WO2023219576A1

WO2023219576A1 - Radio network node, user equipment and methods performed therein

Info

Publication number: WO2023219576A1
Application number: PCT/TR2022/050409
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mehdi ABAD; Massimo CONDOLUCI; Gunnar Mildh
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2022-05-10
Filing date: 2022-05-10
Publication date: 2023-11-16

Abstract

Embodiments herein relate to, for example, a method performed by a UE (10) for handling one or more configurations at the UE (10) in a wireless communications network (1). The UE (10) obtains a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically; and retrieves, from a radio network node (12) and/or locally from the UE (10), data for the obtained function. The UE (10) provides a configuration command to a modem of the UE (10), which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input. The UE (10) applies a modem configuration to the modem of the UE (10) based on the provided configuration command.

Description

RADIO NETWORK NODE, USER EQUIPMENT AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREIN

The project leading to this application has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101015956.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate to a user equipment (UE), a radio network node and methods performed therein regarding wireless communication. Furthermore, a computer program product and a computer-readable storage medium are also provided herein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to handling communication, such as handling or controlling configurations at the UE, in a wireless communications network.

BACKGROUND

In a typical wireless communications network, UEs, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and/or wireless devices, communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) with one or more core networks (CNs). The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cells, with each service area or cell being served by a radio network node such as an access node e.g. a Wi-Fi access point or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be called, for example, a NodeB, a gNodeB, or an eNodeB. The service area or cell is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node operates on radio frequencies to communicate over an air interface with the UEs within range of the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over a downlink (DL) to the UE and the UE communicates over an uplink (UL) to the radio network node.

A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation (3G) telecommunication network, which evolved from the second generation (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) is essentially a RAN using wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and/or High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) for communication with user equipment. In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers propose and agree upon standards for present and future generation networks and investigate e.g. enhanced data rate and radio capacity. In some RANs, e.g., as in UMTS, several radio network nodes may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a controller node, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), which supervises and coordinates various activities of the plural radio network nodes connected thereto. The RNCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.

Specifications for the Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3GPP and present and coming 3GPP releases, such as New Radio (NR) and extensions, are worked on. The EPS comprises the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also known as the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network, and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network. E-UTRAN/LTE is a 3GPP radio access technology wherein the radio network nodes are directly connected to the EPC core network. As such, the RAN of an EPS has an essentially “flat” architecture comprising radio network nodes connected directly to one or more core networks.

With the emerging 5G technologies such as NR, the use of very many transmit- and receive-antenna elements may be of great interest as it makes it possible to utilize beamforming, such as transmit-side and receive-side beamforming. Transmit-side beamforming means that the transmitter can amplify the transmitted signals in a selected direction or directions, while suppressing the transmitted signals in other directions. Similarly, on the receive-side, a receiver can amplify signals from a selected direction or directions, while suppressing unwanted signals from other directions.

In RAN typically new features that are introduced, for example, mobility robustness, are implemented incrementally on radio resource control (RRC) protocol. RRC protocol offers various services and functionalities over the Uu interface that include [3GPP TS 38.300 v.16.0.0]:

Broadcast of System Information (SI) related to Access stratum (AS) and Non-access stratum (NAS);

Paging initiated by 5G Core (5GC) or NG Radio Access Network (NG- RAN);

Establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE and NG-RAN including:

Addition, modification and release of carrier aggregation;

Addition, modification and release of Dual Connectivity in NR or between Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and NR;

Security functions including key management; Establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of Signalling Radio Bearers (SRB) and Data Radio Bearers (DRB);

Mobility functions including;

Handover and context transfer;

UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection and reselection;

Inter Radio Access Technology or (RAT) mobility;

Quality of Service (QoS) management functions;

UE measurement reporting and control of the reporting; Detection of and recovery from radio link failure; and NAS message transfer to/from NAS from/to UE.

Adding features to RRC for specific purposes requires going through the standardization procedure in 3GPP. The standardization has benefits in ensuring that:

• The features are tested properly before being employed;

• Interoperability in multivendor/multinational case is guaranteed.

An example of a feature being added to the RRC to increase the mobility robustness is conditional handover (CHO). To motivate note that one problem related to robustness at handover (HO) is that the HO Command, for example, RRCConnectionReconfiguration with mobilityControlInfo and RRCReconfiguration with a reconfigurationWithSync field, is normally sent when the radio conditions for the UE are already quite bad. That may lead to that the HO Command may not reach the UE in time if the message is segmented or there are retransmissions. In order to avoid the undesired dependence on the serving radio link upon the time, and radio conditions, where the UE should execute the HO, the possibility to provide RRC signaling for the handover to the UE earlier should be provided. To achieve this, it should be possible to associate the HO Command with a condition, e.g., based on radio conditions possibly similar to the ones associated to an A3 event, where a given neighbour becomes X dB better than source. As soon as the condition is fulfilled, the UE executes the handover in accordance with the provided HO Command.

Such a condition may be, e.g., that the quality of the target cell or beam becomes X dB stronger than the serving cell. The threshold Y used in a preceding measurement reporting event may then be chosen lower than the one in the HO execution condition. This allows the serving cell to prepare the handover upon reception of an early measurement report and to provide the CHO Command, e.g., an RRCReconfiguration with mobilityControlInfo, at a time when the radio link between the source cell and the UE is still stable. The execution of the handover may be performed at a later point in time (and threshold) which is considered optimal for the HO execution. A signalling diagram of the CHO in 3GPP specification is depicted in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 shows a signaling diagram for legacy CHO, as in 3GPP TS 38.300, section 9.2.3.4.2.

1. The source gNB configures the UE measurement procedures and the UE reports according to the measurement configuration.

2. The source gNB decides to use CHO.

3. The source gNB requests CHO for one or more candidate cells belonging to one or more candidate gNBs. A CHO request message is sent for each candidate cell.

4. Admission Control may be performed by the target gNB.

5. The candidate gNB(s) sends CHO response, such as a HO REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE, including configuration of CHO candidate cell(s) to the source gNB. The CHO response message is sent for each candidate cell.

