WO2024033890A1 - Codebook restrictions for partially coherent uplink codebooks - Google Patents

Abstract

A method (900) by a user equipment, UE (204, 312), for performing uplink, UL, codebook- based transmission using an 8 transmitter, Tx, partially coherent codebook is provided. The method includes sending (902), to a network node (202, 310), information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. The UE receives 5 (904), from the network node, a message including an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, and the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration includes at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations. The UE receives (906), from the network node, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, and the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. The UE transmits (908) the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

Description

CODEBOOK RESTRICTIONS FOR PARTIALLY COHERENT UPLINK CODEBOOKS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates, in general, to wireless communications and, more particularly, systems and methods providing codebook restrictions for partially coherent uplink codebooks.

BACKGROUND

In the time domain, New Radio (NR) downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions are organized into equally sized subframes of 1 ms each. A subframe is further divided into multiple slots of equal duration. The slot length depends on subcarrier spacing. For 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, there is only one slot per subframe. In general, for 15 ■ 2^M kHz subcarrier spacing, wherer e {0,1, 2, 3, 4}, there are 2^M slots per subframe. Finally, each slot consists of 14 symbols (unless extended cyclic prefix is configured).

In the frequency domain, a system bandwidth is divided into resource blocks (RBs), and each RS corresponds to 12 contiguous subcarriers. One subcarrier during one symbol interval forms one resource element (RE).

The channel that carries data in the NR UL is called Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). In NR, there are two possible waveforms that can be used for PUSCH: Cyclic Prefix- Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) and Discrete Fourier Transform- Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). Also, there are two transmission schemes specified for PUSCH: Codebook (CB)-based precoding and Non-Codebook (NCB)- based precoding.

The gNodeB (gNB) configures, in Radio Resource Control (RRC), the transmission scheme through the higher-layer parameter txConfig in the PUSCH-Config IE. CB-based transmission can be used for non-calibrated User Equipments (UEs) and/or for Frequency- Division Multiplexing (FDD) (i.e., UL/DL reciprocity does not need to hold). NCB-based transmission, on the other hand, relies on UL/DL reciprocity and is, hence, intended for Time- Division Multiplexing (TDD).

CB-based PUSCH is enabled if the higher-layer parameter txConfig is set to ‘codebook’. For dynamically scheduled PUSCH with configured grant type 2, CB-based PUSCH transmission can be summarized in the following steps: 1. The UE transmits Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), configured in an SRS resource set with higher-layer parameter usage in SRS-Config IE set to ‘codebook’. Up to two SRS resources (for testing up to two virtualizations/beams/panels) each with up to four ports, can be configured in the SRS resource set.

2. The gNB determines the number of layers (or rank) and a preferred precoder (i.e., Transmit Precoding Matrix Index (TPMI)) from a codebook subset based on the received SRS from one of the SRS resources. The codebook subset is configured via the higher-layer parameter codebookSubset, based on reported UE capability, and is one of

• fully coherent (‘fully AndPartialAndNonCoherent’), or

• partially coherent (‘partialAndNonCoherent’), or

• non-coherent (‘noncoherent’),

3. If two SRS resources are configured in the SRS resource set, the gNB indicates the selected SRS resource via a 1-bit SRS Resource Indicator (SRI) field in the Downlink Control Information (DCI) scheduling the PUSCH transmission. If only one SRS resource is configured in the SRS resource set, the SRI field is not indicated in DCI.

4. The gNB indicates, via DCI, the number of layers and the TPMI. DM-RS port(s) associated with the layer(s) are also indicated in DCI. The number of bits in DCI used for indicating the number of layers (if transform precoding is enabled, the number of PUSCH layers is limited to 1) and the TPMI is determined as follows (unless UL full-power transmission is configured, for which the number of bits may be different):

• 4, 5, or 6 bits if the number of antenna ports is 4, if transform precoding is disabled, and if the higher-layer parameter maxRank in PUSCH-Config IE is set to 2, 3, or 4 (See Table , which provides precoding information and number of layers, for 4 antenna ports, if transform precoding is disabled and maxRank = 2, 3 or, 4 and is reproduced from Table 7.3.1.1.2-2 of 3GPP TS 38.212);

