WO2023214908A1

WO2023214908A1 - Signaling in a communication network

Info

Publication number: WO2023214908A1
Application number: PCT/SE2023/050289
Authority: WO
Inventors: Olof Liberg; Johan Rune; Magnus Larsson; Jonas SEDIN; Talha KHAN; Dominique Everaere; Chunhui Li
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2022-05-06
Filing date: 2023-03-31
Publication date: 2023-11-09

Abstract

A method performed by a communication device (12) configured for use in a communication network (10) is disclosed. The communication device (12) transmits, to a network node (14) in the communication network (10), signaling (20). In some embodiments, the signaling (20) indicates at least whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL. In some embodiments, the signaling (20) indicates at least one or more values (20B) of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver (12R) of the communication device (12).

Description

SIGNALING IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to a communication network, and relates more particularly to signaling in such a network.

BACKGROUND

A communication network performs link adaptation to adapt the configuration of the downlink for a communication device, e.g., in dependence on the channel conditions that the communication device experiences on the downlink. For example, the communication network may adapt the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or the channel bandwidth used on the downlink. Known approaches rely on the communication device to report channel state information (CSI) measurements to the communication network, so that the communication network can perform link adaptation based on the reported CSI measurements.

Challenges exist with known approaches to link adaptation, though. CSI measurements require meaningful system capacity to request and report, reducing the capacity available for other communication devices and/or for user data. Moreover, poor CSI reporting quality by the communication device compromises the effectiveness of link adaptation. These challenges may prove particularly problematic in satellite communication networks, where link adaptation improvements are needed to enhance coverage and increase spectral efficiency.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments herein, a communication device reports parameter(s) characterizing its receiver performance, such as gain, gain-to-noise temperature, noise figure, or the like. The communication network may then exploit this reporting to estimate the downlink signal quality and/or perform link adaptation. Some embodiments herein advantageously enable the communication network to estimate the downlink signal quality with higher accuracy than known approaches and thereby improve link adaptation, e.g., for increasing downlink spectral efficiency and coverage.

More particularly, embodiments herein include a method performed by a communication device configured for use in a communication network. The method comprises transmitting signaling to a network node in the communication network. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL. Alternatively or additionally, the signaling indicates one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

In some embodiments where the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters, the one or more parameters include a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver and/or one or more receiver G/T parameters (where the receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters). In one or more of these embodiments where the one or more parameters include the receiver G/T of the receiver, the one or more parameters include the one or more receiver G/T parameters. In one or more of these embodiments, the one or more receiver G/T parameters include an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver, a system noise temperature (T), an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver, a noise figure (NF), and/or an ambient temperature (T_amb).

In other embodiments where the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling indicates the value of the parameter by indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter or by reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

In some embodiments where the signaling indicates whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL, the method further comprises determining, based on at least one of the one or more parameters, whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL. In one or more of these embodiments, the method further comprises determining whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL by determining whether one or more of a system noise temperature, a noise power, and a downlink signal quality is above or below a configured threshold. Alternatively, the method further comprises determining whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL by checking whether an estimated propagation loss between the communication device and the network node matches a calculated value of the FSPL, at least within a configured threshold, where the estimated propagation loss is calculated as the difference in transmitted and received signal power levels. In some embodiments, the calculated value of the FSPL is based on a distance between the communication device and the base station distance and based on a configured carrier frequency.

In some embodiments, the signaling is, or is conveyed by, an RRC message. In one or more of these embodiments, the RRC message is an RRC setup request message or an RRC resume request message.

In some embodiments, the communication network is a satellite communication network, and the network node is a satellite access network node.

In some embodiments, the signaling indicates a distance between the communication device and a satellite serving the communication device. In one or more of these embodiments, the signaling indicating the distance is transmitted based on and/or responsive to the distance changing by at least a threshold amount since the distance was last indicated to the network node. Alternatively, the signaling indicating the distance is transmitted based on and/or responsive to the distance deviating more than a threshold amount from an expected distance that would be expected if the communication device had remained stationary in relation to the surface of the earth since the distance was last reported.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, from the network node, a configuration of downlink transmission parameters adapted based on the signaling. In some embodiments, the downlink transmission parameters include a modulation and coding scheme and/or a channel bandwidth. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a downlink transmission based on the received configuration.

In some embodiments, the signaling indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a request from the network node to report a timing advance, TA, value or position of the communication device as well as one or more receiver parameters of the communication device. In some embodiments, the method further comprises, in response to the request, reporting, to the network node, the TA value or position of the communication device and one or more receiver parameters of the communication device.

Other embodiments herein include a method performed by a network node configured for use in a communication network. The method comprises receiving signaling from a communication device. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL. In other embodiments, the signaling additionally or alternatively indicates at least one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

In some embodiments where the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters, the one or more parameters include a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver and/or one or more receiver G/T parameters (where receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters). In one or more of these embodiments where the one or more parameters include the receiver G/T of the receiver, the one or more receiver G/T parameters include an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver, a system noise temperature (T), an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver, a noise figure (NF), and/or an ambient temperature (T_amb).

In one or more embodiments wherein the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling indicates the value of the parameter by indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter or by reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

In some embodiments, the signaling indicates whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining a signal quality of the radio link based on the signaling. In one or more of these embodiments, the signal quality is a signal-to-noise-ratio, SNR. In some embodiments, determining the SNR comprises determining the SNR according to either

SNR=EIRP + G/T-10log_w(k)-FSPL- /p

SF—SL—AL—10log₁₀(B) '^tq ’ ' or

In one or more of these embodiments, the method further comprises performing link adaptation on the radio link based on the determined signal quality. In some embodiments, the determined signal quality is an estimate of an upper bound of an achievable signal quality.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining, based on the signaling, a configuration of downlink transmission parameters for the communication device. In some embodiments, the downlink transmission parameters include a modulation and coding scheme and/or a channel bandwidth. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting the determined configuration to the communication device. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting a downlink transmission to the communication device based on the determined configuration.

In some embodiments, the signaling indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, to the communication device, a request to report a timing advance, TA, value or position of the communication device as well as one or more receiver parameters of the communication device. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a response to the request reporting the TA value or position of the communication device and one or more receiver parameters of the communication device. In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining, from the signaling and the response, a signal quality of the radio link.

Other embodiments herein include a communication device configured for use in a communication network. The communication device is configured to transmit, to a network node in the communication network, signaling. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

In some embodiments, the communication device is configured to perform the steps described above for a communication device.

Other embodiments herein include a network node configured for use in a communication network. The network node is configured to receive, from a communication device, signaling. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform the steps described above for a network node.

In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the steps described above for a communication device. In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to perform the steps described above for a network node. In some embodiments, a carrier containing the computer program is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

Other embodiments herein include a communication device configured for use in a communication network. The communication device comprises communication circuitry and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to transmit, to a network node in the communication network, signaling. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is configured to perform the steps described above for a communication device.

