WO2023141999A1

WO2023141999A1 - Method, device and computer storage medium of communication

Info

Publication number: WO2023141999A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/074816
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gang Wang; Fang Xu; Lin Liang
Original assignee: Nec Corporation
Priority date: 2022-01-28
Filing date: 2022-01-28
Publication date: 2023-08-03

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices and computer readable media for communication. A first terminal device supporting a first bandwidth receives a MIB or a RRC configuration from a network device. The terminal device determines at least one of a first CORESET or a first initial BWP for the first terminal device based on information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration. The information comprises at least one of the following: a first indication indicating the first CORESET, a second indication indicating the first initial BWP, a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for a second terminal device, the second terminal device supporting a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, or a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device, wherein a bandwidth of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth. Then the terminal device performs a communication based on the at least one of the first CORESET or the first initial BWP. In this way, a CORESET and an initial BWP for reduced capability UE may be identified.

Description

METHOD, DEVICE AND COMPUTER STORAGE MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication, and in particular, to methods, devices and computer storage media of communication for system information transmission for reduced capability user equipment (UE) .

BACKGROUND

As known, in the third generation partnership project (3GPP) Release 17, a reduced capability UE may support the maximum bandwidth of 20MHz in frequency range 1 (FR1) . 3GPP has established a framework for enabling reduced capability UEs suitable for a range of use cases, including industrial sensors, video surveillance, and wearables use cases, with requirements on low UE complexity and sometimes also on low UE power consumption.

In 3GPP Release 18, to further expand the market for reduced capability use cases with relatively low cost, low energy consumption, and low data rate requirements, e.g., industrial wireless sensor network use cases, some further complexity reduction enhancements will be considered. Potential solutions for reducing device complexity are focusing on a reduction of the maximum bandwidth to 5MHz in frequency range 1 (FR1) . Thus, it is expected to realize coexistence of Release-17 reduced capability UEs, Release-18 reduced capability UEs, and normal UEs (i.e., non-reduced capability UEs) supporting different maximum bandwidths.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices and computer storage media for communication for system information transmission of reduced capability UE.

In a first aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: receiving, at a first terminal device supporting a first bandwidth, a master information block (MIB) or a radio resource control (RRC) configuration from a network device; determining at least one of a first control resource set (CORESET) or a first initial bandwidth part (BWP) for the first terminal device based on information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration, the information comprising at least one of the following: a first indication indicating the first CORESET, a second indication indicating the first initial BWP, a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for a second terminal device, the second terminal device supporting a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, or a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device, wherein bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth; and performing a communication based on the at least one of the first CORESET or the first initial BWP.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: generating, at a network device, a MIB or a RRC configuration; and transmitting the MIB or RRC configuration to a first terminal device supporting a first bandwidth, wherein information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration comprises at least one of the following: a first indication indicating a first control resource set, CORESET, for the first terminal device, a second indication indicating a first initial BWP for the first terminal device, a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for a second terminal device, the second terminal device supporting a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, or a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device, and wherein bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth.

In a third aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises a processor configured to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device comprises a processor configured to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process of communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process of communication for a standalone (SA) scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating an example determination of a CORESET for reduced capability UE in a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating another process of communication for a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process of communication for a non-standalone (NSA) scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating an example determination of a CORESET for reduced capability UE in a NSA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5C illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating another example determination of a CORESET for reduced capability UE in a NSA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating another process of communication for a NSA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating still another process of communication for a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating still another process of communication for a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term ‘terminal device’ refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not limited to, user equipment (UE) , personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, device on vehicle for V2X communication where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) , Small Data Transmission (SDT) , mobility, Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBS) , positioning, dynamic/flexible duplex in commercial networks, reduced capability (RedCap) , Space borne vehicles or Air borne vehicles in Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including Satellites and High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) encompassing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) , eXtended Reality (XR) devices including different types of realities such as Augmented Reality (AR) , Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) , the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) commonly known as a drone which is an aircraft without any human pilot, devices on high speed train (HST) , or image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet appliances enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like. The ‘terminal device’ can further has ‘multicast/broadcast’ feature, to support public safety and mission critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4/IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, software delivery over wireless, group communications and IoT applications. It may also incorporated one or multiple Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) as known as Multi-SIM. The term “terminal device” can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device.

The term “network device” refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a next generation NodeB (gNB) , a transmission reception point (TRP) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , a radio head (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , an IAB node, a low power node such as a femto node, a pico node, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) , Network-controlled Repeaters, and the like.

The terminal device or the network device may have Artificial intelligence (AI) or Machine learning capability. It generally includes a model which has been trained from numerous collected data for a specific function, and can be used to predict some information.

The terminal or the network device may work on several frequency ranges, e.g. FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz) , FR2 (24.25GHz to 71GHz) , frequency band larger than 100GHz as well as Tera Hertz (THz) . It can further work on licensed/unlicensed/shared spectrum. The terminal device may have more than one connections with the network devices under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or the network device can work on full duplex, flexible duplex and cross division duplex modes.

The network device may have the function of network energy saving, Self-Organising Networks (SON) /Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) . The terminal may have the function of power saving.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in test equipment, e.g. signal generator, signal analyzer, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, test terminal device, test network device, channel emulator.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or the sixth generation (6G) networks.

In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected with a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node and the other one may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs) . In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is eNB and the second RAT device is gNB. Information related with different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device or the second network device. In one embodiment, first information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the first network device and second information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information related with configuration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related with reconfiguration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device.

As used herein, the singular forms ‘a’ , ‘an’ and ‘the’ are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term ‘includes’ and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean ‘includes, but is not limited to. ’ The term ‘based on’ is to be read as ‘at least in part based on. ’ The term ‘one embodiment’ and ‘an embodiment’ are to be read as ‘at least one embodiment. ’ The term ‘another embodiment’ is to be read as ‘at least one other embodiment. ’ The terms ‘first, ’ ‘second, ’ and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as ‘best, ’ ‘lowest, ’ ‘highest, ’ ‘minimum, ’ ‘maximum, ’ or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

As mentioned above, it is expected to realize coexistence of Release-17 reduced capability UEs, Release-18 reduced capability UEs, and normal UEs. The normal UEs may support a maximum bandwidth of 100MHz in FR1, the Release-17 reduced capability UEs may support a maximum bandwidth of 20 MHz in FR1, and the Release-18 reduced capability UEs will support a maximum bandwidth of 5 MHz in FR1.

