least one RTP condition is met, may be pre-defined or configured:

[0085] - 1) in one example, the UE performs or is expected to perform or is required to perform measurements on all those TRPs within Tm, which meet the at least one RTP condition. The UE may further be required to meet one or more additional conditions (e.g. radio conditions) for a TRP in order to perform the measurements. Examples of radio conditions are minimum received signal level (e.g. SSB received power (RS RP e.g. SSB RP, CSI-RS RP, etc.), SINR, SNR, RS Es/Iot (e.g. SSB Es/Iot, CSI-RS Es/Iot, etc.). For example, the UE performs or is required to perform measurements on a TRP provided that the UE meets at least one RTP condition and one or more radio conditions are met for that TRP. The radio condition is met for a TRP provided that the RSRP of that TRP is equal to or larger than a certain threshold (Hrp) and/or RS Es/Iot is equal to or larger than a certain threshold (Hes). Hrp may further depends on one or more of the frequency band, numerology of the signal (e.g. subcarrier spacing (SCS), Cyclic Prefix (CP) length, etc.). In one example, Hrp = -127 dBm for 2 GHz band and 15 kHz SCS. One other example of Hes can be -3 dB. Another example of Hes can -6 dB.

[0086] - 2) in another example, the UE performs or is expected to perform or is required to perform measurements on N number of TRPs within Tm provided that they meet the at least one RTP condition. The UE may further be required to meet one or more additional conditions (e.g. radio conditions) for each of the N number of TRPs in order to perform the measurements. The examples of the radio conditions given in the example above also apply in this example.

[0087] - 3) in another example, the UE is not expected to perform or is not required to perform or may not perform measurements on more than N number of TRPs if more than N TRPs meet the at least one RTP condition.

[0088] - 4) in the above examples, N can be pre-defined or configured by the network node.

[0089] In the above examples, Es/Iot is defined as follows:

[0090] Es: Received energy per resource element (RE) (power normalized to the subcarrier spacing) during the useful part of the symbol, i.e. excluding the CP, at the UE antenna connector; [0091] lot: The received power spectral density of the total noise and interference for a certain RE (power integrated over the RE and normalized to the subcarrier spacing) as measured at the UE antenna connector.

[0092] The UE can use the results of the measurements (e.g. LI -RSRP along with PCI of the TRP, etc.) performed on one or more TRPs for one or more operational tasks or procedures. Examples of such tasks are: transmitting the results to a network node (e.g. to TRPs), using the results for one or more mobility related functions (e.g. TRP change, handover. Etc.).

[0093] The simultaneous/parallel measurements on multiple TRPs within Tm reduces the latency of the Ll-RSRP measurements. This in turn enhances and improves the beam management.

[0094] FIG. 4 illustrates a method 100 in the UE, configured with a plurality of TRPs, for performing simultaneous measurements on a set of TRPs in the plurality of TRPs, for example. Method 100 comprises:

[0095] Step 110: determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation associated with a reference TRP; and

[0096] Step 120: in response to determining that the one or more TRPs meet the timing relation, performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs within a measurement time.

[0097] As a note, a set of TRPs can comprise one or more TRPs.

[0098] In some examples, the timing relation can be a receive timing proximity (RTP). In some examples, the measurements can be one or more of Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, Ll-RSRQ.

[0099] In some examples, determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation can be based on a condition or an event.

[0100] In some examples, determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation may comprise determining that a magnitude of a receive time difference (AT) between a signal (Sm) received at the UE from one of the one or more TRPs and a signal received at the UE from a reference TRP at the UE is within a certain time difference threshold (Ht). In some examples, determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation may comprise determining that a signal level of a reference TRP falls below a certain threshold (Hs).

[0101] In some examples, determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation may comprise determining that a signal (Sm) transmitted by one of the one or more TRPs is received within time instances (e.g. Ti ±5ti and T2 ±5t2).

[0102] In some examples, determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation can be further based on a condition or an event.

[0103] In some examples, the condition may comprise determining that a signal level of the reference TRP falls below a certain threshold.

[0104] In some examples, the condition may comprise determining that a received power of a reference signal of one of the one or more TRPs is equal to or larger than a certain threshold (e.g. Hrp). In some examples, the UE may determine that one or more TRPs meet a condition related to a radio condition and in response to the determining, the UE may perform measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs (which meet the radio condition).

[0105] In some examples, performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs may be done for a number N of TRPs among the plurality of TRPs within the measurement time. As an example, the number N can be configured or indicated by a network node. In some examples, performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs may comprise performing measurements on all the TRPs that meet the timing relation within the measurement time.

