WO2023095037A1 - Logged mdt reporting involving inter-rat mobility - Google Patents

Logged mdt reporting involving inter-rat mobility Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023095037A1
WO2023095037A1 PCT/IB2022/061360 IB2022061360W WO2023095037A1 WO 2023095037 A1 WO2023095037 A1 WO 2023095037A1 IB 2022061360 W IB2022061360 W IB 2022061360W WO 2023095037 A1 WO2023095037 A1 WO 2023095037A1
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Prior art keywords
measurements
logged
rat
request
logged measurements
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PCT/IB2022/061360
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French (fr)
Inventor
Pradeepa Ramachandra
Mattias BERGSTRÖM
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Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
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Publication of WO2023095037A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023095037A1/en

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Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W24/00Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
    • H04W24/10Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates generally to communications, and more particularly to communication methods and related devices and nodes supporting wireless communications .
  • MDT Minimum of Drive Testing
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • the use cases for MDT include coverage optimization, mobility optimization, capacity optimization, parameterization for common channels and QoS verification.
  • RRM radio resource management
  • the trace function can be classified into management activation/deactivation and signaling-based activation/deactivation.
  • management activation/deactivation a trace session is activated/deactivated in different network elements (NE) directly from the element manager (EM) using the management interfaces of those NEs.
  • a trace session is activated/deactivated in different NEs using the signaling interfaces between those elements so that the NEs may forward the activation/deactivation originating from the EM.
  • MDT was standardized for New Radio (NR) in Rel-16 to reduce the amount of drive tests performed manually. It is a UE assisted framework in which network measurements are collected by both IDLE/INACTIVE and RRC Connected UE(s) in order to aid the network in gathering valuable information. It has been specified for both LTE and NR.
  • MDT measurement logging there are two types of MDT measurement logging, namely, logged MDT and immediate MDT.
  • Immediate MDT involves measurements performed by a UE in CONNECTED state and reporting of the measurements to RAN available at the time of reporting condition as well as measurements by the network for MDT purposes.
  • Logged MDT involves measurement logging by a UE in IDLE mode, INACTIVE state, CELL_PCH, URA_PCH states and CELL_FACH state when a second DRX cycle is used (i.e., when the UE is in a universal terrestrial radio access network, UTRA) for reporting to a network node (e.g., an eNB, gNB or radio network controller) at a later point in time, and logging of multicast-broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) measurements by E-UTRA-connected UEs in IDLE and CONNECTED modes.
  • a network node e.g., an eNB, gNB or radio network controller
  • a UE in RRC_IDLE/RRC_IN ACTIVE state is configured to perform periodic and event triggered MDT logging after receiving the MDT configurations from the network.
  • the UE shall report the downlink (DL) pilot strength measurements (e.g., RSRP/RSRQ) together with time information, detailed location information if available, and WLAN, Bluetooth information to the network via using the UE information framework when it is in RRC_CONNECTED state.
  • the DL pilot strength measurement of logged MDT is collected based on the existing measurements required for cell reselection purpose, without imposing UE to perform additional measurements. Table 1 illustrates RRC states and measurement quantities for logged MDT.
  • the UE receives the MDT configurations including logginginterval and loggingduration in an RRC message, i.e., LoggedMeasurementConfiguration, from the network.
  • a timer (T330) is started at the UE upon receiving the configurations and set to loggingduration (10 min - 120 min).
  • the UE shall perform periodical MDT logging with the interval set to logginginterval (1.28 s - 61.44 s) when the UE is in RRC_IDLE state.
  • An example of the MDT logging is shown in Figure 1.
  • the UE receives eventType and logginginterval configurations from the network.
  • the UE logs the measurement reports at every logginginterval if the event configured in eventType is satisfied.
  • signaling-based MDT should have a higher precedence than management based MDT.
  • management-based MDT configuration should not overwrite signaling based MDT configuration in all the single connection scenarios and the EN-DC scenario.
  • a UE-based solution is not supported in Rel-16.
  • a UE based solution has been agreed in Rel-17, in which a UE receiving a logged MDT configuration is provided with an indication about whether the corresponding logged MDT configuration is a signaling based logged MDT configuration or a management based logged MDT configuration.
  • a UE-assisted and networkbased solution which relies on network implementation through UE providing assistance, has been introduced.
  • a UE that has a signaling based configuration or a signaling based MDT related report indicates to the network that it has signaling based MDT related information (logged MDT configuration and/or logged MDT report). Based on this information, the network can prevent the overriding of the signaling based MDT with management based MDT configuration.
  • a method performed by a UE for reporting of logged measurements includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first RAT, logging measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration, and transmitting the logged measurements and an indication to a second network node belonging to a second RAT.
  • the indication is in a RRC format of the second RAT, and the indication indicates an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent.
  • the indicator includes at least one of a trace reference, a trace recording session reference, and an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported.
  • the indicator when the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the indicator further includes an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurements that are yet to be reported contain wireless local area network measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
  • transmitting the indicator is performed in response to receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements.
  • the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to the second RAT.
  • the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT.
  • receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements is performed in response to transmitting a message to the second network node indicating availability of the logged measurements.
  • the indication of availability indicates one or more of whether logged measurements of the first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of the second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of the first and second RATs are available.
  • logging of the measurements is performed in a power saving mode of operation.
  • the power saving mode of operation includes one or more of an Idle mode and an inactive mode.
  • transmitting the indicator is performed by the UE only when the received logged configuration is a signaling based logged configuration.
  • the entity to which the measurements are to be sent includes a TCE.
  • Some embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second RAT to enable inter-RAT reporting of logged minimization of drive testing, measurements.
  • the method includes receiving logged measurements from a UE and an indicator associated with the logged measurements.
  • the measurements were performed in a first RAT, and the indicator includes an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent, and transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the address.
  • the indicator includes at least one of a trace reference, a trace recording session reference, and an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported.
  • the indicator when the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the indicator further includes an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurements that are yet to be reported contain WLAN measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
  • the method may further include transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements, and the indicator and the logged measurements are received in response to the request.
  • the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first radio access technology, RAT, and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
  • the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT.
  • transmitting the request to transmit the logged measurements is performed in response to receiving an indication from the UE indicating availability of the logged measurements.
  • the second network node receives an indication from the UE that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the method further including transmitting a further request to the UE to transmit the additional logged measurements.
  • the address of the entity to which the measurements are to be sent includes a TCE address.
  • Some embodiments provide a method performed by a UE to enable reporting of logged measurements.
  • the method includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology, RAT, logging the measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration, and transmitting an indicator to a second network node belonging to a second RAT.
  • the indicator indicates that the measurements were performed pursuant to the logged measurement configuration, and the indicator is provided in a RRC format of the second RAT.
  • the indicator further includes the RAT associated to the first network node.
  • the method may further include receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements from the second network node.
  • the method further includes transmitting the logged measurements to the second network node in response to receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements.
  • the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
  • logging of the measurements is performed in a power saving mode of operation.
  • the power saving mode of operation includes an idle mode or an inactive state.
  • transmitting the indicator is performed by the UE only when the received logged configuration is a signaling based logged configuration.
  • the method may further include transmitting an indication to the network indicating availability of measurements.
  • the indication of availability indicates one or more of whether logged measurements of the first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of the second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of the first and second RAT are available.
  • Some embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second RAT to enable reporting of logged measurements. The method includes receiving an indicator from a UE that indicates that the measurements were performed pursuant to a measurement configuration received in a first RAT. The indicator is provided in a RRC format of the second RAT. The method further includes transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements, and receiving the logged measurements from the UE.
  • the indicator includes an address of a trace collection entity, TCE, associated with the measurements, and the method further includes transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the address of the TCE received in the indicator.