Other embodiments herein include a network node configured for use in a communication network. The network node comprises communication circuitry and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to receive, from a communication device, signaling. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL. In some embodiments, the signaling indicates at least one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is configured to perform the steps described above for a network node.

Other embodiments herein include a method performed by a network node configured for use in a communication network. The method comprises estimating an uplink pathloss based on measured uplink reference signal received power relative to a transmit EIRP used by a communication device. The method also comprises comparing the uplink pathloss to a calculated value of free space path loss, FSPL. The method also comprises determining whether or not the uplink pathloss is dominated by FSPL based on said comparing.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises obtaining user data and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a communication device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communication network according to some embodiments.

Figure 2 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed for DL SNR determination according to some embodiments herein.

Figure 3 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed for DL SNR determination according to other embodiments herein.

Figure 4 is a call flow diagram for DL SNR determination according to some embodiments herein.

Figure 5 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a communication device according to some embodiments.

Figure 6 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a network node according to some embodiments. Figure 7 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a network node according to other embodiments.

Figure 8 is a block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments. Figure 9 is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments.

Figure 10 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 11 is a block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments.

Figure 12 is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments.

Figure 13 is a block diagram of a host according to some embodiments.

Figure 14 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment according to some embodiments.

Figure 15 is a block diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a communication network 10 according to some embodiments. The communication network 10 may for instance be a non-terrestrial network (NTN), also referred to as a satellite communication network. Regardless, the communication network 10 is configured to provide communication service to a communication device 12, e.g., a user equipment (UE). The communication network 10 in this regard includes a network node 14 that communicates with the communication device 12 over a radio link 16, e.g., a downlink. Where the communication network 10 is an NTN, the network node 14 may for instance be a satellite access network node.

According to some embodiments, the communication device 12 transmits signaling 20 to the network node 14, e.g., where the signaling 20 is or is conveyed by a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as an RRC setup request message or an RRC resume request message. In one embodiment, the signaling 20 includes a free space path loss (FSPL) indication 20A that indicates whether or not a propagation loss of the radio link 16 between the communication device 12 and the communication network 10 is dominated by FSPL, e.g., as determined by the communication device 12. Alternatively or additionally, the signaling 20 indicates one or more values 20B of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver 12R of the communication device 12.

In some embodiments where the signaling 20 indicates parameter value(s) 20B, the parameter value(s) 20B may include a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver 12R. The receiver G/T in one embodiment is a metric characterizing the receiver performance in terms of the relation between an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver 12R and the system noise temperature (T). The receiver G/T may alternatively be referred to as an antenna G/T. In other embodiments where the signaling 20 indicates parameter value(s) 20B, the parameter value(s) 20B may alternatively or additionally include one or more receiver G/T parameters, where the receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters. That is, rather than indicating the receiver G/T itself, the signaling 20 indicates the one or more receiver G/T parameters from which the receiver G/T is calculable. In these embodiments, for example, the one or more receiver G/T parameters may include at least one of any one or more of: an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver 12R, a system noise temperature (T), an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver 12R, a noise figure (NF), and/or an ambient temperature (T_amb).

In one embodiment where the signaling 20 indicates the parameter value(s) 20B, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling 20 may indicate the value of the parameter by indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter. Alternatively, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling 20 may indicate the value of the parameter by reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

Note that in some embodiments the communication device 12 may have more than one receiver and/or more than one antenna, e.g., one antenna per receiver (i.e., per antenna connector). In one such embodiment, the communication device 12 may transmit the signaling 20 for each receiver and/or for each antenna, e.g., such that the signaling 20 is receiver-specific and/or antenna-specific. In another embodiment, though, the communication device 12 may transmit the signaling 20 to represent a combination of the performance of multiple ones of the communication device’s receivers.

In any event, in some embodiments, the network node 14 determines a signal quality of the radio link 16 based on the signaling 20. For example, where the signal quality is a signal-to- noise ratio (SNR), the network node 14 may determine the downlink (DL) SNR according to SNR=EIRP + G/T-10log_w(k)-FSPL- /p

SF—SL—AL—10log₁₀(B) '^tCl’ ' in which case the signaling 20 may indicate G/T or one or more G/T parameters from which G/T is calculable. Equation (1) represents the DL SNR as a function of the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP), the receiver antenna gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T), and the signal attenuation which in turn depends on the free space path loss (FSPL), scintillation loss (SL), atmospheric loss (AL), shadow fading (SF) and Boltzmann’s constant k.

As another example, the network node 14 may determine the SNR according to SNR=EIRP + G /T-10log₁₀(K)-FSPL- /p ■.

10log₁₀ (B) in which case the signaling 20 may indicate G/T or one or more G/T parameters from which G/T is calculable. No matter how the network node 14 determines the signal quality, the network node 14 in some embodiments performs link adaptation on the radio link 16 based on the determined signal quality. In one embodiment, the signal quality based on which link adaptation is performed is an estimate of an upper bound of an achievable signal quality.

Some embodiments herein are applicable in the following example context, where the communication network 10 is a non-terrestrial network (NTN), e.g., a 5G NTN, and the network node is a satellite access network node. In some embodiments, the communication device 12 is a user equipment (UE).

Some embodiments in this regard concern the expected downlink (DL) SNR in a satellite system using a signal bandwidth B. The DL SNR in some embodiments is determinable as a function of the transmitters equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP), the receiver antenna gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T), and the signal attenuation which in turn depends on the free space path loss (FSPL), scintillation loss (SL), atmospheric loss (AL), shadow fading (SF) and Boltzmann’s constant k as follows:

SNR=EIRP + G/T-10log_w (k) -FSPL- /p

SF—SL—AL—10log₁₀ (B) '^tCF '

Assumptions may be made for these parameters in case of line of sight communication, which is typical for satellite communications, e.g., as specified in TR 38.821 v16.1 .0. The DL SNR is highly dependent on the satellite access node (SAN) EIRP, G/T, FSPL, and the signal BW while the SF, SL, and AL are more or less negligible. In other embodiments, then, the DL SNR may be determined using a simplified calculation:

SNR=EIRP + G/T-10log_w (k) -FSPL- /p px

10 log _W (I3) /

In some embodiments, the SAN EIRP and BW is under network control. The FSPL is dependent on the distance d between the UE and the satellite carrying the SAN and the carrier frequency f_c FSPL = 32.45 + 20log_w(f_c) + 20log_w d), where the distance d in meter and the carrier frequency f_c in GHz. In 5G New Radio (NR), the UE can be requested to report its location to the network (NW). Based on this and the satellite ephemeris the NW can calculate the satellite to UE distance with high accuracy. The UE can also be configured to provide its timing advance, which is a measure of the UE to SAN round-trip time, which can be used to determine the satellite to UE distance. The NW also knows the carrier frequency and can consequently estimate the FSPL as well.