Table 1 below shows an example bandwidth of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) and CORESET 0 for different subcarrier spacing (SCS) combinations in FR1 according to Table 13-1 to Table 13-6 in TS38.213.

Table 1 Example Bandwidth of SSB and CORESET #0

It can be seen that, CORESET 0 used to schedule a system information transmission for the Release-17 reduced capability UEs and normal UEs may be wider than 5MHz. Further, the Release-17 reduced capability UEs and the normal UEs may be set an initial BWP wider than 5MHz. In these cases, how to determine a CORESET (for example, CORESET 0) and an initial BWP for Release-18 reduced capability UEs needs to be developed.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for solving the above and other potential issues. In the solution, a terminal device supporting a narrower bandwidth receives a MIB or a RRC configuration, the MIB or the RRC configuration indicating at least one of a CORESET for the terminal device, an initial BWP for the terminal device, a CORESET for a further terminal device supporting a wider bandwidth, or an initial BWP for the further terminal device. Based on information indicated by the MIB or the RRC configuration, the terminal device determines at least one of the CORESET or the initial BWP for the terminal device. In this way, a CORESET and an initial BWP for a reduced capability UE may be identified.

Principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the figures. In the context of the present disclosure, the term “supporting a bandwidth” refers to supporting the maximum bandwidth. The term “initial BWP” refers to an initial DL BWP.

EXAMPLE OF COMMUNICATION NETWORK

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may include

terminal devices

110, 111 and 112 and a network device 120. In some embodiments, the

terminal devices

110, 111 and 112 may be served by the network device 120. Any two of the

terminal devices

110, 111 and 112 may have the same or different UE capabilities. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may support the maximum bandwidth of 5MHz, the terminal device 111 may support the maximum bandwidth of 20MHz, and the terminal device 112 may support the maximum bandwidth of 100MHz.

It is to be understood that the number of devices in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and/or terminal devices adapted for implementing implementations of the present disclosure. Further, the maximum bandwidth supported by a terminal device may be any suitable values and is not limited to the above example.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the

terminal devices

110, 111 and 112 may communicate with the network device 120 via a channel such as a wireless communication channel. The communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and the like. Furthermore, the communications may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) , 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols.

Communication in a direction from the

terminal device

110, 111 or 112 towards the network device 120 is referred to as UL communication, while communication in a reverse direction from the network device 120 towards the

terminal device

110, 111 or 112 is referred to as DL communication. The wireless communication channel may comprise a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) , a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) , a physical random-access channel (PRACH) , a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) , a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) .

It is to be understood that FIG. 1 is merely an example, and the present disclosure may also be applied to any other suitable scenarios.

EXAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEM INFORMATION TRANSMISSION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for communication for CORESET 0 identification and system information transmission for reduced capability UE (for example, the terminal device 110) . The solution will be described in detail with reference to FIGs. 2 to 8.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process 200 of communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 200 may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the terminal device 110 as an example of the terminal device with reduced capability. The process 200 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network device 120 generates 210 a MIB or a RRC configuration. The MIB or the RRC configuration may comprise at least one of the following: an indication (for convenience, also referred to as a first indication herein) indicating a CORESET (for convenience, also referred to as a first CORESET herein) for a terminal device (for example, the terminal device 110) supporting a bandwidth (for convenience, also referred to as a first bandwidth herein) ; an indication (for convenience, also referred to as a second indication herein) indicating an initial BWP (for convenience, also referred to as a first initial BWP herein) for the terminal device 110; an indication (for convenience, also referred to as a third indication herein) indicating a CORESET (for convenience, also referred to as a second CORESET herein) for another terminal device (for example, the terminal device 111 or 112) supporting another bandwidth (for convenience, also referred to as a second bandwidth herein) wider than the first bandwidth; an initial BWP (for convenience, also referred to as a first initial BWP herein) for the

terminal device

111 or 112.

In some embodiments, a bandwidth of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP may be wider than the first bandwidth. In some embodiments, a bandwidth of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP may be not wider than the first bandwidth.

The network device 120 transmits 220 the MIB or the RRC configuration to the terminal device 110. In some embodiments for a SA scenario, the network device 120 may transmit the MIB in a SSB. In some embodiments for a NSA scenario, the network device 120 may transmit cell specific PDCCH parameters provided in a system information block (SIB) via RRC configuration.

Upon reception of the MIB or the RRC configuration, the terminal device 110 determines 230 at least one of the first CORESET or the first initial BWP for the terminal device 110 based on the above information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration. Then the terminal device 110 performs 240 a communication based on the at least one of the first CORESET or the first initial BWP.

In this way, CORESET 0 identification and a system information transmission for a reduced capability UE may be facilitated. For illustration, some example embodiments will be described below in connection with Embodiments 1 to 6.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, the MIB comprises the first indication and the third indication. In other words, the MIB indicates the first CORESET for the terminal device 110 and the second CORESET for the

terminal device

111 or 112. In this embodiment, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth.

FIG. 3A illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process 300A of communication for a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 300A may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the process 300A will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the terminal device 110 as an example of the terminal device with reduced capability. The process 300A may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the network device 120 may determine 301 whether the first CORESET is determined based on the second CORESET or the second CORESET and a predetermined offset. If determining that the first CORESET is determined based on the second CORESET, the network device 120 may generate 302 the MIB so that the MIB comprises the first indication having a first bit value. The MIB may also comprise the third indication. For example, the first indication may be a spare bit in the MIB, and the spare bit may be set to be the first bit value, for example, “0” or any other suitable values.

If determining that the first CORESET is determined based on the second CORESET and the predetermined offset, the network device 120 may generate 303 the MIB so that the MIB comprises the first indication having a second bit value different from the first bit value. The MIB may also comprise the third indication. For example, the first indication is the spare bit in the MIB, and the spare bit may be set to be the second bit value, for example, “1” or any other suitable values. It is to be understood that the first indication may be implemented in any other suitable forms.