  • TCE trace collection entity
  • transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements is performed by the second network node only if the second network node supports decoding of a RRC format of the logged measurements as indicated in the indicator.
  • the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
  • transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for the first RAT is performed in response to receiving a first indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a first RAT
  • transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for the second RAT is performed in response to receiving a second indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a second RAT.
  • the indication indicating availability of measurements includes an indication indicating availability of logged measurements of both the first and the second RAT.
  • Figure 1 illustrates an example of MDT logging
  • Figure 2 is a block diagram that illustrates multiple architecture options available for supporting Dual Connectivity
  • Figure 3 is a flowchart of operations of a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments;
  • Figure 4 is a flowchart of operations of a network node according to some embodiments;
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of operations of a user equipment (UE) according to further embodiments.
  • Figure 6 is a flowchart of operations of a network node according to further embodiments.
  • Figure 7 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Figure 8 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments
  • Figure 9 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Figure 10 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Figure 11 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Figure 12 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments in accordance with some embodiments.
  • Signaling based logged MDT override protection is applicable in the following scenarios: 1) Signaling based Logged MDT is configured, but no results are available e.g. so far nothing stored, or all previously stored results retrieved; and/or
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the multiple architecture options available for supporting Dual Connectivity in LTE-Rel 15 in which embodiments of the inventive concepts can be implemented.
  • a UE may move between cells and connect to nodes of different radio access technologies (RATs) that may serve as master and/or secondary nodes.
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • a UE may move in a mobility procedure from a cell served by a NR gNodeB/gNB to a cell served by an LTE eNodeB/eNB.
  • the 5GC core network includes an Operations and Management (0AM) function.
  • the 0AM hosts a Trace Collection Entity (TCE) which receives trace data, including MDT measurements, from the network.
  • TCE Trace Collection Entity
  • the UE may have logged MDT measurements based on a configuration provided by the source RAT.
  • the solutions that have been proposed include ones wherein an LTE UE can report signaling based logged MDT results to an NR node and an NR UE can report signaling based logged MDT results to an LTE node. It is important for the receiving node (i.e., the node that collects the logged MDT report from the UE) to identify at least the TCE address so that the receiving node can forward the logged MDT report to the corresponding address.
  • Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.
  • some embodiments provide a method performed by the UE to enable the inter-RAT reporting of a logged measurement report, wherein the UE includes the information associated to the target of the logged measurement report, e.g., TCE address, in the RRC format of the node that is receiving the logged measurement report.
  • the UE encodes a first set of information (e.g., TCE address) using the NR RRC format and includes this first set of information along with the LTE logged measurement report.
  • a first set of information e.g., TCE address
  • the UE encodes a first set of information (e.g., TCE address) using the LTE RRC format and includes this first set of information along with the NR logged MDT report.
  • Some further embodiments described herein provide a method performed by the UE to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report, wherein the UE includes the information associated to the radio access technology type of the logged measurement report, e.g., LTE, in the RRC format of the node that is receiving the logged MDT report as part of the indication about the availability of the logged measurement report. For example, if a UE is indicating the availability of LTE logged measurement report to an NR node, then the UE indicates to the NR node that it has LTE related logged measurement report contents.
  • the radio access technology type of the logged measurement report e.g., LTE
  • the UE indicates to the NR node that it has LTE related logged measurement report contents.
  • a UE if a UE is indicating the availability of NR logged measurement report to an LTE node, then the UE indicates to the LTE node that it has NR related logged measurement report contents. Using this information, the target node can decide on whether to fetch the logged measurement report from the UE or not based on its capability of decoding the RRC format of the logged measurement report.
  • Some further embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report, wherein the method includes receiving an indicator and the logged measurements from a UE wherein the indicator includes a TCE address, and transmitting the logged measurements receiving from the UE to the TCE address received in the indicator received from the UE.
  • Certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantage(s).
  • some embodiments may enable a network node belonging to a first radio access technology to fetch the logged measurement report belonging to a second radio access technology.
  • embodiments are described herein with respect to logged MDT measurements, it will be appreciated that the inventive concepts may be applied to other types of logged measurements and measurement reports whether or not referred to as MDT measurements and/or measurement reports.
  • some embodiments provide a method performed by a UE to enable the inter-RAT reporting of a logged measurement report.
  • the method includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology (block 302) and logging measurement measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration (block 304).
  • the UE then transmits (block 306) the logged measurements and an indication to a second network node belonging to a second RAT.
  • the indication is in an RRC, format of the second RAT, and the indication indicates an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent.
  • the indicator may further include at least one of 1) a trace reference; 2) a trace recording session reference; and 3) an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported (i.e., the current segment is not the last one).
  • the indicator may further include an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurement entries that are yet to be reported contain WLAN measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
  • Transmitting the indicator and the logged measurements may be performed in response to receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements.
  • the request may include a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
  • the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT.
  • Receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements may be performed in response to transmitting an indication to the second network node indicating the availability of the logged measurements.
  • the indication of availability may indicate one or more of whether logged measurements of a first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of a second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of a first and a second RAT are available.
  • the logging of measurements may be performed in a power saving mode of operation wherein the power saving mode of operation could be one or more of an idle mode and an inactive state.
  • transmitting of the indicator may be performed by the UE only when the received logged measurement configuration is a signaling based logged measurement configuration.
  • some embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report.
  • the method includes receiving an indicator and logged measurements from a UE where the indicator includes a TCE address (block 402), and transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the TCE address (block 404).
  • the indicator may further include at least one of 1) a trace reference, 2) a trace recording session reference, and 3) an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported (i.e., indicating that the current segment is not the last one).
  • the indicator may further include an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurement entries that are yet to be reported contain WLAN measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
  • the method may further include transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements, and the indicator and the logged measurements may be received in response to the request.
  • the request may include a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
  • Transmitting the request to transmit the logged measurements may be performed in response to receiving an indication from the UE indicating the availability of the logged measurements.
  • the second network node may receive an indication from the UE that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported, and the second network node may transmit a request to the UE to transmit the additional logged measurements.
  • a method performed by a UE according to further embodiments to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology (block 502), and logging the measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration (block 504).
  • the method further includes transmitting an indicator to a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology (block 506) wherein the indicator is provided in a radio resource control, RRC, format of the second RAT.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the indicator may further include the radio access technology type associated to the first network node.
  • the method may further include receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements from the second network node.
  • the method may further include transmitting the logged measurements to the second network node in response to receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements.
  • the logging of the measurements may be performed in a power saving mode of operation wherein the power saving mode of operation could be one or more od Idle mode and inactive state.
  • the transmitting of the indicator may be performed by the UE only when the received logged MDT configuration is a signaling based logged measurement configuration.
  • the method may further include transmitting an indication to the network indicating availability of measurements.
  • the indication of availability may indicate one or more of whether logged measurements of a first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of a second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of a first and a second RAT are available.
  • some further embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report.
  • the method includes receiving an indicator from a UE wherein the message indicates an RRC format of logged measurements available at the UE (block 602), transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements (block 604), and receiving the logged measurements from the UE (block 606).
  • the method may further include transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the TCE address received in the indicator received from the UE (block 608).
  • Transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements may be performed by the second network node only if the second network node supports the decoding of the RRC format of the logged measurements as indicated in the indicator. There may be two separate requests, a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT
  • Transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for a first RAT may be performed in response to receiving an indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a first RAT, and transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for a second RAT may be performed in response to receiving an indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a second RAT.
  • the indication indicating availability of measurements may include an indication indicating availability of logged measurements of both the first and the second RAT.
  • a UE may set the field tce-ID in UEInformationResponse message to the corresponding TCE-ID value in varLogMeasReport if the UE has LTE related logged MDT report available.
