WO2023128854A1 - User equipment (ue) triggered secondary cell group (scg) activation with radio-related information - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments include methods for a user equipment (UE) configured with a first cell group provided by a first network node and a second cell group provided by a second network node in a wireless network. Such methods include, while the second cell group is in a deactivated state, transmitting the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group. Other embodiments include complementary methods for a first network node configured to provide the first cell group and fora second network node configured to provide the second cell group, as well as UEs and network nodes configured to perform such methods.

Description

USER EQUIPMENT (UE) TRIGGERED SECONDARY CEEE GROUP (SCG) ACTIVATION WITH RADIO-REEATED INFORMATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless networks and mores specifically to techniques that reduce the energy consumed by a user equipment (UE) when connected to multiple cell groups in a wireless network, particularly when one of the cell groups is in a deactivated state.

BACKGROUND

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is an umbrella term for so-called fourth generation (4G) radio access technologies developed within the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) and initially standardized in Release 8 (Rel-8) and Release 9 (Rel-9), also known as Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). LTE is targeted at various licensed frequency bands and is accompanied by improvements to non-radio aspects commonly referred to as System Architecture Evolution (SAE), which includes Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. LTE continues to evolve through subsequent releases.

An overall exemplary architecture of a network comprising LTE and SAE is shown in Figure 1. E-UTRAN 100 includes one or more evolved Node B’s (eNB), such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115, and one or more user equipment (UE), such as UE 120. As used within the 3GPP standards, “user equipment” or “UE” means any wireless communication device (e.g., smartphone or computing device) that is capable of communicating with 3 GPP-standard-compliant network equipment, including E-UTRAN as well as UTRAN and/or GERAN, as the third generation (“3G”) and second-generation (“2G”) 3GPP RANs are commonly known.

As specified by 3GPP, E-UTRAN 100 is responsible for all radio-related functions in the network, including radio bearer control, radio admission control, radio mobility control, scheduling, and dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in uplink and downlink, as well as security of the communications with the UE. These functions reside in the eNBs, such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115. Each of the eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells, including cells 106, 111, and 115 served by eNBs 105, 110, and 115, respectively.

The eNBs in the E-UTRAN communicate with each other via the X2 interface, as shown in Figure 1. The eNBs also are responsible for the E-UTRAN interface to the EPC 130, specifically the SI interface to the Mobility Management Entity (MME) and the Serving Gateway (SGW), shown collectively as MME/S-GWs 134 and 138 in Figure 1. In general, the MME/S-GW handles both the overall control of the UE and data flow between the UE and the rest of the EPC. More specifically, the MME processes the signaling e.g., control plane) protocols between the UE and the EPC, which are known as the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocols. The S-GW handles all Internet Protocol (IP) data packets (e.g., data or user plane) between the UE and the EPC and serves as the local mobility anchor for the data bearers when the UE moves between eNBs, such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115.

EPC 130 can also include a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 131, which manages user- and subscriber-related information. HSS 131 can also provide support functions in mobility management, call and session setup, user authentication and access authorization. The functions of HSS 131 can be related to the functions of legacy Home Location Register (HLR) and Authentication Centre (AuC) functions or operations. HSS 131 can also communicate with MMEs 134 and 138 via respective S6a interfaces. In some embodiments, HSS 131 can communicate with a user data repository (UDR) - labelled EPC-UDR 135 in Figure 1 - via a Ud interface. EPC-UDR 135 can store user credentials after they have been encrypted by AuC algorithms.

3GPP Rel-10 supports bandwidths larger than 20 MHz. One important Rel-10 requirement is backward compatibility with Rel-8. As such, a wideband LTE Rel-10 carrier e.g., >20 MHz) should appear as a plurality of carriers (“component carriers” or CCs) to a Rel-8 (“legacy”) terminal. Legacy terminals can be scheduled in all parts of the wideband Rel-10 carrier. One way to achieve this is by Carrier Aggregation (CA), whereby a Rel-10 terminal can receive multiple CCs, each preferably having the same structure as a Rel-8 carrier.

LTE dual connectivity (DC) was introduced in Rel-12. In DC operation, a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state consumes radio resources provided by at least two different network points connected to one another with a non-ideal backhaul. In LTE, these two network points may be referred to as a “Master eNB” (MeNB) and a “Secondary eNB” (SeNB). More generally, the terms master node (MN), anchor node, and MeNB can be used interchangeably, while the terms secondary node (SN), booster node, and SeNB can also be used interchangeably. DC can be viewed as a special case of CA, in which the aggregated carriers (or cells) are provided by network nodes that are physically separated and not connected via a robust, high-capacity connection.

The fifth generation (“5G”) of cellular systems, also referred to as New Radio (NR), was initially standardized in 3GPP Rel-15 and continues to evolve through subsequent releases. NR is developed for maximum flexibility to support a variety of different use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communications (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), side-link device-to-device (D2D), and several others.

DC is also envisioned as an important feature for 5G/NR networks. Several DC (or more generally, multi -connectivity) scenarios have been considered for NR. These include NR-DC that is similar to LTE-DC discussed above, except that both the MN and SN (referred to as “gNBs”) employ the NR interface to communicate with the UE. In addition, various multi-RAT DC (MR-DC) scenarios have been considered, whereby a UE can be configured to uses resources provided by two different nodes, one providing E-UTRA/LTE access and the other one providing NR access. One node acts as the MN (e.g., providing MCG) and the other as the SN (e.g., providing SCG), with the MN and SN being connected via a network interface and at least the MN being connected to a core network (e.g., EPC or 5GC).

Each of the CGs includes one MAC entity, a primary cell (PCell), and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCells). The term “Special Cell” (or “SpCell” for short) refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG depending on whether the UE’s medium access control (MAC) entity is associated with the MCG or the SCG, respectively. In non-DC operation (e.g., CA), SpCell refers to the PCell. An SpCell is always activated and supports physical UL control channel (PUCCH) transmission and contention-based random access (RA) by UEs.

NR Rel-15 introduced beam failure detection (BFD) and beam failure recover (BFR). The network configures a UE with BFD reference signals to be monitored, and the UE declares beam failure when a quantity of beam failure indications from PHY reaches a configured threshold before a configured timer expires. After BFD, the UE initiates a RA procedure on the PCell and selects a suitable beam to perform BFR. If the serving RAN node has provided dedicated RA resources for certain beams, those will be prioritized by the UE.

To improve network energy efficiency and battery life for UEs in MR-DC, 3GPP Rel-17 includes a work item for efficient SCG/SCell activation/deactivation. This can be especially important for MR-DC configurations with NR SCG since it has been found that, in some cases, NR UE energy consumption is three-to-four times higher than in LTE.

SUMMARY

When the UE’s SCG is deactivated (or, more generally, in a reduced-energy mode such as SCG suspended, SCG dormant, etc.), however, the UE may be unable to notify the network of arrival of UL data (e g., from application layer and/or NAS) needing to be transmitted by the UE in the SCG. For example, 3 GPP has not specified how the UE determines that there is UL data to transmit in a deactivated SCG and how the UE indicates the UL data to the RAN. Currently specified procedures for data volume calculation and buffer status reporting do not consider the case when SCG is deactivated. This lack of clarity can cause various problems, issues, and/or difficulties related to activating an SCG and scheduling of SCG resources for UL data transmission.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide specific improvements to UL data transmission procedures for UEs with deactivated SCGs in a wireless network, such as by facilitating solutions to overcome exemplary problems summarized above and described in more detail below. Embodiments of the present disclosure include methods (e.g., procedures) for a UE configured with a first cell group (e.g., MCG) and a second cell group (e.g., SCG) in a wireless network.

These exemplary methods can include, while the second cell group is in a deactivated state, transmitting the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group, and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group.

In some embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which can be one of the following:

• a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group;

• an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group;

• respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and

• respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups (LCGs) having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

In some embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells (SCells) of the second cell group that are preferred.

In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include performing one or more of the following measurements while the second cell group is deactivated:

• radio resource management, RRM, measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group,

• RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group,

• beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node, and

• beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node.

In such embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes results of the performed measurements.

In some of these embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include determining a likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group based on measurements of the beams transmitted by the second network node. In such case, the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following:

• an indication of the determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group,

• a predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and

• a predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

In other of these embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include performing beam failure detection (BFD) based on the measurements of the beams transmitted by the second network node. In such case, the UE radio-related information includes BFD status for each of the measured beams transmitted by the first network node.

In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include, after transmitting the information, receiving from the wireless network a request to activate the second cell group and activating the second cell group in accordance with the request. In some of these embodiments, the request to activate the second cell group includes one or more of the following:

• a configuration for the second cell group;

• an indication of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and

• an indication of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for a first network node configured to provide a first cell group (e.g., MCG) for a UE that is also configured with a second cell group (e g., SCG) in a wireless network.

These exemplary methods can include receiving the following information from the UE while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group. These exemplary methods can also include determining whether the second cell group should be activated based on the information received from the UE These exemplary methods can also include, based on determining that the second cell group should be activated, transmitting to the UE a request to activate the second cell group.

In various embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UL data indication summarized above in relation to UE embodiments. In various embodiments, the UE radio-related information can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UE radio-related information summarized above in relation to UE embodiments. In some embodiments, determining whether the second cell group should be activated can include comparing one or more parameters or values included in the UE radiorelated information to corresponding thresholds.

In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include determining one or more of the following based on the received information: whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

In some of these embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include transmitting the information received from the UE to a second network node configured to provide the second cell group and receiving from the second network node a response including one or more of the following information:

• a second network node preference whether to activate the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and

• a configuration for the second cell group.

In some variants, the first network node determines one or more of the following further based on the information received from the second network node:

• whether the second cell group should be activated;

• whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and

• a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

In various embodiments, the request to activate the second cell group (e.g., sent to the UE) can include any of the information in the corresponding request summarized above in relation to UE embodiments.

Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for a second network node configured to provide a second cell group (e.g., SCG) for a UE that is also configured with a first cell group (e g., MCG) in a wireless network.

These exemplary methods can include receiving the following information while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group. These exemplary methods can also include determining whether the second cell group should be activated based on the received information. These exemplary methods can also include transmitting one of the following:

• to the UE, a request to activate the second cell group based on determining that the second cell group should be activated; or

• to a first network node configured to provide the first cell group, a response indicating the result of the determination.

In various embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UL data indication summarized above in relation to UE embodiments.

In various embodiments, the UE radio-related information can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UE radio-related information summarized above in relation to UE embodiments. In some embodiments, determining whether the second cell group should be activated can include comparing one or more parameters or values included in the UE radiorelated information to corresponding thresholds.

In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include determining one or more of the following based on the received information: a configuration for the second cell group; whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

In some embodiments, the information is received from a first network node configured to provide the first cell group and the response to the first network node includes one or more of the following information:

• a second network node preference whether to activate the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and

• the configuration for the second cell group.

In some of these embodiments, the configuration for the second cell group includes one or more of the following:

• an updated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state for the second cell group;

• a primary cell to be activated; and

• one or more secondary cells (SCells) to be activated.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include, after the second cell group is activated, initializing scheduling and/or link adaptation procedures for the UE in the second cell group based on the received UE radio-related information. Other embodiments include UEs e.g., wireless devices, loT devices, etc. or component s) thereof) and network nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, en-gNBs, etc., or components thereof) configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Other embodiments include non-transitory, computer-readable media storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, configure such UEs or network nodes to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

These and other embodiments described herein can enable the network to determine whether to activate a UE’s SCG when there is UL data available for transmission in the SCG. When the UE calculates available data volume and transmits the indication of the UE need or preference to activate the SCG for transmission of the UL data and the UE radio-related information, the network can make a timely and well-informed decision whether to activate the SCG. Furthermore, based on receiving the UE radio-related information, the network can select an appropriate method and/or configuration for activation of the SCG, which can reduce the risk of SCG activation failure due to bad radio conditions. By activating the deactivated SCG in a timely manner with a proper method and/or configuration, the network avoids delays in receiving the available UL data, which improves performance of UE applications generating available UL data and ultimately improves user experience.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following Detailed Description in view of the Drawings briefly described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure l is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary LTE network architecture.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of exemplary LTE control plane (CP) protocol layers.

Figure 3 shows a high-level view of an exemplary 5G/NR network architecture.

Figure 4 shows a high-level illustration of dual connectivity (DC) in combination with carrier aggregation (CA).

Figures 5-6 show high-level views of exemplary network architectures that support multi- RAT DC (MR-DC) using EPC and 5GC, respectively.

Figures 7-8 show user plane (UP) radio protocol architectures from a UE perspective for EN-DC with EPC and MR-DC with 5GC, respectively.