According to some embodiments, then, one variable in the above equation(s) that is heretofore unknown to the NW is G/T, where G equals the UE receiver antenna gain G and T = 10log10(T_Sys). T_Sys is the system noise temperature that corresponds to a measurable noise power N in the UE receiver. Over a bandwidth B, the noise power N equals:

N = 10logl0(kT_sysB)' (Eq. 3) Tsys is dependent on the ambient UE temperature T_amb, the UE antenna temperature T_ant and the UE noise factor F as follows:

The ambient temperature corresponds to around 290 K while the antenna temperature corresponds to the noise level picked up by the antenna from its surroundings. It is determined by the antenna frequency selectivity, its radiation pattern, the pointing direction of the antenna, and the temperature distribution surrounding the antenna.

For a device with a directional antenna, T_ant is dominated by the temperature in the direction of main receiving beam. A UE with a highly directional antenna operating in NR frequency range 1 that is pointing its antenna towards a satellite in the cold sky will measure a T_ant that is far below the ambient temperature. ITU-R recommendation P.372-7 presents measurements and models for estimating the antenna temperature for different antenna pointing directions and frequencies.

In some embodiments, a UE’s antenna temperature can be accurately estimated based on the measurements in P.372-7 along with knowledge of the antenna pointing direction and the receiving antenna gain diagram. In some embodiments, only knowledge of antenna gain G instead of the full antenna diagram may be sufficient to make an estimate of T _ant.

In some embodiments, the UE noise figure NF is defined based on the noise factor F as follows:

NF = WlogW F (Eq. 3)

In this context, some embodiments herein address the area of DL link adaption which refers to a NW’s attempt to configure the DL for optimizing the DL spectral efficiency. The configuration includes determining e.g., modulation and coding scheme and assigned channel bandwidth. A conventional NW attempts to determine these configurations based on UE channel state information (CSI) measurements and reporting. By contrast, some embodiments herein exploit the characteristics of the radio link to enhance the UE reporting for improving the NW’s ability to efficiently configure the DL transmission parameters. Some embodiments herein, for example, introduce the support for signaling of UE receiver parameters (via signaling 20) that allows the NW to enhance its link adaptation. In particular, some embodiments herein introduce UE reporting of parameters related to the UE receiver performance such as the UE antenna gain G, G/T, the noise figure NF, and the antenna temperature, e.g., via signaling 20 in Figure 1 . This will advantageously reduce the NWs dependency on the UE CSI reporting quality and also reduce the need to request CSI information from the UE which will free up system capacity. According to some embodiments, then, the network may use the reported information to estimate the DL SNR, e.g., according to equation 1 , and use the estimated SNR to perform a robust link adaptation. In some embodiments, by using the reported information in this way, the NW may determine DL SNR with high accuracy which will allow the NW to perform efficient link adaptation to increase the DL spectral efficiency and coverage.

Figures 2 and 3 show additional details of some embodiments herein. In a first embodiment, a UE sends an indication to the network (NW), e.g., to a network node such as a SAN, that the Uu interface is operating in free space path loss (FSPL) conditions (Step 2 of Figure 2). This indication may exemplify the FSPL indication 20A in Figure 1 . The UE may e.g., determine the state of the indication based on one or more of the measured system temperature, noise power, and DL SNR (Step 1 of Figure 2).

As an alternative, as shown in Figure 3, the UE signals the measured system temperature, noise power, DL SNR, BLER, and/or channel quality indicator (CQI) to the NW that uses this information to determine if the radio link is operating in FSPL conditions or not (Step 2 of Figure 3). Such signaling in this case exemplifies the parameter value(s) 20B in Figure 1. Additionally, the network may determine this information based on the UE’s coverage enhancement level as indicated by the PRACH configuration used by the UE during random access.

Operation in FSPL conditions here refers to a radio link state where the UE to SAN (and SAN to UE) pathloss is dominated by FSPL propagation conditions.

In some embodiments, the network, e.g., a network node such as a SAN, may also configure the UE with a first system temperature or noise power threshold. A UE then informs the NW if it experiences a system temperature or noise level below the first threshold, which the NW takes as an indication of operation in FSPL conditions. When the UE has reported that its experienced system temperature or noise power is below the configured threshold, the network may configure the UE to inform the network if the UE’s experienced system temperature or noise power goes above a second threshold, where the second threshold typically is higher than or possibly equal to) the first threshold. If the UE reports that its experienced system temperature or noise power goes above the second threshold, the network takes this as an indication of operation in non-FSPL conditions, e.g., conditions where the pathloss is not dominated by FSPL. Both the first threshold and the second threshold, as well as the UE’s behavior in relation to the thresholds may also be configured at the same time.

In some embodiments, the network, e.g., a network node such as a SAN, may also configure the UE to report any significant change in its ambient temperature T_amb, or any significant change of its system temperature or noise power, which is only due to a variation of UE ambient temperature. To avoid the UE reporting interpretively any change, the network could configure another threshold triggering such reporting.

Alternatively, in some embodiments the network, e.g., a network node such as a SAN, estimates the UL pathloss (PL) based on measured UL reference signal received power (RSRP) relative to the transmit EIRP used by the UE. The NW compares the estimated PL with a calculated value of the FSPL which is based on the carrier frequency and UE to satellite distance. If the estimated PL matches the calculated FSPL, or the deviation is small enough, e.g., below a pre-determined threshold, the NW can assume FSPL conditions.

In some cases, the network could experience FSPL conditions, but also have attenuation caused by other more satellite-specific factors, which includes Atmospheric absorption (AL described above), Rain and Cloud Attenuation, Ionospheric and Tropospheric scintillation (SL components described above). This attenuation is usually constant and for instance depends on frequency, time of the day, elevation angle as well as longitude and latitude. In some embodiments in this case, the UE or network may apply an offset to the above thresholds. For example, assuming the UE is requested to detect that it is operating in FSPL, the UE may detect whether it is operating in FSPL by comparing the measured SNR to a threshold. But if the signal is attenuated by some additional known factor, then the threshold is shifted to account for that factor. In other embodiments, by contrast, the threshold is itself is adapted in order to determine whether the UE is in FSPL conditions. The offset, either internal in the network or in the UE could for instance be adapted according to the time, position of the UE through elevation angle, or longitude, latitude.

In some embodiments, the NW may use the FSPL information to determine if it can make a robust and accurate estimation of the DL SNR, e.g., according to Eq. 2 or according to Eq. 1 using default, measured or calculated values for the SF, SL, and AL components.