  • the UE Upon the network requesting the logged MDT report, the UE sends the LTE related logged MDT report as an LTE RRC encoded message in a container defined in an NR RRC container to the NR node.
  • a UE may set the field logMeasRAT in an RRCSetupComplete or RRCResumeComplete message to LTE if the UE has LTE related logged MDT report available.
  • the UE Upon the network requesting the logged MDT report, the UE sends the LTE related logged MDT report as a LTE RRC encoded container to the NR node.
  • logMeasReportReq for a first RAT (NR) and one named logMeasReportReqLTE for a second RAT (LTE).
  • a message may be provided which can be used by the network to request the UE to send logged measurements to the network.
  • the message may allow the network to request measurements for NR (using logMeasReportReq) and for LTE (using logMeasReportReqLTE).
  • Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the communication system 700 includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708.
  • the access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 710a and 710b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • the network nodes 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections.
  • UE user equipment
  • 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.
  • the communication system 700 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 700 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
  • the UEs 712 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 710 and other communication devices.
  • the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 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 702.
  • the core network 706 connects the network nodes 710 to one or more hosts, such as host 716. 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 706 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 708) 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 708.
  • 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).
  • MSC Mobile Switching Center
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • HSS Home Subscriber Server
  • AMF Access and Mobility Management Function
  • SMF Session Management Function
  • AUSF Authentication Server Function
  • SIDF Subscription Identifier De-concealing function
  • UDM Unified Data Management
  • SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy
  • NEF Network Exposure Function
  • UPF User Plane Function
  • the host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and/or the telecommunication network 702, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the host 716 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.
  • the communication system 700 of Figure 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts.
  • 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.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • 6G
  • the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 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)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.
  • the UEs 712 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704.
  • a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode.
  • a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) 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).
  • MR-DC multi-radio dual connectivity
  • E-UTRAN Evolved- UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
  • EN-DC New Radio - Dual Connectivity
  • the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710b).
  • the hub 714 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs.
  • the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs.
  • the hub 714 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs.
  • the hub 714 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.
  • the hub 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content.
  • the hub 714 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.
  • the hub 714 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 710b.
  • the hub 714 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 714 and UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d), and between the hub 714 and the core network 706.
  • the hub 714 is connected to the core network 706 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection.
  • the hub 714 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 704 and/or to another UE over a direct connection.
  • UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 710 while still connected via the hub 714 via a wired or wireless connection.
  • the hub 714 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 710b.
  • the hub 714 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 710b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
  • FIG. 8 shows a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • 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.
  • VoIP voice over IP
  • LME laptop-embedded equipment
  • LME laptop-mounted equipment
  • CPE wireless customer-premise equipment
  • UEs identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • NB-IoT narrow band internet of things
  • MTC machine type communication
  • eMTC enhanced MTC
  • a UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X).
  • D2D device-to-device
  • DSRC Dedicated Short-Range Communication
  • V2V vehicle-to-vehicle
  • V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure
  • V2X vehicle- to-everything
  • a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).
  • a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale
  • the UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input/output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 8. 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.
  • the processing circuitry 802 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 810.
  • the processing circuitry 802 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.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
  • the input/output interface 806 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 800.
  • 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.
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • the power source 808 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 808 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808.
  • Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied.
  • the memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth.
  • the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816.
  • the memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • the memory 810 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.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD-DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HDDS holographic digital data storage
  • DIMM external mini-dual in-line memory module
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • the UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • eUICC embedded UICC
  • iUICC integrated UICC
  • SIM card removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • the memory 810 may allow the UE 800 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 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812.
  • the communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822.
  • the communication interface 812 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 818 and/or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth).
  • the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
  • communication functions of the communication interface 812 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.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • 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, New Radio (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.
  • CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • UMTS Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
  • WiMax Ethernet
  • TCP/IP transmission control protocol/internet protocol
  • SONET synchronous optical networking
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • QUIC Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, 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).
  • 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.
  • the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 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 Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal-
  • AR Augmented Reality
  • VR
  • 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.
  • the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard.
  • 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.
  • any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
  • FIG. 9 shows a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • 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.
  • network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).
  • APs access points
  • BSs base stations
  • Node Bs Node Bs
  • eNBs evolved Node Bs
  • gNBs NR NodeBs
  • Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and 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.
  • RRUs remote radio units
  • RRHs Remote Radio Heads
  • Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
  • DAS distributed antenna system
  • network nodes include 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).
  • MSR multi- standard radio
  • RNCs radio network controllers
  • BSCs base station controllers
  • BTSs base transceiver stations
  • OFDM Operation and Maintenance
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • SON Self-Organizing Network
  • positioning nodes e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)
  • the network node 900 includes a processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908.
  • the network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components.
  • the network node 900 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components)
  • one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes.
  • a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs.
  • each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
  • the network node 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs).
  • the network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, 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 900.
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification
  • the processing circuitry 902 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 900 components, such as the memory 904, to provide network node 900 functionality.
  • the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 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 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
  • SOC system on a chip
  • the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914.
  • the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 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 memory 904 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 902.
  • 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
  • the memory 904 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 902 and utilized by the network node 900.
  • the memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and/or any data received via the communication interface 906.
  • the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated.
  • the communication interface 906 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 906 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection.
  • the communication interface 906 also includes radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910. Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902.
  • the radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 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 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and/or amplifiers 922.
  • the radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910.
  • the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918.
  • the digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902.
  • the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
  • the antenna 910 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals.
  • the antenna 910 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 918 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly.
  • the antenna 910 is separate from the network node 900 and connectable to the network node 900 through an interface or port.
  • the antenna 910, communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 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 910, the communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 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.
  • the power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component).
  • the power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein.
  • the network node 900 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 908.
  • the power source 908 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 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 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.
  • the network node 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900.
  • FIG 10 is a block diagram of a host 1000, which may be an embodiment of the host 716 of Figure 7, in accordance with various aspects described herein.
  • the host 1000 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 1000 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
  • the host 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input/output interface 1006, a network interface 1008, a power source 1010, and a memory 1012.
  • processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input/output interface 1006, a network interface 1008, a power source 1010, and a memory 1012.
  • 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 Figures 8 and 9, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1000.
  • the memory 1012 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1014 and data 1016, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1000 or data generated by the host 1000 for a UE.
  • Embodiments of the host 1000 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown.
  • the host application programs 1014 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 1014 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.
  • FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1100 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.
  • virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources.
  • 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 1100 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.
  • VMs virtual machines
  • hardware nodes such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host.
  • the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host)
  • the node may be entirely virtualized.
  • Applications 1102 (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.
  • Hardware 1104 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 1106 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1108a and 1108b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1108), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • the virtualization layer 1106 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1108.
  • the VMs 1108 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1106.
  • a virtualization layer 1106 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1108, 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 network function virtualization
  • 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.
  • a VM 1108 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 1108, and that part of hardware 1104 that executes that VM forms separate virtual network elements.
  • a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1108 on top of the hardware 1104 and corresponds to the application 1102.
  • Hardware 1104 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1104 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1104 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 1110, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1102.
  • hardware 1104 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.
  • some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1112 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
  • Figure 12 shows a communication diagram of a host 1202 communicating via a network node 1204 with a UE 1206 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.
  • host 1202 Like host 1000, embodiments of host 1202 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory.
  • the host 1202 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1202 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 1206 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1250 extending between the UE 1206 and host 1202. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1250.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • the network node 1204 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1202 and UE 1206.
  • connection 1260 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 706 of Figure 7) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks.
  • a core network like core network 706 of Figure 7
  • intermediate networks such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks.
  • an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.
  • the UE 1206 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1206 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 1206 with the support of the host 1202.
  • 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 1206 with the support of the host 1202.