Figures 9-10 show UP radio protocol architectures from a network perspective for EN- DC with EPC and MR-DC with 5GC, respectively. Figure 11 is a block diagram showing a high-level comparison of control plane (CP) architectures in LTE DC, EN-DC, and MR-DC using a 5G core network (5GC).

Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) duplication scheme.

Figure 13 shows an exemplary state transition diagram for NR SCells.

Figure 14 is an exemplary SCG state transition diagram.

Figure 15 shows a diagram of an exemplary communication system that includes a UE and first and second nodes, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 16 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedures performed by a UE configured with an MCG and an SCG in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 17 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure performed by a first node configured to provide an MCG for a UE, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 18 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure performed by a second node configured to provide an SCG for a UE, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 19 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a UE, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 20 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a first network node of a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 21 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a second network node of a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 22 shows a communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 23 shows a UE according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 24 shows a network node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 25 shows host computing system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 26 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized.

Figure 27 illustrates communication between a host computing system, a network node, and a UE via multiple connections, at least one of which is wireless, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features, and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below:

• Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” (or equivalently “radio network node,” “radio access network node,” or “RAN node”) can be any node in a radio access network (RAN) that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., gNB in a 3GPP 5G/NR network or an enhanced or eNB in a 3GPP LTE network), base station distributed components (e.g., CU and DU), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., micro, pico, femto, or home base station, or the like), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a transmission point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU or RRH), and a relay node.

• Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a PDN Gateway (P-GW), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a Charging Function (CHF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a location management function (LMF), or the like. • Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” (or “WD” for short) is any type of device that is capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. Unless otherwise noted, the term “wireless device” is used interchangeably herein with the term “user equipment” (or “UE” for short), with both of these terms having a different meaning than the term “network node”.

• Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” can be either a “radio access node” (or equivalent term) or a “wireless device.”

• Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network (e.g., a radio access node or equivalent term) or of the core network (e.g., a core network node discussed above) of a cellular communications network. Functionally, a network node is equipment capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the cellular communications network, to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device, and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the cellular communications network.

• Base station: As used herein, a “base station” may comprise a physical or a logical node transmitting or controlling the transmission of radio signals, e.g., eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, en- gNB, centralized unit (CU)/distributed unit (DU), transmitting radio network node, transmission point (TP), transmission reception point (TRP), remote radio head (RRH), remote radio unit (RRU), Distributed Antenna System (DAS), relay, etc.

• Node: As used herein, the term “node” (without prefix) can be any type of node that can in or with a wireless network (including RAN and/or core network), including a radio access node (or equivalent term), core network node, or wireless device. However, the term “node” may be limited to a particular type (e.g., radio access node) based on its specific characteristics in any given context.

Note that the description herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system. Furthermore, although the term “cell” is used herein, it should be understood that (particularly with respect to 5G NR) beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, concepts described herein apply equally to both cells and beams. Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary LTE control plane (CP) protocol stack between a UE, an eNB, and an MME. The exemplary protocol stack includes Physical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and Radio Resource Control (RRC) layers between the UE and eNB. The PHY layer is concerned with how and what characteristics are used to transfer data over transport channels on the LTE radio interface. The MAC layer provides data transfer services on logical channels, maps logical channels to PHY transport channels, and reallocates PHY resources to support these services. The RLC layer provides error detection and/or correction, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly, reordering of data transferred to or from the upper layers. The PDCP layer provides ciphering/deciphering and integrity protection for both CP and user plane (UP), as well as other UP functions such as header compression. The exemplary protocol stack also includes non-access stratum (NAS) signaling between the UE and the MME.

The RRC layer controls communications between a UE and an eNB at the radio interface, as well as the mobility of a UE between cells in the E-UTRAN. After a UE is powered ON it will be in the RRC IDLE state until an RRC connection is established with the network, at which time the UE will transition to RRC CONNECTED state (e.g., where data transfer can occur). The UE returns to RRC IDLE after the connection with the network is released. In RRC IDLE state, the UE does not belong to any cell, no RRC context has been established for the UE e.g., in E- UTRAN), and the UE is out of UL synchronization with the network. Even so, a UE in RRC IDLE state is known in the EPC and has an assigned IP address.

Furthermore, in RRC IDLE state, the UE’s radio is active on a discontinuous reception ( DRX) schedule configured by upper layers. During DRX active periods (also referred to as “DRX On durations”), an RRC IDLE UE receives system information (SI) broadcast by a serving cell, performs measurements of neighbor cells to support cell reselection, and monitors a paging channel for pages from the EPC via an eNB serving the cell in which the UE is camping.

A UE must perform a random-access (RA) procedure to move from RRC IDLE to RRC CONNECTED state. In RRC CONNECTED state, the cell serving the UE is known and an RRC context is established for the UE in the serving eNB, such that the UE and eNB can communicate. For example, a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) - a UE identity used for signaling between UE and network - is configured for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state.

5G/NR technology shares many similarities with fourth-generation LTE. For example, both PHYs utilize similar arrangements of time-domain physical resources into 1-ms subframes that include multiple slots of equal duration, with each slot including multiple OFDM-based symbols. As another example, NR RRC layer includes RRC IDLE and RRC CONNECTED states, but adds another state known as RRC_INACTIVE. In addition to providing coverage via “cells,” as in LTE, NR networks also provide coverage via “beams.” In general, a DL “beam” is a coverage area of a network-transmitted RS that may be measured or monitored by a UE. Such RS can include any of the following, alone or in combination: SS/PBCH block (SSB), channel state information RS (CSI-RS), tertiary reference signals (or any other sync signal), positioning RS (PRS), demodulation RS (DMRS), phase-tracking reference signals (PTRS), etc. In general, SSB is available to all UEs regardless of RRC state, while other RS (e.g., CSI-RS, DMRS, PTRS) are associated with specific UEs that have a network connection.

Figure 3 illustrates a high-level view of the 5G network architecture, consisting of a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 399 and a 5G Core (5GC) 398. NG-RAN 399 can include a set of gNodeB’s (gNBs) connected to the 3GC via one or more NG interfaces, such as gNBs 300, 350 connected via interfaces 302, 352, respectively. In addition, the gNBs can be connected to each other via one or more Xn interfaces, such as Xn interface 340 between gNBs 300 and 350. With respect the NR interface to UEs, each of the gNBs can support frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof.

NG-RAN 399 is layered into a Radio Network Layer (RNL) and a Transport Network Layer (TNL). The NG-RAN architecture, i.e., the NG-RAN logical nodes and interfaces between them, is defined as part of the RNL. For each NG-RAN interface (NG, Xn, Fl) the related TNL protocol and the functionality are specified. The TNL provides services for user plane transport and signaling transport.

The NG RAN logical nodes shown in Figure 3 include a central (or centralized) unit (CU or gNB-CU) and one or more distributed (or decentralized) units (DU or gNB-DU). For example, gNB 300 includes gNB-CU 310 and gNB-DUs 320 and 330. CUs (e.g., gNB-CU 310) are logical nodes that host higher-layer protocols and perform various gNB functions such controlling the operation of DUs. Each DU is a logical node that hosts lower-layer protocols and can include, depending on the functional split, various subsets of the gNB functions. As such, each of the CUs and DUs can include various circuitry needed to perform their respective functions, including processing circuitry, transceiver circuitry (e.g., for communication), and power supply circuitry.

A gNB-CU connects to gNB-DUs over respective Fl logical interfaces, such as interfaces 322 and 332 shown in Figure 3. The gNB-CU and connected gNB-DUs are only visible to other gNBs and the 5GC as a gNB. In other words, the Fl interface is not visible beyond gNB-CU. In the gNB split CU-DU architecture illustrated by Figure 3, DC can be achieved by allowing a UE to connect to multiple DUs served by the same CU or by allowing a UE to connect to multiple DUs served by different CUs. 3GPP TR 38.804 (vl4.0.0) describes various exemplary DC scenarios or configurations in which the MN and SN can apply NR, LTE, or both. The following terminology is used to describe these exemplary DC scenarios or configurations:

• DC: LTE DC (i.e., both MN and SN employ LTE, as discussed above);

• EN-DC: LTE -NR DC where MN (eNB) employs LTE and SN (gNB) employs NR, and both are connected to EPC.

• NGEN-DC: LTE -NR dual connectivity where a UE is connected to one ng-eNB that acts as a MN and one gNB that acts as a SN. The ng-eNB is connected to the 5GC and the gNB is connected to the ng-eNB via the Xn interface.

• NE-DC: LTE -NR dual connectivity where a UE is connected to one gNB that acts as a MN and one ng-eNB that acts as a SN. The gNB is connected to 5GC and the ng-eNB is connected to the gNB via the Xn interface.

• NR-DC (or NR-NR DC): both MN and SN employ NR.

• MR-DC (multi-RAT DC): a generalization of the Intra-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (DC) described in 3GPP TS 36.300 (vl6.3.0), where a multiple Rx/Tx UE may be configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes connected via non-ideal backhaul, one providing E-UTRA access and the other one providing NR access. One node acts as the MN and the other as the SN. The MN and SN are connected via a network interface and at least the MN is connected to the core network. EN-DC, NE-DC, and NGEN-DC are different example cases of MR-DC.

Figure 4 shows a high-level illustration of a UE (430) configured for DC and CA. In this illustration, each of the MN (410) and the SN (420) can be either an eNB or a gNB, in accordance with the various DC scenarios mentioned above. The MN provides the UE’s MCG (415) consisting of a PCell and three SCells arranged in CA, while the SN provides the UE’s SCG (425) consisting of a PSCell and three SCells arranged in CA.

Figure 5 shows a high-level view of an exemplary network architecture that supports EN- DC, including an E-UTRAN 599 and an EPC 598. As shown in the figure, E-UTRAN 599 can include en-gNBs (e.g. , 510a,b) and eNBs (e.g. , 520a, b) that are interconnected with each other via respective X2 (or X2-U) interfaces. The eNBs can be similar to those shown in Figure 1, while the ng-eNBs can be similar to the gNBs shown in Figure 3 except that they connect to the EPC via an Sl-U interface rather than to a 5GC via an X2 interface. The eNBs also connect to the EPC via an SI interface, similar to the arrangement shown in Figure 1. More specifically, the en-gNBs and eNBs connect to MMEs (e.g., 530a, b) and S-GWs (e.g., 540a, b) in the EPC.

Each of the en-gNBs and eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells, including cells 511a-b and 521a-b shown as exemplary in Figure 5. Depending on the cell in which it is located, a UE 505 can communicate with the en-gNB or eNB serving that cell via the NR or LTE radio interface, respectively. In addition, UE 505 can be in EN-DC with a first cell served by an eNB and a second cell served by an en-gNB, such as cells 520a and 510a.

Figure 6 shows a high-level view of an exemplary network architecture that supports MR- DC configurations based on 5GC. More specifically, Figure 6 shows an NG-RAN 699 and a 5GC 698. NG-RAN 699 can include gNBs (e.g., 610a, b) and ng-eNBs (e.g, 620a, b) that are interconnected with each other via respective Xn interfaces. The gNBs and ng-eNBs are also connected via the NG interfaces to the 5GC, more specifically to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF, e.g, 630a, b) via respective NG-C interfaces and to the User Plane Function (UPF, e.g., 640a, b) via respective NG-U interfaces. Moreover, the AMFs can communicate with one or more session management functions (SMFs, e.g., 650a, b) and network exposure functions (NEFs, e g., 660a, b).

Each of the gNBs can be similar to those shown in Figure 5, while each of the ng-eNBs can be similar to the eNBs shown in Figure 1 except that they connect to the 5GC via an NG interface rather than to EPC via an SI interface. Each of the gNBs and ng-eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells, including cells 611a-b and 621a-b shown as exemplary in Figure 6. The gNBs and ng-eNBs can also use various directional beams to provide coverage in the respective cells. Depending on the cell in which it is located, a UE 605 can communicate with the gNB or ng-eNB serving that cell via the NR or LTE radio interface, respectively. In addition, the UE can be in MR-DC connectivity with a first cell served by an ng- eNB and a second cell served by a gNB, such as cells 620a and 610a.

Figures 7-8 show UP radio protocol architectures from a UE perspective for MR-DC with EPC (e.g., EN-DC) and with 5GC (e.g., NGEN-DC, NE-DC, and NR-DC), respectively. In both cases, a UE supports MCG, SCG, and split bearers, as discussed above. In the EN-DC arrangement shown in Figure 7, MCG bearers have either LTE (e g., E-UTRA) or NR PDCP and LTE RLC and MAC layers, while SCG bearers have NR PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers. Split bearers have NR PDCP layer and both LTE and NR RLC and MAC layers. In the arrangement shown in Figure 8, all bearers have NR PDCP layers and lower layers corresponding to the RAT used by the MN and SN. One difference between the architectures in Figures 7-8 is that the various bearers for MR-DC with 5GC are associated with QoS flows that are terminated in an SDAP layer above PDCP.