6. The source gNB sends an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE, containing the configuration of CHO candidate cell(s) and CHO execution condition(s).

7. The UE sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the source gNB.

8. The UE maintains connection with the source gNB after receiving CHO configuration, and starts evaluating the CHO execution conditions for the candidate cell(s).

9. If at least one CHO candidate cell satisfies the corresponding CHO execution condition, the UE detaches from the source gNB, applies the stored corresponding configuration for that selected candidate cell, synchronizes to that candidate cell.

10. Rest of the procedure as in 3GPP TS 38.300, section 9.2.3.4.2.

SUMMARY

As part of developing embodiments herein one or more problems were first identified. 6G is envisioned to possess network adaptability features. Adaptability allows the network to be able to adapt to the new situations and requirements by being able to introduce services and features rapidly. Embodiments herein cover the topic of how to enable new features into the 3GPP stack. Taking into consideration the legacy way of working, introducing new features into the 3GPP stack takes a very long time in case of a non-single-vendor feature, i.e., a feature with impacts to both base station and UE which are provided by different vendors. This is due to the long process of standardization procedure. Furthermore, in addition to the time it takes from proposal of a new feature until its specification, additional time starts so that new UEs start to implement it. Another problem is that legacy devices are not able to benefit from the new features. For example, a release 15 UE will ignore the new lEs corresponding to CHO in the RRCReconfiguration message and hence it cannot utilize the mobility robustness offered by CHO. This might also limit the pros of having new features into, e.g., base stations, as perhaps most of served UEs might not support, e.g., CHO.

One way of addressing the problem above may be by introducing a programmability feature where the UE modem, or chip set, can be programmed and run software (SW) provided by the network thus making it possible to fundamentally change the UE behavior with regards to how the UE interact with the network. This gives very high freedom to deploy new features in the network and the UE, improving time to market for new features. There are however several challenges with such solutions, including among others:

Security related challenges. Such as the need to assure that only trusted software is installed in the UE and that there is no security flaw in the software that could enable a hacker to obtain full control of the UE modem possible to be used to generate denial of service attacks against the network, e.g., if multiple devices are compromised. Today this problem is avoided by UE modem vendors locking the software I firmware of the devices.

Performance related challenges. Since a number of procedures and UE behavior are time critical, e.g., such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) re-transmission, it could be difficult to ensure good performance with programmable UEs with different hardware (HW) configurations etc. Today this problem is avoided by each UE modem vendor having full responsibility of the SW and HW, making it possible to ensure good overall performance.

Radio frequency (RF) emission related challenges. Today there are strict restrictions on UE transmission ensuring that the UE fulfills any requirements on Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of the user of the UEs. Today this problem is avoided by UE modem and handset vendors by tuning the UE behaviour to meet any SAR requirements. With a fully programmable UE it is likely that the network providing SW to the UEs also need to ensure that SAR requirements are met, which could be challenging without detailed UE knowledge or customization.

Considering the points above, a problem that embodiments herein solve is how to enable network adaptability for a UE allowing the UE to exploit new network features which it was not originally programmed for, while at the same time avoiding some of the challenges with full programmability discussed above. In particular, embodiments herein focus on the control plane stack.

An object herein is to provide a mechanism to handle communication efficiently in the wireless communications network.

According to an aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a UE for handling one or more configurations at the UE in a wireless communications network. The UE obtains a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically. The UE retrieves, from a radio network node and/or locally from the UE, data for the obtained function. The UE further provides a configuration command to a modem of the UE, which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input. The UE then applies a modem configuration to the modem of the UE based on the provided configuration command

According to another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a method performed by a radio network node for handling one or more configurations at a UE in a wireless communications network. The radio network node provides to the UE, a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically for a modem at the UE. The radio network node further transmits, to the UE transparently via the modem, data related to the function and/or one or more rules for the function; wherein the function is for providing a configuration command to a modem of the UE, which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the data as input; and is for applying a modem configuration to the modem of the UE.

According to yet another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a radio network node and UE configured to perform the methods, respectively. Thus, according to still another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a UE for handling one or more configurations at the UE in a wireless communications network. The UE is configured to obtain a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically, and to retrieve, from a radio network node and/or locally from the UE, data for the obtained function. The UE is further configured to provide a configuration command to a modem of the UE, which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input. The UE is configured to apply a modem configuration to the modem of the UE based on the provided configuration command

According to yet another aspect the object is achieved, according to embodiments herein, by providing a radio network node for handling one or more configurations at a UE in a wireless communications network. The radio network node is configured to provide to the UE, a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically for a modem at the UE. The radio network node is further configured to transmit, to the UE transparently via the modem, data related to the function and/or one or more rules for the function; wherein the function is for providing a configuration command to a modem of the UE, which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the data as input; and is for applying a modem configuration to the modem of the UE.

It is furthermore provided herein a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method above, as performed by the radio network node and UE, respectively. It is additionally provided herein a computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method above, as performed by the UE or radio network node, respectively.

Embodiments herein disclose a function running on the UE side that can update the modem configuration, for example, whenever some conditions are met, e.g., some measurement exceeds a threshold, or some timer times out, enabling dynamic reconfiguration of the modem. The solution does not fundamentally change the UE modem behavior, only the modem configuration, thus avoids the security, performance and RF emission related problems of the full UE modem programmability solutions.

Hence, embodiments herein provide a mechanism to introduce features on the fly without the need to go to standardization, enabling a faster time-to-market and also a deeper penetration as new network features with impact to UEs can be provided without waiting for new UE models implementing these network functionalities, thus, handle communication efficiently in the wireless communications network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a signalling diagram according to prior art;

Fig. 2 shows a wireless communications network according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 3 shows a combined signalling scheme and flowchart according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 4 shows a flowchart depicting a method performed by a user equipment according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 5 shows a flowchart depicting a method performed by a radio network node according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 6 shows a signalling diagram depicting embodiments herein;

Fig. 7 shows a signalling diagram depicting embodiments herein;

Fig. 8 shows a signalling diagram depicting embodiments herein;

Fig. 9 shows block diagrams depicting the UE according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 10 shows block diagrams depicting the radio network node according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 11 schematically illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer;

Fig. 12 is a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection; and

Figs. 13-16 are flowcharts illustrating methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments herein relate to wireless communications networks in general. Fig. 2 is a schematic overview depicting a wireless communications network 1. The wireless communications network 1 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The wireless communications network 1 may use one or a number of different technologies. Embodiments herein relate to recent technology trends that are of particular interest in a NR context, however, embodiments are also applicable in further development of existing wireless communications systems such as e.g. LTE or WCDMA.