  • an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1250 terminating at the UE 1206 and host 1202.
  • 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 1250 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
  • the OTT connection 1250 may extend via a connection 1260 between the host 1202 and the network node 1204 and via a wireless connection 1270 between the network node 1204 and the UE 1206 to provide the connection between the host 1202 and the UE 1206.
  • the connection 1260 and wireless connection 1270, over which the OTT connection 1250 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1202 and the UE 1206 via the network node 1204, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • the host 1202 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application.
  • the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1206.
  • the user data is associated with a UE 1206 that shares data with the host 1202 without explicit human interaction.
  • the host 1202 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1206.
  • the host 1202 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1206.
  • the request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1206 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1206.
  • the transmission may pass via the network node 1204, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1212, the network node 1204 transmits to the UE 1206 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1202 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1214, the UE 1206 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1206 associated with the host application executed by the host 1202.
  • the UE 1206 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1202.
  • the user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1202.
  • the UE 1206 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application.
  • the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 1206. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1206 initiates, in step 1218, transmission of the user data towards the host 1202 via the network node 1204.
  • the network node 1204 receives user data from the UE 1206 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1202.
  • the host 1202 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1206.
  • One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1206 using the OTT connection 1250, in which the wireless connection 1270 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the performance of MDT configuration and thereby provide benefits such as reducing the loss or overwriting of logged MDT measurements.
  • factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1202.
  • the host 1202 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps.
  • the host 1202 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights).
  • the host 1202 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE.
  • the host 1202 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs.
  • the host 1202 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.
  • 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.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1202 and/or UE 1206.
  • sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1250 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 1250 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1204. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1202.
  • the measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1250 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
  • computing devices described herein may include the illustrated combination of hardware components
  • computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components.
  • a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface.
  • non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
  • processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium.
  • some or all of the 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.
  • 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.
  • the terms “comprise”, “comprising”, “comprises”, “include”, “including”, “includes”, “have”, “has”, “having”, or variants thereof are open-ended, and include one or more stated features, integers, elements, steps, components or functions but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, steps, components, functions or groups thereof.
  • the common abbreviation “e.g.”, which derives from the Latin phrase “exempli gratia” may be used to introduce or specify a general example or examples of a previously mentioned item, and is not intended to be limiting of such item.
  • the common abbreviation “i.e.”, which derives from the Latin phrase “id est,” may be used to specify a particular item from a more general recitation.
  • Example embodiments are described herein with reference to block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations of computer-implemented methods, apparatus (systems and/or devices) and/or computer program products. It is understood that a block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by computer program instructions that are performed by one or more computer circuits.
  • These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor circuit of a general purpose computer circuit, special purpose computer circuit, and/or other programmable data processing circuit to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, transform and control transistors, values stored in memory locations, and other hardware components within such circuitry to implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks, and thereby create means (functionality) and/or structure for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block(s).

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Abstract

A method performed by a UE for reporting of logged measurements includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first RAT, logging measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration, and transmitting the logged measurements and an indication in a RRC format of the second RAT to a second network node belonging to a second RAT. The indication indicates an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent. A further method performed by a UE includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first RAT, logging the measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration, and transmitting an indicator in a RRC format of the second RAT to a second network node belonging to a second RAT that indicates that the measurements were performed pursuant to the logged measurement configuration.

Description

LOGGED MDT REPORTING INVOLVING INTER-RAT MOBILITY
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to communications, and more particularly to communication methods and related devices and nodes supporting wireless communications .
BACKGROUND
[0002] Minimization of Drive Testing (MDT) is a feature of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication systems that was developed to allow a network operator to obtain localized network quality measurements from user equipments (UEs) in the network. Traditionally, to obtain field data about network quality, operators would conduct a “drive test” in which a technician drives a testing vehicle around within a network coverage area and takes measurements of various network performance metrics (e.g, received power levels, interference levels, etc.) or UE performance (e.g, call drop frequency, throughput, handover performance, cell reselection performance, etc.) at various locations within the network coverage area. Performing such a drive test may be expensive and time consuming. MDT enables network operators to utilize users' equipment to collect radio measurements and associated location information to assess network performance, while reducing the costs associated with traditional drive tests.
[0003] The use cases for MDT include coverage optimization, mobility optimization, capacity optimization, parameterization for common channels and QoS verification.
[0004] Normal radio resource management (RRM) mechanisms only allow for measurements to be reported when the UE has a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a particular cell, and there is sufficient uplink (UL) coverage to transport the measurement report. This restricts measurements to be collected from UEs not experiencing radio link failure (RLF) and experiencing sufficient UL coverage. Moreover, there is no accompanying location information in normal RRM measurements.
[0005] When MDT was introduced, it was decided to include MDT as a part of the trace function, which is able to provide very detailed logging data at call level. Based on the methods of activating/deactivating trace and trace configuration, the trace function can be classified into management activation/deactivation and signaling-based activation/deactivation. [0006] For management activation/deactivation, a trace session is activated/deactivated in different network elements (NE) directly from the element manager (EM) using the management interfaces of those NEs.
[0007] For signaling based activation/deactivation, a trace session is activated/deactivated in different NEs using the signaling interfaces between those elements so that the NEs may forward the activation/deactivation originating from the EM.
[0008] MDT was standardized for New Radio (NR) in Rel-16 to reduce the amount of drive tests performed manually. It is a UE assisted framework in which network measurements are collected by both IDLE/INACTIVE and RRC Connected UE(s) in order to aid the network in gathering valuable information. It has been specified for both LTE and NR.
[0009] In general, there are two types of MDT measurement logging, namely, logged MDT and immediate MDT. Immediate MDT involves measurements performed by a UE in CONNECTED state and reporting of the measurements to RAN available at the time of reporting condition as well as measurements by the network for MDT purposes.
[0010] Logged MDT involves measurement logging by a UE in IDLE mode, INACTIVE state, CELL_PCH, URA_PCH states and CELL_FACH state when a second DRX cycle is used (i.e., when the UE is in a universal terrestrial radio access network, UTRA) for reporting to a network node (e.g., an eNB, gNB or radio network controller) at a later point in time, and logging of multicast-broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) measurements by E-UTRA-connected UEs in IDLE and CONNECTED modes.
[0011] A UE in RRC_IDLE/RRC_IN ACTIVE state is configured to perform periodic and event triggered MDT logging after receiving the MDT configurations from the network. The UE shall report the downlink (DL) pilot strength measurements (e.g., RSRP/RSRQ) together with time information, detailed location information if available, and WLAN, Bluetooth information to the network via using the UE information framework when it is in RRC_CONNECTED state. The DL pilot strength measurement of logged MDT is collected based on the existing measurements required for cell reselection purpose, without imposing UE to perform additional measurements. Table 1 illustrates RRC states and measurement quantities for logged MDT.
Table 1 - RRC States and Measurement Quantities for Logged MDT
Figure imgf000003_0001
Figure imgf000004_0001
[0012] For Periodical Logged MDT, the UE receives the MDT configurations including logginginterval and loggingduration in an RRC message, i.e., LoggedMeasurementConfiguration, from the network. A timer (T330) is started at the UE upon receiving the configurations and set to loggingduration (10 min - 120 min). The UE shall perform periodical MDT logging with the interval set to logginginterval (1.28 s - 61.44 s) when the UE is in RRC_IDLE state. An example of the MDT logging is shown in Figure 1.
[0013] For event triggered logged MDT, the UE receives eventType and logginginterval configurations from the network. The UE logs the measurement reports at every logginginterval if the event configured in eventType is satisfied.
[0014] It has been agreed that signaling-based MDT should have a higher precedence than management based MDT. In particular, it has been agreed that the management-based MDT configuration should not overwrite signaling based MDT configuration in all the single connection scenarios and the EN-DC scenario.