[0106] In some examples, the UE may report the measurements to a network node. In some examples, the UE may perform one or more operational tasks or procedures (e.g. using the results for one or more mobility related functions (e.g. TRP change, handover, etc.) based on the measurements. In some examples, the reference TRP can be a serving TRP associate with a PCI, a TRP with the strongest received signal at the UE compared to received signals from other TRPs, a TRP whose signals arrive first in time at the UE compared to the arrival of signals from other TRPs, or a TRP configured as the reference TRP, or a currently active TRP.

[0107] In the following, a method in a network node of receiving and using Ll-RSRP results for radio procedures will be described.

[0108] For example, once the UE has the measurements Ll-RSRP of the TRPs within the Tm and satisfying at least one RTP conditions, the UE may report the TRPs and/or their measurements to the network node (e.g. gNB). In other words, the UE may report the measurements of the TRPs whose magnitude of the receive time difference between a TRP to be measured and a reference TRP at the UE is within a certain threshold. In some examples, the report from the UE can be used at the gNB to schedule the RSs from the TRPs at the same time, so that the UE can measure the Ll-RSRP on these TRPs at the same time.

[0109] Examples of a reference TRP that the UE considers for measuring the receive time difference are serving TRP/PCI, other PC I/TRP, TRP with the strongest received signal at the UE compared to received signals from other TRPs, the TRP whose signals arrive first in time at the UE compared to the arrival of signals from other TRPs, TRP configured/indicated as the reference TRP, etc. In some examples, the UE can be explicitly configured by the network for TRPs measurements in parallel (e.g. explicit configuration based assistance from the network).

[0110] For example, the network node configures the UE with the identifiers of the TRPs that the UE is supposed to use for the reference timing associated to the reference signal measurement of all the TRPs configured with mTRP operation. [OHl] This information can be explicitly configured. The associated configuration also includes an indication of which other TRP related RS measurement shall use which timing reference, i.e., for example, a UE would be configured with PCI-1 and PCI-4 as the reference timing sources and to use PCI-1’ s timing as the reference for the PCI-2, PCI-3 related measurements, whereas to use the PCI-4’ s timing as the reference for the PCI-5 and PCI-6 related measurement. In some other examples, this association between the reference timing and TRPs to be measured can be changed using an RRC message or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) that indicates to the UE the new relation between the TRPs to be measured and their corresponding timing reference source. As an example, a MAC CE might include the TRP index to be used for the reference followed by the TRP identifiers (indices) that use this TRP as the timing reference. In other examples, the UE uses the currently active TRPs as the reference timing sources.

[0112] Now turning to FIG. 5, a method 200 in a network node/TRP configured to communicate with a UE configured with a plurality of TRPs will be described. Method 200 comprises:

[0113] Step 210: receiving measurements from the UE, the measurements performed on a reference signal from one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs within a measurement time, the one or more TRPs meeting a timing relation associated with a reference TRP; and

[0114] Step 220: performing one or more operational tasks or procedures based on the measurements.

[0115] In some examples, the timing relation can be a receive timing proximity (RTP). In some examples, the measurements can be one or more of Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, LI- RSRQ.

[0116] In some examples, the network node may send an indication of a number N of TRPs on which the measurements are performed.

[0117] In some examples, the number of received measurements corresponds to the number of all the TRPs that meet the timing relation within the measurement time.

[0118] In some examples, the reference TRP is one of a serving TRP associated with a PCI, a TRP with the strongest received signal at the UE compared to received signals from other TRPs, a TRP whose signals arrives first in time at the UE compared to arrival of signals from other TRPs, a TRP configured as the reference TRP, and a currently active TRP.

[0119] FIG. 6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0120] In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610a and 610b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar 3 GPP access node or non- 3 GPP access point. The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UE, such as by connecting UEs 612a, 612b, 612c, and 612d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.

[0121] 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 600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, 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 600 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

[0122] The UEs 612 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 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 612 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 602 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 602.

[0123] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects the network nodes 610 to one or more hosts, such as host 616. 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 606 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 608. 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).

[0124] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and/or the telecommunication network 602 and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 616 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 UEs, 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.

[0125] As a whole, the communication system 600 of FIG. 6 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 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 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 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.