The network device 120 may transmit 304 the MIB to the terminal device 110 in the SSB. Upon reception of the SSB, the terminal device 110 may get, from the SSB, the MIB comprising the first indication and the third indication. The terminal device 110 may determine 305 whether the first indication has the first bit value or the second bit value.

If determining that the first indication has the first bit value, the terminal device 110 may determine 306 the second CORESET as the first CORESET. For example, the terminal device 110 may firstly determine the second CORESET based on the third indication comprised in the MIB, and then determine the second CORESET as the first CORESET. In this way, reduced capability UE has SSB, PDCCH and PDSCH common to normal UE.

If determining that the first indication has the second bit value, the terminal device 110 may determine 307 the first CORESET based on the second CORESET and the predetermined offset. For example, the terminal device 110 may firstly determine the second CORESET based on the third indication comprised in the MIB, and then determine the first CORESET so that the first CORESET has the predetermined offset with respect to the second CORESET. In some embodiments, the predetermined offset may be relative to the starting or first resource block (RB) of the second CORESET. In some embodiments, the predetermined offset may be relative to the smallest RB index of the common RB overlapping with the starting or first RB of the corresponding SSB. In this way, reduced capability UE has a SSB common to normal UE and has dedicated PDCCH and PDSCH.

For example, if the bandwidth of CORESET for Type0-PDCCH common search space (CSS) set is wider than 5MHz, CORESET 0 of Release-18 reduced capability UE supporting a bandwidth of 5MHz is monitored at a dedicated location. Table 2 shows set of RBs and slot symbols of CORESET for Type0-PDCCH search space set when {SSB, PDCCH} SCS is {15, 15} KHz for frequency bands with minimum channel bandwidth 5MHz or 10MHz.

Table 2 Example of Set of RBs and Slot Symbols of CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set

It can be seen that bandwidths of CORESET 0 of normal UE corresponding to indexes 6 to 14 are wider than 5MHz. In this case, all UEs comprising Release-17 reduced capability UE, Release-18 reduced capability UE and normal UE read a common SSB. The Release-17 reduced capability UE (for example, the terminal device 111) and the normal UE (for example, the terminal device 112) may follow legacy SIB1 acquisition procedure. In the legacy SIB1 acquisition procedure, if during cell search the terminal device determines from the MIB that a CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set is present, the terminal device may determine a number of consecutive resource blocks and a number of consecutive symbols for the CORESET of the Type0-PDCCH CSS set from controlResourceSetZero in pdcch-ConfigSIB1 and determine PDCCH monitoring occasions from searchSpaceZero in pdcch-ConfigSIB1, included in the MIB.

For the terminal device 110 (i.e., the Release-18 reduced capability UE) , after the MIB is decoded successfully, the terminal device 110 may check whether the first indication is set to be the first or second bit value, for example, whether the spare bit of the MIB is set to be “1” or “0” . If the spare bit is set to be “1” , for bandwidth of CORESET 0 with 15KHz SCS is greater than 24RB, the terminal device 110 will monitor a dedicated PDCCH in other number of consecutive resource blocks of the channel, with the bandwidth of CORESET 0 fixed to 24RB. Compared to the original indicated CORESET 0, there is a fixed pre-defined offset (i.e., the predetermined offset) for the dedicated CORESET 0. The fixed pre-defined offset can either be relative to the first RB of the CORESET 0 for normal UE or the smallest RB index of the common RB overlapping with the first RB of the corresponding SSB. The terminal device 110 may determine PDCCH monitoring occasions from searchSpaceZero in pdcch-ConfigSIB1 as usual.

If the spare bit is set to be “0” , the terminal device 110 will monitor the same CORESET 0 as normal UE, although the bandwidth of CORESET 0 may be wider than the maximum bandwidth that the Release-18 reduced capability UE supports. This CORESET 0 may also be a MIB-configured initial BWP for the Release-18 reduced capability UE.

FIG. 3B illustrates a schematic diagram 300B illustrating an example determination of a CORESET for reduced capability UE in a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3B, upon reception of SSB, CORESET 0 for normal UE 310 may be determined based on an offset of 2 RBs with respect to the SSB, and then PDSCH for normal UE 310 may be determined from the CORESET 0 for normal UE 310. The CORESET 0 for normal UE 310 comprises 48 RBs. Next, CORESET 0 for Release-18 reduced capability UE 311 may be determined based on an offset of 30 RBs with respect to CORESET 0 for normal UE 310, and PDSCH for Release-18 reduced capability UE 311 may be determined from the CORESET 0 for Release-18 reduced capability 311. The CORESET 0 for Release-18 reduced capability UE 311 comprises 24 RBs. It is to be understood that FIG. 3B is merely an example, and does not make limitation to the present disclosure.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, the MIB comprises the third indication. In other words, the MIB indicates the second CORESET for all the

terminal device

110, 111 and 112. In this case, reduced capability UE has SSB, PDCCH and PDSCH common to normal UE. In this embodiment, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth.

If a bandwidth of CORESET for normal UE is wider than a bandwidth supported by reduced capability UE, PDCCH and PDSCH are obtained by hopping in sub-band. In a conventional solution, PDCCH is firstly obtained by hopping in multiple sub-bands for multiple times, and then PDSCH is obtained by further hopping in multiple sub-bands for multiple times. Thus, the times of the SIB1 acquisition procedure will be large, and the complexity will be high.

In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reducing the time of SIB1 acquisition. In this solution, information of both PDCCH and PDSCH are stored for each hopping in sub-band. The details will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating another process 400 of communication for a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 400 may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the process 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the terminal device 110 as an example of the terminal device with reduced capability. The process 400 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the network device 120 may transmit 401 a MIB to the terminal device 110 via a SSB, the MIB comprising the third indication. The terminal device 110 may get the MIB from the SSB and determine the second CORESET based on the third indication.

The terminal device 110 may monitor 402 a sub-band of the second CORESET for a transmission cycle of the MIB. The terminal device 110 may buffer 403 information of both a downlink control channel (such as a PDCCH) and a downlink data channel (such as a PDSCH) associated with the sub-band. In this way, a time period during which a SIB1 transmission keeps unchanged in a periodicity of the SIB1 transmission may be surely reduced. In other words, the time period will be less than the periodicity. For example, if the periodicity is 160ms, the time period may be 80ms.