• 2, 4, or 5 bits if the number of antenna ports is 4, if transform precoding is disabled or enabled, and if the higher-layer parameter maxRank in PUSCH-Config IE is set to 1 (See Table , which provides precoding information and number of layers, for 4 antenna ports, if transform precoding is disabled/enabled and maxRank = 1 and is reproduced from Table 7.3.1. 1.2-3 of 3GPP TS 38.212);

• 2 or 4 bits if the number of antenna ports is 2, if transform precoding is disabled, and if the higher-layer parameter maxRank in PUSCH-Config IE is set to 2 (See Table , which provides precoding information and number of layers, for 2 antenna ports, if transform precoding is disabled and maxRank = 2 and is reproduced from Table 7.3.1.1.2-4 of 3GPP TS 38.212);

• 1 or 3 bits if the number of antenna ports is 2, if transform precoding is disabled or enabled, and if the higher-layer parameter maxRank in PUSCH-Config IE is set to 1 (See Table , which provides precoding information and number of layers, for 2 antenna ports, if transform precoding is disabled/enabled and maxRank = 1 and is reproduced from Table 7.3.1. 1.2-5 of 3GPP TS 38.212); and

• 0 bits if 1 antenna port is used for PUSCH transmission.

5. The UE performs PUSCH transmission over the antenna ports corresponding to the SRS ports in the indicated SRS resource.

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

For a given number of layers, the TPMI field indicates a precoding matrix that UE should use for PUSCH. In a first example, if the number of antenna ports is 4, the number of layers is 1, and transform precoding is disabled then the set of possible precoding matrices is shown in Table 5, which provides the precoding matrix, W, for single-layer transmission using four antenna ports when transform precoding is disabled and is reproduced from Table 6.3.1.5-3 of 3GPP TS 38.211. Table 5

In a second example, if the number of antenna ports is 4, the number of layers is 4, and transform precoding is disabled then the set of possible precoding matrices is shown in Table 6 , which provides a precoding matrix, W, for four-layer transmission using four antenna ports when transform precoding is disabled and is reproduced from Table 6.3. 1.5-7 of 3GPP TS 38.211.

Table 6

In RANl#109-e, the following agreements was made:

For 8TX UE, consider the following UE antenna layouts for codebook design, • For non-coherent UEs, consider linear array (1D/2D) of cross-polarized or singlepolarized antenna configuration

• For fully/partial -coherent UEs, consider linear array (1D/2D)

• Where the array is either cross-polarized antenna configuration or single polarized antenna configuration

• Ng>=l antenna groups can be considered where each group comprises coherent antennas, and across groups, antennas can be non-coherent/coherent depending on device types

• An example of an antenna group is a panel

• Within an antenna group, antenna elements are uniformly spaced. Across different antenna groups, companies to provide details.

Additional information for definition of antenna layout

• Based on the number of coherent groups, following exemplary cases can be considered where, within each group, antenna elements are spaced by 0.5X, and then do-H, do-v represent the horizontal and vertical spacings between the centers of adjacent antenna groups, respectively

• Further down-selection can be done in the next meeting, if needed

• The shown exemplary placing of antenna groups can be used for evaluation purpose, but the codebook design is not restricted to shown cases.

• Other antenna layouts for other use cases are not precluded.

• To start companies may report their results according to their preferred layout.

Table 7

Agreement

For 8TX UE codebook-based uplink transmission, down-select one of

Altl-a: o Study NR Rel-15 UL 2TX/4TX codebooks and/or 8x1 antenna selection vector(s) as the starting point for design of the codebook for non-coherent UEs o Study NR Rel-15 DL Type I codebook as the starting point for design of the codebook for fully/partially-coherent UEs

- Altl-b: o Study NR Rel-15 UL 2TX/4TX codebooks and/or 8x1 antenna selection vector(s) as the starting point for design of the codebook for partially/non- coherent UEs o Study NR Rel-15 DL Type I codebook as the starting point for design of the codebook for fully-coherent UEs

Alt2-a: o Study NR Rel-15 UL 2TX/4TX codebooks and/or 8x1 antenna selection vector(s) as the starting point for design of codebook for fully/partially/non- coherent UEs

- Alt2-b: o Study NR Rel-15 UL 2TX/4TX codebooks and/or 8x1 antenna selection vector(s) in combination with those based on NR Rel-15 DL Type I codebooks as the starting point for design of codebook for fully/partially/non-coherent UEs Alt3: o Study NR Rel-15 DL Type I codebook as the starting point for design of codebook for fully/partially/non-coherent UEs

Transmission using one or multiple precoders corresponding to one or multiple SRS resources can be studied as part of the above alternatives.