[0015] A UE-based solution is not supported in Rel-16. However, a UE based solution has been agreed in Rel-17, in which a UE receiving a logged MDT configuration is provided with an indication about whether the corresponding logged MDT configuration is a signaling based logged MDT configuration or a management based logged MDT configuration. In particular, to avoid overwriting of signaling-based logged MDT, a UE-assisted and networkbased solution, which relies on network implementation through UE providing assistance, has been introduced.
[0016] Further agreements are to include an indicator to indicate signaling based logged MDT configuration availability in RRCSetupComplete/RRCConnectionSetupComplete and RRCResumeComplete/RRCConnectionResumeComplete messages, and that the UE includes an indication regarding whether the T330 timer is running or not in RRCSetupComplete/RRCConnectionSetupComplete and RRCResumeComplete/RRCConnectionResumeComplete messages.
[0017] Further, a UE that has a signaling based configuration or a signaling based MDT related report indicates to the network that it has signaling based MDT related information (logged MDT configuration and/or logged MDT report). Based on this information, the network can prevent the overriding of the signaling based MDT with management based MDT configuration.
SUMMARY
[0018] A method performed by a UE for reporting of logged measurements includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first RAT, logging measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration, and transmitting the logged measurements and an indication to a second network node belonging to a second RAT. The indication is in a RRC format of the second RAT, and the indication indicates an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent.
[0019] In some embodiments, the indicator includes at least one of a trace reference, a trace recording session reference, and an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported.
[0020] In some embodiments, when the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the indicator further includes an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurements that are yet to be reported contain wireless local area network measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
[0021] In some embodiments, transmitting the indicator is performed in response to receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements.
[0022] In some embodiments, the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to the second RAT.
[0023] In some embodiments, the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT.
[0024] In some embodiments, receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements is performed in response to transmitting a message to the second network node indicating availability of the logged measurements.
[0025] In some embodiments, the indication of availability indicates one or more of whether logged measurements of the first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of the second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of the first and second RATs are available.
[0026] In some embodiments, logging of the measurements is performed in a power saving mode of operation. [0027] In some embodiments, the power saving mode of operation includes one or more of an Idle mode and an inactive mode.
[0028] In some embodiments, transmitting the indicator is performed by the UE only when the received logged configuration is a signaling based logged configuration.
[0029] In some embodiments, the entity to which the measurements are to be sent includes a TCE.
[0030] Some embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second RAT to enable inter-RAT reporting of logged minimization of drive testing, measurements. The method includes receiving logged measurements from a UE and an indicator associated with the logged measurements. The measurements were performed in a first RAT, and the indicator includes an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent, and transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the address.
[0031] In some embodiments, the indicator includes at least one of a trace reference, a trace recording session reference, and an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported.
[0032] In some embodiments, when the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the indicator further includes an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurements that are yet to be reported contain WLAN measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
[0033] The method may further include transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements, and the indicator and the logged measurements are received in response to the request.
[0034] In some embodiments, the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first radio access technology, RAT, and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
[0035] In some embodiments, the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT.
[0036] In some embodiments, transmitting the request to transmit the logged measurements is performed in response to receiving an indication from the UE indicating availability of the logged measurements.
[0037] In some embodiments, the second network node receives an indication from the UE that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the method further including transmitting a further request to the UE to transmit the additional logged measurements.
[0038] In some embodiments, the address of the entity to which the measurements are to be sent includes a TCE address.
[0039] Some embodiments provide a method performed by a UE to enable reporting of logged measurements. The method includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology, RAT, logging the measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration, and transmitting an indicator to a second network node belonging to a second RAT. The indicator indicates that the measurements were performed pursuant to the logged measurement configuration, and the indicator is provided in a RRC format of the second RAT.
[0040] In some embodiments, the indicator further includes the RAT associated to the first network node.
[0041] In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements from the second network node.
[0042] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting the logged measurements to the second network node in response to receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements.
[0043] In some embodiments, the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
[0044] In some embodiments, logging of the measurements is performed in a power saving mode of operation.
[0045] In some embodiments, the power saving mode of operation includes an idle mode or an inactive state.
[0046] In some embodiments, transmitting the indicator is performed by the UE only when the received logged configuration is a signaling based logged configuration.
[0047] In some embodiments, the method may further include transmitting an indication to the network indicating availability of measurements.
[0048] In some embodiments, the indication of availability indicates one or more of whether logged measurements of the first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of the second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of the first and second RAT are available. [0049] Some embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second RAT to enable reporting of logged measurements. The method includes receiving an indicator from a UE that indicates that the measurements were performed pursuant to a measurement configuration received in a first RAT. The indicator is provided in a RRC format of the second RAT. The method further includes transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements, and receiving the logged measurements from the UE.
[0050] In some embodiments, the indicator includes an address of a trace collection entity, TCE, associated with the measurements, and the method further includes transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the address of the TCE received in the indicator.
[0051] In some embodiments, transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements is performed by the second network node only if the second network node supports decoding of a RRC format of the logged measurements as indicated in the indicator.
[0052] In some embodiments, the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
[0053] In some embodiments, transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for the first RAT is performed in response to receiving a first indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a first RAT, and transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for the second RAT is performed in response to receiving a second indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a second RAT.
[0054] In some embodiments, the indication indicating availability of measurements includes an indication indicating availability of logged measurements of both the first and the second RAT.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0055] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:
[0056] Figure 1 illustrates an example of MDT logging;
[0057] Figure 2 is a block diagram that illustrates multiple architecture options available for supporting Dual Connectivity;
[0058] Figure 3 is a flowchart of operations of a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments; [0059] Figure 4 is a flowchart of operations of a network node according to some embodiments;
[0060] Figure 5 is a flowchart of operations of a user equipment (UE) according to further embodiments;
[0061] Figure 6 is a flowchart of operations of a network node according to further embodiments;
[0062] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;
[0063] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments
[0064] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments;
[0065] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;
[0066] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments; and
[0067] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments in accordance with some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0068] 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. , in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present/used in another embodiment.
[0069] As previously indicated, some agreements have been made with respect to the precedence of signaling based MDT relative to management based MDT. Signaling based logged MDT override protection is applicable in the following scenarios: 1) Signaling based Logged MDT is configured, but no results are available e.g. so far nothing stored, or all previously stored results retrieved; and/or
2) Signaling based Logged MDT configuration is stopped (i.e. following the expiry of timer T330), but the UE still has un-retrieved results that would be discarded upon accepting a new configuration.
[0070] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In particular, the currently agreed signaling based MDT overwriting prevention methods are restricted to intra-RAT signaling based MDT configuration/reporting, although there are proposals to prevent signaling based MDT configuration overriding with management based MDT in the case of inter-RAT mobility.
[0071] Figure 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the multiple architecture options available for supporting Dual Connectivity in LTE-Rel 15 in which embodiments of the inventive concepts can be implemented.
[0072] As seen in Figure 2, a UE may move between cells and connect to nodes of different radio access technologies (RATs) that may serve as master and/or secondary nodes. For example, a UE may move in a mobility procedure from a cell served by a NR gNodeB/gNB to a cell served by an LTE eNodeB/eNB.
[0073] The 5GC core network includes an Operations and Management (0AM) function. The 0AM hosts a Trace Collection Entity (TCE) which receives trace data, including MDT measurements, from the network. When an inter-RAT mobility procedure occurs from a source RAT to a target RAT, the UE may have logged MDT measurements based on a configuration provided by the source RAT.
[0074] The scenario of preventing the signaling based logged MDT being overridden with management based logged MDT in inter-RAT mobility has been discussed. There are also discussions from operators to standardize this feature at least in Rel-18, as this ensures that a UE specific logged MDT report contents are prioritized over area based logged MDT.