In some embodiments, to allow the NW, e.g., a network node such as a SAN, to perform DL SNR estimation (e.g., according to equation 1) the UE reports at least the antenna gain G. In one embodiment, the UE may report this in addition to its position (e.g., determined through GNSS measurement) or timing advance. Regardless, in some embodiments, the NW first calculates FSPL based on the estimated distance between the UE and the SAN receiver on board the satellite. The NW may then estimate the system temperature to assess G/T and compute the DL SNR.

Alternatively, in other embodiments, the UE reports G/T or G and the system temperature representation T separately. In a further alternative the UE reports G, in combination with the antenna temperature, and/or the noise figure and/or the ambient temperature. Based on this input, the NW calculates the DL SNR.

Note that, in case the UE receiver is exposed to interference, the measured system temperature and corresponding noise level N will capture the interfering signal level. The NW calculation will then correspond to SINR.

As an alternative to reporting its position, the UE may report its distance to the satellite, based on satellite ephemeris data and the UE’s own measured location. This may be an advantageous alternative in cases where privacy concerns prohibit disclosing of the UE’s position to the network (such as when user consent is required but has not been given) or makes such disclosing undesirable. As yet another alternative, the UE may report its position, but may do this with a low accuracy in order to abide by privacy rules, wherein the accuracy may be such that the maximum error may be e.g., a couple of kilometers, or as another example a couple of tens of kilometers. The accuracy in the reported UE position may thus be a tradeoff between privacy and usefulness for FSPL and/or SNR estimation. In recognition of this tradeoff, the network (e.g., a SAN or an eNB) may configure or request a UE to report its location with a certain accuracy. The network (e.g., the SAN or the eNB) may base the choice of accuracy in this configuration or request at least in part on how sensitive to UE location errors the distance calculation is (i.e., how of an large error would the UE location error cause in a UE- satellite distance calculated based on the UE’s reported location). This may in turn depend on the elevation angle of the satellite (as seen from the UE’s location or the UE’s cell), which in turn may depend e.g., on the satellite orbit altitude and the length of the duration the satellite serves the UE’s location and how long part of this duration that has elapsed. As a further option, when/if configuring the accuracy of the UE location to be reported, the network may distinguish between horizontal accuracy and vertical accuracy. Furthermore, the horizontal accuracy may be configured, or requested, to be different in different horizontal directions, e.g., one horizontal accuracy for the direction parallel with the satellite’s orbit and another horizontal accuracy for the direction perpendicular to the satellite’s orbit’s projection on the ground. If the UE reports its distance to the satellite, it may do so with high or low accuracy, where the low accuracy could be used to further hide the UE’s precise location (and to slightly reduce the amount of signaled data).

If reporting of the UE’s distance to the satellite is used, the network, e.g., a network node such as a SAN or an eNB, may configure the UE to report its distance to the satellite when the change of this distance since the UE last reported it exceeds a certain configured (or standardized) threshold has changed a certain minimum. For instance, the UE may, e.g., in accordance with configuration received from the network or in accordance with a standard) report its distance to the satellite, D, when D - Di_ast_reported > A, where Di_ast_reported is the distance to the satellite the UE last reported and A is a configured or standardized threshold parameter.

Another alternative is that the UE in the condition for reporting the distance takes into account the satellite’s movements as indicated by the ephemeris data associated with the satellite (and also takes into account the movement of the UE’s location in relation to the satellite caused by the rotation of the earth). To this end, the configured or standardized condition for reporting the UE’s distance to the satellite may be that this distance deviates more than a configured threshold from the distance expected if the UE had remained stationary in relation to the surface of the earth since it last reported the UE to satellite distance. The above described conditions for reporting based on changes or deviations of the UE’s distance to the satellite may also be used as conditions for reporting the UE’s (accurate or inaccurate, e.g., full-accuracy or non-full-accuracy) position.

If the UE not only reports its position, but also its velocity (e.g., its velocity in relation to the surface of the earth or the WGS 84 ellipsoid), including direction, the condition involving deviation from the expected UE to satellite distance may be extended to take the UE’s reported velocity into account (with the assumption that the UE’s velocity remains constant) when calculating the deviation from the expected UE to satellite distance.

In one embodiment, the network indicates a reference value for the parameter(s) to be reported using broadcast or dedicated signaling. The UE can then choose a delta value (from a list of predefined delta values as specified in the standard for the particular parameter(s)) to report its difference from the reference value in its response message. For example, a list of L ascending values (x1 , x2,..., xL) is defined in the standard for reference value of parameter G/T, and a list of M ascending values (y1 , y2, ... ,yM) for delta values for parameter G/T is specified in the standard. The network may indicate a reference value of x2 dB for the parameter G/T. The UE can choose the delta value y5 that best describes the UE’s G/T (i.e., minimizes the error between the actual G/T experienced by the UE and the G/T calculated by the network based on x2 and y5).

In a sub-embodiment, the network may indicate an updated reference value for the parameter(s) based on the UE’s reported differential value to ensure accurate estimation of the parameter values. For example, if the UE reports maximum positive delta from the reference value (e.g., yM), the network may increase the G/T reference value.

The reporting of any of the above mentioned parameters or information may either be reported on request from the network or may be configured via broadcast or dedicated signaling. If configured via dedicated signaling, the network may e.g., configure the UE to report any of the above mentioned parameters or information when a certain condition is fulfilled. The configuration may be performed via Downlink Control Information (DCI) signaling (on the Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH), Medium Access Control (MAC) (e.g., MAC Control Element, CE) signaling, or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. If RRC signaling is used, the network, e.g., a network node such as a SAN or an eNB, may e.g., use an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfiguration message in conjunction with RRC connection setup (i.e., when the UE transits from RRCJDLE state to RRC_CONNECTED state) or at any time after such an RRC connection setup (while the UE is still in RRC_CONNECTED state), or use an RRCResume message or an RRCReconfiguration message in conjunction with RRC connection resumption (i.e., when the UE transits from RRCJNACTIVE state to RRC_CONNECTED state) or at any time after such an RRC connection resumption (while the UE is still in RRC_CONNECTED state). Another option is that the UE is configured via broadcast system information to report any of the above mentioned parameters or information when a certain condition is fulfilled or when a certain event occurs, e.g., when the UE enters the RRC_CONNECTED state, e.g., using an RRCSetupComplete message or an RRCResumeComplete message.

Yet another option is that the network configures the UE’s reporting of any of the above mentioned parameters or information using an RRCRelease message when switching the UE from RRC_CONNECTED state to RRCJDLE state or RRCJNACTIVE state. With this option, the UE may e.g., be configured to report any of the above mentioned parameters or information in conjunction with its next transition to RRC_CONNECTED state (e.g., using the RRCSetupComplete message or the RRCResumeComplete message).

When reporting any of the above mentioned parameters or information, the UE may use RRC signaling (as previously mentioned) or MAC signaling (e.g., using a MAC CE) or Uplink Control Information (UCI) signaling (on the Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH).