For example, if the bandwidth of CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set is wider than 5MHz, Release 18 reduced capability UE may store a part of PDCCH and PDSCH each sub-band hopping. In this case, all UEs including Release 17 reduced capability UE, Release 18 reduced capability UE and normal UEs read the common SSB, if the CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set is wider than 5 MHz (48, 96RBs) , Release 18 reduced capability UE also tries to monitor the Type0-PDCCH in a wider bandwidth. Since CORESET 0 is interleaved mapping, control channel elements (CCEs) may spread widely to the whole CORESET 0. In order to decode PDCCH correctly, the Release 18 reduced capability UE may need to store the information of the whole CORESET 0.

For each SIB1 repetition transmission cycle, the Release 18 reduced capability UE will monitor a sub-band of CORESET 0, and in order to save the time of SIB1 acquisition, the Release 18 reduced capability UE buffers a part of information both for PDCCH and PDSCH once a time. In time domain, for the Release 18 reduced capability UEs in FR1, the SSB and CORESET is multiplexing pattern 1. According to the table 5.1.2.1.1-2 in TS38.213, default PDSCH time domain resource allocation A for normal CP, all the K0 is 0 in the table.

For each SIB1 repetition transmission cycle, in frequency domain, the Release 18 reduced capability UE stores both a part of CORESET 0. In time domain, the Release 18 reduced capability UE stores at most a slot. After several transmission cycles, the whole Type0-PDCCH CSS and SIB1 has been captured. In this way, the time of SIB1 acquisition can be less than decoding PDCCH and PDSCH separately.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, the RRC configuration comprises the third indication and the fourth indication. In other words, the RRC configuration indicates the second CORESET and the second initial BWP for the terminal device 112. In this embodiment, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth. The details will be described with reference to FIGs. 5A, 5B and 5C.

FIG. 5A illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process 500A of communication for a NSA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 500A may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the process 500A will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the terminal device 110 as an example of the terminal device with reduced capability. The process 500A may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the network device 120 may transmit 501, to the terminal device 110, a RRC configuration with cell specific PDCCH parameters provided in a system information block (SIB) . The RRC configuration may comprise the third indication and the fourth indication. The terminal device 110 may determine the second CORESET based on the third indication and determine the second initial BWP based on the fourth indication.

The terminal device 110 may determine 502 the available number of sub-bands based on the second initial BWP, a predetermined number of RBs, and a bandwidth of the second initial BWP overlapped with the second CORESET or the SSB. For example, the number of sub-bands may be determined by equation (1) below.

N=floor [ (B _t-B _o) /T] (1)

where floor denotes a rounding down operation, N denotes the available number of sub-bands in the second initial BWP, B _t denotes a total bandwidth of the second initial BWP, B _o denotes a bandwidth overlapped with the second CORESET or the SSB, and T denotes a sub-band unit of a predetermined number of RBs . It is to be understood that the equation (1) is merely an example, and any other suitable forms are also feasible.

Then the terminal device 110 may determine, as the first CORESET, a sub-band in the second initial BWP based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity (ID) of a serving cell of the terminal device 110 or an index of the SSB. For example, an index of the sub-band may be determined by equation (2) below.

I = (I _c + I _s) mod N (2)

where I denotes the index of the sub-band, I _c denotes the ID of the serving cell of the terminal device 110, I _s denotes the index of the SSB, mod denotes a modulo operation, and N denotes the determined number of sub-bands.

As another example, the index of the sub-band may be determined by equation (3) below.

I = I _s mod N (3)

where I denotes the index of the sub-band, I _s denotes the index of the SSB, mod denotes a modulo operation, and N denotes the determined number of sub-bands.

As still another example, the index of the sub-band may be determined by equation (4) below.

I = I _c mod N (4)

where I denotes the index of the sub-band, I _c denotes the ID of the serving cell of the terminal device 110, mod denotes a modulo operation, and N denotes the determined number of sub-bands. It is to be understood that the equations (2) , (3) , or (4) are merely examples, and any other suitable forms are also feasible.

In some embodiments, if there is a repetition timing occasion, repetition transmission cycles through a set of sub-bands may be in an increasing order of the determined index.

The network device 120 may also perform 504 similar operations with that described in connection with 502 and 503. The details are not repeated here for concise.

FIG. 5B illustrates a schematic diagram 500B illustrating an example determination of a CORESET for reduced capability UE in a NSA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5B, based on RRC configuration, CORESET 0 for normal UE 511 may be determined, and then PDSCH for normal UE 511 may be determined from the CORESET 0 for normal UE 511. Based on RRC configuration, an initial BWP for normal UE 511 may also be determined.

The terminal device 110 may divide the initial BWP for normal UE 511 into sub-bands by a sub-band unit of 24 RBs. As shown in FIG. 5B, the initial BWP for normal UE 511 may be divided into

sub-bands

513, 514, 515, 516, 517 and 518.

The terminal device 110 may determine the available number of sub-bands in the initial BWP for normal UE 511 based on the above equation (1) . As shown in FIG. 5B, sub-bands 515, 516 and 517 are overlapped with the CORESET 0 for normal UE 511. Thus, remaining

sub-bands

513, 514, and 518 may be indexed as 0, 1 and 2 respectively. Then the terminal device 110 may determine an index of a target sub-band based on any of the above equations (2) to (4) . For example, the sub-band 514 with an index of 1 may be determined as CORESET 0 for reduced capability UE 512. An initial BWP for reduced capability UE 512 may also be determined based on the sub-band 514. It is to be understood that FIG. 5B is merely an example, and does not make limitation to the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C illustrates a schematic diagram 500C illustrating another example determination of a CORESET for reduced capability UE in a NSA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5C, based on RRC configuration, CORESET 0 for normal UE 521 may be determined, and then PDSCH for normal UE 521 may be determined from the CORESET 0 for normal UE 521. Based on RRC configuration, an initial BWP for normal UE 521 may also be determined.

The terminal device 110 may divide the initial BWP for normal UE 521 into sub-bands by a sub-band unit of 24 RBs. As shown in FIG. 5C, the initial BWP for normal UE 521 may be divided into

sub-bands

523, 524, 525, 526, 527 and 528.