Figures 9-10 show UP radio protocol architectures from a network perspective for MR- DC with EPC (e.g., EN-DC) and with 5GC (e.g., NGEN-DC, NE-DC, and NR-DC), respectively. In the EN-DC arrangement shown in Figure 9, an MCG bearer terminated in MN has PDCP layer of the RAT used by the MN, while all other bearers have NR PDCP layer. All bearers have lower layers associated with the RAT of the node(s) in which they are terminated. In the arrangement shown in Figure 10, all bearers have NR PDCP layers and lower layers associated with the RAT of the node(s) in which they are terminated. From a network perspective, each MCG, SCG, or and split bearer can be terminated either in MN or in SN. For example, the X2 or Xn interface between the nodes will carry traffic for SCG or split bearers terminated in MN PDCP layer to lower layers in SN. Likewise, X2 or Xn will carry traffic for MCG or split bearers terminated in SN PDCP layer to lower layers in MN. One difference between the architectures in Figures 9-10 is that the various bearers for MR-DC with 5GC are associated with QoS flows that are terminated in the SDAP layer above PDCP.

Figures 9-10 also have some DC-specific variations. In EN-DC with EPC, the network can configure either E-UTRA PDCP or NR PDCP for MN terminated MCG data radio bearers (DRBs) while NR PDCP is always used for all other DRBs. In MR-DC with 5GC, NR PDCP is always used for all DRB types. In NGEN-DC, E-UTRA RLC/MAC is used in the MN while NR RLC/MAC is used in the SN. In NE-DC, NR RLC/MAC is used in the MN while E-UTRA RLC/MAC is used in the SN. In NR-DC, NR RLC/MAC is used in both MN and SN.

Figure 11 is a block diagram showing a high-level comparison of CP architectures in LTE DC, EN-DC, and MR-DC using 5GC. One primary difference is that the SN has a separate NR RRC entity in EN-DC and NR-DC. This means that the SN can also control the UE, sometimes without the knowledge of the MN but often in coordination with the MN. In LTE -DC, the RRC decisions are always made by the MN (MN to UE). Even so, the LTE-DC SN still decides its own configuration because it is aware of its resources, capabilities etc. while the MN is not.

Another difference between LTE-DC and the others is the use of a split bearer for RRC. Split RRC messages are mainly used for creating diversity, and the sender can choose one of the links for scheduling the RRC messages, or it can duplicate the message over both links. In the DL, the path switching between the MCG or SCG legs (or duplication on both) is left to network implementation. On the other hand, for the UL, the network configures the UE to use the MCG, SCG, or both for RRC messages. The terms “leg”, “path” and “RLC bearer” are used interchangeably throughout this document.

Packet duplication (also referred to as “PDCP duplication” or “PDCP PDU duplication”) can increase reliability and reduce latency, which can be very beneficial for ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) data services. When PDCP duplication is configured for a radio bearer by RRC, an additional RLC entity and an additional logical channel are added to the radio bearer to handle the duplicated PDCP protocol data units (PDUs). As such, PDCP duplication involves sending the same PDCP PDUs twice: once on the original (or primary) RLC entity and a second time on the additional (or secondary) RLC entity. Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary PDCP duplication scheme. Note that the primary RLC entity is associated with a primary logical channel (LCH) and the secondary RLC entity is associated with a secondary LCH. When configuring duplication for a DRB, RRC also sets the state of PDCP duplication (i.e., activated or deactivated) at the time of (re-)configuration. After the configuration, the PDCP duplication state can then be dynamically controlled by a MAC CE. In DC, the UE applies these MAC CE commands regardless of whether they were received via MCG or SCG.

3 GPP previously specified the concepts of dormant LTE SCell and dormancy -like behavior of an NR SCell. In LTE, when an SCell is in dormant state, the UE does not need to monitor the corresponding physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and cannot transmit in the corresponding UL. This behavior is similar to behavior in a deactivated state, but the UE is also required to perform and report CQI measurements, which is different from deactivated state behavior. A PUCCH SCell (SCell configured with PUCCH) cannot be in dormant state.

Figure 13 shows an exemplary state transition diagram for NR SCells. At a high level, a UE’s SCell can transition between deactivated and activated states based on explicit commands from the network (e.g., MAC CEs) or expiration of a deactivation timer.

Dormancy-like behavior for NR SCells is based on the concept of dormant bandwidth parts (BWP). One of the UE’s dedicated BWPs configured via RRC signaling can be configured as dormant for an SCell. If the active BWP of the activated SCell is a dormant BWP, the UE stops monitoring PDCCH on the SCell but continues performing CSI measurements, AGC, and beam management (if configured to do so).

Downlink control information (DCI) on PDCCH is used to control entering/leaving the dormant BWP for SCell(s) or SCG(s) and is sent to the SpCell of the cell group that includes the dormant SCell (i.e., to PCell if SCell belongs to MCG, to PSCell if SCell belongs to SCG). The SpCell (i.e., PCell or PSCell) and PUCCH SCell cannot be configured with a dormant BWP.

However, if the UE is configured with MR-DC, it cannot fully benefit from the energy reductions of dormant state or dormancy-like behavior since the PSCell cannot be configured to be dormant. One solution is releasing (for power savings) and adding (when traffic demands requires) the SCG on an as-needed basis. Traffic is likely to be bursty, however, so adding and releasing the SCG as needed can involve a significant amount of RRC signaling and inter-node messaging between the MN and the SN. This can experience considerable delay.

In the context of 3GPP Rel-16, there were some discussions about placing the PSCell in dormancy, also referred to as SCG Suspension. Some agreed principles of this solution include:

• The UE supports network-controlled suspension of the SCG in RRC CONNECTED. • UE behavior for a suspended SCG is for further study (FFS)

• The UE supports at most one SCG configuration, suspended or not suspended, in Rell6.

• In RRC CONNECTED upon addition of the SCG, the SCG can be either suspended or not suspended by configuration.

More detailed solutions were proposed for Rel-16, but these have various problems. For example, one solution proposed that a gNB can indicate for a UE to suspend SCG transmissions when no data traffic is expected to be sent in SCG, so that UE keeps the SCG configuration but does not use it for power saving purposes. Signaling to suspend SCG could be based on DCI/MAC-CE/RRC, but no details were discussed above the particular configuration from the gNB to the UE. Even so, this solution for SCells may not be applicable to PSCells, which may be associated with a different network node (e.g., a gNB operating as SN).

Discussions are ongoing in 3GPP RANI, RAN2, and RAN3 WGs about solutions for the Rel-17 MR-DC work item objective “Support efficient activation/de-activation mechanism for one SCG and SCells”. One concept being discussed is a “deactivated SCG” with reduced energy consumption when traffic demands are dynamically reduced. This can be especially important for MR-DC configurations with NR SCG since, in some cases, NR UE energy consumption is three- to-four times higher than in LTE.

Figure 14 is an exemplary state transition diagram illustrating two SCG states (sometimes referred to as "states for SCG activation") according to this concept. In Figure 14, these states are labelled "SCG deactivated state" and "SCG activated state” and are distinct from RRC states. Rather, these SCG states represent whether or not an SCG energy saving mode has been applied.

3GPP RAN2 has agreed that SCG activation state can be configured via RRC. In addition, the following properties apply to a deactivated SCG:

• No PDCCH/PDSCH/PUSCH Tx/Rx on PSCell;

• All SCells are deactivated;

• SCG reconfiguration via MCG is supported;

• Radio resource management (RRM) and PSCell mobility is supported;

• Both RACH and RACH-less SCG activation is supported;

• UE keeps Time Alignment timer running;

• UE continues BFD and radio link monitoring (RLM), if configured; and

• SCG activation indication can indicate TCI state.

NR Rel-15 introduced BFD and BFR. The network configures a UE with BFD reference signals (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) to be monitored, and the UE declares beam failure when a quantity of beam failure indications from PHY reaches a configured threshold before a configured timer expires. SSB-based BFD can only be configured for the UE’s initial DL bandwidth part (BWP) and for DL BWPs containing the SSB associated with the initial DL BWP. For other DL BWPs, BFD must be performed based on CSI-RS.

Resources and parameters for UE BFD are configured via RRC as part of the ServingCellConfig IE within each dedicated DL BWP configuration (i.e., BWP- DownlinkDedicated) within the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig IE. Figure 15 shows an ASN.l data structure for an exemplary RadioLinkMonitoringConfig IE. This exemplary IE includes field failureDetectionResourcesToAddModList, which is a sequence of RadioLinkMonitoringRS fields that define the specific RS resources (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) for BFD. More details about this exemplary RadioLinkMonitoringConfig IE are given in 3 GPP TS 38.331 (v 16.6.0).

After BFD, the UE initiates a RA procedure on the PCell and selects a suitable beam to perform BFR. If the serving gNB has provided dedicated RA resources for certain beams, those will be prioritized by the UE. Upon completion of the RA procedure, BFR is considered complete. More details about UE actions during BFD and BFR are given in 3GPP TS 38.321 (vl6.6.0).

Resources and parameters for UE BFR are configured via RRC as part of the CellGroupConfig IE within each dedicated UL BWP configuration (i.e., BWP-UplinkDedicated) within the BeamFailureRecoveryConfig IE. These configured resources and parameters include a candidate beam list to be selected upon BFR, threshold(s) for beam selection, etc. Figure 16 shows an ASN.l data structure for an exemplary BeamFailureRecoveryConfig IE. More details about this exemplary RadioLinkMonitoringConfig IE are given in 3GPP TS 38.331 (vl6.6.0).

As mentioned above, the NR RRC layer includes RRC IDLE and RRC CONNECTED states, but adds another state known as RRC INACTIVE. A UE performs various measurements in RRC IDLE and RRC INACTIVE. Upon connection establishment (from RRC IDLE) and connection resume (from RRC INACTIVE), the UE may provide such measurement information (also known as early measurement report or EMR) to the network if the UE was previously configured by the network to do so. The network may use the received measurement information to configure the UE as part of, or immediately after, these procedures without having to wait for measurements performed by the UE after entering RRC CONNECTED.

As part of the 3 GPP work item on Rel-17 MR-DC enhancements, 3 GPP RAN2 has agreed to support the following solutions for UL data arrival while the SCG is deactivated:

• the UE sends the UL data via the MCG leg of split bearers; or

• the UE indicates via the MCG that it has UL data to send for an SCG bearer.

There are various issues associated with the second solution, i.e., for SCG bearers. For example, how the UE determines and indicates that it has UL data to send in a deactivated SCG are not currently specified. Existing procedures for data volume calculation and buffer status reporting specified in 3GPP TS 38.321 (v), 38.322 (v), and 38.323 (v) do not consider the case when SCG is deactivated.

Furthermore, how the network acts (including MN and SN interaction) upon receiving the UE indication is not currently specified. For example, if the network determines based on the indication from the UE that the SCG is to be activated, it may need to provide an updated SCG configuration to the UE to facilitate prompt and reliable SCG activation, thereby avoiding random access failures, beam failures, radio link failures, and the like. This is not currently specified.

3GPP RAN2 WG has agreed that both RACH-based and RACH-less SCG activation is supported, meaning that the UE may or may not perform a random access procedure when the SCG becomes activated. The network can control the UE’s choice between RACH-based or RACH-less SCG activation based on the message that requests SCG activation by the UE. Although successful RACH-less activations are faster and use fewer network resources, the network may be unaware of whether a UE’s RACH-less activation will fail or succeed. This can be the case, for example, when the UE has problems with its current beam but has not yet triggered a beam failure and/or beam recovery procedure.

Existing procedures for UE reporting of radio resource management (RRM) measurements and beam failure recovery in RRC CONNECTED state are neither specified, intended, nor designed to be used in conjunction with SCG activation; specifically, they are triggered by other events related to mobility and/or beam failure. Moreover, existing procedures for early measurement reporting (EMR) of measurements made in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE are intended to be used when resuming or establishing a connection, and as such are not applicable for SCG activation when the UE already is in RRC_CONNECTED.

Accordingly, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide novel, flexible, and efficient techniques for a UE configured for MR-DC with an MCG and an SCG in a wireless network (e.g., NG-RAN). At a high level, while the SCG is in a deactivated state, the UE transmits the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the MCG and the SCG. In some embodiments, while the SCG is in a deactivated state, the UE determines availability of UE data for transmission via the SCG and transmits the information responsive to this determination. However, the reason or cause for transmitting the information is not limited to availability of UL data for transmission via the deactivated SCG.