In one example, a MAC control element (CE) request and response procedure is used. The network sends a request asking for instance for one of the above (G/T, G, T, etc.), and the UE responds with requested info in a MAC CE. As another example, a MAC CE element is defined for reporting of the FSPL condition, which is only sent when the UE receives a request to report its FSPL condition.

In one embodiment, UE could report any of the above mentioned parameters or information during the random access procedure. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the Network sends the request for UE Rx parameters within the Msg2 of the random access procedure and the UE reports the UE Rx parameters within Msg3 of the random access procedure (i.e., using an RRCSetupComplete message or an RRCResumeComplete message) based on previous measurements e.g., in RRC Idle or RRC Inactive mode of the system temperature and noise level. In particular, as shown in Figure 4, the network optionally performs beam sweeping by transmitting K different Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSB) as SSBO through SSBK (Step 1). The UE eliminates noise and/or the system temperature based on measurements in RRC Idle or RRC inactive state (Step 2). The UE then performs contentionbased random access (CBRA) and transmits a random access preamble (Msg1) on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) (Step 3). The network responds to the random access channel with a Random Access Response (RAR) (Msg2), including a temporary Cell Radio network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) as well as a request for UE Rx parameters (Step 4). The UE then transmits an RRCSetupRequest (or RRCResumeRequest) message (Msg3) along with the requested UE Rx parameters (Step 5). The network correspondingly estimates the DL SNR based on the UE Rx parameters and generates an RRCSetup (or RRCResume) message based on the estimated DL SNR (Step 6), e.g., so that the RRCSetup (or RRCResume) is adapted to the estimated DL SNR. The network then transmits the RRCSetup (or RRCResume) to the UE (Step 7). The UE response with an RRCSetupComplete (or RRCResumeComplete) (Step 8).

In one embodiment, the network has default values for relevant RX parameters, for determining DL SNR. This can be used by the network in case the UE has not been able to inform the network of relevant RX parameters for determining DL SNR, because it is not capable or the report has not been received correctly by the network. This allows the network to still determine DL SNR based on Eq. 1 as long as at least the UE distance to the satellite is known.

Any DL SNR value based on reasonable defaults for UE RX parameters can be used by the NW to assist in improved link level adaptation, as a side input among all other inputs used in NW and UE link level management to determine actual MCS used.

In view of the modifications and variations herein, Figure 5 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method is performed by a communication device 12 configured for use in a communication network 10. The method includes transmitting signaling 20 to a network node 14 in the communication network 10 (Block 500) In some embodiments, the signaling 20 indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link 16 between the communication device 12 and the communication network 10 is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL (Block 510). In other embodiments, the signaling 20 alternatively or additionally indicates one or more values 20B of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver 12R of the communication device 12 (Block 520).

In some embodiments, the method also includes determining, based on at least one of the one or more parameters, whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link 16 between the communication device 12 and the communication network 10 is dominated by FSPL (Block 530).

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, from the network node, a configuration of downlink transmission parameters adapted based on the signaling (Block 540). In some embodiments, the downlink transmission parameters include a modulation and coding scheme and/or a channel bandwidth. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a downlink transmission based on the received configuration (Block 550). In some embodiments, the signaling indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL. In some embodiments not shown, the method further comprises receiving a request from the network node to report a timing advance, TA, value or position of the communication device as well as one or more receiver parameters of the communication device. In some embodiments, the method further comprises, in response to the request, reporting, to the network node, the TA value or position of the communication device and one or more receiver parameters of the communication device.

Figure 6 depicts a method in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method is performed by a network node 14 configured for use in a communication network 10. The method includes receiving signaling 20 from a communication device 12 (Block 600). In some embodiments, the signaling 20 indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link 16 between the communication device 12 and the communication network 10 is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL (Block 610). In other embodiments, the signaling 20 alternatively or additionally indicates one or more values 20B of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver 12R of the communication device 12 (Block 620).

In some embodiments, the method also includes determining a signal quality of the radio link 16 based on the signaling 20 (Block 630). In one or more such embodiments, the method may include performing link adaptation on the radio link 16 based on the determined signal quality (Block 640).

For example, in some embodiments, the method further comprises determining, based on the signaling, a configuration of downlink transmission parameters for the communication device (Block 650). In some embodiments, the downlink transmission parameters include a modulation and coding scheme and/or a channel bandwidth. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting the determined configuration to the communication device (Block 660).

In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting a downlink transmission to the communication device, e.g., based on the determined configuration (Block 670).

In some embodiments where the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters, the one or more parameters include a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver and/or one or more receiver G/T parameters (where receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters). In one or more of these embodiments where the one or more parameters include the receiver G/T of the receiver, the one or more receiver G/T parameters include an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver, a system noise temperature (T), an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver, a noise figure (NF), and/or an ambient temperature (T_amb). In one or more embodiments wherein the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling indicates the value of the parameter by indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter or by reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

SNR=EIRP + G/T-10log_w(k)-FSPL- /p

SF-SL-AL-10log_w(B) ' ' or

Figure 7 depicts a method in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method is performed by a network node 14 configured for use in a communication network 10. The method includes estimating an uplink pathloss based on measured uplink reference signal received power relative to a transmit EIRP used by a communication device 12 (Block 700). The method also includes comparing the uplink pathloss to a calculated value of free space path loss, FSPL (Block 710). The method also includes determining whether or not the uplink pathloss is dominated by FSPL based on said comparing (Block 720).

Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. Embodiments herein for instance include a communication device 12 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12.

Embodiments also include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the communication device 12.

Embodiments further include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the communication device 12 further comprises communication circuitry.

Embodiments further include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device 12 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12.

Embodiments moreover include a user equipment (UE). The UE comprises an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals. The UE also comprises radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the UE also comprises an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may comprise an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may also comprise a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. Embodiments herein also include a network node 14 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 14.

Embodiments also include a network node 14 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 14. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the network node 14.

Embodiments further include a network node 14 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 14. In some embodiments, the network node 14 further comprises communication circuitry.

Embodiments further include a network node 14 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node 14 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 14.

More particularly, the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. The circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and/or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory. For instance, the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (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, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory may include 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 several embodiments. In embodiments that employ memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein.

Figure 8 for example illustrates a communication device 12 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the communication device 12 includes processing circuitry 810 and communication circuitry 820. The communication circuitry 820 (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas that are either internal or external to the wireless communication device 800. The processing circuitry 810 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 5, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 830. The processing circuitry 810 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

Figure 9 illustrates a network node 14 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the network node 14 includes processing circuitry 910 and communication circuitry 920. The communication circuitry 920 is configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry 910 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., according to Figure 6 and/or Figure 7, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 930. The processing circuitry 910 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

A computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above. A computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.

Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

In this regard, embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above.

Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium.

Figure 10 shows an example of a communication system 1000 in accordance with some embodiments.