The terminal device 110 may determine the number of sub-bands in the initial BWP for normal UE 521 based on the above equation (1) . As shown in FIG. 5C, a sub-band 526 is overlapped with a SSB for normal UE 521. Thus, remaining

sub-bands

523, 524, 525, 527 and 518 may be indexed as 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Then the terminal device 110 may determine an index of a target sub-band based on any of the above equations (2) to (4) . For example, the sub-band 524 with an index of 1 may be determined as CORESET 0 for reduced capability UE 522. An initial BWP for reduced capability UE 522 may also be determined based on the sub-band 524. It is to be understood that FIG. 5C is merely an example, and does not make limitation to the present disclosure.

For example, in case of NSA scenario, Release-18 reduced capability UE, after receiving PDCCH-ConfigCommon, will monitor a dedicated PDCCH in other number of consecutive resource blocks of the channel, with the bandwidth of CORESET#0 fixed to 24RB and SCS fixed to 15KHz. The location may be fixed and pre-defined, and may have a relationship with bandwidth of initialDownlinkBWP and SSB index and/or cell ID. The time domain for monitoring CORESET#0 keeps the legacy design or uses a new pre-defined repetition timing occasion. For example, by setting 5 MHz or 24RB (15KHz SCS) as a sub-band unit, the bandwidth of channel is ordered in increasing order of sub-band index, excluding sub-bands overlapping with the CORESET 0 or overlapping with SSB for normal UEs.

In this case, reduced capability UE monitor the first CORESET at a pre-defined location if a bandwidth of the second CORESET is wider than a bandwidth supported by the reduced capability UE.

Embodiment 4

In this embodiment, the RRC configuration comprises the first indication, the third indication and the fourth indication. In other words, the RRC configuration indicates the second CORESET and the second initial BWP for the terminal device 112 and also indicates the first CORESET for the terminal device 110. In this case, there is an additional indication of which CORESET is used for reduced capability UE. In this embodiment, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth. The details will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating another process 600 of communication for a NSA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 600 may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the process 600 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the terminal device 110 as an example of the terminal device with reduced capability. The process 600 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 6, the network device 120 may determine 601 whether the first CORESET for reduced capability UE is determined as the second CORESET for normal UE or a predetermined CORESET (i.e., a dedicated CORESET) .

If the first CORESET is determined as the second CORESET, the network device 120 may generate 602 the RRC configuration by causing the first indication having a first bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration. If the first CORESET is determined as the predetermined CORESET, the network device 120 may generate 603 the RRC configuration by causing the first indication having a second bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration. The network device 120 may transmit 604 the RRC configuration to the terminal device 110.

Upon reception of the RRC configuration, the terminal device 110 may determine 605 whether the first indication has the first bit value or the second bit value. If the first indication has the first bit value, the terminal device 110 may determine 606 the second CORESET as the first CORESET. If the first indication has the second bit value, the terminal device 110 may determine 607 the predetermined CORESET as the first CORESET.

For example, a newly added 1 bit in the PDCCH-ConfigCommon is used to indicate that Release-18 reduced capability UE monitors CORESET 0 in which way: monitor a dedicated PDCCH in other number of consecutive resource blocks of the channel or common controlResourceSetZero with sub-band hopping. For example, the PDCCH-ConfigCommon may be configured as below.

In this case, reduced capability UE monitor the first CORESET at an indicated location if a bandwidth of the second CORESET is wider than a bandwidth supported by the reduced capability UE.

Embodiment 5

In this embodiment, the MIB comprises at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication. In other words, the MIB indicates at least one of the second CORESET or the second initial BWP for the terminal device 112. In some embodiments, only the second CORESET may be indicated. In some embodiments, both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP may be indicated. The details will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating still another process 700 of communication for a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 700 may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the process 700 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the terminal device 110 as an example of the terminal device with reduced capability. The process 700 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 7, the network device 120 may transmit 701 a MIB to the terminal device 110 via a SSB. The MIB comprise at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication. The terminal device 110 gets the MIB from the SSB and determines the second CORESET.

The terminal device 110 may determine 702 whether a bandwidth of the second CORESET is equal to or less than a bandwidth (i.e., the first bandwidth) supported by the terminal device 110. If the bandwidth of the second CORESET is equal to or less than the first bandwidth, the terminal device 110 may determine 703 an initial BWP (i.e., the first initial BWP) for the terminal device based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset.

If the bandwidth of the second CORESET is wider than the first bandwidth, the terminal device 110 may determine 704 the number of sub-bands based on the second CORESET and a predetermined number of RBs. In some embodiments, the predetermined number of RBs may be 24 RBs. Of course, any other suitable numbers are also feasible.

The terminal device 110 may determine 705 a sub-band in the second CORESET based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an ID of a serving cell of the terminal device 110 or an index of a SSB associated with the MIB. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine an index of the sub-band based on the above equation (2) . In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine an index of the sub-band based on the above equation (3) . In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the index of the sub-band based on the above equation (4) .

Then the terminal device 110 may determine 706 the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band. For example, the terminal device 110 may determine the determined sub-band as the first initial BWP. As another example, the terminal device 110 may determine 706 the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band and a predetermined offset.

As described in the Rel-15/16 TS38.213, if a UE is not provided initialDownlinkBWP, an initial DL BWP is defined by a location and number of contiguous PRBs, starting from a PRB with the lowest index and ending at a PRB with the highest index among PRBs of a CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set, and a SCS and a cyclic prefix for PDCCH reception in the CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set; otherwise, the initial DL BWP is provided by initialDownlinkBWP. So if the initial DL BWP is not provided by initialDownlinkBWP, the MIB-configured CORESET 0 will be the default initial DL BWP. But for the Release-18 reduced capability UE, the default initial DL BWP may need to be redefined.

For example, in some scenarios, the bandwidth of CORESET 0 indicated by pdcch-ConfigSIB1 in MIB or by searchSpaceSIB1 in PDCCH-ConfigCommon is not wider than the maximum DL bandwidth that the Release-18 reduced capability UE supports. As shown in the above Table 2, bandwidths of CORESET 0 for normal UE corresponding to indexes 0 to 5 are not wider than 5Mz. In order to prevent congestion between normal UE and Release-18 reduced capability UE, there may be a pre-defined offset to indicate an offset relative to the CORESET 0. Then the indicated location is the MIB-configured initial BWP for the Release-18 reduced capability UE.