In different embodiments, the UE can transmit the information to a first node configured to provide the MCG, or to a second node configured to provide the SCG. In some embodiments, the UE can receive, from the first node (e.g., in response to transmitting the information), a request to activate the SCG, in response to which the UE can activate the SCG.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure provide novel, flexible, and efficient techniques for a first node configured to provide a first cell group (e.g., MCG) for a UE in a wireless network (e.g., NG-RAN). At a high level, the first node receives the following information from the UE while the (UE’s) second cell group (e.g., SCG) is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG (e.g., for transmission of UL data); and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the MCG and the SCG. The first node then determines whether the SCG should be activated based on the received information and, based on determining that the SCG should be activated (i.e., positive result of the determining operation), transmits to the UE a request to activate the SCG. In some embodiments, the first node can determine whether the SCG should be activated based on sending some or all the received information to a second node configured to provide the SCG and receiving a response indicating whether the SCG should be activated.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure provide novel, flexible, and efficient techniques for a second node configured to provide an SCG for a UE in a wireless network (e.g., NG-RAN). At a high level, the second node receives the following information while the (UE’s) SCG is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG (e.g., for transmission of UL data); and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the MCG and the SCG. The second node then determines whether the SCG should be activated based on the received information and transmits one of the following:

• to the UE, a request to activate the SCG based on determining that the SCG should be activated (i.e., positive result of the determining operation); or

• to a first node configured to provide the MCG, a message indicating the result of the determination.

In some embodiments, the message transmitted to the first node can also include an SCG configuration for the UE that was determined by the second node (e.g., based on the received information).

In some of the embodiments summarized above, the UE radio-related information can include one or more of the following: RRM measurements, beam measurements, beam failure detection (BFD) status, beam failure prediction, time alignment (TA) status, etc. In some of the embodiments summarized above, the indication can be an UL data indication, e.g., indicating that the UE has UL data available for transmission in the SCG.

Embodiments can provide various benefits, advantages, and/or solutions to problems described herein. For example, embodiments enable the network to determine whether to activate a UE’s SCG when there is UL data available for transmission in the SCG. When the UE calculates available data volume and transmits the indication of the UE need or preference to activate the SCG for transmission of the UL data and the UE radio-related information, the network can make a timely and well-informed decision whether to activate the SCG. By activating the deactivated SCG in a timely manner, the network avoids delays in receiving the available UL data, which improves performance of UE applications generating available UL data and ultimately improves user experience.

Furthermore, based on receiving the UE radio-related information, the network can determine whether to activate the SCG and to select an appropriate method and/or configuration for activation of the SCG. This can reduce the risk of SCG activation failure due to bad radio conditions, thereby avoiding undesirable SCG activation delay. In addition, the network may use the UE radio-related information to initialize scheduling or link adaptation when the SCG has been activated. This increases SCG data throughput for the UE immediately after SCG activation, particularly when the first node and second node are co-located.

In the following discussion, the phrase “indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG” refers generally to information transmitted from UE to network (or forwarded by receiving network node) when the UE determines that the SCG should be activated for some reason, e.g., for transmission of arriving UL data on the SCG. For example, such UL data may be associated with configured bearers (e.g., DRB, SRB) that only have SCG resources (“SCG bearers”).

In the following discussion, the terms “suspended SCG”, “deactivated SCG”, “inactive SCG”, and “SCG in reduced-energy mode” are used interchangeably. From the UE perspective, however, “SCG in reduced-energy mode” means that the UE is operating in a reduced-energy mode with respect to the SCG. Likewise, the terms “resumed SCG”, “activated SCG”, “active SCG”, “SCG in normal energy mode”, “normal SCG operation”, and “legacy SCG operation” are used interchangeably. From the UE perspective, “SCG in normal energy mode” means that the UE is operating in a normal (i.e., non-reduced) energy mode with respect to the SCG. Examples of operations are UE signal reception/transmission procedures, RRM measurements, reception of signals, transmission of signals, measurement configuration, measurement reporting, evaluation of triggered event measurement reports, etc.

In the following, various embodiments are described in terms of an SCG that is deactivated for a UE configured with DC, with the MCG operating in a normal (or activated) mode. In such case, the UE will stop monitoring PDCCH on the deactivated SCG cells (i.e., PSCell and/or SCG SCells) but continues monitoring PDDCH on the MCG. However, similar principles can be applied to an MCG that is deactivated for a UE configured with DC, with the SCG operating in a normal (or activated) mode. In such case, the UE will stop monitoring PDCCH on the deactivated MCG cells (i.e., PCell and/or MCG SCells) but continues monitoring PDDCH on the SCG. Thus, a skilled person will understand that the terms “SCG” and “MCG” can be switched in the following description to convey these alternative embodiments.

The various embodiments described below are equally applicable to UEs in EN-DC with an LTE MCG and an NR SCG, MR-DC with an NR MCG and an LTE SCG, and NR-DC with NR MCG and SCG. Even if certain message names in the following description may be associated with a particular RAT (e.g., LTE or NR) in 3GPP specifications, such names are used generically below unless specifically noted or clearly implied by the context of use.

Figure 15 shows a diagram of an exemplary communication system, which provides a context for the following description of various embodiments. A UE (1501) is configured for DC (e g., MR-DC) and is connected to via a first cell group (1502) to a first node (1506) over a first radio interface (1504). The UE is also connected via a second cell group (1503) to a second node (1507) over a second radio interface (1505).

The first node (e.g., MN) controls the first cell group (e g., MCG). The first cell group is configured with a main cell (e.g., PCell) and optionally one or more further cells (e.g., SCells) in a CA configuration. The second node (e.g., SN) controls the second cell group (e.g., SCG). The second cell group is configured with a main cell (e.g., PSCell) and optionally one or more further cells (e.g., SCells) in a CA configuration. The first node is connected to the second node 157 over an interface (1508, e.g., X2 or Xn). Note that the first cell group and second cell group are specific to UE, and other UEs served by the first node and/or the second node may have UE-specific cell groups composed of the same or different cells served by these two nodes.

In some embodiments, a UE configured with an MCG and an SCG in a wireless network transmits to the wireless network an indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG from deactivated state with reduced energy consumption to an activated state with normal energy consumption. The UE can also transmit to the wireless network UE radio-related information associated with the SCG and/or the MCG.

In some embodiments, the UE determines that UL data is available for transmission in the SCG while the SCG is deactivated. For example, the UE can calculate UL data volume available for transmission while the SCG is deactivated. The calculated UL data volume can be expressed as an amount, e.g., a number of octets. In some embodiments, the calculated UL data volume can be a total amount of UL data in UE buffers for bearers with only SCG resources (also referred to as SCG bearers). In other embodiments, the calculated UL data volume can also include UL data for split bearers that has not yet been transmitted to the network via the MCG In some embodiments, the calculated UL data volume can be the sum of the PDCP data volume and RLC data volume, such as measured in number of octets, for bearers with only SCG resources, sometimes known as SCG bearers, and in one example also split bearers. In some embodiments, when the calculated UL data volume includes the data volume for split bearers, the RLC data volume includes only the RLC entities associated with the SCG.

In some embodiments, UE transmission of the message can be responsive to determining the availability of UL data for transmission via the deactivated SCG. For example, the UE can use the calculated UL data volume to determine whether to transmit the message to the network. In some embodiments, determining whether to transmit the message can be based on a criteria, such as whether the calculated UL data volume exceeds a threshold, which can be network- configured (e.g., broadcast or RRC unicast) or pre-configured (e.g., 3GPP specified).

In some embodiments, upon determining that one or more criteria for transmitting the message have been fulfilled (e.g., UL data volume exceeds the threshold), the UE starts a timer. While the timer is running, the UE does not transmit the message. When the timer is not running (e.g., has expired or has not yet been started), the UE transmits the message so long as the one or more criteria remain fulfilled. The value of this timer can be network-configured (e.g., broadcast or RRC unicast) or pre-configured (e.g., 3GPP specified).

In some embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG includes an UL data indication. In some embodiments, the UE transmits a message including the UL data indication to the first node via the MCG. In some embodiments, the UL data indication can be or include an indication of the calculated UL data volume, such as an amount of the calculated UL data volume expressed as a number of octets.

In some embodiments, the UL data volume calculation for the SCG can be specified as follows in 3GPP TS 38.323 (section 5.6) of the PDCP layer specification:

*** Begin exemplary text for 3GPP TS 38.323 ***

For the purpose of data volume calculation for deactivated SCG, the transmitting PDCP entity shall consider the following as data volume:

1. PDCP SDUs for which no PDCP Data PDUs have been constructed;

2. PDCP Data PDUs that have not been submitted to lower layers; and

3. PDCP Data PDUs that have been submitted to RLC entities in the SCG.

*** End exemplary text for 3GPP TS 38.323 ***

In the above exemplary text, the first and the second items represent the data volume in the PDCP entity. The third item is the data volume in the RLC entity, which was pre-processed and submitted to the associated RLC entities before SCG is activated. In alternative embodiments, the UL data volume calculation for the SCG can be based on the PDCP data volume calculation and the RLC data volume calculation. The RLC data volume calculation (third item above) only considers the RLC data pending for initial transmission, i.e., RLC SDUs and RLC SDU segments that have not yet been included in an RLC data PDU, and RLC data PDUs that are pending for initial transmission.

In some embodiments, for an SCG DRB, if the total amount of PDCP data volume and RLC data volume pending for initial transmission is larger than zero, the UE indicate the total volume in the UL data indication, which can be (or be included in) the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG as discussed above. For a split DRB, if the total amount of PDCP data volume and RLC data volume pending for initial transmission from both MCG and SCG is larger than ul-DataSplitThreshold, UE can indicate the total data volume in the UL data indication. In this embodiment, the UE can send the UL data indication in an RRC message via the MCG.

In some embodiments, only a subset of SCG DRBs or split DRBs can trigger the transmission of the message including the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG. Which subset to consider can be explicitly RRC-configured or implicitly indicated by a relevant RRC configuration. One such implicit configuration can be that a DRB, whose associated logical channel (LCH) does not belong to any Logical Channel Group (LCG), cannot trigger UE transmission of the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG.

In other embodiments, the UL data indication can be a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the SCG (i.e., for any SCG DRBs or split DRBs). In other embodiments, the UL data indication can include respective identifiers of one DRBs (e g., split or SCG) having available UL data and indications of the respective volumes of such available UL data.

In other embodiments, the UL data indication can include indications of the respective volumes of available UL data for all logical channel groups (LCGs) in the SCG. In some variants, when available UL data volume for all LCGs is zero, then the UE does not send the message including the UL data indication even if the UE has determined that there is UL data available for transmission in one or more logical channels of the SCG that do not belong to any LCGs.

In some embodiments, each indication of available UL data volume (e.g., for an LCG) can be a one of a plurality of code points representing respective ranges of the UL data volume. For example, a value i in the UL data indication indicates that the data volume is between [Di, Di+i ] octets. The ranges may be overlapping or non-overlapping. In some embodiments, this set of these code points can represent a data volume from 0 to a maximum UE buffer size (e g., X octets). In other embodiments, each code point of the UL data indication can indicate that the available UL data volume is larger than a corresponding value, e.g., X octets.

In some embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG can include an indication of one or more SCells in the SCG, such as the number (or the identities) of SCG SCells that the UE prefers to activate or identities of specific SCells that the UE prefers to activate.

Figure 16 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure performed by a UE configured with an MCG and an SCG in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

In operation 16010, the UE performs a procedure for available UL data volume calculation. The output of the procedure is an UL data volume (e.g., a value indicative of the UL data available for transmission). In operation 16020, the UE determines whether one or more criteria for indicating a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG for transmission of the UL data have been fulfilled. One example criterion is that the data volume exceeds a predetermined threshold. Another example criterion is that a particular UE timer is not running.

If the one or more criteria are not fulfilled, the UE returns to operation 16010. If the one or more criteria are fulfilled, the UE proceeds to operation 16030, where the UE transmits a message to the first node configured to provide the MCG, with the message including an UL data indication and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the MCG and the SCG. In some embodiments, the UE also starts a timer in block 16030.

In some embodiments, transmitting the message is caused by or responsive to an RRM measurement condition. For example, that a measurement quantity (such as RSRP or RSRQ) on the primary cell in the SCG sometimes also known as the PSCell) is above a certain threshold. Or for example, that a measurement quantity (such as RSRP or RSRQ) on the primary cell in the MCG (sometimes known as the PCell) is below a certain threshold. In these examples, the UE radio-related information includes measurement results for the concerned cells, such as a measurement result for the primary cell in the first cell group.