There currently exist certain challenge(s), however. For example, as explained above, legacy NR CB-based UL transmission is limited to up to 4 ports (and up to 4 layers). For NR Rel- 18, it is discussed to support up to 8 ports (and, possibly, more than 4 layers) for UL transmission. Specifically, the NR Rel-18 WID includes the following objective:

Study, and if justified, specify UL Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), SRS, SRI, and TPMI (including codebook) enhancements to enable 8 Tx UL operation to support 4 and more layers per UE in UL targeting CPE/FWA/vehicle/Industrial devices.

• Note: Potential restrictions on the scope of this objective (including coherence assumption, full/non-full power modes) will be identified as part of the study.

How the gNB should configure precoding matrix and transmission rank for 8 Tx UEs is still an open issue. Due to the possibly high number of candidate precoders required for an 8 TX antenna architecture, the DCI overhead could become large, the number of precoders the UE need to implement will be large, and the number of UL precoders the gNB need to evaluate for each UL transmission will be large, which generates significant overhead and consumes computational resources.

For example, for a partially coherent UE with 8 TX ports and 2 antenna groups of 4 ports each (with antenna ports being assumed to be coherent within a group, but not across groups), there are 2400 possible precoders for rank 1 — 8 transmission. This holds if, for each group of 4 port, per-group precoders are chosen from a Type-I codebook designed for a 2x1 cross-polarized ULA with mode 1 and oversampling factor 2 (note that this is similar to how legacy 4-port UL precoders are chosen) and is a likely design also for “partially-coherent precoders” (i.e., a precoder designed for a partially coherent UE for which a transmission layer maps only to antenna ports within an antenna group and not across groups) for 8 TX, according to agreements above). If other antenna-array structures and/or higher oversampling factors are considered, the amount of candidate precoders may be even larger. Furthermore, for partially coherent UE with 8 TX ports and 4 antenna groups of 2 ports each, there are an additional 2400 possible candidates. Thus, if both 2- and 4-group UEs are to be supported in NR Rel-18 (and/or later releases), there are 4800 precoder candidates for partially coherent UEs alone.

SUMMARY

Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are provided that enable a UE to select a precoder from a subset of a larger set of possible precoders, which may be defined by predetermined rules or by network configuration and may depend on UE capability signaling, in particular embodiments.

According to certain embodiments, a method by a UE for performing UL codebook-based transmission using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook includes sending, to a network node, information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. The UE receives, from the network node, a message including an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, and the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration includes at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations. The UE receives, from the network node, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission. The rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. The UE transmits the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

According to certain embodiments, a UE for performing UL codebook-based transmission using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook includes processing circuitry configured to send, to a network node, information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. The processing circuitry is configured to receive, from the network node, a message including an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, and the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration includes at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations. The processing circuitry is configured to receive, from the network node, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission. The rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. The processing circuitry is configured to transmit the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

According to certain embodiments, a method by a network node for receiving an UL codebook-based transmission that is transmitted using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook includes receiving, from a UE, information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. The network node transmits, to the UE, a message including an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, and the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration includes at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations. The network node transmits, to the UE, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, and the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. The network node receives, from the UE, the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder that are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

According to certain embodiments, a network node for receiving an UL codebook-based transmission that is transmitted using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook includes processing circuitry configured to receive, from a UE, information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. The processing circuitry is configured to transmit, to the UE, a message including an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, and the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration includes at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations. The processing circuitry is configured to transmit, to the UE, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, and the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. The processing circuitry is configured to receive, from the UE, the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder that are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage (s). For example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of reducing the number of precoder candidates that needs to be evaluated by the UL scheduler and reducing UE implementation complexity. Specifically, for example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of restricting the set of candidate precoders in UL for 8 Tx UEs.