In the example, the communication system 1000 includes a telecommunication network 1002 that includes an access network 1004, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1006, which includes one or more core network nodes 1008. The access network 1004 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1010a and 1010b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1010), or any other similar 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 1010 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1012a, 1012b, 1012c, and 1012d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1012) to the core network 1006 over one or more wireless connections.

Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1000 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1000 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

The UEs 1012 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1010 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1010 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1012 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1002 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1002.

In the depicted example, the core network 1006 connects the network nodes 1010 to one or more hosts, such as host 1016. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1006 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1008) 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 1008. 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 1016 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1004 and/or the telecommunication network 1002, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1016 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, the communication system 1000 of Figure 10 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, the telecommunication network 1002 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1002 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1002. For example, the telecommunications network 1002 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, the UEs 1012 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1004 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1004. 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, the hub 1014 communicates with the access network 1004 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1012c and/or 1012d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1010b). In some examples, the hub 1014 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1014 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1006 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1014 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 1010, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1014. As another example, the hub 1014 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1014 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1014 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1014 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1014 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

The hub 1014 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1010b. The hub 1014 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 1014 and UEs (e.g., UE 1012c and/or 1012d), and between the hub 1014 and the core network 1006. In other examples, the hub 1014 is connected to the core network 1006 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1014 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1004 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1010 while still connected via the hub 1014 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 1010b. In other embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1010b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

Figure 11 shows a UE 1100 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) 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).

The UE 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1104 to an input/output interface 1106, a power source 1108, a memory 1110, a communication interface 1112, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 11 . The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

The processing circuitry 1102 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1110. The processing circuitry 1102 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1102 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

In the example, the input/output interface 1106 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1100. 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, the power source 1108 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1108 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1108 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1100 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1108. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1108 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1100 to which power is supplied.

The memory 1110 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, the memory 1110 includes one or more application programs 1114, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1116. The memory 1110 may store, for use by the UE 1100, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

The memory 1110 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 (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1110 may allow the UE 1100 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1110, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

The processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1112. The communication interface 1112 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1122. The communication interface 1112 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 1118 and/or a receiver 1120 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1118 and receiver 1120 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1122) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1112 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1112, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

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 the UE 1100 shown in Figure 11 .

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-loT 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 12 shows a network node 1200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).

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 MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

The network node 1200 includes a processing circuitry 1202, a memory 1204, a communication interface 1206, and a power source 1208. The network node 1200 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1200 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1200 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1204 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1210 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1200 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1200, 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 1200.

The processing circuitry 1202 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 1200 components, such as the memory 1204, to provide network node 1200 functionality.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and the baseband processing circuitry 1214 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 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

The memory 1204 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1202. The memory 1204 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1202 and utilized by the network node 1200. The memory 1204 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1202 and/or any data received via the communication interface 1206. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 and memory 1204 is integrated.

The communication interface 1206 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1206 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 1216 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1206 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1218 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1210. Radio front-end circuitry 1218 comprises filters 1220 and amplifiers 1222. The radio front-end circuitry 1218 may be connected to an antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuitry 1218 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1218 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1220 and/or amplifiers 1222. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1210. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1210 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1218. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1202. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1200 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1218, instead, the processing circuitry 1202 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1210. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1212 is part of the communication interface 1206. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1206 includes one or more ports or terminals 1216, the radio front-end circuitry 1218, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1212, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1206 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1214, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

The antenna 1210 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1210 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1218 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1210 is separate from the network node 1200 and connectable to the network node 1200 through an interface or port.

The antenna 1210, communication interface 1206, and/or the processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1210, the communication interface 1206, and/or the processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

The power source 1208 provides power to the various components of network node 1200 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1208 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1200 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1200 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1208. As a further example, the power source 1208 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

Embodiments of the network node 1200 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 12 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1200 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1200 and to allow output of information from the network node 1200. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1200. Figure 13 is a block diagram of a host 1300, which may be an embodiment of the host 1016 of Figure 10, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1300 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1300 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

The host 1300 includes processing circuitry 1302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1304 to an input/output interface 1306, a network interface 1308, a power source 1310, and a memory 1312. 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 11 and 12, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1300.

The memory 1312 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1314 and data 1316, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1300 or data generated by the host 1300 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1300 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1314 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), 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 1314 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1300 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1314 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 14 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1400 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 1400 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 1402 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware 1404 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1406 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1408a and 1408b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1408), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1406 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1408.

The VMs 1408 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1406. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1402 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1408, 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 1408 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 1408, and that part of hardware 1404 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 1408 on top of the hardware 1404 and corresponds to the application 1402.

Hardware 1404 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1404 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1404 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 1410, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1402. In some embodiments, hardware 1404 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 1412 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

Figure 15 shows a communication diagram of a host 1502 communicating via a network node 1504 with a UE 1506 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1012a of Figure 10 and/or UE 1100 of Figure 11), network node (such as network node 1010a of Figure 10 and/or network node 1200 of Figure 12), and host (such as host 1016 of Figure 10 and/or host 1300 of Figure 13) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 15.

Like host 1300, embodiments of host 1502 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1502 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1502 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 1506 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1550 extending between the UE 1506 and host 1502. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1550.

The network node 1504 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1502 and UE 1506. The connection 1560 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1006 of Figure 10) 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 1506 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1506 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 1506 with the support of the host 1502. In the host 1502, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1550 terminating at the UE 1506 and host 1502. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1550 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 1550. The OTT connection 1550 may extend via a connection 1560 between the host 1502 and the network node 1504 and via a wireless connection 1570 between the network node 1504 and the UE 1506 to provide the connection between the host 1502 and the UE 1506. The connection 1560 and wireless connection 1570, over which the OTT connection 1550 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1502 and the UE 1506 via the network node 1504, 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 1550, in step 1508, the host 1502 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 1506. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1506 that shares data with the host 1502 without explicit human interaction. In step 1510, the host 1502 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1506. The host 1502 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1506. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1506 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1506. The transmission may pass via the network node 1504, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1512, the network node 1504 transmits to the UE 1506 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1502 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1514, the UE 1506 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1506 associated with the host application executed by the host 1502.

In some examples, the UE 1506 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1502. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1502. Accordingly, in step 1516, the UE 1506 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 1506. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1506 initiates, in step 1518, transmission of the user data towards the host 1502 via the network node 1504. In step 1520, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1504 receives user data from the UE 1506 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1502. In step 1522, the host 1502 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1506.

One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1506 using the OTT connection 1550, in which the wireless connection 1570 forms the last segment. In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1502. As another example, the host 1502 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1502 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1502 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1502 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 1502 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 1550 between the host 1502 and UE 1506, 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 1502 and/or UE 1506. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1550 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1550 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1504. 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 1502. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1550 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

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

Group A Embodiments

A1 . A method performed by a communication device configured for use in a communication network, the method comprising: transmitting, to a network node in the communication network, signaling that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

A2. The method of embodiment A1 , wherein the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters. A3. The method of embodiment A2, wherein the one or more parameters include at least one of any one or more of: a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver; and one or more receiver G/T parameters, wherein the receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters.