In some scenarios, the bandwidth of CORESET 0 indicated by pdcch-ConfigSIB1 in MIB or by searchSpaceSIB1 in PDCCH-ConfigCommon is wider than the maximum DL bandwidth that the Release-18 reduced capability UE supports. As shown in the above Table 2, bandwidths of CORESET 0 for normal UE corresponding to indexes 6 to 14 are wider than 5Mz. If CORESET 0 of the Release-18 reduced capability UE is indicated in a dedicated or pre-defined location with 24RB bandwidth, the dedicated or pre-defined location is the MIB-configured initial BWP for the Release-18 reduced capability UE. If the Type0-PDCCH is decoded by several sub-band hopping, then the Release-18 reduced capability UE will select a sub-band as a MIB-configured initial BWP. The selected sub-band index may be calculated based on the equations (2) , (3) or (4) . There may be a pre-defined offset to indicate an offset relative to the selected sub-band as a final MIB-configured initial BWP.

In this way, a MIB-configured initial BWP for reduced capability UE may be identified.

Embodiment 6

In this embodiment, SIB1 derived from the MIB may comprise the second indication and the fourth indication. In this embodiment, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP may be wider than the first bandwidth. In this case, an initial BWP for reduced capability UE is indicated. The details will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating still another process 800 of communication for a SA scenario according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 800 may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the process 800 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the terminal device 110 as an example of the terminal device with reduced capability. The process 800 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 8, the network device 120 may determine 801 whether a bandwidth of the second initial BWP for normal UE is wider than a bandwidth (i.e., the first bandwidth) supported by reduced capability UE. If the bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, the network device 120 may generate 802 the SIB1 by causing the second indication and the fourth indication to be comprised in the SIB1.

The network device 120 may transmit 803 the SIB1 associated with the MIB to the terminal device 110 via a SSB. Then the terminal device 110 may get the MIB from the SSB.

The terminal device 110 may derive 804 the SIB1 from the MIB, the SIB1 comprising the second indication and the fourth indication. The terminal device 110 may determine the second initial BWP based on the fourth indication.

The terminal device 110 may determine 805 whether a bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth. If the bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, the terminal device 110 may determine 806 the first initial BWP based on the second indication. The second indication may indicate a dedicated initial BWP for reduced capability UE (for example, Release-18 reduced capability UE) .

For example, a Release-18 reduced capability UE expects the initial DL BWP and the active DL BWP after the UE establishes or reestablishes a dedicated RRC connection to be smaller than or equal to the maximum DL bandwidth that the UE supports. The UE may be provided with a DL BWP by initialDownlinkBWP in DownlinkConfigCommonRedCapSIB-r18, and an UL BWP by initialUplinkBWP in UplinkConfigCommonRedCapSIB-r18.

If initialDownlinkBWP in DownlinkConfigCommonRedCapSIB indicates an DL BWP that is larger than a maximum DL BWP that a UE supports, the UE expects to be provided an DL BWP by initialUplinkBWP in UplinkConfigCommonRedCapSIB-r18

If initialUplinkBWP in UplinkConfigCommonRedCapSIB indicates an UL BWP that is larger than a maximum UL BWP that a UE supports, the UE expects to be provided an UL BWP by initialUplinkBWP in UplinkConfigCommonRedCapSIB-r18.

In this way, a SIB-based initial BWP for reduced capability UE may be identified.

EXAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF METHODS

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods of communication implemented at a terminal device and a network device. These methods will be described below with reference to FIGs. 9 to 10.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method 900 of communication implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 900 may be performed between a terminal device with reduced capability and a network device. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It is to be understood that the method 900 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. In this example, a first terminal device supports a first bandwidth, and a second terminal device supports a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth.

At block 910, the first terminal device (for example, the terminal device 110 or 111) receives a MIB or a RRC configuration from the network device 120.

At block 920, the first terminal device determines at least one of a first CORESET or a first BWP for the first terminal device based on information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration, the information comprising at least one of the following: a first indication indicating the first CORESET, a second indication indicating the first initial BWP, a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for the second terminal device, or a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device. In some embodiments, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth. In some embodiments, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are not wider than the first bandwidth.

At block 930, the first terminal device performs a communication based on the at least one of the first CORESET or the first initial BWP.

In some embodiments, the MIB may comprise the first indication and the third indication. In these embodiments, if the first indication has a first bit value, the first terminal device may determine the second CORESET as the first CORESET. If the first indication has a second bit value, the first terminal device may determine the first CORESET based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset. In this way, a CORESET for reduced capability UE may be identified for a SA scenario.

In some embodiments, the MIB may comprise the third indication. In these embodiments, the first terminal device may monitor a sub-band of the second CORESET for a transmission cycle of the MIB, and buffer information of both a downlink control channel and a downlink data channel associated with the sub-band. In this way, an efficient sub-band hopping may be achieved.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration may comprise the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the first terminal device may determine the number of sub-bands based on the second initial BWP, a predetermined number of resource blocks, and a bandwidth of the second initial BWP overlapped with the second CORESET or a SSB, and determine, as the first CORESET, a sub-band in the second initial BWP based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of the SSB. In this way, a CORESET for reduced capability UE may be identified for a NSA scenario.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration may comprise the first indication, the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, if the first indication has a first bit value, the first terminal device may determine the second CORESET as the first CORESET. If the first indication has a second bit value, the first terminal device may determine a predetermined CORESET as the first CORESET. In this way, a CORESET for reduced capability UE may also be identified for a NSA scenario.

In some embodiments, the MIB may comprise at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication. In these embodiments, if a bandwidth of the second CORESET is equal to or less than the first bandwidth, the first terminal device may determine the first initial BWP based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset. If the bandwidth of the second CORESET is wider than the first bandwidth, the first terminal device may determine the number of sub-bands based on the second CORESET and a predetermined number of resource blocks, determine a sub-band in the second CORESET based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of a SSB associated with the MIB, and determine the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band. In this way, an initial BWP for reduced capability UE may be identified for a SA scenario.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device may derive a SIB1 from the MIB, the SIB1 comprising the second indication and the fourth indication. If a bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, the first terminal device may determine the first initial BWP based on the second indication. In this way, an initial BWP for reduced capability UE may be identified for a NSA scenario.