In various embodiments, the UE radio-related information can be included in the same message or a different message as the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG. As an example of different messages, the UE can initially transmit the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG, which can trigger some collection of (some or all) the UE radio-related information included in a subsequent message. In variants based on different messages, the UE radio-related information can be sent to the same node or a different node as the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG. In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information can act as the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG. In other words, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG can be implicit from the UE radio-related information transmitted by the UE, such that the UE does not need to transmit an explicit indication.

In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes RRM measurements or beam measurements, such as measurement results contained in existing RRC information elements (IE) such as MeasResults, MeasResultNR, MeasResult2NR, or Me asResultldleNR, or a new IE defined for this purpose. In some embodiments, the measurement results include reference signal received power (RSRP) and/or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) measurements for the PSCell of the SCG and/or for neighboring cells. In some embodiments, the measurement results can include RSRP and/or RSRQ measurements for the primary cell (sometimes known as the PCell) in the first cell group.

In some embodiments, the measurement results can include RSRP and/or RSRQ measurements for some number of beams, e.g., a number defined by an RRC IE such as ResultsPerSSB-IndexIdle-rl6. In some embodiments, the network configures which measurement results (e.g., how many beams, which neighbor cells, etc.) that the UE should include in the UE radio-related information, e.g., through unicast or broadcast signaling received by the UE. In some embodiments, the network configures one or more conditions or criteria that must be met for the UE to send the UE radio-related information. This can be done, for example, using an existing measurement reporting configuration and/or existing report types (e.g., event- triggered) or by a new configuration or report type specified for this purpose.

In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information can include BFD status indicated based on a counter value (e.g., MAC BFI COUNTER). In other embodiments, the UE radio-related information can include an indication of a risk for beam failure. The UE can determine this risk of beam failure, for example, based on a measured value or a counter value relative to (e.g., below or above) some predefined threshold.

In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE- preferred SCG activation procedure. For example, the UE can indicate whether it prefers a to use a RACH based procedure or a RACH-less procedure for the activation of the SCG.

In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes beam measurements or other beam related indications from the UE, such as information about beam measurements and/or beam failure detection status, could be indications from the UE about the perceived status for the one or more beam(s) that the UE is monitoring. In some embodiments the UE is monitoring the status for more than one beam for the PSCell (or for the SCG, which could include more than one cells) while the SCG is deactivated. The UE then includes information per beam (i.e., for one or more beams), such as e.g., measurement information or information about the status for the different beams.

In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes a UE prediction of when a beam failure will occur in the SCG (or a cell of the SCG, such as the SpCell). In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes a prediction of when a beam will no longer support the UE performing a RACH-less SCG activation procedure. For example, this could be represented by a value for a timer, the expiration of which indicates a UE need to perform a RACH-based SCG activation procedure. In some embodiments, a predicted time can be accompanied by an associated confidence or likelihood level (e g., 90% confidence).

In some embodiments, the UE can predict the time of beam failure or the time for RACH- based SCG activation based on past experiences (e.g., when beam failures have occurred in earlier situations) in relation to the current situation as represented by current beam measurements. In some embodiments, the UE prediction can be based on a configuration provided by the network.

In some embodiments, the specific UE radio-related information included by the UE in the message can be network-configured (e.g., broadcast or RRC unicast) or pre-configured (e.g., 3GPP specified). For example, the network can configure the UE to include a subset of all available UE radio-related information.

In some embodiments, the UE receives from the network (e.g., first node or second node) a request to activate the SCG. In general, this received message is responsive to the information (i.e., indication of UE need or UE preference and the UE radio-related information) previously transmitted by the UE. In some embodiments, the received message includes an indication whether to use RA during the SCG activation. In some embodiments, when the message indicates that the UE should use RA, the message also includes an indication whether to use contention-based RA (CBRA) or contend on -free RA (CFRA). Subsequently, the UE activates the SCG in accordance with the message received from the network.

Other embodiments includes methods performed by a first node configured to provide an MCG for a UE in a wireless network (e.g., NG-RAN). The first node receives the following information from the UE while the (UE’s) SCG is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG (e.g., for transmission of UL data); and UE radiorelated information associated with one or more of the MCG and the SCG. The first node then determines whether the SCG should be activated based on the received information and, based on determining that the SCG should be activated (i.e., positive result of the determining operation), transmits to the UE a request to activate the SCG. In some embodiments, the first node can determine whether the SCG should be activated based on sending some or all the received information to a second node configured to provide the SCG and receiving a response indicating whether the SCG should be activated.

In general, the operations of the first node according to these embodiments are complementary to the operations of the UE according to the various embodiments described above. For example, the received indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG can include any of the contents described above in relation to the same indication being transmitted by the UE. As a more specific example, the received indication can be (or include) an UL data indication having any of the contents and/or features described above. Likewise, the received UE radio-related information can include any of the contents described above in relation to the same UE radio-related information being transmitted by the UE. Additionally, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG and the UE radio-related information can be received together (e g., in the same message) or separately (e g., in separate messages) as described above.

As mentioned above, the UE radio-related information can act as the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG. In other words, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG can be implicit from the UE radio-related information received by the first node. For example, when the UE radio-related information includes RRM measurements, the first node may determine whether to activate the SCG based on one or more of the RRM measurements being above corresponding thresholds.

In some embodiments, the first node transmits radio-related information to the second node. This radio-related information can include the UE radio-related information received from the UE, and/or first node radio-related information (e g., further measurements) that was determined by the first node. Subsequently, the first node receives from the second node a response include a second node preference whether to activate the UE’s SCG. As explained in more detail below, the second node can determine this preference based on the radio-related information received from the first node. In some embodiments, the first node can base its determination whether to activate the SCG on the received second node preference instead of or in addition to the indication of the UE preference and the UE radio-related information received from the UE.

In some embodiments, when the indication of the UE preference includes (or is) the UL data indication comprising a UE-calculated volume of available UL data, the first node can determine whether activate the SCG based on a relation between the indicated volume to a threshold, e g., when the indicated data volume is above the threshold.

In some embodiments, when the first node determines to activate the SCG, it further determines whether to trigger (or command) the UE to perform random access (RA) during SCG activation. In some variants, when the first node determines to trigger the UE to perform RA during SCG activation, it also determines whether to use contention-based RA (also known as CBRA) or contention-free RA (also known as CFRA).

In some variants, the first node can make these further determinations based on the UE radio-related information, such as BFD status (e.g., MAC BFI COUNTER), risk of beam failure, and/or TA status. For example, the first node can make these further determinations based on a relation between specific UE radio-related information and corresponding thresholds (e.g., for BFI count). In some variants, the first node can make these further determinations based on a UE -indicated preference for RACH-based or RACH-less SCG activation, if such information is included in the UE radio-related information. In some variants, the first node can make these further determinations based on a second node-indicated preference for RACH-based or RACH- less SCG activation for the UE, if such information is included in a response from the second node.

In some embodiments, the first node transmits to the UE a request (or command) to activate the second cell group. In some embodiments, the request can include an indication of whether the UE should perform RACH-based or RACH-less SCG activation. In one alternative, when the indication is that the UE should perform RACH-based SCG activation, the request also includes an indication of a type of RA to be used by the UE, e.g., CBRA or CFRA.

Figure 17 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure performed by a first node configured to provide an MCG for a UE in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

In operation 17010, the first node receives from the UE an indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG for transmission of the UL data (e.g., UL data indication) and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the MCG and the SCG (e.g., BFD status and/or TA status).

In operation 17020, the first node determines whether one or more criteria for activating the SCG is fulfilled, e.g., based on the received UL data indication. If the criteria for activating the SCG are not fulfilled, the first node goes to operation 17060 where the procedure ends. If the criteria for activating the SCG are fulfilled, the first node determines in operation 17030 whether one or more criteria for RACH-less SCG activation are fulfilled based on the received UE radiorelated information (e.g., BFD status and/or TA status) and optionally other information such as discussed above.

If the criteria for RACH-less SCG activation are fulfilled, in operation 17040 the first node transmits to the UE a request (or command) to activate the SCG without random access. On the other hand, if the one or more criteria for RACH-less SCG activation are not fulfilled, in operation 17050 the first node transmits to the UE a request (or command) to activate the SCG with random access. In some variants, the first node can also determine (e.g., in operation 17030) whether the UE should use CBRA or CFRA for SCG activation, with the request sent in block 17050 including an indication of the result of that determination (CBRA or CFRA).

Other embodiments include methods for a second node configured to provide an SCG for a UE in a wireless network (e.g., NG-RAN). At a high level, the second node receives the following information while the (UE’s) SCG is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the MCG and the SCG. The second node then determines whether the SCG should be activated based on the received information and transmits one of the following:

• to the UE, a request (or command) to activate the SCG based on determining that the SCG should be activated (i.e., positive result of the determining operation); or

• to a first node configured to provide the MCG, a message indicating the result of the determination, e.g., as a second node preference to activate the SCG.

In some embodiments, the message transmitted to the first node can also include an SCG configuration for the UE that was determined by the second node (e.g., based on the received information).

In general, the operations of the second node according to these embodiments are complementary to the operations of the UE and the first node according to the various embodiments described above. For example, the received indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG can include any of the contents described above in relation to the same indication being transmitted by the UE. As a more specific example, the received indication can be (or include) an UL data indication having any of the contents and/or features described above. Likewise, the received UE radio-related information can include any of the contents described above in relation to the same UE radio-related information being transmitted by the UE. Additionally, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG and the UE radio-related information can be received together (e.g., in the same message) or separately (e.g., in separate messages) as described above.

As mentioned above, the UE radio-related information can act as the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG. In other words, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG can be implicit from the UE radio-related information received by the second node. For example, when the UE radio-related information includes RRM measurements, the second node may determine whether to activate the SCG based on one or more of the RRM measurements being above corresponding thresholds.

In some embodiments, the second node receives radio-related information from the first node. This radio-related information can include the UE radio-related information received from the UE, and/or first node radio-related information (e ., further measurements) that was determined by the first node. Subsequently, the second node sends to the first node a response including a second node preference whether to activate the UE’s SCG. As mentioned above, the first node can base its determination whether to activate the SCG on the received second node preference instead of or in addition to the indication of the UE preference and the UE radio-related information received from the UE.

In some embodiments, when the second node determines to activate the SCG, it further determines whether the UE should perform RA during SCG activation. In some variants, when the second node determines that the UE should perform RA during SCG activation, it also determines whether the UE should use CBRA or CFRA. Furthermore, the second node can include the results of these further determinations in the response sent to the first node.

In some variants, the second node can make these further determinations based on the UE radio-related information, such as BFD status (e.g., MAC BFI COUNTER), risk of beam failure, and/or TA status. For example, the second node can make these further determinations based on a relation between specific UE radio-related information and corresponding thresholds (e.g., for BFI count). In some variants, the second node can make these further determinations based on a UE-indicated preference for RACH-based or RACH-less SCG activation, if such information is included in the UE radio-related information. In some variants, the second node can make these further determinations based on a second node-indicated preference for RACH- based or RACH-less SCG activation for the UE, if such information is included in a response from the second node.

In some embodiments, when the second node determines that the (UE’s) SCG should be activated, it prepares a SCG configuration and includes the configuration in the response sent to the first node. For example, when the received UE radio-related information includes beam measurement information, the second node uses this information as input to select an updated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state for the SCG configuration. As another example, when the received UE radio-related information includes RRM measurement information, the second node uses this information as input to select a target PSCell for the SCG configuration.

In some embodiments, when the second node determines that the SCG should be activated, it further determines at least one SCell to be activated in the SCG. This further determination can also be based on the UE radio-related information and/or the indication of UE preference received from the first node (or directly from the UE, as the case may be).

For example, when the indication of UE preference includes the UL data indication of an available UL data volume, the second node determines a number of SCells to be activated based on the available UL data volume (e.g., more SCells for higher UL data volume). As another example, when the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG also indicates one or more UE-preferred SCells in the SCG, the second node can select SCells to be activated based on this UE preference. As another example, the second node can select SCells to be activated based on the received UE radio-related information, e.g., SCells having better or more preferrable RRM measurements.

In some embodiments, when the second node determines to activate the SCG, and after the SCG has been activated, the second node may use the received UE radio-related information to initialize scheduling or link adaptation. This increases the data throughput for the UE immediately after the activation, particularly when the first node and second node are co-located.

Figure 18 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure performed by a second node configured to provide an SCG for a UE in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

In operation 18010, the second node receives from the first node an indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the SCG and radio-related information, which can include UE radio-related information and first node radio-related information. In operation 18020, the second node determines whether the SCG should be activated based on the received information. Other inputs to this determination can include load or interference in one or more cells of the SCG, processing load of the second node, etc. If the second node determines that the second cell group is not to be activated, in operation 18030 the second network node sets a preference value to ”do not activate the SCG” and proceeds to operation 18060.