A4. The method of embodiment A3, wherein the one or more parameters include the receiver G/T of the receiver.

A5. The method of any of embodiments A3-A4, wherein the one or more parameters include the one or more receiver G/T parameters.

A6. The method of any of embodiments A3-A5, wherein the one or more receiver G/T parameters include at least one of any one or more of: an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver; a system noise temperature (T); an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver; a noise figure (/VF); and an ambient temperature (T_amb).

A7. The method of any of embodiments A2-A6, wherein, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling indicates the value of the parameter by indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter.

A8. The method of any of embodiments A2-A6, wherein, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling indicates the value of the parameter by reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

A8. The method of any of embodiments A1-A7, wherein the signaling indicates whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL.

A9. The method of embodiment A8, further comprising determining, based on at least one of the one or more parameters, whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL. A10. The method of any of embodiments A8-A9, further comprising determining whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL by: determining whether one or more of a system noise temperature, a noise power, and a downlink signal quality is above or below a configured threshold; or checking whether an estimated propagation loss between the communication device and the network node matches a calculated value of the FSPL, at least within a configured threshold, where the estimated propagation loss is calculated as the difference in transmitted and received signal power levels, wherein the calculated value of the FSPL is based on a distance between the communication device and the base station distance and based on a configured carrier frequency.

A11 . The method of any of embodiments A1-A10, wherein the signaling is, or is conveyed by, an RRC message.

A12. The method of embodiment A11 , wherein the RRC message is an RRC setup request message or an RRC resume request message.

A13. The method of any of embodiments A1 -A12, wherein the communication network is a satellite communication network, and wherein the network node is a satellite access network node.

A14. The method of any of embodiments A1-A13, wherein the signaling indicates a distance between the communication device and a satellite serving the communication device.

A15. The method of embodiment A14, wherein the signaling indicating the distance is transmitted based on and/or responsive to: the distance changing by at least a threshold amount since the distance was last indicated to the network node; or the distance deviating more than a threshold amount from an expected distance that would be expected if the communication device had remained stationary in relation to the surface of the earth since the distance was last reported.

AA. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to a base station. Group B Embodiments

B1 . A method performed by a network node configured for use in a communication network, the method comprising: receiving, from a communication device, signaling that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver of the communication device.

B2. The method of embodiment B1 , wherein the signaling indicates the one or more values of the one or more parameters.

B3. The method of embodiment B2, wherein the one or more parameters include at least one of any one or more of: a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver; and one or more receiver G/T parameters, wherein the receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters.

B4. The method of embodiment B3, wherein the one or more parameters include the receiver G/T of the receiver.

B5. The method of any of embodiments B3-B4, wherein the one or more parameters include the one or more receiver G/T parameters.

B6. The method of any of embodiments B3-B5, wherein the one or more receiver G/T parameters include at least one of any one or more of: an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver; a system noise temperature (T); an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver; a noise figure (/VF); and an ambient temperature (T_amb).

B7. The method of any of embodiments B2-B6, wherein, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling indicates the value of the parameter by indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter.

B8. The method of any of embodiments B2-B6, wherein, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling indicates the value of the parameter by reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

B8. The method of any of embodiments B1-B7, wherein the signaling indicates whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link between the communication device and the communication network is dominated by FSPL.

B9. The method of any of embodiments B1-B8, wherein the signaling is, or is conveyed by, an RRC message.

B10. The method of embodiment B11 , wherein the RRC message is an RRC setup request message or an RRC resume request message.

B11. The method of any of embodiments B1-B10, wherein the communication network is a satellite communication network, and wherein the network node is a satellite access network node.

B12. The method of any of embodiments B1-B11 , wherein the signaling indicates a distance between the communication device and a satellite serving the communication device.

B13. The method of embodiment B12, wherein the signaling indicating the distance is transmitted based on and/or responsive to: the distance changing by at least a threshold amount since the distance was last indicated to the network node; or the distance deviating more than a threshold amount from an expected distance that would be expected if the communication device had remained stationary in relation to the surface of the earth since the distance was last reported.

B14. The method of any of embodiments B1-A13, further comprising determining a signal quality of the radio link based on the signaling.

B15. The method of embodiment B14, wherein the signal quality is a signal-to-noise-ratio, SNR, wherein determining the SNR comprises determining the SNR according to either:

SNR=EIRP + G/T-10log₁₀(k)-FSPL-

SF-SL-AL-Wlog₁₀(B') (Eq. 1) or

SNR=EIRP + G /T- 10log_w (k)-FSPL- 10log₁₀ (B) (Eq. 2).

B16. The method of any of embodiments B14-B15, further comprising performing link adaptation on the radio link based on the determined signal quality, wherein the determined signal quality is an estimate of an upper bound of an achievable signal quality.

BB1 . A method performed by a network node configured for use in a communication network, the method comprising: estimating an uplink pathloss based on measured uplink reference signal received power relative to a transmit EIRP used by a communication device; comparing the uplink pathloss to a calculated value of free space path loss, FSPL; and determining whether or not the uplink pathloss is dominated by FSPL based on said comparing.

BB. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a communication device.

Group C Embodiments

C1 . A communication device configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C2. A communication device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C3. A communication device comprising: communication circuitry; and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C4. A communication device comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the communication device.

C5. A communication device comprising: processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C6. The communication device of any of embodiments C1-C5, wherein the communication device is a wireless communication device.

C7. A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the

UE.

C8. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication device, causes the communication device to carry out the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C9. A carrier containing the computer program of embodiment C7, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

C10. A network node configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C11 . A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C12. A network node comprising: communication circuitry; and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C13. A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the network node.

C14. A network node comprising: processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C15. The network node of any of embodiments C10-C14, wherein the network node is a base station.

C16. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to carry out the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C17. The computer program of embodiment C16, wherein the network node is a base station.

C18. A carrier containing the computer program of any of embodiments C16-C17, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

Group D Embodiments

D1 . A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

D2. The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

D3. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

D4. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

D5. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

D6. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

D7. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

D8. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the previous 3 embodiments.

D9. A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s components configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D10. The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE. D11. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

D12. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D13. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

D14. A communication system including a host computer comprising: communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D15. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including the UE.

D16. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station.

D17. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

D18. The communication system of the previous 4 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

D19. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D20. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

D21. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

D22. The method of the previous 3 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application; and at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application, wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

D23. A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

D24. The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

D25. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station. D26. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer.

D27. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D28. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

D29. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

REFERENCES

1. 3GPP TR 38.811 V16.0.0

2. 3GPP TR 38.821 V16.1.0

3. ITU-R recommendation P.372-7

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1 . A method performed by a communication device (12) configured for use in a communication network (10), the method comprising: transmitting (500), to a network node (14) in the communication network (10), signaling

(20) that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values (20B) of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver (12R) of the communication device (12).