[0075] In the case of inter-RAT signaling based logged MDT override avoidance, the solutions that have been proposed include ones wherein an LTE UE can report signaling based logged MDT results to an NR node and an NR UE can report signaling based logged MDT results to an LTE node. It is important for the receiving node (i.e., the node that collects the logged MDT report from the UE) to identify at least the TCE address so that the receiving node can forward the logged MDT report to the corresponding address. This creates new RRC compatibility issues, as the LTE related logged MDT results are stored in LTE RRC container and a NR node that receives such a report might not be able to decode the contents of the logged MDT report and vice-versa. [0076] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. In particular, some embodiments provide a method performed by the UE to enable the inter-RAT reporting of a logged measurement report, wherein the UE includes the information associated to the target of the logged measurement report, e.g., TCE address, in the RRC format of the node that is receiving the logged measurement report. For example, if a UE is reporting the LTE logged measurement report to an NR node, then the UE encodes a first set of information (e.g., TCE address) using the NR RRC format and includes this first set of information along with the LTE logged measurement report. Similarly, if a UE is reporting the NR logged MDT report to an LTE node, then the UE encodes a first set of information (e.g., TCE address) using the LTE RRC format and includes this first set of information along with the NR logged MDT report.
[0077] Some further embodiments described herein provide a method performed by the UE to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report, wherein the UE includes the information associated to the radio access technology type of the logged measurement report, e.g., LTE, in the RRC format of the node that is receiving the logged MDT report as part of the indication about the availability of the logged measurement report. For example, if a UE is indicating the availability of LTE logged measurement report to an NR node, then the UE indicates to the NR node that it has LTE related logged measurement report contents. Similarly, if a UE is indicating the availability of NR logged measurement report to an LTE node, then the UE indicates to the LTE node that it has NR related logged measurement report contents. Using this information, the target node can decide on whether to fetch the logged measurement report from the UE or not based on its capability of decoding the RRC format of the logged measurement report.
[0078] Some further embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report, wherein the method includes receiving an indicator and the logged measurements from a UE wherein the indicator includes a TCE address, and transmitting the logged measurements receiving from the UE to the TCE address received in the indicator received from the UE.
[0079] Certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantage(s). In particular, some embodiments may enable a network node belonging to a first radio access technology to fetch the logged measurement report belonging to a second radio access technology. [0080] Although embodiments are described herein with respect to logged MDT measurements, it will be appreciated that the inventive concepts may be applied to other types of logged measurements and measurement reports whether or not referred to as MDT measurements and/or measurement reports.
[0081] Referring to the flowchart of Figure 3, some embodiments provide a method performed by a UE to enable the inter-RAT reporting of a logged measurement report. The method includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology (block 302) and logging measurement measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration (block 304). The UE then transmits (block 306) the logged measurements and an indication to a second network node belonging to a second RAT. The indication is in an RRC, format of the second RAT, and the indication indicates an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent.
[0082] The indicator may further include at least one of 1) a trace reference; 2) a trace recording session reference; and 3) an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported (i.e., the current segment is not the last one).
[0083] When the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported, the indicator may further include an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurement entries that are yet to be reported contain WLAN measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
Transmitting the indicator and the logged measurements may be performed in response to receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements. The request may include a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT. In some embodiments, the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT.
[0084] Receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements may be performed in response to transmitting an indication to the second network node indicating the availability of the logged measurements.
[0085] The indication of availability may indicate one or more of whether logged measurements of a first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of a second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of a first and a second RAT are available. [0086] The logging of measurements may be performed in a power saving mode of operation wherein the power saving mode of operation could be one or more of an idle mode and an inactive state.
[0087] In some embodiments, transmitting of the indicator may be performed by the UE only when the received logged measurement configuration is a signaling based logged measurement configuration.
[0088] Referring to the flowchart of Figure 4, some embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report. The method includes receiving an indicator and logged measurements from a UE where the indicator includes a TCE address (block 402), and transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the TCE address (block 404).
[0089] The indicator may further include at least one of 1) a trace reference, 2) a trace recording session reference, and 3) an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported (i.e., indicating that the current segment is not the last one).
[0090] When the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported, the indicator may further include an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurement entries that are yet to be reported contain WLAN measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
[0091] The method may further include transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements, and the indicator and the logged measurements may be received in response to the request. The request may include a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
[0092] Transmitting the request to transmit the logged measurements may be performed in response to receiving an indication from the UE indicating the availability of the logged measurements.
[0093] The second network node may receive an indication from the UE that one or more additional logged measurement entries are yet to be reported, and the second network node may transmit a request to the UE to transmit the additional logged measurements.
[0094] Further embodiments are illustrated in the flowchart of Figure 5. As shown therein, a method performed by a UE according to further embodiments to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report includes receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology (block 502), and logging the measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration (block 504).
[0095] The method further includes transmitting an indicator to a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology (block 506) wherein the indicator is provided in a radio resource control, RRC, format of the second RAT.
[0096] The indicator may further include the radio access technology type associated to the first network node.
[0097] The method may further include receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements from the second network node.
[0098] The method may further include transmitting the logged measurements to the second network node in response to receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements. There may be two separate requests, a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
[0099] The logging of the measurements may be performed in a power saving mode of operation wherein the power saving mode of operation could be one or more od Idle mode and inactive state.
[0100] The transmitting of the indicator may be performed by the UE only when the received logged MDT configuration is a signaling based logged measurement configuration.
[0101] The method may further include transmitting an indication to the network indicating availability of measurements. The indication of availability may indicate one or more of whether logged measurements of a first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of a second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of a first and a second RAT are available.
[0102] Referring to the flowchart of Figure 6, some further embodiments provide a method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology to enable the inter-RAT reporting of the logged measurement report. The method includes receiving an indicator from a UE wherein the message indicates an RRC format of logged measurements available at the UE (block 602), transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements (block 604), and receiving the logged measurements from the UE (block 606). The method may further include transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the TCE address received in the indicator received from the UE (block 608). [0103] Transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements may be performed by the second network node only if the second network node supports the decoding of the RRC format of the logged measurements as indicated in the indicator. There may be two separate requests, a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT
[0104] Transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for a first RAT may be performed in response to receiving an indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a first RAT, and transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for a second RAT may be performed in response to receiving an indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a second RAT.
[0105] The indication indicating availability of measurements may include an indication indicating availability of logged measurements of both the first and the second RAT.
[0106] In some particular embodiments, a UE may set the field tce-ID in UEInformationResponse message to the corresponding TCE-ID value in varLogMeasReport if the UE has LTE related logged MDT report available. Upon the network requesting the logged MDT report, the UE sends the LTE related logged MDT report as an LTE RRC encoded message in a container defined in an NR RRC container to the NR node.
[0107] In some particular embodiments, a UE may set the field logMeasRAT in an RRCSetupComplete or RRCResumeComplete message to LTE if the UE has LTE related logged MDT report available. Upon the network requesting the logged MDT report, the UE sends the LTE related logged MDT report as a LTE RRC encoded container to the NR node.
[0108] In some particular embodiments, where there is one request which is common for both RATs (i.e. both NR and LTE), there may be a field logMeasReportReq which is used to determine whether to send NR logged measurements and used to determine whether to send LTE logged measurements.
[0109] In some particular embodiments, there may be two independent requests, namely, one named logMeasReportReq for a first RAT (NR) and one named logMeasReportReqLTE for a second RAT (LTE).
[0110] In some particular embodiments, a message may be provided which can be used by the network to request the UE to send logged measurements to the network. For example, the message may allow the network to request measurements for NR (using logMeasReportReq) and for LTE (using logMeasReportReqLTE). [0111] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.