In the wireless communications network 1, a UE 10, exemplified herein as a wireless device such as a mobile station, a non-access point (non-AP) station (STA), a STA and/or a wireless terminal, is comprised communicating via e.g. one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g., RAN, to one or more CNs. It should be understood by the skilled in the art that “UE” is a non-limiting term which means any terminal, wireless communications terminal, user equipment, narrowband internet of things (NB-loT) device, Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, Device to Device (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station capable of communicating using radio communication with a radio network node within an area served by the radio network node.

The wireless communications network 1 comprises a radio network node 12 providing radio coverage over a geographical area, a first service area 11 or first cell, of a first RAT, such as NR, LTE, or similar. The radio network node 12 may be a transmission and reception point such as an access node, an access controller, a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a gNodeB (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), a NodeB, a base transceiver station, a radio remote unit, an Access Point Base Station, a base station router, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point or an Access Point Station (AP STA), a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point or any other network unit or node capable of communicating with a UE within the area served by the radio network node depending e.g. on the first radio access technology and terminology used. The radio network node may be referred to as a serving radio network node wherein the service area may be referred to as a serving cell, and the serving network node communicates with the UE 10 in form of DL transmissions to the UE 10 and UL transmissions from the UE 10. It should be noted that a service area may be denoted as cell, beam, beam group or similar to define an area of radio coverage.

In the embodiments described herein the UE 10 obtains a function, such as a SW function, for generating a modem configuration dynamically. The UE may then retrieve from the radio network node 12 and/or locally from the UE 10, data for the obtained function. Thus, the UE 10 retrieves data to be given as input to the function. Data may comprise one or more of: measurements, timer values, buffer values from the UE 10, and cell load etc. from the radio network node 12. The UE 10 then provides a configuration command to a modem of the UE 10, which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input. The UE 10 further applies a modem configuration to the modem of the UE 10 based on the provided configuration command.

An advantage according to embodiments herein, is that it enables that the Uu interface is controlled by network operators and/or vendors for various use cases such as mobility robustness, allowing to increase possibilities in having ad-hoc network features quickly deployed to, e.g., dedicated networks or to specific set of UEs. The radio network node 12 provides the function to the UE 10 that is capable of interpreting introduced RRC parameters/fields, which would not be understood by the modem itself, and to accordingly generate a modem configuration, e.g., a RRCReconfiguration, that the modem can apply. This allows a network vendor/operator to introduce proprietary features related to the modem configuration. According to embodiments herein, a network provider is able to introduce features on the fly without the need to go to standardization, enabling a faster time-to-market and also a deeper penetration as new network features with impact to UEs can be provided without waiting for new UE models implementing these network functionalities.

A related advantage is that embodiments herein allow also UEs already out in the market, given that the UEs are equipped with the function, to be programmed to implement the new network features introducing new control plane behaviors, and this is important for scenarios like factory automation, mines, etc., where it would be costly to change modems to all UEs but at the same time it would be needed for these UEs to support newly introduced network features.

Another advantage is that embodiments herein make it possible to support the other advantages above, by dynamically changing the modem/RRC configuration, without requiring full modem programmability, meaning that the modem and/or handset vendor has full control of modem SW and is able to ensure that the modem SW meets all performance, radio frequency (RF) and/or security requirements.

Another advantage is that generating the configuration command locally at the UE side eliminates the over the air latency and therefore the latency of executing decisions at network side, and at the same time it reduces the processing load at network-side, whilst at the same time it allows that the modem configuration follows the needs of the network as the SW generating, for example, the RRCReconfiguration is provided by the network. Although this advantage is inherited from using approaches such as CHO, embodiments herein allow to increase the possibilities of configuration with respect to approaches such as CHO, where updates of configuration are limited to a limited set of, e.g. predefined, rules and parameters.

A further advantage is that embodiments herein allow updates of the modem configuration that may happen without an actual transfer of information from the UE 10, e.g., measurements, to the network, thus reducing signaling transfer over the air.

Fig. 3 is a combined signalling and flowchart scheme according to some embodiments herein.

Action 301. The modem (M) of the UE 10 is configured to perform a process such as measure signals for determining whether to report a measurement report or not.

Action 302. The UE 10, or a programmability environment (PE) of the UE 10, may be preconfigured with the function such as a SW function. The UE 10 may receive the function from the radio network node, not shown.

Action 303. The radio network node 12 may transmit one or more rules to the UE 10 for handling the function.

Action 304. The UE 10 further retrieves data, e.g., data as input to the function, configuration data for the function or similar.

Action 305. The UE 10 may then execute the function generating a configuration command for applying modem configuration.

Action 306. The UE 10 then internally provides the configuration command to the modem for triggering a reconfiguration initiation at the modem.

Action 307. The UE 10 then applies the modem configuration to the modem of the UE 10 based on the provided configuration command. Thus, the modem may dynamically apply configurations, e.g. update configuration, for different purposes such as measurements, data collections, or HO processes, that may be updated without requiring new versions of UEs.

Action 308. The UE 10 may further transmit an acknowledgment (ACK) to the radio network node 12, after applying the modem configuration confirming the applied modem configuration.

Thus, embodiments herein relate to configure the UE’s 10 modem by a function that is executed on the UE 10 side rather than having the UE modem configuration generated by the network and using signalling from the radio network node 12 to convey the parameters that needs to configure the UE's 10 modem protocol stack and behavior. The UE 10 may receive from the radio network node 12, the function for generating the modem configuration. The UE 10 may further provide, upon request from the function, specific measurements and/or information that will be used by the function. Furthermore, the modem may receive from the function a configuration command such as a modem configuration message, for example, a RRCReconfiguration message. The UE 10 then applies the modem configuration received/triggered by the function.