As another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of ensuring that the amount of DCI overhead for 8 TX partially coherent UEs becomes configurable. As such, the amount of DCI overhead required for the gNB to signal a selected TPMI to the UE can be balanced with the UL performance, according to certain embodiments.

Additionally, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of limiting the amount of precoders that needs to be evaluated by the UL scheduler in the gNB and that have to be implemented by the UE. Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a partially coherent UE with 8 TXs divided in to two antenna groups, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 2 illustrates a flowchart and signaling diagram depicting an example method, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 3 illustrates an example communication system, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 4 illustrates an example UE, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 5 illustrates an example network node, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 6 illustrates a block diagram of a host, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 7 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 8 illustrates a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection, according to certain embodiments;

FIGURE 9 illustrates an example method by a UE for performing UL codebook-based transmission using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook, according to certain embodiments; and

FIGURE 10 illustrates an example method by a network node for receiving an UL codebook-based transmission that is transmitted using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook, according to certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

As used herein, ‘node’ can be a network node or a UE. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g., Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Operations Support System (OSS), Self Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g., E- SMLC), etc.

Another example of a node is user equipment (UE), which is a non-limiting term and refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Unified Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc.

In some embodiments, generic terminology, “radio network node” or simply “network node (NW node)”, is used. It can be any kind of network node which may comprise base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNodeB (gNB), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), Central Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), etc.

The term radio access technology (RAT), may refer to any RAT such as, for example, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRA), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, NR, 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a partially coherent UE 100 with 8 TXs divided in to two antenna groups 102a and 102b, according to certain embodiments. The 4 antennas within each antenna group are mutually coherent, and the antennas belonging to different antenna groups are mutually non-coherent.

Certain embodiments will be described with reference to FIGURE 1, which illustrates an 8 TX UE equipped with 2 antenna groups 102a and 102b (N_g = 2), where each antenna group 102 consists of 4 TX antennas for which (A_1; /V₂) = (2,1) , i.e., two dual polarized elements stacked in the horizontal dimension for each antenna group (See, 3GPP TS 38.214, Table 5.2.2.2.1-2), which results in a max rank per antenna group to be R_max = 4. Further, a layer cannot be transmitted from antenna elements belonging to more than one of the antenna groups 102. In what follows, it is assumed that each layer will be transmitted from a single antenna group 102 (i.e., a partially-coherent UE). The gNB can indicate to the UE how to map the layer(s) to the two antenna groups 102a and 102b through a TPMI indicating containing the rank, i.e., R. and the corresponding partially-coherent precoder, in a particular embodiment. The number of possible partially-coherent precoders depends on all possible combination of layers in each group 102, such that

and l₂ are the number of layers in antenna group 1 and group 2 102a and 102b, respectively. For example, for rank 6, the possible combinations of layers for the antenna groups 1102 are given by [Z_1; l₂] E {[2,4], [3,3], [4,2]}. Assuming that the precoders for each group 102 is generated using Type-I single panel DL codebook with oversampling factors given by O₁, 0₂~) = (2,1) (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.214 for further details), there are 16, 16, 8, and 8 precoders for rank 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. As a consequence, the number of partially-coherent precoders is 16*8+8*8+8* 16=320 for rank 6. In total, the total number of partially-coherent precoders will be 2400 for rank 1 — 8.

In a particular embodiment, N_p of the N_g antenna groups at the UE are a primary group for which the number of per-group precoder candidates is larger than for the remaining N_g — N_p secondary groups. In the typical case, N_p = 1. For example, if the per-group precoder candidates are selected from a Type-I codebook, the number of spatial directions (i.e., per-polarization steering vectors) is given by N₁N₂O₁O₂. In one example of a particular embodiment, the product O₁O₂ is larger (e.g., twice as large) for the primary group(s) than for the secondary group(s). This results in a smaller number of precoder candidates in the secondary group(s) compared to the primary group(s), which, in turn, will reduce the number of 8 TX precoder candidates.