[0112] In the example, the communication system 700 includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708. The access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 710a and 710b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections.
[0113] 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 700 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 700 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
[0114] The UEs 712 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 710 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 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 702.
[0115] In the depicted example, the core network 706 connects the network nodes 710 to one or more hosts, such as host 716. 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 706 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 708) 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 708. 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).
[0116] The host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and/or the telecommunication network 702, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 716 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.
[0117] As a whole, the communication system 700 of Figure 7 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.
[0118] In some examples, the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 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)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs. [0119] In some examples, the UEs 712 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 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704. 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 (New Radio) 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).
[0120] In the example, the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710b). In some examples, the hub 714 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 714 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 710, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 714. As another example, the hub 714 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 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 714 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.
[0121] The hub 714 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 710b. The hub 714 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 714 and UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d), and between the hub 714 and the core network 706. In other examples, the hub 714 is connected to the core network 706 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 714 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 704 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 710 while still connected via the hub 714 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 714 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 710b. In other embodiments, the hub 714 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 710b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
[0122] Figure 8 shows a UE 800 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 (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
[0123] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP 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).
[0124] The UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input/output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 8. 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.
[0125] The processing circuitry 802 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 810. The processing circuitry 802 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 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
[0126] In the example, the input/output interface 806 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 800. 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.
[0127] In some embodiments, the power source 808 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 808 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied.
[0128] The memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816. The memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
[0129] The memory 810 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 810 may allow the UE 800 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 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
[0130] The processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812. The communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822. The communication interface 812 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 818 and/or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
[0131] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 812 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, New Radio (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.
[0132] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, 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).
[0133] 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.
[0134] 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 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 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 800 shown in Figure 8.
[0135] 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 3GPP 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.
[0136] 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.
[0137] Figure 9 shows a network node 900 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 NodeBs (gNBs)).
[0138] 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). [0139] 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).
[0140] The network node 900 includes a processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908. The network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB 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 900 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 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, 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 900.
[0141] The processing circuitry 902 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 900 components, such as the memory 904, to provide network node 900 functionality.
[0142] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 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 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
[0143] The memory 904 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 902. The memory 904 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 902 and utilized by the network node 900. The memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and/or any data received via the communication interface 906. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated.
[0144] The communication interface 906 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 906 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 906 also includes radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910. Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry 918 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 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and/or amplifiers 922. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. [0145] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
[0146] The antenna 910 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 910 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 918 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 910 is separate from the network node 900 and connectable to the network node 900 through an interface or port.
[0147] The antenna 910, communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 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 910, the communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 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.
[0148] The power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 900 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 908. As a further example, the power source 908 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.
[0149] Embodiments of the network node 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 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 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900.
[0150] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a host 1000, which may be an embodiment of the host 716 of Figure 7, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1000 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 1000 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
[0151] The host 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input/output interface 1006, a network interface 1008, a power source 1010, and a memory 1012. 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 Figures 8 and 9, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1000.
[0152] The memory 1012 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1014 and data 1016, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1000 or data generated by the host 1000 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1000 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1014 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 1014 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 1000 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1014 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. [0153] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1100 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 1100 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.
[0154] Applications 1102 (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.
[0155] Hardware 1104 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 1106 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1108a and 1108b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1108), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1106 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1108.
[0156] The VMs 1108 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1106. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1102 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1108, 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. [0157] In the context of NFV, a VM 1108 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 1108, and that part of hardware 1104 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 1108 on top of the hardware 1104 and corresponds to the application 1102.
[0158] Hardware 1104 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1104 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1104 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 1110, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1102. In some embodiments, hardware 1104 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 1112 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
[0159] Figure 12 shows a communication diagram of a host 1202 communicating via a network node 1204 with a UE 1206 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 712a of Figure 7 and/or UE 800 of Figure 8), network node (such as network node 710a of Figure 7 and/or network node 900 of Figure 9), and host (such as host 716 of Figure 7 and/or host 1000 of Figure 10) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 12.
[0160] Like host 1000, embodiments of host 1202 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1202 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1202 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 1206 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1250 extending between the UE 1206 and host 1202. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1250. [0161] The network node 1204 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1202 and UE 1206. The connection 1260 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 706 of Figure 7) 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.
[0162] The UE 1206 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1206 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 1206 with the support of the host 1202. In the host 1202, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1250 terminating at the UE 1206 and host 1202. 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 1250 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 1250.
[0163] The OTT connection 1250 may extend via a connection 1260 between the host 1202 and the network node 1204 and via a wireless connection 1270 between the network node 1204 and the UE 1206 to provide the connection between the host 1202 and the UE 1206. The connection 1260 and wireless connection 1270, over which the OTT connection 1250 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1202 and the UE 1206 via the network node 1204, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
[0164] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1250, in step 1208, the host 1202 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 1206. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1206 that shares data with the host 1202 without explicit human interaction. In step 1210, the host 1202 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1206. The host 1202 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1206. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1206 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1206. The transmission may pass via the network node 1204, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1212, the network node 1204 transmits to the UE 1206 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1202 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1214, the UE 1206 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1206 associated with the host application executed by the host 1202.
[0165] In some examples, the UE 1206 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1202. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1202. Accordingly, in step 1216, the UE 1206 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 1206. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1206 initiates, in step 1218, transmission of the user data towards the host 1202 via the network node 1204. In step 1220, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1204 receives user data from the UE 1206 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1202. In step 1222, the host 1202 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1206.
[0166] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1206 using the OTT connection 1250, in which the wireless connection 1270 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the performance of MDT configuration and thereby provide benefits such as reducing the loss or overwriting of logged MDT measurements.
[0167] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1202. As another example, the host 1202 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1202 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1202 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1202 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 1202 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.
[0168] 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 1250 between the host 1202 and UE 1206, 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 1202 and/or UE 1206. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1250 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 1250 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1204. 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 1202. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1250 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
[0169] 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. [0170] 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.
[0171] Further definitions and embodiments are discussed below.
[0172] In the above-description of various embodiments of present inventive concepts, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of present inventive concepts. 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 present inventive concepts belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, 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.
[0173] When an element is referred to as being "connected", "coupled", "responsive", or variants thereof to another element, it can be directly connected, coupled, or responsive to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected", "directly coupled", "directly responsive", or variants thereof to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Furthermore, "coupled", "connected", "responsive", or variants thereof as used herein may include wirelessly coupled, connected, or responsive. 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. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. The term "and/or" (abbreviated “/”) includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
[0174] It will be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements/operations, these elements/operations should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element/operation from another element/operation. Thus a first element/operation in some embodiments could be termed a second element/operation in other embodiments without departing from the teachings of present inventive concepts. The same reference numerals or the same reference designators denote the same or similar elements throughout the specification.
[0175] As used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "comprises", "include", "including", "includes", "have", "has", "having", or variants thereof are open-ended, and include one or more stated features, integers, elements, steps, components or functions but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, steps, components, functions or groups thereof. Furthermore, as used herein, the common abbreviation "e.g.", which derives from the Latin phrase "exempli gratia," may be used to introduce or specify a general example or examples of a previously mentioned item, and is not intended to be limiting of such item. The common abbreviation "i.e.", which derives from the Latin phrase "id est," may be used to specify a particular item from a more general recitation.
[0176] Example embodiments are described herein with reference to block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations of computer-implemented methods, apparatus (systems and/or devices) and/or computer program products. It is understood that a block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by computer program instructions that are performed by one or more computer circuits. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor circuit of a general purpose computer circuit, special purpose computer circuit, and/or other programmable data processing circuit to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, transform and control transistors, values stored in memory locations, and other hardware components within such circuitry to implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks, and thereby create means (functionality) and/or structure for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block(s).