The function running on the UE side can communicate with the network functions through a standardized or proprietary interface to receive updated information to be further processed by the function, or new versions of the function, or new function configuration, or transmit updated information, e.g., measurement reports, to the network functions.

The method actions performed by the UE 10 for handling one or more configurations at the UE 10 in the wireless communications network 1 according to embodiments herein will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 4. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Dashed boxes indicate optional features.

Action 401. The UE 10 obtains a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically. The function may be preconfigured; locally obtained, and/or obtained from a radio network node such as the radio network node 12. The function may thus be related to configuration of the modem at the UE 10. The modem configuration may comprise measurement configuration, parameter configuration, event and/or threshold configuration, or similar.

Action 402. The UE 10 may further obtain one or more rules for the function. The radio network node 12 may transmit indication of the one or more rules or conditions to control how the function is used. For example, putting a time limit between two successive configuration; or putting a location info to activate the function such as function can be used only in area 1. The one or more rules may be rules for activating the function, configuring the function and/or for parametrization/configuration of inputs.

Action 403. The UE 10 may receive from the radio network node, transparently via or over the modem, data related to the function. Thus, the UE 10 may receive the function, for example, a SW function as such, and/or data of parameters, rules or similar.

Action 404. The UE 10 retrieves, from the radio network node 12 and/or locally from the UE 10, data for the obtained function. The data may thus be retrieved locally and/or retrieved remotely from network. The data may comprise UE related data such as radio measurements, internal state variables of the protocols, buffer levels, etc, and/or network related data such as information about target cell configuration, load information, physical resource block (PRB) utilization, measurements, etc. The data is to be used as input to the function.

Action 405. The UE 10 may execute the function with the retrieved data as input and an indication as output, wherein the indication indicates the configuration command related to the modem configuration.

Action 406. The UE 10 provides the configuration command to the modem of the UE 10, which configuration command is based on the output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input. The execution of the function may be locally triggered at the UE 10, and the configuration command may be locally provided to the modem of the UE 10. The configuration command may be a RRC command for triggering an RRC reconfiguration at the modem. The configuration command may be controlling a state of the modem.

Action 407. The UE 10 applies the modem configuration to the modem of the UE 10 based on the provided configuration command. The retrieved data may comprise one or more measurements and the UE 10 may apply the modem configuration by performing other configured measurements to be provided to the radio network node 12.

Action 408. The UE 10 may transmit an acknowledgment to the radio network node 12, after applying the modem configuration. For example, the UE 10 may send to the network an acknowledgment after applying the modem configuration to inform the outcome of applying the modem configuration, and/or to inform what modem configuration or configurations have been applied. As an example, the modem configurations may have indices or identities, and the UE 10 may send index or identity to the radio network node 12 to indicate applied modem configuration. Thus, the UE 10 may be interacting with the radio network node 12, after applying the modem configuration, where such interaction may be a signalling generated based on the modem configuration or an acknowledgment of applying the modem configuration.

Action 409. In an example, the UE 10 may apply the modem configuration to the modem by configuring the modem to provide specific information for a local function, and the UE 10 may then use the specific information in the local function for generating a dataset to be provided to the radio network node 12.

The method actions performed by the radio network node 12 for handling one or more configurations at the UE 10 in the wireless communications network 1 according to embodiments herein will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 5. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below but may be taken in any suitable order. Dashed boxes indicate optional features.

Action 501. The radio network node 12 provides to the UE 10, the function for generating the modem configuration dynamically for the modem at the UE 10.

Action 502. The radio network node 12 transmits, to the UE 10, transparently via the modem, data related to the function and/or the one or more rules for the function; wherein the function is for providing a configuration command to a modem of the UE 10, which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the data as input; and the configuration command is for applying a modem configuration to the modem of the UE 10.

Action 503. The radio network node 12 may receive the acknowledgment from the UE 10 indicating applied modem configuration. Thus, the radio network node 12 may be informed which modem configuration is used or similar.

Action 504. The radio network node 12 may receive from the UE 10, one or more measurements from the applied modem configuration. Alternatively, or additionally, the radio network node 12 may receive from the UE 10, the dataset from the applied modem configuration.

It is herein disclosed a method where the function, such as a software functionality, provided to the UE 10 by the radio network node 12, generates the configuration command, which is delivered to the modem at the UE 10 and applied by the modem. Overall, the proposed method allows to introduce features related to UE configuration in a programmable way, as the function can be programmed to better suit the needs of specific use cases, deployments, etc.

The modem configuration referred to herein comprises a configuration by setting/releasing/ modifying various parameters related to UE RAN stack protocols, e.g., parameters of Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), Physical (PHY) such as timers, thresholds, counters, etc., and also by triggering certain procedures. For example, setting measurement thresholds in evaluating measurement events such as A3 or trigger RRCRestablishment. One example of providing a modem configuration to a UE is via RRCReconfiguration messages.

Thus, embodiments herein may comprise: A Programmability environment (PE) on the UE 10 capable of accommodating compilation/installation and running of the function, such as software functions (SWF) that are associated to a certain network functionality.

Programmability interface (PI): An interface between the PE and the modem, i.e. , the part of the UE 10 that hosts mobile network protocol stacks, PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, radio resource control (RRC), SDAP, non-access stratum (NAS), that is: a) Used by a SWF running on the PE to inquire internal state or information of the UE 10, such as link measurements such as reference signal received power (RSRP) of a given cell, buffer state of some entities such as RLC. b) Used by a SWF running on the PE to communicate (bidirectional) with a corresponding entity on network side that oversees managing/maintaining the SWF at UE side and that also exchanges information with the SWF related to the network functionality associated to the SWF. c) Used by a SWF running on the PE to provide the modem with a configuration of modem’s parameter. One example is that the SWF generates an RRCReconfiguration, i.e., the configuration command, which is sent to the modem which then configures itself based on the information included in the received configuration command. Of course, it could be that the SWF generates messages such as MAC control element (CE), Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI), etc., but from the point of full modem configuration these messages have a limited scope whereas RRCReconfiguration allows to configure the overall modem, thus, the SWF may generate RRCReconfiguration, which also include information that could be carried through messages such as MAC CE, DCI/UCI, etc.