Furthermore, if, for example, the per-group precoder candidates are selected from a Type- I codebook, the per-group co-phasing factor 0 belongs to the set c/Z = {+1, +j, —1, — j}. In one example of a particular embodiment, the set of per-group co-phasing factors in a secondary group is B, where B c Jl (e.g., B = {+1, -1}). This results in a smaller number of precoder candidates in the secondary group(s) compared to the primary group(s), which, in turn, will reduce the number of 8 TX precoder candidates.

Apart from reducing the number precoder candidates (and, thus, DCI overhead), an additional advantage of certain embodiments is that UE may use lower-resolution beamforming circuitry in the secondary group(s) and higher-resolution beamforming circuitry only in the primary group(s). Lower-resolution beamforming circuitry may be more power efficient, cheaper, etc. than higher-resolution beamforming circuitry. The mapping between antenna elements to primary and secondary antenna groups may be transparent to the gNB. For example, the UE may adapt mapping between antenna elements and antenna groups depending on measured channel conditions. Note that for the embodiments described herein are applicable to partially-coherent UEs as well as fully-coherent UEs (under, for example, the assumption that the fully-coherent codebook is constructed as a multi -panel codebook with co-phasing between antenna groups 102).

In one embodiment, precoder candidates for each antenna group 102 can be configured such that different beams (per-polarization steering vectors) have to be used for different antenna groups 102, which could avoid unacceptable inter-layer interference in case the antenna groups 102 point to the same direction. For example, if a precoder in a first antenna group for which the steering vector points in the direction/angle

is selected, then the precoder in a second antenna group must use a steering vector that points in a direction/angle 0₂ ¥= 9₁. For per-group Type-I codebooks, this can be configured by signaling different i_ltl, which identifies the beam in the horizontal direction based on

and O for transmission of layers, as described in 3GPP TS 38.214, for each antenna group 102. For example, with O restricted to 2, odd i_ltl = {1,3} can be signaled for beams in one antenna group and even i_{1 T} = {0,2} for the beams in the other group, according to Table 5.2.2.2. 1-5 to 5.2.2.2.1-8 in 3GPP TS 38.214, which will result in 8, 8, 4 and 4 precoders for rank 1 — 4, respectively, in each antenna group. To reduce the number of precoders even further, in a particular embodiment, it may hold that 19₂ — 9_± | > 6, where 6 > 0 is some threshold. This ensures that the spatial separation between beams in different groups is sufficiently large.

In a particular embodiment, precoder candidates for each antenna group 102 is configured such that the layers are distributed as evenly as possible for two antenna groups 102a and 102b. Assuming the signaled rank to be R, this can be configured by having:

• If UE is configured to transmit an even number of layers (i.e., even rank), the number of layers per antenna group 102 must be the same. For example, for N_g = 2 (as in the example above), only combinations for which [/_x, l₂] = [R/2 , R/2] are allowed.

• If UE is configured to transmit an odd number of layers (i.e., odd rank), the number of layers per antenna group 102 differ by at most one. For example, for N_g = 2 (as in the example above), only combinations for which [/_x, l₂] E {[[R/2], [R/2]], [[R/2], [R/2J] } are allowed.

For example, if UE is configured with rank 6, the allowed layer configuration across the antenna groups is only [I l₂] = [3,3], and if UE is configured with rank 7, the allowed layer configuration across the antenna groups are [Z_1; l₂] = [3, 4] and [/_1; l₂] = [4, 3],

In a related particular embodiment, the number of precoders can be further restricted by imposing a pre-defined order of layer allocation to the antenna groups for odd rank. For example, only combinations for which

> l₂ are allowed, which, for rank 7, will only allow the configuration [/_1; ^2]⁼[4,3] .

In another particular embodiment, described with reference to FIGURE 1 and the scenario described in the above examples, the precoders in each antenna group 102 is generated using legacy Rel-15 FC 4 Tx codebooks. Further, precoders for each (or one) of the antenna group 102 can be further restricted to a subset of possible precoders. For example, antenna group 102a can be allocated only precoder with odd TPMI index and antenna group 102b can be allocated only precoders with even TPMI index.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a flowchart and signaling diagram 200 depicting an example method, according to certain embodiments. As depicted the signaling is between a gNB 202 and a UE 204.