[0177] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a tangible computer-readable 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 medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks. Accordingly, embodiments of present inventive concepts may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) that runs on a processor such as a digital signal processor, which may collectively be referred to as "circuitry," "a module" or variants thereof.
[0178] It should also be noted that in some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the flowcharts. 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. Moreover, the functionality of a given block of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be separated into multiple blocks and/or the functionality of two or more blocks of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be at least partially integrated. Finally, other blocks may be added/inserted between the blocks that are illustrated, and/or blocks/operations may be omitted without departing from the scope of inventive concepts. Moreover, 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.
[0179] Many variations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present inventive concepts. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of present inventive concepts. Accordingly, the above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the examples of embodiments are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall within the spirit and scope of present inventive concepts. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of present inventive concepts are to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the present disclosure including the examples of embodiments and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.
[0180] Explanations are provided below for various abbreviations/acronyms used in the present disclosure.
Abbreviation Explanation
CN Core Network
DL Downlink
IE Information Element
LTE Long Term Evolution
MDT Minimization of Drive Test
NR New Radio
PLMN Public Land Mobile Network RAT Radio Access Technology
RLF Radio Link Failure
RRC Radio Resource Control
RRM Radio Resource Management
RS Reference Signal
RSRP Reference Signal Received Power
RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality
SINR Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio
TCE Trace collection entity
UE User Equipment
UL Uplink
WLAN Wireless local area network
[0181] References are identified below
[1] 3GPP TS 38.331 v 16.6.0
[2] 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2#115-e - Report of [Offline-872] [SONMDT] Logged MDT Enhancements
[3] 3GPP 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #115 - Electronic Report From SON/MDT Session
[4] 3GPP R2-2005736 Report from SON/MDT session

Claims

36 Claims
1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for reporting of logged measurements, comprising: receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology, RAT (302); logging measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration (304); and transmitting (306) the logged measurements and an indication to a second network node belonging to a second RAT, wherein the indication is in a radio resource control, RRC, format of the second RAT, and wherein the indication indicates an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent.
2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the indicator includes at least one of: a trace reference; a trace recording session reference; and an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported.
3. The method of Claim 2, wherein when the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the indicator further includes an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurements that are yet to be reported contain wireless local area network measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
4. The method of any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein transmitting the indicator is performed in response to receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements.
5. The method of Claim 4, wherein the request comprises a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to the second RAT.
6. The method of Claim 4, wherein the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT. 37
7. The method of any of Claims 4 to 6, wherein receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements is performed in response to transmitting a message to the second network node indicating availability of the logged measurements.
8. The method of Claim 7, wherein the indication of availability indicates one or more of whether logged measurements of the first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of the second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of the first and second RATs are available.
9. The method of any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein logging of the measurements is performed in a power saving mode of operation.
10. The method of Claim 9, wherein the power saving mode of operation comprises one or more of an Idle mode and an inactive mode.
11. The method of any of Claims 1 to 10, wherein transmitting the indicator is performed by the UE only when the received logged configuration is a signaling based logged configuration.
12. The method of any of Claims 2 to 11, wherein the entity to which the measurements are to be sent comprises a trace collection entity, TCE.
13. A method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology, RAT, to enable inter-RAT reporting of logged minimization of drive testing, MDT, measurements, comprising: receiving logged measurements from a UE and an indicator associated with the logged measurements, wherein the measurements were performed in a first RAT, and wherein the indicator includes an address of an entity to which the measurements are to be sent; and transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the address (404).
14. The method of Claim 13, wherein the indicator includes at least one of a trace reference, a trace recording session reference, and an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported.
15. The method of Claim 13, wherein when the indicator includes an indication indicating that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the indicator further includes an indication indicating that the one or more additional logged measurements that are yet to be reported contain WLAN measurements, Bluetooth measurements, and/or sensor measurements.
16. The method of any of Claims 13 to 15, further comprising: transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements; wherein the indicator and the logged measurements are received in response to the request.
17. The method of Claim 16, wherein the request includes a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first radio access technology, RAT, and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
18. The method of Claim 16, wherein the request indicates that the UE should send logged measurements related to the first RAT and logged measurements related to the second RAT.
19. The method of Claim 17 or 18, wherein transmitting the request to transmit the logged measurements is performed in response to receiving an indication from the UE indicating availability of the logged measurements.
20. The method of any of Claims 13 to 19, wherein the second network node receives an indication from the UE that one or more additional logged measurements are yet to be reported, the method further comprising transmitting a further request to the UE to transmit the additional logged measurements.
21. The method of Claim 13, wherein the address of the entity to which the measurements are to be sent comprises a TCE address.
22. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, to enable reporting of logged measurements, comprising: receiving a logged measurement configuration from a first network node belonging to a first radio access technology, RAT (502); logging the measurements in accordance with the received logged measurement configuration (504); and transmitting an indicator to a second network node belonging to a second RAT (506) wherein the indicator indicates that the measurements were performed pursuant to the logged measurement configuration; and wherein the indicator is provided in a radio resource control, RRC, format of the second RAT.
23. The method of Claim 22, wherein the indicator further includes the RAT associated to the first network node.
24. The method of Claim 22 or 23, further comprising receiving a request to transmit the logged measurements from the second network node.
25. The method of Claim 24, further comprising: transmitting the logged measurements to the second network node in response to receiving the request to transmit the logged measurements.
26. The method of Claim 24 or 25, wherein the request comprises a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
27. The method of any of Claims 22 to 26, wherein logging of the measurements is performed in a power saving mode of operation.
28. The method of Claim 27, wherein the power saving mode of operation comprises an idle mode or an inactive state.
29. The method of any of Claims 22 to 28, wherein transmitting the indicator is performed by the UE only when the received logged configuration is a signaling based logged configuration.
30. The method of any of Claims 22 to 29, further comprising: transmitting an indication to the network indicating availability of measurements.
31. The method of Claim 30, wherein the indication of availability indicates one or more of whether logged measurements of the first RAT are available, whether logged measurements of the second RAT are available, and whether logged measurements of the first and second RAT are available.
32. A method performed by a second network node belonging to a second radio access technology, RAT, to enable reporting of logged measurements, comprising: receiving an indicator from a user equipment, UE, that indicates that the measurements were performed pursuant to a measurement configuration received in a first RAT, and wherein the indicator is provided in a radio resource control, RRC, format of the second RAT; transmitting a request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements (604); and receiving the logged measurements from the UE (606).
33. The method of Claim 32, wherein the indicator comprises an address of a trace collection entity, TCE, associated with the measurements, and the method further comprises transmitting the logged measurements received from the UE to the address of the TCE received in the indicator (608).
34. The method of Claim 32 or 33, wherein transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements is performed by the second network node only if the second network node supports decoding of a radio resource control, RRC, format of the logged measurements as indicated in the indicator. 41
35. The method of Claim 32, wherein the request comprises a first request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a first RAT and a second request indicating that the UE should send logged measurements related to a second RAT.
36. The method of any of Claims 32 to 35, wherein transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for the first RAT is performed in response to receiving a first indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a first RAT ; and transmitting the request to the UE to transmit the logged measurements for the second RAT is performed in response to receiving a second indication indicating that the UE has available measurements associated with a second RAT.
37. The method of Claim 36, wherein the indication indicating availability of measurements includes an indication indicating availability of logged measurements of both the first and the second RAT.
38. A user equipment, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of Claims 1 to 12 or 22 to 31 ; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
39. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium comprising computer readable instructions for performing any of the steps of any of Claims 1 to 12 or 22 to 31.
40. A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of Claims 13 to 20 or 32 to 37 ; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
41. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium comprising computer readable instructions for performing any of the steps of any of Claims 13 to 20 or 32 to 37.
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