[0126] In some examples, the telecommunication network 602 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 602. For example, the telecommunications network 602 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0127] In some examples, the UEs 612 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0128] In the example, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 612c and/or 612d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610b). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0129] The hub 614 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610b. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612c and/or 612d), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 604 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 610b. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 610b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

[0130] FIG. 7 shows a UE 700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, 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 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0131] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to- everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0132] The UE 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input/output interface 706, a power source 708, a memory 710, a communication interface 712, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 7. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0133] The processing circuitry 702 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 710. The processing circuitry 702 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 702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any steps of method 100 of FIG. 4. [0134] In the example, the input/output interface 706 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 UE 700. 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 presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, 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.

[0135] In some embodiments, the power source 708 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 708 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 708 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 700 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 708. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 708 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 700 to which power is supplied.

[0136] The memory 710 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 710 includes one or more application programs 714, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 716. The memory 710 may store, for use by the UE 700, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. [0137] The memory 710 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 random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or 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 ‘SIM card.’ The memory 710 may allow the UE 700 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 710, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0138] The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 712. The communication interface 712 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 722. The communication interface 712 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 UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 718 and/or a receiver 720 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 718 and receiver 720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 722) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0139] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 712 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0140] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 712, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. 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). [0141] As another example, a UE 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 UE 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.

[0142] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (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 TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (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 UE 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 UE 700 shown in FIG. 7.

[0143] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE 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 UE and/or a network node. The UE 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 UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0144] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE 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 UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0145] FIG. 8 shows a network node 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NBs (gNBs)).

[0146] Base stations 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 base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0147] Other examples of network nodes 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 base station 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).

[0148] The network node 800 includes a processing circuitry 802, a memory 804, a communication interface 806, and a power source 808. The network node 800 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NB component and a 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 800 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 NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 800 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 800 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 800, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, 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 network node 800.

[0149] The processing circuitry 802 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 800 components, such as the memory 804, to provide network node 800 functionality. The processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any of the steps of method 200 of FIG. 5.

[0150] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and the baseband processing circuitry 814 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 RF transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0151] The memory 804 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 802. The memory 804 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 802 and utilized by the network node 800. The memory 804 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 802 and/or any data received via the communication interface 806. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 and memory 804 is integrated.

[0152] The communication interface 806 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 806 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 816 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 806 also includes radio front-end circuitry 818 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 810. Radio front-end circuitry 818 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be connected to an antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 820 and/or amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 810. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 810 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 818. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 802. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

[0153] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 800 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 818, instead, the processing circuitry 802 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 is part of the communication interface 806. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 806 includes one or more ports or terminals 816, the radio front-end circuitry 818, and the RF transceiver circuitry 812, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 806 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 814, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0154] The antenna 810 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 810 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 818 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 810 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 800 through an interface or port.

[0155] The antenna 810, communication interface 806, and/or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 810, the communication interface 806, and/or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

[0156] The power source 808 provides power to the various components of network node 800 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 808 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 800 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 800 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 808. As a further example, the power source 808 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.

[0157] Embodiments of the network node 800 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 8 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 800 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 800 and to allow output of information from the network node 800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 800.

[0158] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a host 900, which may be an embodiment of the host 616 of FIG. 6, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 900 may be or comprise various combinations 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 900 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0159] The host 900 includes processing circuitry 902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 904 to an input/output interface 906, a network interface 908, a power source 910, and a memory 912. 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. 7 and 8, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 900.

[0160] The memory 912 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 914 and data 916, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 900 or data generated by the host 900 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 900 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 914 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), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., 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, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 914 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 900 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 914 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 (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0161] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1000 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 1000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

[0162] Applications 1002 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. [0163] Hardware 1004 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 1006 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1008a and 1008b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1008), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1006 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1008.

[0164] The VMs 1008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1006. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1002 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1008, 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.

[0165] In the context of NFV, a VM 1008 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 1008, and that part of hardware 1004 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, 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 1008 on top of the hardware 1004 and corresponds to the application 1002.

[0166] Hardware 1004 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1004 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1004 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 1010, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1002. In some embodiments, hardware 1004 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 radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1012 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0167] FIG. 11 shows a communication diagram of a host 1102 communicating via a network node 1104 with a UE 1106 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 612a of FIG. 6 and/or UE 700 of FIG. 7), network node (such as network node 610a of FIG. 6 and/or network node 800 of FIG. 8), and host (such as host 616 of FIG. 6 and/or host 900 of FIG. 9) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 11.

[0168] Like host 900, embodiments of host 1102 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1102 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1102 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 UE 1106 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1150 extending between the UE 1106 and host 1102. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1150.

[0169] The network node 1104 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1102 and UE 1106. The connection 1160 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 606 of FIG. 6) 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.