On the other, if the second node determines that the SCG should (or can) be activated, in operation 18040 the second node sets a preference value to “activate the SCG” and proceeds to operation 18060. Optionally, before proceeding to operation 18060, in operation 1850 the second node prepares a configuration for the activated SCG. For example, the second node selects an updated TCI state for the SCG configuration based on beam measurement information included in the received radio-related information. As another example, the second node selects a target PSCell for the SCG configuration RRM measurements included in the received radio-related information.

In operation 18060, the second node transmits to the first node a response including the preference value ("activate SCG" or "do not activate SCG"), and optionally including any other information determined in conjunction with a positive preference value (e.g., SCG configuration).

The embodiments described above can be further illustrated with reference to Figures 19- 21, which show exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) performed by a UE, a first node, and a second node, respectively. In other words, various features of operations described below correspond to various embodiments described above. These exemplary methods can be used cooperatively to provide various exemplary benefits and/or advantages described herein. Although Figures 19-21 show specific blocks in particular orders, the operations of the respective methods can be performed in different orders than shown and can be combined and/or divided into blocks having different functionality than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

In particular, Figure 19 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a UE configured with a first cell group (e.g., MCG) and a second cell group (e.g., SCG) in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by a UE e.g., wireless device, loT device, modem, etc. or component thereof) such as described elsewhere herein.

The exemplary method can include operations of block 1950, where the UE can, while the second cell group is in a deactivated state, transmit the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group, and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group. In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1910, where the UE can, while the second cell group is in the deactivated state, determine availability of UL data for transmission via the second cell group. Furthermore, transmitting the information in block 1950 is responsive to determining the availability of UL data.

In some embodiments, determining availability of UL data in block 1910 includes the operations of sub-block 1911, where the UE can calculate UL data volume available for transmission in the second cell group. In some of these embodiments, the UL data volume is calculated as a total amount of UL data for one or more of the following:

• UL data in UE buffers associated with bearers having resources only in the second cell group;

• UL data in UE buffers associated with bearers having resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group;

• UL data pending in a UE packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer or entity; and

• UL data pending in a UE radio link control (RLC) layer or entity.

In some of these embodiments, the total amount of UL data is calculated based on:

• PDCP service data units (SDUs) for which no PDCP Data protocol data units (PDUs) have been constructed;

• PDCP Data PDUs that have not been submitted to an RLC entity; and

• PDCP Data PDUs that have been submitted to RLC entities in the second cell group.

In some embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which can be one of the following: • a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group;

• an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group;

• respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and

• respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups (LCGs) having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

In some of these embodiments, the UL data indication excludes identifiers and corresponding amount indications for one or more of the following:

• one or more bearers that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list;

• one or more bearers that have resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group, and that have a volume of available UL data that is less than a non-zero threshold; and

• one or more logical channels that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list;

• one more logical channels that have available UL data but are not associated with any LCG.

In some embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells (SCells) of the second cell group that are preferred.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1920, where the UE can perform one or more of the following measurements while the second cell group is deactivated:

• RRM measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group,

• RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group,

• beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node, and

• beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node.

In such embodiments, the UE radio-related information (e.g., in block 1950) includes results of the performed measurements. In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1930, where the UE can determine a likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group based on measurements of beams transmitted by the second network node. In such case, the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following:

• an indication of the determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group,

• a predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and

• a predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

In other of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1940, where the UE can perform beam failure detection (BFD) based on measurements of beams transmitted by the second network node. In such case, the UE radio-related information includes BFD status for each of the measured beams transmitted by the second network node.

In some embodiments, the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of blocks 1960-1970, where after transmitting the information (e.g., in block 1950), the UE can receive from the wireless network a request to activate the second cell group and can activate the second cell group in accordance with the request. In some of these embodiments, the request to activate the second cell group includes one or more of the following:

• a configuration for the second cell group;

• an indication of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and

• an indication of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

In addition, Figure 20 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for first network node configured to provide a first cell group (e.g., MCG) for a UE that is also configured with a second cell group (e.g., SCG) provided by a second network node in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by a network node e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, en-gNB, etc., or components thereof) such as described elsewhere herein.

The exemplary method can include operations of block 2020, where the first network node can receive the following information from the UE while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group. The exemplary method can also include operations of block 2040, where the first network node can determine whether the second cell group should be activated based on the information received from the UE. The exemplary method can also include operations of block 2060, where based on determining that the second cell group should be activated, the first network node can transmit to the UE a request to activate the second cell group.

In various embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UL data indication discussed above in relation to UE embodiments.

In some embodiments, determining whether the second cell group should be activated in block 2040 includes the operations of sub-block 2041, where the first network node can compare amount or amounts of UL data indicated by the UL data indication to corresponding thresholds. For example, if the amount or amounts exceed the corresponding thresholds, the first network node can determine that the second cell group should be activated.

In various embodiments, the UE radio-related information can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UE radio-related information discussed above in relation to UE embodiments. In some embodiments, determining whether the second cell group should be activated in block 2040 includes the operations of sub-block 2042, where the first network node can compare one or more parameters or values included in the UE radio-related information to corresponding thresholds. For example, if the parameters or values are greater than (or less than, as the case may be) the corresponding thresholds, the first network node can determine that the second cell group should be activated.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 2050, where the first network node can determine one or more of the following based on the received information (e.g., in block 2010): whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of blocks 2020-2030, where the first network node can transmit the information received from the UE to a second network node configured to provide the second cell group and receive from the second network node a response including one or more of the following information:

• a second network node preference whether to activate the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and

• a configuration for the second cell group. In some variants, the first network node determines one or more of the following (e.g., in blocks 2040-2050) further based on the information received from the second network node:

• whether the second cell group should be activated (e.g., in block 2040);

• whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group (e.g., in block 2050); and

• a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group (e.g., in block 2050).

In various embodiments, the request to activate the second cell group (e.g., sent to the UE in block 2060) can include any of the information in the corresponding request discussed above in relation to UE embodiments.

In addition, Figure 21 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a second network node configured to provide a second cell group (e.g., SCG) for a UE that is also configured with a first cell group (e.g., MCG) in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by a network node (e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, en-gNB, etc., or components thereof) such as described elsewhere herein.

The exemplary method can include the operations of block 2110, where the second network node can receive the following information while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radiorelated information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group. The exemplary method can also include operations of block 2120, where the second network node can determine whether the second cell group should be activated based on the received information. The exemplary method can also include operations of block 2140, where the second network node can transmit one of the following:

• to the UE, a request to activate the second cell group based on determining that the second cell group should be activated; or

• to a first network node configured to provide the first cell group, a response indicating the result of the determination.

In various embodiments, the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UL data indication discussed above in relation to UE embodiments.

In some embodiments, determining whether the second cell group should be activated in block 2120 includes the operations of sub-block 2121, where the second network node can compare amount or amounts of UL data indicated by the UL data indication to corresponding thresholds. For example, if the amount or amounts exceed the corresponding thresholds, the second network node can determine that the second cell group should be activated.

In various embodiments, the UE radio-related information can have any of the features or contents of the corresponding UE radio-related information discussed above in relation to UE embodiments. In some embodiments, determining whether the second cell group should be activated in block 2120 includes the operations of sub-block 2122, where the second network node can compare one or more parameters or values included in the UE radio-related information to corresponding thresholds. For example, if the parameters or values are greater than (or less than, as the case may be) the corresponding thresholds, the first network node can determine that the second cell group should be activated.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 2130, where the second network node can determine one or more of the following based on the received information (e.g., in block 2110): a configuration for the second cell group; whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

In some of these embodiments, the information is received (e.g., in block 2110) from a first network node configured to provide the first cell group and the response to the first network node (e.g., in block 2140) includes one or more of the following information:

• a second network node preference whether to activate the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group;

• a second network node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and

• the configuration for the second cell group.

In some of these embodiments, the configuration for the second cell group includes one or more of the following:

• an updated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state for the second cell group;

• a primary cell to be activated; and

• one or more secondary cells (SCells) to be activated.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 2150, where after the second cell group is activated, the second network node can initialize scheduling and/or link adaptation procedures for the UE in the second cell group based on the received UE radio-related information.

Although various embodiments are described herein above in terms of methods, apparatus, devices, computer-readable medium and receivers, the person of ordinary skill will readily comprehend that such methods can be embodied by various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, etc.

Figure 22 shows an example of a communication system 2200 in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, communication system 2200 includes a telecommunication network 2202 that includes an access network 2204, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 2206, which includes one or more core network nodes 2208. Access network 2204 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 2210a-b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 2210), or any other similar 3GPP access node or non-3GPP access point. Network nodes 2210 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UEs, such as by connecting UEs 2212a-d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 2212) to core network 2206 over one or more wireless connections.

Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, communication system 2200 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. Communication system 2200 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

UEs 2212 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes 2210 and other communication devices. Similarly, network nodes 2210 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEs 2212 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in telecommunication network 2202 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in telecommunication network 2202.

In the depicted example, core network 2206 connects network nodes 2210 to one or more hosts, such as host 2216. 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. Core network 2206 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 2208) 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 2208. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

The host 2216 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of access network 2204 and/or telecommunication network 2202, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 2216 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.

As a whole, communication system 2200 of Figure 22 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.

In some examples, telecommunication network 2202 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, telecommunication network 2202 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to telecommunication network 2202. For example, telecommunication network 2202 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

In some examples, UEs 2212 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 2204 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from access network 2204. 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).

In the example, hub 2214 communicates with access network 2204 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 2212c and/or 2212d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 2210b). In some examples, hub 2214 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, hub 2214 may be a broadband router enabling access to core network 2206 for the UEs. As another example, hub 2214 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 2210, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in hub 2214. As another example, hub 2214 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, hub 2214 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, hub 2214 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which hub 2214 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, hub 2214 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.

Hub 2214 may have a constant/persi stent or intermittent connection to network node 2210b. Hub 2214 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between hub 2214 and UEs (e.g., UE 2212c and/or 2212d), and between hub 2214 and core network 2206. In other examples, hub 2214 is connected to core network 2206 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, hub 2214 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over access network 2204 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with network nodes 2210 while still connected via hub 2214 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 2214 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to network node 2210b. In other embodiments, hub 2214 may be a non-dedicated hub -that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 2210b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels. Figure 23 shows a UE 2300 in accordance with some embodiments. 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 3 GPP, including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

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).

UE 2300 includes processing circuitry 2302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2304 to an input/output interface 2306, a power source 2308, a memory 2310, a communication interface 2312, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 23. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

Processing circuitry 2302 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 memory 2310. Processing circuitry 2302 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, processing circuitry 2302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

In the example, the input/output interface 2306 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 UE 2300. 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.

In some embodiments, power source 2308 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. Power source 2308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from power source 2308 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of UE 2300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of power source 2308. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 2308 to make the power suitable for the respective components of UE 2300 to which power is supplied.

Memory 2310 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 read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, memory 2310 includes one or more application programs 2314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 2316. Memory 2310 may store, for use by UE 2300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

Memory 2310 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.” Memory 2310 may allow UE 2300 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 memory 2310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

Processing circuitry 2302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using communication interface 2312. Communication interface 2312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 2322. Communication interface 2312 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 2318 and/or a receiver 2320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, transmitter 2318 and receiver 2320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 2322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of communication interface 2312 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, LIE, 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.

Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 2312, 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., an alert is sent when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient). As another example, a 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.

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 UE 2300 shown in Figure 23.

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.

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.

Figure 24 shows a network node 2400 in accordance with some embodiments. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (e.g., radio access points)\ and base stations (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs, etc.).

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).

Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSRBSs, 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).

Network node 2400 includes a processing circuitry 2402, a memory 2404, a communication interface 2406, and a power source 2408. Network node 2400 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 network node 2400 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 NodeB s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 2400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 2404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 2410 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 2400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 2400, 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 2400.

Processing circuitry 2402 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 2400 components, such as memory 2404, to provide network node 2400 functionality.

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 2402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 2402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2412 and baseband processing circuitry 2414. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2412 and baseband processing circuitry 2414 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 2412 and baseband processing circuitry 2414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

Memory 2404 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 processing circuitry 2402. Memory 2404 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 (collectively denoted computer program product 2404a) capable of being executed by processing circuitry 2402 and utilized by network node 2400. Memory 2404 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 2402 and/or any data received via communication interface 2406. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 2402 and memory 2404 is integrated.