With the method 900, a CORESET and an initial BWP for a reduced capability UE may be identified. Other details are similar with that described in connection with FIGs. 2 to 8 and thus are not repeated here for concise.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example method 1000 of communication implemented at a network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 1000 may be performed at the network device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. For the purpose of discussion, in the following, the method 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It is to be understood that the method 1000 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. In this example, a first terminal device supports a first bandwidth, and a second terminal device supports a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth.

As shown in FIG. 10, at block 1010, the network device 120 generates a MIB or a RRC configuration. Information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration comprises at least one of the following: a first indication indicating a first CORESET for the first terminal device, a second indication indicating a first initial BWP for the first terminal device, a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for the second terminal device, or a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device. In some embodiments, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth. In some embodiments, bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are not wider than the first bandwidth.

At block 1020, the network device 120 transmits the MIB or RRC configuration to the first terminal device.

In some embodiments, the MIB may comprise the first indication and the third indication. In these embodiments, if the second CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, the network device 120 may cause the first indication having a first bit value to be comprised in the MIB. If the first CORESET is determined based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset, the network device 120 may cause the first indication having a second bit value to be comprised in the MIB. In this way, a CORESET for reduced capability UE may be indicated for a SA scenario.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration may comprise the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the number of sub-bands based on the second initial BWP, a bandwidth of the second initial BWP overlapped with the second CORESET and a predetermined number of resource blocks. Then the network device 120 may determine, as the first CORESET, a sub-band in the second initial BWP based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of a SSB. In this way, a CORESET for reduced capability UE may be indicated for a NSA scenario.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration may comprise the first indication, the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, if the second CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, the network device 120 may cause the first indication having a first bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration. If a predetermined CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, the network device 120 may cause the first indication having a second bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration. In this way, a CORESET for reduced capability UE may also be indicated for a NSA scenario.

In some embodiments, the MIB may comprise at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication. In these embodiments, if a bandwidth of the second CORESET is equal to or less than the first bandwidth, the network device 120 may determine the first initial BWP based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset. If a bandwidth of the second CORESET is wider than the first bandwidth, the network device 120 may determine the number of sub-bands based on the second CORESET and a predetermined number of RBs. Then the network device 120 may determine a sub-band in the second CORESET based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of a SSB associated with the MIB, and determine the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band. In this way, an initial BWP may be indicated for a SA scenario.

In some embodiments, if a bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, the network device 120 may cause the second indication and the fourth indication to be comprised in a SIB1 associated with the MIB. In this way, an initial BWP may be indicated for a NSA scenario.

With the method 1000, a CORESET and an initial BWP for a reduced capability UE may be indicated. Other details are similar with that described in connection with FIGs. 2 to 8 and thus are not repeated here for concise.

EXAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVICES AND APPARATUSES

FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1100 can be considered as a further example implementation of the

terminal device

110, 111 or the network device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the device 1100 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the

terminal device

110, 111 or the network device 120.

As shown, the device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1140 coupled to the processor 1110, and a communication interface coupled to the TX/RX 1140. The memory 1110 stores at least a part of a program 1130. The TX/RX 1140 is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX 1140 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2/Xn interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs/gNBs, S1/NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) /SGW/UPF and the eNB/gNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a terminal device.

The program 1130 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1110, enable the device 1100 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGs. 1 to 10. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1110 of the device 1100, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1110 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 1110 and memory 1120 may form processing means 1150 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 1120 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 1120 is shown in the device 1100, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1100. The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

In some embodiments, a terminal device supporting a first bandwidth comprises circuitry configured to: receive a MIB or a RRC configuration from a network device; and determine at least one of a first CORESET or a first initial BWP for the first terminal device based on information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration, the information comprising at least one of the following: a first indication indicating the first CORESET, a second indication indicating the first initial BWP, a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for a second terminal device, the second terminal device supporting a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, or a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device, wherein bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth; and perform a communication based on the at least one of the first CORESET or the first initial BWP.

In some embodiments, the MIB comprises the first indication and the third indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to determine the first CORESET by: in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a first bit value, determining the second CORESET as the first CORESET; and in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a second bit value, determining the first CORESET based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset.

In some embodiments, the MIB comprises the third indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be further configured to: monitor a sub-band of the second CORESET for a transmission cycle of the MIB; and buffer information of both a downlink control channel and a downlink data channel associated with the sub-band.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration comprises the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to determine the first CORESET by: determining the number of sub-bands based on the second initial BWP, a predetermined number of resource blocks, and a bandwidth of the second initial BWP overlapped with the second CORESET or a SSB; and determining, as the first CORESET, a sub-band in the second initial BWP based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of the SSB.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration comprises the first indication, the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to determine the first CORESET by: in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a first bit value, determining the second CORESET as the first CORESET; and in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a second bit value, determining a predetermined CORESET as the first CORESET.

In some embodiments, the MIB comprises at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to determine the first initial BWP by: in accordance with a determination that a bandwidth of the second CORESET is equal to or less than the first bandwidth, determining the first initial BWP based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset; and in accordance with a determination that the bandwidth of the second CORESET is wider than the first bandwidth, determining the number of sub-bands based on the second CORESET and a predetermined number of resource blocks; determining a sub-band in the second CORESET based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of a SSB associated with the MIB; and determining the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band.

In some embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to determine the first initial BWP by: deriving a system information block type 1, SIB1, from the MIB, the SIB1 comprising the second indication and the fourth indication; and in accordance with a determination that a bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, determining the first initial BWP based on the second indication.

In some embodiments, a network device comprise a circuitry configured to: generate a MIB or a RRC configuration; and transmit the MIB or RRC configuration to a first terminal device supporting a first bandwidth, wherein information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration comprises at least one of the following: a first indication indicating a first CORESET for the first terminal device, a second indication indicating a first initial BWP for the first terminal device, a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for a second terminal device, the second terminal device supporting a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, or a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device, and wherein bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth.

In some embodiments, the MIB comprises the first indication and the third indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to generate the MIB by: in accordance with a determination that the second CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, causing the first indication having a first bit value to be comprised in the MIB; and in accordance with a determination that the first CORESET is determined based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset, causing the first indication having a second bit value to be comprised in the MIB.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration comprises the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be further configured to: determine the number of sub-bands based on the second initial BWP, a bandwidth of the second initial BWP overlapped with the second CORESET and a predetermined number of resource blocks; and determine, as the first CORESET, a sub-band in the second initial BWP based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB.