[0170] The UE 1106 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1106 and executable by the UE’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 UE 1106 with the support of the host 1102. In the host 1102, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1150 terminating at the UE 1106 and host 1102. In providing the service to the user, the UE'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 1150 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1150.

[0171] The OTT connection 1150 may extend via a connection 1160 between the host 1102 and the network node 1104 and via a wireless connection 1170 between the network node 1104 and the UE 1106 to provide the connection between the host 1102 and the UE 1106. The connection 1160 and wireless connection 1170, over which the OTT connection 1150 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1102 and the UE 1106 via the network node 1104, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0172] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1150, in step 1108, the host 1102 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 UE 1106. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1106 that shares data with the host 1102 without explicit human interaction. In step 1110, the host 1102 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1106. The host 1102 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1106. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1106 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1106. The transmission may pass via the network node 1104, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1112, the network node 1104 transmits to the UE 1106 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1102 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1114, the UE 1106 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1106 associated with the host application executed by the host 1102.

[0173] In some examples, the UE 1106 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1102. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1102. Accordingly, in step 1116, the UE 1106 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 UE 1106. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1106 initiates, in step 1118, transmission of the user data towards the host 1102 via the network node 1104. In step 1120, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1104 receives user data from the UE 1106 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1102. In step 1122, the host 1102 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1106.

[0174] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1106 using the OTT connection 1150, in which the wireless connection 1170 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as e.g., reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime. [0175] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1102. As another example, the host 1102 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1102 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1102 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1102 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1102 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.

[0176] 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 1150 between the host 1102 and UE 1106, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1102 and/or UE 1106. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1150 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1150 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1104. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1102. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1150 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0177] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) 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.

[0178] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. 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 hard-wired 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.

[0179] The above-described embodiments are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the description, which is defined solely by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) configured with a plurality of Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs), the method comprising:

- determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation associated with a reference TRP; and

- in response to determining that the one or more TRPs meet the timing relation, performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs within the measurement time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the timing relation is a receive timing proximity (RTP).

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the measurements are one or more of Layer 1 -Reference Signal Received Power (Ll-RSRP), LI- signal-to-noise ratio (SINR) and Ll-Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ).

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation comprises determining that a magnitude of a receive time difference between a signal received at the UE from one of the one or more TRPs and a signal received at the UE from the reference TRP at the UE is within a time difference threshold.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation comprises determining that a signal transmitted by one of the one or more TRPs is received within two time instances at the UE.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein determining that one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs meet a timing relation is further based on a condition or an event.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the condition comprises determining that a signal level of the reference TRP falls below a certain threshold.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the condition comprises determining that a received power of a reference signal of one of the one or more TRPs is equal to or larger than a threshold.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs comprises performing measurements on a number N of TRPs among the plurality of TRPs within the measurement time.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the number N is configured or indicated by a network node.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein performing measurements on a reference signal transmitted from the one or more TRPs comprises performing measurements on all the TRPs that meet the timing relation within the measurement time.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising reporting the measurements to a network node.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising performing one or more operational tasks or procedures based on the measurements.

14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the reference TRP is one of a serving TRP associated with a Physical Cell Identity (PCI), a TRP with the strongest received signal at the UE compared to received signals from other TRPs, a TRP whose signals arrives first in time at the UE compared to arrival of signals from other TRPs, a TRP configured as the reference TRP, and a currently active TRP.

15. A method performed by a network node configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) configured with a plurality of Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs), the method comprising:

- receiving measurements from the UE, the measurements performed on a reference signal from one or more TRPs among the plurality of TRPs within a measurement time, the one or more TRPs meeting a timing relation associated with a reference TRP; and

- performing one or more operational tasks or procedures based on the measurements.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the timing relation is a receive timing proximity (RTP).

17. The method of any one of claims 15 to 16, wherein the measurements are one or more of Layer 1-Reference Signal Received Power (Ll-RSRP), LI- signal-to-noise ratio (SINR) and Ll- Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ).

18. The method of any one of claims 15 to 17, further comprising sending an indication of a number N of TRPs on which the measurements are performed.

19. The method of any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein a number of received measurements corresponds to a number of all the TRPs that meet the timing relation within the measurement time.

20. A User Equipment (UE) comprising network interfaces and processing circuitry connected thereto, configured to perform any steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.

21. A network node comprising network interfaces and processing circuitry connected thereto, configured to perform any steps of the method of any one of claims 15 to 19.

22. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied in the medium, the computer readable program code comprising computer readable program code to operate according to any of the methods of any one of claims 1 to 19.