Embodiments herein may provide an Application Programming Interface (API) between a software component at the UE 10 side and the modem of the UE 10 that allows the software component to provide a UE configuration such as an RRCReconfiguration to the modem, which consequently applies the received UE configuration, whereas in the current approach is the modem receives a UE configuration only from a network entity such as a base station, e.g., gNB provides the UE modem with an RRCReconfiguration via RRC signalling.

At high level the function may enable adding new features to the UE 10 in the following steps:

Step 1: An entity at network side, e.g. the radio network node 12, may design the function, such as a SWF, and sends this to be installed at the UE 10. The network may design this software function based on additional information about the PE and PI that could be shared by the UE 10 upon registration for example.

The SWF may be delivered to the PE by using different approaches.

In one embodiment a modified version of an RRC protocol may be reused to carry the function. For example, RRC may be used to piggyback the function to/from the PE and network.

To send a message from network node to PE, a new container, dlproglnformationTransfer below may be introduced to the DL-downlink control channel (DCCH)-Message in RRC specification that is used to deliver information from the radio network node 12 to the PE of the UE 10.

When sending a message from the radio network node 12 to the UE 10, the radio network node 12 may include additional information to indicate to the UE 10 which function is the receiver of the message, if a function has been already provided, or to indicate some characteristics related to the function contained in the message. For example, information may indicate that the function will generate RRCReconfiguration messages. Received data may indicate that the content generated by the function should comply to certain rules, e.g., at least a certain number X of cells should be included in the configuration, or thresholds for certain parameters should not be higher, or lower, than a certain value, etc. Such additional information may be used by the modem for checking the validity of the messages generated by the function.

To send a message from the UE 10 to the radio network node 12, a new container, ulproglnformationTransfer below may be introduced to the UL-DCCH-Message in theRRC specification that is used to deliver information from the UE 10 to the radio network node 12.

The transfer of the function, and other information associated to it, may be mapped to user-plane resources, such as a data radio bearer (DRB).

A specific radio bearer (RB) may be dedicated to transferring information such as the function, for example Programming RB (PRB) to be used for transferring the function, and other information associated to it.

One or more new logical channels may be introduced, e.g., downlink dedicated programming channel (DL-DPCH) and uplink dedicated programming channel (UL-DPCH)

Step 2: The function is received and installed on the UE 10

Here the outcome of the installation, i.e., successful or not, may be sent to the radio network node 12.

The function may interact with the UE 10, e.g. using the PI, and network to get necessary information and processes that information according to the function implementation.

Step 3: The function may generate a configuration command such as a UE configuration according to the function implementation and based on other UE/network information, UE configuration which contains specific settings of UE modem-related parameters and which is provided to the modem via UE-internal API. The information necessary to configure the modem may be sent and stored by the function prior to the configurations

The RRC configuration may be used to configure the modem by the function. In other words, the function may issue an RRCReconfiguration the same way as a network node would.

When receiving a message from the function, the modem may check whether the received message complies with the information previously provided by the mobile network about the messages generated by the function. For example, if the mobile network has previously indicated that the function will be generating RRCReconfiguration messages, the modem may check whether the message received from the function is indeed an RRCReconfiguration and whether it complies with the rules applicable to RRCReconfiguration, e.g., the message contains configuration for one cell but the rule indicates that it should have configuration for at least three cells. If the check is successful, the modem may continue with processing and executing the relevant actions of the received message from the function, otherwise the modem may for instance not apply an update of the modem configuration, i.e., execute the message received, from the function and inform the mobile network and/or the function about this error.

Fig. 6 shows a programmable HO embodiment. Fig. 6 shows an example how to implement the function being exemplified as a programmable HO feature at the UE 10 side.

Action 60. A programming entity at the network side, e.g., source gNB, sends “HO SWF” to be installed in the PE.

Actions 61-65. The same as in legacy conditional HO; 3GPP document TS 38.300. These steps may be used by the source gNB to mobility decision optimizations finding suitable target cells and getting necessary information from other nodes.

Action 66. The source gNB may prepare a list of RRCReconfiguration each corresponding to a candidate target cell (configuration message in the figure) and may send this to the HO SWF. In this case the modem is transparent to the message, meaning that it does not process the message at the RRC layer of the UE modem, but is in charge of delivering the message to the HO SWF, i.e., understanding to which SWF the message should be delivered and delivering it via the PI. Please note that in case, as the receiver of the message is the HO SWF, the content of the message may be either a 3GPP- standardized format or a network/vendor specific format.

For example, in one option, the configuration message is a data structure that contains at least the RRCReconfiguration. For example, when there are 3 candidate target cells with PCIs 22,33,44 the configuration message from the network to the HO SWF is: o configs = {

"pci22": RRCReconfiguration,

"pci33": RRCReconfiguration,

"pci44": RRCReconfiguration

}

In another option, the standardize message, i.e., RRCReconfiguration-v1610-IEs can be processed by the HO SWF.

Action 67. The HO SWF may send an acknowledgment message to the source gNB informing the network that the configuration message is received.

Action 68. The HO SWF may evaluate the programmed condition to trigger the HO to the best cell as identified based on the program of the SWF. This interaction between the HO SWF and modem may be realized by the PI. Action 69. The HO SWF may identify which cell to perform HO based on its program and issue a HO command to the modem and send the associated RRCReconfiguration prepared by the target gNB and delivered by the source gNB.

Actions 70-71. Same as in CHO.