In a first step 206, the UE 204 signals the Capability of UL transmission using 8 Tx partially coherent codebook, which indicates support to perform PUSCH transmission using a partially coherent codebook for 8 TX. In various particular embodiments, the Capability of UL transmission using 8 Tx partially coherent codebook may include, for example, one or more of the following information:

• support of N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook;

• support of M maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook;

• support of restriction on certain layer combinations over multiple antenna groups;

• support of bitwise TPMI codebook restriction;

• support of bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group;

• support of predefined codebook subset restrictions;

• restricted co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group (in legacy NR, there are 4 possible ways to co-phase the two polarizations, in addition to the spatial cophasing of the different antenna elements, which is done per polarization);

• restricted oversampling factor (i.e., how dense in angular domain the DFT based precoders are sampled) for one or more antenna groups; and

• support of one or more of the following 8 Tx partially coherent codebooks.

At step 208, the gNB 202 configures the UE 204 with an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration and the corresponding SRS configurations. In various particular embodiments, the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration may include, for example, one or more of the following information in the PUSCH config IE:

• indication of one of the supported pre-configured codebook subset restrictions for 8 Tx partially coherent codebooks; • a bitstring indicating the rank and precoder (TPMI) restriction, where each bit in the bitfield is associated with a TPMI for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook;

• a bitstring indicating the rank and precoder (TPMI) restriction per antenna group, where each bit in the bitfield is associated with a TPMI for a certain antenna group of the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook for that antenna group;

• one or more fields indicating the total ranks (i.e., the total number of UL layers applied over all antenna groups) that are supported for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook;

• one or more fields indicating the ranks that are supported per antenna group for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook;

• one or more fields indicating which rank combinations that are supported over multiple antenna groups for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook (e.g., the UE might be configured with the following rank combinations or a UE with two antenna groups: [0,1], [0,2], [1,1] and [2,0], which means that all other possible rank combinations are not supported, for example rank combination [1,2], where a single UL layer is transmitted on the first antenna group, and two UL layers is transmitted on the second antenna group);

• one or more fields indicating the oversampling factor per antenna group, for a subset of all antenna groups or for all antenna groups; and

• one or more fields indicating the number of possible polarization co-phasing factors per antenna group, for a subset of all antenna groups or for all antenna groups.

At step 210, the gNB 202 triggers the UE 204 with SRS transmissions.

At step 212, the UE 204 transmits the SRS. The gNB 202 then receives the SRS and, based on the SRS and the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, the gNB 202 evaluates all candidate precoders and/or ranks, determines a preferred precoder and/or rank, and signals it to the UE, at step 214.

At step 216, the UE transmits the PUSCH using the indicated rank and/or precoder.

FIGURE 3 shows an example of a communication system 300 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 300 includes a telecommunication network 302 that includes an access network 304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 306, which includes one or more core network nodes 308. The access network 304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 310a and 310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 310), or any other similar 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 312a, 312b, 312c, and 312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 312) to the core network 306 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 300 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 300 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

The UEs 312 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 310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 310 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 312 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 302 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 302.

In the depicted example, the core network 306 connects the network nodes 310 to one or more hosts, such as host 316. 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 306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 308) 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 308. 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 316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 304 and/or the telecommunication network 302, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 316 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 300 of FIGURE 3 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 302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 302. For example, the telecommunications network 302 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 312 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 304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 304. 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 314 communicates with the access network 304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 312c and/or 312d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 310b). In some examples, the hub 314 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 314 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 310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 314. As another example, the hub 314 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 314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 314 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 314 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 310b. The hub 314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 314 and UEs (e.g., UE 312c and/or 312d), and between the hub 314 and the core network 306. In other examples, the hub 314 is connected to the core network 306 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 304 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 310 while still connected via the hub 314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 314 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 310b. In other embodiments, the hub 314 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 310b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

FIGURE 4 shows a UE 400 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

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 400 includes processing circuitry 402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 404 to an input/output interface 406, a power source 408, a memory 410, a communication interface 412, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIGURE 4. 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 402 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 410. The processing circuitry 402 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 402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

In the example, the input/output interface 406 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 400. 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 408 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 408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 408 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 400 to which power is supplied.