Communication interface 2406 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, communication interface 2406 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 2416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. Communication interface 2406 also includes radio frontend circuitry 2418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 2410. Radio front-end circuitry 2418 comprises filters 2420 and amplifiers 2422. Radio front-end circuitry 2418 may be connected to an antenna 2410 and processing circuitry 2402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 2410 and processing circuitry 2402. Radio front-end circuitry 2418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 2418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 2420 and/or amplifiers 2422. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 2410. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 2410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 2418. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 2402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 2400 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 2418, instead, processing circuitry 2402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 2410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 2412 is part of communication interface 2406. In still other embodiments, communication interface 2406 includes one or more ports or terminals 2416, radio front-end circuitry 2418, and RF transceiver circuitry 2412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 2406 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 2414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 2410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 2410 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 2418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, antenna 2410 is separate from network node 2400 and connectable to network node 2400 through an interface or port.

Antenna 2410, communication interface 2406, and/or processing circuitry 2402 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, antenna 2410, communication interface 2406, and/or processing circuitry 2402 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.

Power source 2408 provides power to the various components of network node 2400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 2408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of network node 2400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, network node 2400 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 power source 2408. As a further example, power source 2408 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 network node 2400 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 24 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, network node 2400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 2400 and to allow output of information from network node 2400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 2400.

Figure 25 is a block diagram of a host 2500, which may be an embodiment of the host 2216 of Figure 22, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, host 2500 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. Host 2500 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

Host 2500 includes processing circuitry 2502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2504 to an input/output interface 2506, a network interface 2508, a power source 2510, and a memory 2512. 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 23 and 24, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 2500.

Memory 2512 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 2514 and data 2516, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for host 2500 or data generated by host 2500 for a UE. Embodiments of host 2500 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. Host application programs 2514 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 2514 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, host 2500 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 2514 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.

Figure 26 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 2600 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 2600 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.

Applications 2602 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 2600 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware 2604 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions (collectively denoted computer program product 2604a) 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 2606 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 2608a and 2608b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 2608), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 2606 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 2608.

The VMs 2608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 2606. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 2602 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 2608, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, a VM 2608 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 2608, and that part of hardware 2604 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 2608 on top of the hardware 2604 and corresponds to the application 2602.

Hardware 2604 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 2604 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 2604 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 2610, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 2602. In some embodiments, hardware 2604 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 2612 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

Figure 27 shows a communication diagram of a host 2702 communicating via a network node 2704 with a UE 2706 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 2212a of Figure 22 and/or UE 2300 of Figure 23), network node (such as network node 2210a of Figure 22 and/or network node 2400 of Figure 24), and host (such as host 2216 of Figure 22 and/or host 2500 of Figure 25) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 27.

Like host 2500, embodiments of host 2702 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 2702 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 2702 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 2706 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 2750 extending between the UE 2706 and host 2702. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 2750.

The network node 2704 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 2702 and UE 2706. The connection 2760 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 2206 of Figure 22) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

The UE 2706 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 2706 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 2706 with the support of the host 2702. In the host 2702, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 2750 terminating at the UE 2706 and host 2702. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 2750 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 2750.

The OTT connection 2750 may extend via a connection 2760 between the host 2702 and the network node 2704 and via a wireless connection 2770 between the network node 2704 and the UE 2706 to provide the connection between the host 2702 and the UE 2706. The connection 2760 and wireless connection 2770, over which the OTT connection 2750 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 2702 and the UE 2706 via the network node 2704, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 2750, in step 2708, the host 2702 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 2706. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 2706 that shares data with the host 2702 without explicit human interaction. In step 2710, the host 2702 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 2706. The host 2702 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 2706. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 2706 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 2706. The transmission may pass via the network node 2704, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 2712, the network node 2704 transmits to the UE 2706 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 2702 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2714, the UE 2706 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 2706 associated with the host application executed by the host 2702.

In some examples, the UE 2706 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 2702. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 2702. Accordingly, in step 2716, the UE 2706 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 2706. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 2706 initiates, in step 2718, transmission of the user data towards the host 2702 via the network node 2704. In step 2720, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 2704 receives user data from the UE 2706 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 2702. In step

the host 2702 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 2706.

One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 2706 using the OTT connection 2750, in which the wireless connection 2770 forms the last segment. More precisely, embodiments can enable the network to determine whether to activate a UE’s SCG when there is UL data available for transmission in the SCG. When the UE calculates available data volume and transmits the indication of the UE need or preference to activate the SCG for transmission of the UL data and the UE radio-related information, the network can make a timely and well-informed decision whether to activate the SCG. Furthermore, based on receiving the UE radio-related information, the network can select an appropriate method and/or configuration for activation of the SCG, which can reduce the risk of SCG activation failure due to bad radio conditions. By activating the deactivated SCG in a timely manner with a proper method and/or configuration, the network avoids delays in receiving the available UL data, which improves performance of UE applications generating available UL data and ultimately improves user experience. By improving the performance of UEs and/or networks in this manner, embodiments can increase the value of OTT services provided via such UEs and/or networks to both end users and service providers.

In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 2702. As another example, the host 2702 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 2702 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 2702 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 2702 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 2702 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.

In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2750 between the host 2702 and UE 2706, 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 2702 and/or UE 2706. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 2750 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 2750 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 2704. 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 2702. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 2750 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

The term unit, as used herein, can have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and can include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

As described herein, device and/or apparatus can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of a device or apparatus, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as a software module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution or being run on a processor. Furthermore, functionality of a device or apparatus can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus can also be regarded as an assembly of multiple devices and/or apparatuses, whether functionally in cooperation with or independently of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed fashion throughout a system, so long as the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered as known to a skilled person.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. In addition, certain terms used in the present disclosure, including the specification and drawings, can be used synonymously in certain instances (e.g., “data” and “information”). It should be understood, that although these terms (and/or other terms that can be synonymous to one another) can be used synonymously herein, there can be instances when such words can be intended to not be used synonymously.

The techniques and apparatus described herein include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples:

Al. A method for a user equipment (UE) configured with a first cell group and a second cell group in a wireless network, the method comprising: while the second cell group is in a deactivated state, transmitting the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group.

A2. The method of embodiment Al, wherein: the method further comprises, while the second cell group is in the deactivated state, determining availability of uplink (UL) data for transmission via the second cell group; and transmitting the information is responsive to determining the availability of UL data.

A3. The method of embodiment A2, wherein determining availability of UL data comprises calculating UL data volume available for transmission in the second cell group.

A4. The method of embodiment A3, where the UL data volume is calculated as a total amount of UL data for one or more of the following: in UE buffers associated with bearers having resources only in the second cell group; in UE buffers associated with bearers having resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group; pending in a UE packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer or entity; and pending in a UE radio link control (RLC) layer or entity.

A5. The method of embodiment A4, wherein the total amount of UL data is calculated based on: PDCP service data units (SDUs) for which no PDCP Data protocol data units (PDUs) have been constructed;

PDCP Data PDUs that have not been submitted to an RLC entity; and

PDCP Data PDUs that have been submitted to RLC entities in the second cell group.

A7. The method of any of embodiments A3-A6, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which is one of the following: a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups (LCGs) having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

A8. The method of embodiment A7, wherein the UL data indication excludes identifiers and corresponding amount indications for one or more of the following: one or more bearers that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list; one or more bearers that have resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group, and that have a volume of available UL data that is less than a non-zero threshold; and one or more logical channels that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list; one more logical channels that have available UL data but are not associated with any LCG.

A9. The method of any of embodiments A1-A8, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells (SCells) of the second cell group that are preferred.

A10. The method of any of embodiments A1-A9, further comprising performing one or more of the following measurements while the second cell group is deactivated: radio resource management (RRM) measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group,

RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group, beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first node, and beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first node, wherein the UE radio-related information includes results of the performed measurements.

Al 1. The method of embodiment A10, further comprising determining a likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group based on measurements of the beams transmitted by the second node, wherein the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following: an indication of the determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group, a predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and a predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

A12. The method of embodiment A10, further comprising performing beam failure detection (BFD) based on the measurements of the beams transmitted by the second node, wherein the UE radio-related information includes BFD status for each of measured beams.

A13. The method of any of embodiments A10-A12, wherein the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

A14. The method of any of embodiments Al -Al 3, further comprising: after transmitting the information, receiving from the wireless network a request to activate the second cell group; and activating the second cell group in accordance with the request.

A15. The method of embodiment A14, wherein the request to activate the second cell group includes one or more of the following: a configuration for the second cell group; an indication of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and an indication of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

A16. The method of any of embodiments A1-A15, wherein: the first cell group is the UE’s master cell group (MCG) for dual connectivity (DC); and the second cell group is the UE’s secondary cell group (SCG) for DC.

Bl. A method for a first node configured to provide a first cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a second cell group in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving the following information from the UE while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determining whether the second cell group should be activated based on the information received from the UE; and based on determining that the second cell group should be activated, transmitting to the UE a request to activate the second cell group.

B2. The method of embodiment Bl, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which is one of the following: a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups (LCGs) having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

B3. The method of embodiment B2, where the indicated amount or amounts correspond to of UL data available or pending in one or more of the following: UE buffers associated with bearers having resources only in the second cell group;

UE buffers associated with bearers having resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group; a UE packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer or entity; and a UE radio link control (RLC) layer or entity.

B4. The method of embodiment B3, wherein the indicated amount or amounts are calculated based on:

PDCP service data units (SDUs) for which no PDCP Data protocol data units (PDUs) have been constructed;

PDCP Data PDUs that have not been submitted to an RLC entity; and

PDCP Data PDUs that have been submitted to RLC entities in the second cell group.

B5. The method of any of embodiments B2-B4, wherein the UL data indication excludes identifiers and corresponding amount indications for one or more of the following: one or more bearers that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list; one or more bearers that have resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group, and that have a volume of available UL data that is less than a non-zero threshold; and one or more logical channels that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list; one more logical channels that have available UL data but are not associated with any LCG.

B6. The method of any of embodiments B2-B5, wherein determining whether the second cell group should be activated comprises comparing amount or amounts of UL data indicated by the UL data indication to corresponding thresholds.

B7. The method of any of embodiments B 1 -B6, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells (SCells) of the second cell group that are preferred by the UE.

B8. The method of any of embodiments B1-B7, wherein the UE radio-related information includes results of one or more of the following performed by the UE: radio resource management (RRM) measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group, RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group, beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first node, and beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first node.

B9. The method of embodiment B8, wherein the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following: an indication of UE-determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group, a UE -predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and a UE-predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

BIO. The method of embodiment B8, wherein the UE radio-related information includes UE beam failure detection (BFD) status for each of measured beams.

Bl 1. The method of any of embodiments B8-B10, wherein determining whether the second cell group should be activated comprises comparing one or more parameters or values included in the UE radio-related information to corresponding thresholds.

B12. The method of any of embodiments B8-B11, wherein the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

B13. The method of any of embodiments Bl -Bl 2, further comprising determining one or more of the following based on the received information: whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

B 14. The method of embodiment B 13, further comprising: transmitting the information received from the UE to a second node configured to provide the second cell group; and receiving, from the second node, a response including one or more of the following information: a second node preference whether to activate the second cell group; a second node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; a second node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and a configuration for the second cell group.

B15. The method of embodiment B 14, wherein one or more of the following is determined further based on the information received from the second node: whether the second cell group should be activated; whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

B 16. The method of any of embodiments B 1 -B 15, wherein the request to activate the second cell group includes one or more of the following: a configuration for the second cell group; an indication of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and an indication of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

B17. The method of any of embodiments Bl -Bl 16, wherein: the first cell group is the UE’s master cell group (MCG) for dual connectivity (DC); and the second cell group is the UE’s secondary cell group (SCG) for DC.

Cl. A method for a second node configured to provide a second cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a first cell group in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving the following information while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determining whether the second cell group should be activated based on the received information; and transmitting one of the following: to the UE, a request to activate the second cell group based on determining that the second cell group should be activated; or to a first node configured to provide the first cell group, a response indicating the result of the determination.

C2. The method of embodiment Cl, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an UL data indication, which is one of the following: a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups (LCGs) having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

C3. The method of embodiment C2, where the indicated amount or amounts correspond to of UL data available or pending in one or more of the following:

UE buffers associated with bearers having resources only in the second cell group;

UE buffers associated with bearers having resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group; a UE packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer or entity; and a UE radio link control (RLC) layer or entity.

C4. The method of embodiment C3, wherein the indicated amount or amounts are calculated based on:

PDCP service data units (SDUs) for which no PDCP Data protocol data units (PDUs) have been constructed;

PDCP Data PDUs that have not been submitted to an RLC entity; and

PDCP Data PDUs that have been submitted to RLC entities in the second cell group.