Programmable Measurement Framework Embodiment:

Another implementation of the function is to configure specific measurements at the modem of the UE 10, and to use theses specific measurements for generating new measurements to be provided to the mobile network. In this embodiment, the function may enable a programmable measurement framework. With the measurement framework, the network may signal to the UE 10 the location of the measurement in time and frequency, for example where the synchronization signal block (SSB) of a cell is, and the UE 10 may detect cells on those locations. What/how to measure and report may be signalled to the UE 10 and may be static. The UE 10 may measure RSRP, reference signal received quality (RSRQ) and/or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) and may report them based on periodic or event-based triggers which are fixed and standardized. The signal diagram of the embodiment is shown in Fig. 7.

According to Fig. 7, first the function, exemplified as a “Measurement SWF” is set up at the UE 10 side to measure on certain measurement objects, calculate a quantity and report them to the network. The measurement SWF may be provided to the UE 10 by the mobile network, see action 75.

The Measurement SWF may first configure the modem to obtain standardized measurements, and/or other types of measurements that are available at the modem side, such as RSRP/RSRQ/SINR on measurement objects, see action 76.

The Measurement SWF may obtain the standardized measurements, see action 77, and calculate new ones, see action 78:

Quantity_new = f(RSRP, RSRQ, SINR), where f(.) is a programming function of Measurement SWF. For, example SINR is introduced with NR and is calculated based on RSRP and RSRQ so that SINR = f(RSRP, RSRQ). Meaning that SINR may be implemented using the measurement SWF. Thus, new quantities can be defined and implemented.

The trigger for the measurement report is also a programming function of the Measurement SWF. In legacy for example Event A3 is defined to trigger a report when the UE finds a neighbor cell that is “better” than the serving cell. Today it is not possible to add new events without standardization. However, according to embodiments herein the trigger to report may be programmable and hence new events can be defined for new use cases, see actions 79-80.

Fig. 8 shows an example for using the function to implement a programmable dataset. The function may be used to configure specific information reporting from the modem of the UE 10, and to use the function for generating dataset to be provided to the mobile network. In this embodiment, the invention is used to generate custom data set at the UE 10 side and then to be used, for instance, in at network side, e.g., by an Al application, as shown in Fig. 8.

First the UE 10 may be provided with the function exemplified as a “Dataset SW’ which is installed at the PE, see action 81.

The Dataset SW may configure various information that is needed to be obtained from the modem and to be recorded in the dataset. For example, it requests RSRP values, timer values, retransmission buffer at RLC, buffer status report values, etc, see actions 82-83. The Dataset SW may generate various configurations, e.g., it may configure firstly a certain set of information, and then based on e.g. a certain threshold being crossed or event occurring, it may change such configuration (change frequency of reporting, add/remove information to be reported, etc.).

Optionally the Dataset SW may preprocess data, for example, normalizes the parameters, see action 84.

The Dataset SW may then record the processed data in appropriate file format, see action 85, and report to the network when it is done, see action 86.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram depicting the UE 10 for handling one or more configurations at the UE 10 in the wireless communications network 1 according to embodiments herein.

The UE 10 may comprise processing circuitry 901 , e.g. one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.

The UE 10 may comprise an obtaining unit 902, e.g. a reader, a receiver or a transceiver. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the obtaining unit 902 is configured to obtain the function for generating the modem configuration dynamically. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the obtaining unit 902 may be configured to obtain one or more rules for the function. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the obtaining unit 902 may be configured to receive from the radio network node, transparently via the modem, data related to the function. The UE 10 may comprise a retrieving unit 903. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the retrieving unit 903 is configured to retrieve, from the radio network node 12 and/or locally from the UE 10, data for the obtained function.

The UE 10 may comprise a providing unit 904, for example a commander. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the providing unit 904 is configured to provide the configuration command to the modem of the UE 10, which configuration command is based on the output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input. The configuration command may be an RRC command for triggering an RRC reconfiguration at the modem. The configuration command may be controlling a state of the modem.

The UE 10 may comprise an applying unit 905, e.g., an executing unit. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the applying unit 905 is configured to apply the modem configuration to the modem of the UE 10 based on the provided configuration command. The retrieved data may comprise one or more measurements and the UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the applying unit 905 may be configured to apply the modem configuration by performing other configured measurements to be provided to the radio network node 12.

The UE 10 may comprise an executing unit 906. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the executing unit 906 may be configured to execute the function with the retrieved data as input and the indication as output. The output indication indicates the configuration command related to the modem configuration. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the executing unit 905 may be configured to locally trigger the execution at the UE, and the UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the providing unit 904 may be configured to provide the configuration command locally to the modem of the UE 10.

The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the applying unit 905 may be configured to apply the modem configuration by configuring the modem to provide specific information for a local function, and the UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the applying unit 905 may be configured to use the specific information in the local function for generating a dataset to be provided to the radio network node 12. The UE 10, the processing circuitry 901 and/or the applying unit 905 may be configured to transmit the acknowledgment to the radio network node 12, after applying the modem configuration.

The UE 10 may comprise a memory 907. The memory 907 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, grants, type parameter(s), indices, bitmap, indications, mobility events, measurements, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the UE 10 may comprise a communication interface 910 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and/or one or more antennas.

The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the UE 10 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 908 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the UE 10. The computer program product 908 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 909, e g. a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 909, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the UE 10. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a UE 10 for handling communication in a wireless communications network, wherein the UE 10 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said UE 10 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram depicting the radio network node 12 for handling one or more configurations at the UE 10 in the wireless communications network 1 according to embodiments herein.

The radio network node 12 may comprise processing circuitry 1001 , e.g. one or more processors, configured to perform the methods herein.

The radio network node 12 may comprise a providing unit 1002, e.g. a transmitter or a transceiver. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1001 and/or the providing unit 1002 is configured to provide to the UE 10, the function for generating the modem configuration dynamically for the modem at the UE 10. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1001 and/or the providing unit 1002 is configured to transmit, to the UE 10, transparently via the modem, data related to the function and/or the one or more rules for the function; wherein the function is for providing the configuration command to the modem of the UE 10, which configuration command is based on the output of the function executed with the data as input; and is for applying the modem configuration to the modem of the UE 10. The radio network node 12 may comprise a receiving unit 1003, e.g., a receiver or a transceiver. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1001 and/or the receiving unit 1003 may be configured to receive, from the UE 10, one or more measurements from the applied modem configuration. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1001 and/or the receiving unit 1003 may be configured to receive, from the UE 10, the dataset from the applied modem configuration. The radio network node 12, the processing circuitry 1001 and/or the receiving unit 1003 may be configured to receive the acknowledgment from the UE 10 indicating applied modem configuration.