The memory 410 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 410 includes one or more application programs 414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 416. The memory 410 may store, for use by the UE 400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

The memory 410 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 410 may allow the UE 400 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 410, which may be or comprise a device -readable storage medium.

The processing circuitry 402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 412. The communication interface 412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 422. The communication interface 412 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 418 and/or a receiver 420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 418 and receiver 420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 412 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/intemet 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 412, 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 itemtracking 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 400 shown in FIGURE 4.

As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

FIGURE 5 shows a network node 500 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 NRNodeBs (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 500 includes a processing circuitry 502, a memory 504, a communication interface 506, and a power source 508. The network node 500 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 500 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 500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 500, 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 500.

The processing circuitry 502 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 500 components, such as the memory 504, to provide network node 500 functionality.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 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 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

The memory 504 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 502. The memory 504 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 502 and utilized by the network node 500. The memory 504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 502 and/or any data received via the communication interface 506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 and memory 504 is integrated.

The communication interface 506 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 506 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 506 also includes radio frontend circuitry 518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 510. Radio front-end circuitry 518 comprises fdters 520 and amplifiers 522. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may be connected to an antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio frontend circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry 518 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 518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 520 and/or amplifiers 522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 518, instead, the processing circuitry 502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 512 is part of the communication interface 506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 506 includes one or more ports or terminals 516, the radio front-end circuitry 518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

The antenna 510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 510 is separate from the network node 500 and connectable to the network node 500 through an interface or port.

The antenna 510, communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 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 510, the communication interface 506, and/or the processing circuitry 502 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 508 provides power to the various components of network node 500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 500 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 508. As a further example, the power source 508 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 500 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 5 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 500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 500 and to allow output of information from the network node 500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 500.

FIGURE 6 is a block diagram of a host 600, which may be an embodiment of the host 316 of FIGURE 3, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

As used herein, the host 600 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 600 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

The host 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input/output interface 606, a network interface 608, a power source 610, and a memory 612. 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 4 and 5, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 600.

The memory 612 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 614 and data 616, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 600 or data generated by the host 600 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 600 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 614 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 614 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 600 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 614 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 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 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 700 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 702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 700 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Hardware 704 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 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708a and 708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.

The VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, 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 708 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 708, and that part of hardware 704 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 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702.

Hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 704 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 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 702. In some embodiments, hardware 704 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 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

FIGURE 8 shows a communication diagram of a host 802 communicating via a network node 804 with a UE 806 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 312a of FIGURE 3 and/or UE 400 of FIGURE 4), network node (such as network node 310a of FIGURE 3 and/or network node 500 of FIGURE 5), and host (such as host 316 of FIGURE 3 and/or host 600 of FIGURE 6) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIGURE 8.

Like host 600, embodiments of host 802 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 802 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 802 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 806 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 850 extending between the UE 806 and host 802. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 850.

The network node 804 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 802 and UE 806. The connection 860 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 306 of FIGURE 3) 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 806 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 806 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 806 with the support of the host 802. In the host 802, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 850 terminating at the UE 806 and host 802. 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 850 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 850.

The OTT connection 850 may extend via a connection 860 between the host 802 and the network node 804 and via a wireless connection 870 between the network node 804 and the UE 806 to provide the connection between the host 802 and the UE 806. The connection 860 and wireless connection 870, over which the OTT connection 850 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 802 and the UE 806 via the network node 804, 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 850, in step 808, the host 802 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 806. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 806 that shares data with the host 802 without explicit human interaction. In step 810, the host 802 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 806. The host 802 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 806. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 806 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 806. The transmission may pass via the network node 804, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 812, the network node 804 transmits to the UE 806 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 802 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 814, the UE 806 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 806 associated with the host application executed by the host 802.

In some examples, the UE 806 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 802. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 802. Accordingly, in step 816, the UE 806 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 806. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 806 initiates, in step 818, transmission of the user data towards the host 802 via the network node 804. In step 820, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 804 receives user data from the UE 806 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 802. In step 822, the host 802 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 806.