In some embodiments, the RRC configuration comprises the first indication, the third indication and the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to generate the RRC configuration by: in accordance with a determination that the second CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, causing the first indication having a first bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration; and in accordance with a determination that a predetermined CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, causing the first indication having a second bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration.

In some embodiments, the MIB comprises at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication. In these embodiments, the circuitry may be further configured to: in accordance with a determination that a bandwidth of the second CORESET is equal to or less than the first bandwidth, determine the first initial BWP based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset; and in accordance with a determination that a bandwidth of the second CORESET is wider than the first bandwidth, determine the number of sub-bands based on the second CORESET and a predetermined number of resource blocks; determine a sub-band in the second CORESET based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device or an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB, associated with the MIB; and determine the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band.

In some embodiments, the circuitry may be further configured to: in accordance with a determination that a bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, cause the second indication and the fourth indication to be comprised in a SIB1 associated with the MIB.

The term “circuitry” used herein may refer to hardware circuits and/or combinations of hardware circuits and software. For example, the circuitry may be a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware. As a further example, the circuitry may be any portions of hardware processors with software including digital signal processor (s) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In a still further example, the circuitry may be hardware circuits and or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software/firmware for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (s) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor (s) and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above with reference to FIGs. 1 to 10. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

The above program code may be embodied on a machine readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A method of communication, comprising:

receiving, at a first terminal device supporting a first bandwidth, a master information block, MIB, or a radio resource control, RRC, configuration from a network device;

determining at least one of a first control resource set, CORESET, or a first initial bandwidth part, BWP, for the first terminal device based on information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration, the information comprising at least one of the following:

a first indication indicating the first CORESET,

a second indication indicating the first initial BWP,

a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for a second terminal device, the second terminal device supporting a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, or

a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device, wherein bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth; and

performing a communication based on the at least one of the first CORESET or the first initial BWP.
The method of claim 1, wherein the MIB comprises the first indication and the third indication, and wherein determining the first CORESET comprises:

in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a first bit value, determining the second CORESET as the first CORESET; and

in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a second bit value, determining the first CORESET based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset.
The method of claim 1, wherein the MIB comprises the third indication, and wherein the method further comprises:

monitoring a sub-band of the second CORESET for a transmission cycle of the MIB; and

buffering information of both a downlink control channel and a downlink data channel associated with the sub-band.
The method of claim 1, wherein the RRC configuration comprises the third indication and the fourth indication, and wherein determining the first CORESET comprises:

determining the number of sub-bands based on the second initial BWP, a predetermined number of resource blocks and a portion of a bandwidth of the second initial BWP, the portion being overlapped with the second CORESET or a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB; and

determining, as the first CORESET, a sub-band in the second initial BWP based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of the following:

an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device, or

an index of the SSB.
The method of claim 1, wherein the RRC configuration comprises the first indication, the third indication and the fourth indication, and wherein determining the first CORESET comprises:

in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a first bit value, determining the second CORESET as the first CORESET; and

in accordance with a determination that the first indication has a second bit value, determining a predetermined CORESET as the first CORESET.
The method of claim 1, wherein the MIB comprises at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication, and wherein determining the first initial BWP comprises:

determining the number of sub-bands based on the second CORESET and a predetermined number of resource blocks;

determining a sub-band in the second CORESET based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of the following:

an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device, or

an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB, associated with the MIB; and

determining the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first initial BWP comprises:

deriving a system information block type 1, SIB1, from the MIB, the SIB1 comprising the second indication and the fourth indication; and

in accordance with a determination that a bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, determining the first initial BWP based on the second indication.
A method of communication, comprising:

generating, at a network device, a master information block, MIB, or a radio resource control, RRC, configuration; and

transmitting the MIB or RRC configuration to a first terminal device supporting a first bandwidth,

wherein information comprised in the MIB or RRC configuration comprises at least one of the following:

a first indication indicating a first control resource set, CORESET, for the first terminal device,

a second indication indicating a first initial bandwidth part, BWP, for the first terminal device,

a third indication indicating a second CORESET configured for a second terminal device, the second terminal device supporting a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, or

a fourth indication indicating a second initial BWP configured for the second terminal device, and

wherein bandwidths of both the second CORESET and the second initial BWP are wider than the first bandwidth.
The method of claim 8, wherein the MIB comprises the first indication and the third indication, and wherein generating the MIB comprises:

in accordance with a determination that the second CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, causing the first indication having a first bit value to be comprised in the MIB; and

in accordance with a determination that the first CORESET is determined based on the second CORESET and a predetermined offset, causing the first indication having a second bit value to be comprised in the MIB.
The method of claim 8, wherein the RRC configuration comprises the third indication and the fourth indication, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining the number of sub-bands based on the second initial BWP, a predetermined number of resource blocks and a portion of a bandwidth of the second initial BWP, the portion being overlapped with the second CORESET or a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB; and

determining, as the first CORESET, a sub-band in the second initial BWP based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of the following:

an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device, or

an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB.
The method of claim 8, wherein the RRC configuration comprises the first indication, the third indication and the fourth indication, and wherein generating the RRC configuration comprises:

in accordance with a determination that the second CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, causing the first indication having a first bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration; and

in accordance with a determination that a predetermined CORESET is determined as the first CORESET, causing the first indication having a second bit value to be comprised in the RRC configuration.
The method of claim 8, wherein the MIB comprises at least one of the third indication or the fourth indication, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining the number of sub-bands based on the second CORESET and a predetermined number of resource blocks;

determining a sub-band in the second CORESET based on the determined number of sub-bands and at least one of the following:

an identity of a serving cell of the first terminal device, or

an index of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB, associated with the MIB; and

determining the first initial BWP based on the determined sub-band.
The method of claim 8, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that a bandwidth of the second initial BWP is wider than the first bandwidth, causing the second indication and the fourth indication to be comprised in a system information block type 1, SIB1, associated with the MIB.
A terminal device comprising:

a processor configured to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 7.
A network device comprising:

a processor configured to perform the method according to any of claims 8 to 13.