The radio network node 12 may comprise a memory 1004. The memory 1004 comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as data packets, configurations, parameters, networks, mobility events, measurements, events and applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar. Furthermore, the radio network node 12 may comprise a communication interface 1005 such as comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver and/or one or more antennas.

The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the radio network node 12 are respectively implemented by means of e.g. a computer program product 1006 or a computer program, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the radio network node 12. The computer program product 1006 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1007, e.g. a disc, a universal serial bus (USB) stick or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1007, having stored thereon the computer program product, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the radio network node 12. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a transitory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, embodiments herein may disclose a radio network node 12 for handling communication in a wireless communications network, wherein the radio network node 12 comprises processing circuitry and a memory, said memory comprising instructions executable by said processing circuitry whereby said radio network node 12 is operative to perform any of the methods herein.

In some embodiments a more general term “radio network node” is used and it can correspond to any type of radio-network node or any network node, which communicates with a wireless device and/or with another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, master (M)eNB, secondary (S)eNB, a network node belonging to Master cell group (MCG) or Secondary cell group (SCG), base station (BS), multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, network controller, radio-network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), etc.

In some embodiments the non-limiting term wireless device or user equipment (UE) is used and it refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another wireless device in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, proximity capable UE (aka ProSe UE), machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.

Embodiments are applicable to any RAT or multi-RAT systems, where the wireless device receives and/or transmit signals (e.g. data) e.g. New Radio (NR), Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations.

As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, that functions means or circuits may be implemented using digital logic and/or one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some embodiments, several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate devices with appropriate hardware and/or software interfaces between them. Several of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components of a wireless device or network node, for example.

Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware. Thus, the term “processor” or “controller” as used herein does not exclusively refer to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware and/or program or application data. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included. Designers of communications devices will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance trade-offs inherent in these design choices.

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

With reference to Fig. 11, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 3210, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network 3211 , such as a radio access network, and a core network 3214. The access network 3211 comprises a plurality of base stations 3212a, 3212b, 3212c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points being examples of the radio network node 12 herein, each defining a corresponding coverage area 3213a, 3213b, 3213c. Each base station 3212a, 3212b, 3212c is connectable to the core network 3214 over a wired or wireless connection 3215. A first UE 3291 , being an example of the UE 10, located in coverage area 3213c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 3212c. A second UE 3292 in coverage area 3213a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 3212a. While a plurality of UEs 3291, 3292 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 3212.

The telecommunication network 3210 is itself connected to a host computer 3230, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 3230 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 3221, 3222 between the telecommunication network 3210 and the host computer 3230 may extend directly from the core network 3214 to the host computer 3230 or may go via an optional intermediate network 3220. The intermediate network 3220 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network 3220, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 3220 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of Fig. 11 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected UEs 3291, 3292 and the host computer 3230. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 3250. The host computer 3230 and the connected UEs 3291, 3292 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection 3250, using the access network 3211, the core network 3214, any intermediate network 3220 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 3250 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 3250 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, a base station 3212 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 3230 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 3291. Similarly, the base station 3212 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 3291 towards the host computer 3230.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Fig. 12. In a communication system 3300, a host computer 3310 comprises hardware 3315 including a communication interface 3316 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 3300. The host computer 3310 further comprises processing circuitry 3318, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 3318 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 3310 further comprises software 3311, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 3310 and executable by the processing circuitry 3318. The software 3311 includes a host application 3312. The host application 3312 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 3330 connecting via an OTT connection 3350 terminating at the UE 3330 and the host computer 3310. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 3312 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 3350.

The communication system 3300 further includes a base station 3320 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 3325 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 3310 and with the UE 3330. The hardware 3325 may include a communication interface 3326 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 3300, as well as a radio interface 3327 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 3370 with a UE 3330 located in a coverage area (not shown in Fig.12) served by the base station 3320. The communication interface 3326 may be configured to facilitate a connection 3360 to the host computer 3310. The connection 3360 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Fig.12) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware 3325 of the base station 3320 further includes processing circuitry 3328, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 3320 further has software 3321 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

The communication system 3300 further includes the UE 3330 already referred to. Its hardware 3335 may include a radio interface 3337 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 3370 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 3330 is currently located. The hardware 3335 of the UE 3330 further includes processing circuitry 3338, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 3330 further comprises software 3331, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 3330 and executable by the processing circuitry 3338. The software 3331 includes a client application 3332. The client application 3332 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 3330, with the support of the host computer 3310. In the host computer 3310, an executing host application 3312 may communicate with the executing client application 3332 via the OTT connection 3350 terminating at the UE 3330 and the host computer 3310. In providing the service to the user, the client application 3332 may receive request data from the host application 3312 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 3350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 3332 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that the host computer 3310, base station 3320 and UE 3330 illustrated in Fig. 12 may be identical to the host computer 3230, one of the base stations 3212a, 3212b, 3212c and one of the UEs 3291, 3292 of Fig. 11, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Fig. 12 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Fig. 11.

In Fig. 12, the OTT connection 3350 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 3310 and the user equipment 3330 via the base station 3320, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from the UE 3330 or from the service provider operating the host computer 3310, or both. While the OTT connection 3350 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

The wireless connection 3370 between the UE 3330 and the base station 3320 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 3330 using the OTT connection 3350, in which the wireless connection 3370 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the performance since the modem is configurable in an efficient manner and thereby provide benefits such as reduced cost in updating the UE, and may lead to better performance such as responsiveness since the UE is configurable.