C5. The method of any of embodiments C2-C4, wherein the UL data indication excludes identifiers and corresponding amount indications for one or more of the following: one or more bearers that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list; one or more bearers that have resources in both the second cell group and the first cell group, and that have a volume of available UL data that is less than a non-zero threshold; and one or more logical channels that have available UL data but are on an exclusion list; one more logical channels that have available UL data but are not associated with any LCG.

C6. The method of any of embodiments C2-C5, wherein determining whether the second cell group should be activated comprises comparing amount or amounts of UL data indicated by the UL data indication to corresponding threshold.

C7. The method of any of embodiments C1-C6, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells (SCells) of the second cell group that are preferred by the UE.

C8. The method of any of embodiments C1-C7, wherein the UE radio-related information includes results of one or more of the following performed by the UE: radio resource management (RRM) measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group,

RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group, beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first node, and beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first node.

C9. The method of embodiment C8, wherein the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following: an indication of UE-determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group, a UE -predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and a UE -predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

CIO. The method of embodiment C8, wherein the UE radio-related information includes UE beam failure detection (BFD) status for each of measured beams. Cl 1. The method of any of embodiments C8-C10, wherein determining whether the second cell group should be activated comprises comparing one or more parameters or values included in the UE radio-related information to corresponding thresholds.

C12. The method of any of embodiments C8-C11, wherein the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

C13. The method of any of embodiments C1-C12, further comprising determining one or more of the following based on the received information: a configuration for the second cell group; whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

C14. The method of embodiment C13, wherein: the information is received from a first node configured to provide the first cell group; and the response to the first node includes one or more of the following information: a second node preference whether to activate the second cell group; a second node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; a second node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and the configuration for the second cell group.

C15. The method of any of embodiments C13-C14, wherein the configuration for the second cell group includes one or more of the following: an updated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state for the second cell group; a primary cell to be activated; and one or more secondary cells (SCells) to be activated.

C16. The method of any of embodiments C1-C15, further comprising, after the second cell group is activated, initializing scheduling and/or link adaptation procedures for the UE in the second cell group based on the received UE radio-related information. Cl 7. The method of any of embodiments Cl -Cl 6, wherein: the first cell group is the UE’s master cell group (MCG) for dual connectivity (DC); and the second cell group is the UE’s secondary cell group (SCG) for DC.

DI. A user equipment (UE) configured with a first cell group and a second cell group in a wireless network, the UE comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with the wireless network via the first and second cell groups; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A16.

D2. A user equipment (UE) configured with a first cell group and a second cell group in a wireless network, the UE being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A16.

D3. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE) configured with a first cell group and a second cell group in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A16.

D4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a configured with a first cell group and a second cell group in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A16.

El . A first node configured to provide a first cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a second cell group in a wireless network, the first node comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with the UE via the first cell group and with a second node configured to provide the second cell group; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl -Bl 7.

E2. A first node configured to provide a first cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a second cell group in a wireless network, the first node being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl -Bl 7.

E3. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a first node configured to provide a first cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a second cell group in a wireless network, configure the first node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl -Bl 7.

E4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a first node configured to provide a first cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a second cell group in a wireless network, configure the first node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl- B17.

Fl. A second node configured to provide a second cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a first cell group in a wireless network, the second node comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with the UE via the second cell group and with a first node configured to provide the first cell group; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Cl -Cl 7.

F2. A second node configured to provide a second cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a first cell group in a wireless network, the second node being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Cl -Cl 7.

F3. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a second node configured to provide a second cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a first cell group in a wireless network, configure the second node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Cl -Cl 7. F4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a second node configured to provide a second cell group for a user equipment (UE) that is also configured with a first cell group in a wireless network, configure the second node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Cl -Cl 7.

Claims

1. A method for a user equipment, UE, configured with a first cell group provided by a first network node and a second cell group provided by a second network node in a wireless network, the method comprising: while the second cell group is in a deactivated state, transmitting (1950) the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing (1 20) one or more of the following measurements while the second cell group is deactivated: radio resource management, RRM, measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group,

RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group, beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node, and beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node, wherein the UE radio-related information includes results of the performed measurements.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining (1930) a likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group based on measurements of beams transmitted by the second network node, wherein the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following: an indication of the determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group, a predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and a predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising performing (1940) beam failure detection, BFD, based on measurements of beams transmitted by the second network node, wherein the UE radio-related information includes BFD status for each of the measured beams transmitted by the second network node .

5. The method of any of claims 2-4, wherein the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an uplink, UL, data indication, which is one of the following: a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups, LCGs, having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells, S Cells, of the second cell group that are preferred.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, further comprising: after transmitting (1950) the information, receiving (1960) from the wireless network a request to activate the second cell group; and activating (1960) the second cell group in accordance with the request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the request to activate the second cell group includes one or more of the following: a configuration for the second cell group; an indication of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and an indication of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein: the first cell group is the UE’s master cell group, MCG, for dual connectivity, DC; and the second cell group is the UE’s secondary cell group, SCG, for DC.

11. A method for a first network node configured to provide a first cell group for a user equipment, UE, that is also configured with a second cell group provided by a second network node in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving (2010) the following information from the UE while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determining (2040) whether the second cell group should be activated based on the information received from the UE; and based on determining that the second cell group should be activated, transmitting (2060) to the UE a request to activate the second cell group.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE radio-related information includes results of one or more of the following performed by the UE: radio resource management, RRM, measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group,

RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group, beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node, and beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following: an indication of UE-determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group, a UE -predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and a UE -predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the UE radio-related information includes UE beam failure detection, BFD, status for each for each of the measured beams.

15. The method of any of claims 12-14, wherein determining (2040) whether the second cell group should be activated comprises comparing (2042) one or more parameters or values included in the UE radio-related information to corresponding thresholds.

16. The method of any of claims 12-15, wherein the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

17. The method of any of claims 11-16, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an uplink, UL, data indication, which is one of the following: a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups, LCGs, having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

18. The method of any of claims 11-17, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells, SCells, of the second cell group that are preferred by the UE.

19. The method of any of claims 11-18, further comprising determining (2050) one or more of the following based on the received information: whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting (2020) the information received from the UE to a second network node configured to provide the second cell group; and receiving (2030), from the second network node, a response including one or more of the following information: a second network node preference whether to activate the second cell group; a second network node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; a second network node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and a configuration for the second cell group.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein one or more of the following is determined further based on the information received from the second network node: whether the second cell group should be activated; whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

22. The method of any of claims 11-21, wherein the request to activate the second cell group includes one or more of the following: a configuration for the second cell group; an indication of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and an indication of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

23. The method of any of claims 11-22, wherein: the first cell group is the UE’s master cell group, MCG, for dual connectivity, DC; and the second cell group is the UE’s secondary cell group, SCG, for DC.

24. A method for a second network node configured to provide a second cell group for a user equipment, UE, that is also configured with a first cell group provided by a first network node in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving (2110) the following information while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determining (2120) whether the second cell group should be activated based on the received information; and transmitting (2140) one of the following: to the UE, a request to activate the second cell group based on determining that the second cell group should be activated; or to a first network node configured to provide the first cell group, a response indicating the result of the determination.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the UE radio-related information includes results of one or more of the following performed by the UE: radio resource management, RRM, measurements of one or more cells of the first cell group,

RRM measurements of one or more cells of the second cell group, beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node, and beam management measurements of one or more beams transmitted by the first network node.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the UE radio-related information includes one or more of the following: an indication of UE-determined likelihood of beam failure in the second cell group, a UE -predicted time for beam failure in the second cell group, and a UE -predicted duration for which the UE can activate the second cell group without performing random access.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the UE radio-related information includes UE beam failure detection, BFD, status for each of the measured beams.

28. The method of any of claims 25-27, wherein determining (2120) whether the second cell group should be activated comprises comparing (2122) one or more parameters or values included in the UE radio-related information to corresponding thresholds.

29. The method of any of claims 25-28, wherein the UE radio-related information includes an indication of a UE preference for activating the second cell group either with or without performing random access.

30. The method of any of claims 24-29, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an uplink, UL, data indication, which is one of the following: a single bit having a value that indicates that the UE has UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; an indication of a total amount of UL data available for transmission via the second cell group; respective identifiers of one or more bearers having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more bearers; and respective identifiers of one or more logical channel groups, LCGs, having UL data available for transmission via the second cell group, and corresponding indications of amounts of available UL data for the one or more LCGs.

31. The method of any of claims 24-30, wherein the indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group comprises an indication of one or more secondary cells, SCells, of the second cell group that are preferred by the UE.

32. The method of any of claims 24-31, further comprising determining (2130) one or more of the following based on the received information: a configuration for the second cell group; whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; and a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: the information is received from a first network node configured to provide the first cell group; and the response to the first network node includes one or more of the following information: a second network node preference whether to activate the second cell group; a second network node preference of whether the UE should perform random access when activating the second cell group; a second network node preference of a type of random access the UE should perform when activating the second cell group; and the configuration for the second cell group.

34. The method of any of claims 32-33, wherein the configuration determined for the second cell group includes one or more of the following: an updated transmission configuration indication, TCI, state for the second cell group; a primary cell to be activated; and one or more secondary cells, SCells, to be activated.

35. The method of any of claims 24-34, further comprising, after the second cell group is activated, initializing (2150) scheduling and/or link adaptation procedures for the UE in the second cell group based on the received UE radio-related information.

36. The method of any of claims 24-35, wherein: the first cell group is the UE’s master cell group, MCG, for dual connectivity, DC; and the second cell group is the UE’s secondary cell group, SCG, for DC.

37. A user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) and a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), the UE comprising: communication interface circuitry (2312) configured to communicate with the wireless network via the first and second cell groups; and processing circuitry (2302) operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to: while the second cell group is in a deactivated state, transmit the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and

UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group.

38. The UE of claim 37, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 2-10.

39. A user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) and a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), the UE being further configured to: while the second cell group is in a deactivated state, transmit the following information to the wireless network: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group.

40. The UE of claim 39, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 2-10.

41. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (2310) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2302) of a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) and a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-10.

42. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2302) of a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) and a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-10.

43. A first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a first cell group (415, 1502) for a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), the first network node comprising: communication interface circuitry (2406, 2604) configured to communicate with the UE via the first cell group and with the second network node; and processing circuitry (2402, 2604) operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to: receive the following information from the UE while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and

UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determine whether the second cell group should be activated based on the information received from the UE; and based on determining that the second cell group should be activated, transmit to the UE a request to activate the second cell group.

44. The first network node of claim 43, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 12-23.

45. A first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a first cell group (415, 1502) for a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), the first network node being further configured to: receive the following information from the UE while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determine whether the second cell group should be activated based on the information received from the UE; and based on determining that the second cell group should be activated, transmit to the UE a request to activate the second cell group.

46. The first network node of claim 45, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 12-23.

47. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (2404, 2604) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2402, 2604) of a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a first cell group (415, 1502) for a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), configure the first network node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 11-23.

48. A computer program product (2404a, 2604a) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2402, 2604) of a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a first cell group (415, 1502) for a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a second cell group (425, 1503) provided by a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), configure the first network node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 11-23.

49. A second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a second cell group (425, 1503) for a user equipment, UE (120,

80 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), the second network node comprising: communication interface circuitry (2406, 2604) configured to communicate with the UE via the second cell group and with the first network node; and processing circuitry (2402, 2604) operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to: receive the following information while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and

UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determine whether the second cell group should be activated based on the received information; and transmit one of the following: to the UE, a request to activate the second cell group based on determining that the second cell group should be activated; or to the first network node, a response indicating the result of the determination.

50. The second network node of claim 49, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 25-36.

51. A second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a second cell group (425, 1503) for a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), the second network node being further configured to: receive the following information while the second cell group is in a deactivated state: indication of a UE need or a UE preference to activate the second cell group; and

81 UE radio-related information associated with one or more of the first cell group and the second cell group; determine whether the second cell group should be activated based on the received information; and transmit one of the following: to the UE, a request to activate the second cell group based on determining that the second cell group should be activated; or to a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide the first cell group, a response indicating the result of the determination.

52. The second network node of claim 51, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 25-36.

53. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (2404, 2604) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2402, 2604) of a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a second cell group (425, 1503) for a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), configure the second network node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 24-36.

54. A computer program product (2404a, 2604a) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2402, 2604) of a second network node (300, 350, 420, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1507, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) configured to provide a second cell group (425, 1503) for a user equipment, UE (120, 430, 505, 605, 1501, 2212, 2300, 2706) that is also configured with a first cell group (415, 1502) provided by a first network node (300, 350, 410, 510, 520, 610, 620, 1506, 2210, 2400, 2602, 2704) in a wireless network (100, 399, 599, 699, 2204), configure the second network node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 24-36.

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