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signaling (20) indicates the one or more values (20B) of the one or more parameters.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more parameters include at least one of any one or more of: a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver (12R); and one or more receiver G/T parameters, wherein the receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more parameters include the one or more receiver G/T parameters, wherein the one or more receiver G/T parameters include at least one of any one or more of: an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver (12R); a system noise temperature (T); an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver (12R); a noise figure (/VF); and an ambient temperature (T_amb).

5. The method of any of claims 2-4, wherein, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling (20) indicates the value of the parameter by: indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter; or reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, further comprising determining, based on at least one of the one or more parameters, whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by FSPL, and wherein the signaling (20) indicates whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by FSPL.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by FSPL by: determining whether one or more of a system noise temperature, a noise power, and a downlink signal quality is above or below a configured threshold; or checking whether an estimated propagation loss between the communication device (12) and the network node (14) matches a calculated value of the FSPL, at least within a configured threshold, where the estimated propagation loss is calculated as the difference in transmitted and received signal power levels, wherein the calculated value of the FSPL is based on a distance between the communication device (12) and the base station and based on a configured carrier frequency.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the signaling (20) is, or is conveyed by, an RRC message, wherein the RRC message is an RRC setup request message or an RRC resume request message.

9. The method of any of claims 1-8, wherein the communication network (10) is a satellite communication network (10), and wherein the network node (14) is a satellite access network node.

10. The method of any of claims 1 -9, wherein the signaling (20) indicates a distance between the communication device (12) and a satellite serving the communication device (12), wherein the signaling (20) indicating the distance is transmitted based on and/or responsive to: the distance changing by at least a threshold amount since the distance was last indicated to the network node (14); or the distance deviating more than a threshold amount from an expected distance that would be expected if the communication device (12) had remained stationary in relation to the surface of the earth since the distance was last reported.

11. The method of any of claims 1-10, further comprising: receiving, from the network node (14), a configuration of downlink transmission parameters adapted based on the signaling (20), wherein the downlink transmission parameters include a modulation and coding scheme and/or a channel bandwidth; and receiving a downlink transmission based on the received configuration.

12. The method of any of claims 1-11 , wherein the signaling (20) indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by FSPL, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a request from the network node (14) to report a timing advance, TA, value or position of the communication device (12) as well as one or more receiver parameters of the communication device (12); and in response to the request, reporting, to the network node (14), the TA value or position of the communication device (12) and one or more receiver parameters of the communication device (12).

13. A method performed by a network node (14) configured for use in a communication network (10), the method comprising: receiving (600), from a communication device (12), signaling (20) that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values (20B) of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver (12R) of the communication device (12).

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the signaling (20) indicates the one or more values (20B) of the one or more parameters.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more parameters include at least one of any one or more of: a receiver gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) of the receiver (12R); and one or more receiver G/T parameters, wherein the receiver G/T is a function of the one or more receiver G/T parameters.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more parameters include the one or more receiver G/T parameters, wherein the one or more receiver G/T parameters include at least one of any one or more of: an antenna gain (G) of an antenna connected to the receiver (12R); a system noise temperature (T); an antenna noise temperature (T_ant) of an antenna connected to the receiver (12R); a noise figure (/VF); and an ambient temperature (T_amb).

17. The method of any of claims 14-16, wherein, for each of at least one of the one or more parameters, the signaling (20) indicates the value of the parameter by: indicating a difference between the value of the parameter and a reference value for the parameter; or reporting that the value has fallen below a first threshold or that the value has risen above a second threshold.

18. The method of any of claims 13-17, wherein the signaling (20) indicates whether or not the propagation loss of the radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by FSPL.

19. The method of any of claims 13-18, wherein the signaling (20) is, or is conveyed by, an RRC message, wherein the RRC message is an RRC setup request message or an RRC resume request message.

20. The method of any of claims 13-19, wherein the communication network (10) is a satellite communication network (10), and wherein the network node (14) is a satellite access network node.

21 . The method of any of claims 13-20, wherein the signaling (20) indicates a distance between the communication device (12) and a satellite serving the communication device (12).

22. The method of any of claims 13-21 , further comprising: determining a signal quality of the radio link (16) based on the signaling (20); and performing link adaptation on the radio link (16) based on the determined signal quality, wherein the determined signal quality is an estimate of an upper bound of an achievable signal quality.

23. The method of any of claims 13-22, further comprising: determining, based on the signaling (20), a configuration of downlink transmission parameters for the communication device (12), wherein the downlink transmission parameters include a modulation and coding scheme and/or a channel bandwidth; transmitting the determined configuration to the communication device (12); and transmitting a downlink transmission to the communication device (12) based on the determined configuration.

24. The method of any of claims 13-23, wherein the signaling (20) indicates whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by FSPL, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, to the communication device (12), a request to report a timing advance,

TA, value or position of the communication device (12) as well as one or more receiver parameters of the communication device (12); receiving a response to the request reporting the TA value or position of the communication device (12) and one or more receiver parameters of the communication device (12); and determining, from the signaling (20) and the response, a signal quality of the radio link (16).

25. A communication device (12) configured for use in a communication network (10), the communication device (12) configured to: transmit, to a network node (14) in the communication network (10), signaling (20) that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values (20B) of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver (12R) of the communication device (12).

26. The communication device (12) of claim 25, configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-12.

27. A network node (14) configured for use in a communication network (10), the network node (14) configured to: receive, from a communication device (12), signaling (20) that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values (20B) of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver (12R) of the communication device (12).

28. The network node (14) of claim 27, configured to perform the method of any of claims 14- 24.

29. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication device (12), causes the communication device (12) to perform the method of any of claims 1-12.

30. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node (14), causes the network node (14) to perform the method of any of claims 13-24.

31 . A carrier containing the computer program of any of claims 29-30, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

32. A communication device (12) configured for use in a communication network (10), the communication device (12) comprising: communication circuitry (820); and processing circuitry (810) configured to transmit, to a network node (14) in the communication network (10), signaling (20) that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values (20B) of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver (12R) of the communication device (12).

33. The communication device (12) of claim 32, the processing circuitry (810) configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-12.

34. A network node (14) configured for use in a communication network (10), the network node (14) comprising: communication circuitry (920); and processing circuitry (910) configured to receive, from a communication device (12), signaling (20) that indicates at least one of any one or more of: whether or not a propagation loss of a radio link (16) between the communication device (12) and the communication network (10) is dominated by free space path loss, FSPL; and one or more values (20B) of one or more parameters characterizing performance of a receiver (12R) of the communication device (12).

35. The network node (14) of claim 34, the processing circuitry (910) configured to perform the method of any of claims 14-24.