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 3350 between the host computer 3310 and UE 3330, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 3350 may be implemented in the software 3311 of the host computer 3310 or in the software 3331 of the UE 3330, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 3350 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 3311, 3331 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 3350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 3320, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 3320. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer’s 3310 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 3311 , 3331 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 3350 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 13 will be included in this section. In a first step 3410 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep 3411 of the first step 3410, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In a second step 3420, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In an optional third step 3430, the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional fourth step 3440, the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 14 will be included in this section. In a first step 3510 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In a second step 3520, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step 3530, the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 15 will be included in this section. In an optional first step 3610 of the method, the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step 3620, the UE provides user data. In an optional substep 3621 of the second step 3620, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In a further optional substep 3611 of the first step 3610, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in an optional third substep 3630, transmission of the user data to the host computer. In a fourth step 3640 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 16 will be included in this section. In an optional first step 3710 of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In an optional second step 3720, the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In a third step 3730, the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such, the apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, (10) for handling one or more configurations at the UE (10) in a wireless communications network (1), the method comprising: obtaining (401) a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically; retrieving (404), from a radio network node (12) and/or locally from the UE (10), data for the obtained function;

- providing (406) a configuration command to a modem of the UE (10), which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input; and applying (407) a modem configuration to the modem of the UE (10) based on the provided configuration command.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising obtaining (402) one or more rules for the function.

3. The method according to any of the claims 1-2, wherein the configuration command is a radio resource control, RRC, command for triggering an RRC reconfiguration at the modem.

4. The method according to any of the claims 1-3, further comprising executing (405) the function with the retrieved data as input and an indication as output, wherein the indication indicates the configuration command related to the modem configuration.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the execution is locally triggered at the UE, and the configuration command is locally provided to the modem of the UE (10).

6. The method according to any of the claims 1-5, wherein the configuration command is controlling a state of the modem.

7. The method according to any of the claims 1-6, further comprising receiving (403) from the radio network node, transparently via the modem, data related to the function. The method according to any of the claims 1-7, wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more measurements and applying the modem configuration comprises performing other configured measurements to be provided to the radio network node. The method according to any of the claims 1-8, wherein applying the modem configuration comprises configuring the modem to provide specific information for a local function, and further comprising using (409) the specific information in the local function for generating a dataset to be provided to the radio network node (12). The method according to any of the claims 1-9, further comprising transmitting (408) an acknowledgment to the radio network node (12), after applying the modem configuration. A method performed by a radio network node (12) for handling one or more configurations at a user equipment, UE, (10) in a wireless communications network (1), the method comprising

- providing (501) to the UE (10), a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically for a modem at the UE (10); transmitting (502), to the UE (10) transparently via the modem, data related to the function and/or one or more rules for the function; wherein the function is for providing a configuration command to a modem of the UE (10), which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the data as input; and is for applying a modem configuration to the modem of the UE (10). The method according to claim 11 , further comprising receiving (504), from the UE (10), one or more measurements from the applied modem configuration. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising receiving (504), from the UE (10), a dataset from the applied modem configuration.

14. The method according to any of the claims 11-13, further comprising receiving (503) an acknowledgment from the UE (10) indicating applied modem configuration.

15. A computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the claims 1-14, as performed by the radio network node (12) and UE (10), respectively.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the claims 1-14, as performed by the UE (10) or radio network node (12), respectively.

17. A user equipment, UE, (10) for handling one or more configurations at the UE (10) in a wireless communications network (1), wherein the UE (10) is configured to: obtain a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically; retrieve, from a radio network node (12) and/or locally from the UE (10), data for the obtained function; provide a configuration command to a modem of the UE (10), which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the retrieved data as input; and apply a modem configuration to the modem of the UE (10) based on the provided configuration command.

18. The UE (10) according to claim 17, wherein the UE (10) is configured to obtain one or more rules for the function.

19. The UE (10) according to any of the claims 17-18, wherein the configuration command is a radio resource control, RRC, command for triggering an RRC reconfiguration at the modem.

20. The UE (10) according to any of the claims 17-19, wherein the UE (10) is further configured to: execute the function with the retrieved data as input and an indication as output, wherein the indication indicates the configuration command related to the modem configuration.

21. The UE (10) according to claim 20, wherein the UE (10) is further configured to locally trigger the execution at the UE, and to provide the configuration command locally to the modem of the UE (10).

22. The UE (10) according to any of the claims 17-21, wherein the configuration command is controlling a state of the modem.

23. The UE (10) according to any of the claims 17-22, wherein the UE (10) is configured to receive from the radio network node, transparently via the modem, data related to the function.

24. The UE (10) according to any of the claims 17-23, wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more measurements and the UE (10) is configured to apply the modem configuration by performing other configured measurements to be provided to the radio network node.

25. The UE (10) according to any of the claims 17-24, wherein the UE (10) is configured to apply the modem configuration by configuring the modem to provide specific information for a local function, and the UE (10) is further configured to use the specific information in the local function for generating a dataset to be provided to the radio network node (12).

26. The UE (10) according to any of the claims 17-25, wherein the UE (10) is further configured to transmit an acknowledgment to the radio network node (12), after applying the modem configuration.

27. A radio network node (12) for handling one or more configurations at a user equipment, UE, (10) in a wireless communications network (1), wherein the radio network node (12) is configured to: provide to the UE (10), a function for generating a modem configuration dynamically for a modem at the UE (10); transmit, to the UE (10) transparently via the modem, data related to the function and/or one or more rules for the function; wherein the function is for providing a configuration command to a modem of the UE (10), which configuration command is based on an output of the function executed with the data as input; and is for applying a modem configuration to the modem of the UE (10). The radio network node (12) according to claim 27, wherein the radio network node (12) is configured to receive, from the UE (10), one or more measurements from the applied modem configuration. The radio network node (12) according to any of the claims 27-28, wherein the radio network node (12) is configured to receive, from the UE (10), a dataset from the applied modem configuration. The radio network node (12) according to any of the claims 27-29, wherein the radio network node (12) is further configured to receive an acknowledgment from the UE (10) indicating applied modem configuration.