One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 806 using the OTT connection 850, in which the wireless connection 870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve one or more of, for example, data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and, thereby, provide benefits such as, for example, reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on fde size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and/or extended battery lifetime.

In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 802. As another example, the host 802 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 802 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 802 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 802 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 802 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 850 between the host 802 and UE 806, 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 802 and/or UE 806. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 850 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 850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 804. 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 802. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 850 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.

FIGURE 9 illustrates an example method 900 by a UE 204, 312 for performing UL codebook-based transmission using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook, according to certain embodiments. The method begins at step 902 when the UE 204, 312 sends, to a network node 202, 310, information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. At step 904, the UE 204, 312 receives, from the network node 202, 310, a message comprising an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. The 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration includes at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations. At step 906, the UE 204, 312 receives, from the network node 202, 310, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission. The rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. At step 908, the UE 204, 312 transmits the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts the UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

In a particular embodiment, data is transmitted over only one of the two or more antenna groups.

In a particular embodiment, data is transmitted, by the UE 204, 312, over two or more of the antenna groups. Precoder candidates for each antenna group are configured to distribute a plurality of UL layers between the two or more antenna groups. In a further particular embodiment, the rank is an even rank and a number of layers per antenna group is the same.

In another further particular embodiment, the rank is an odd rank and a number of layers per antenna group differs by at most one.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts an oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts co-phasing of polarizations within at least one antenna group.

In a particular embodiment, the information indicating the capability of the UE 204, 312 includes at least one of: an indication that the UE supports N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; an indication that the UE supports predefined codebook subset restrictions; an indication that the UE supports restricted co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group; an indication that the UE supports restricted oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups; and an indication that the UE supports 8 Tx over two antenna groups and/or 8 Tx over four antenna groups.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts a certain precoder used at a first antenna group to be also used for a second antenna group.

FIGURE 10 illustrates an example method 1000 by a network node 202, 310 for receiving an UL codebook -based transmission that is transmitted using an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook, according to certain embodiments. The method begins at step 1002, when the network node 202, 310 receives, from a UE 204, 312, information indicating a capability of the UE 204, 312 to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. At step 1004, the network node 202, 310 transmits, to the UE 204, 312, a message comprising an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. The 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration includes at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations. At step 1006, the network node 202, 310 transmits, to the UE 204, 312, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, and the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration. At step 1008, the network node 202, 310 receives, from the UE 204, 312, the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder that are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts the UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

In a particular embodiment, data is transmitted, by the UE 204, 312, over only one of the two or more antenna groups. In a particular embodiment, data is transmitted, by the UE 204, 312, over two or more of the antenna groups, and the precoder candidates for each antenna group are configured to distribute a plurality of UL layers between the two or more antenna groups.

In a further particular embodiment, the rank is an even rank and a number of layers per antenna group is the same.

In a further particular embodiment, the rank is an odd rank and a number of layers per antenna group differs by at most one.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts an oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts co-phasing of polarizations within at least one antenna group.

In a particular embodiment, the information indicating the capability of the UE 204, 312 to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook comprises at least one of: an indication that the UE supports N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; an indication that the UE supports predefined codebook subset restrictions; an indication that the UE supports restricted co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group; an indication that the UE supports oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups; and an indication that the UE supports 8 Tx over two antenna groups and/or 8 Tx over 4 antenna groups.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one restriction for the UL layer combination restricts at least one precoder used at a first antenna group for use also for a second antenna group.

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

Group A Example Embodiments Example Embodiment Al. A method by a user equipment for performing uplink (UL) codebook-based transmission using an 8 transmitter (Tx) partially coherent codebook, the method comprising: any of the user equipment steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

Example Embodiment A2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional user equipment steps, features or functions described above.

Example Embodiment A3. 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 the network node.

Group B Example Embodiments

Example Embodiment Bl. A method performed by a network node for receiving an uplink (UL) codebook-based transmission that uses an 8 transmitter (Tx) partially coherent codebook, the method comprising: any of the network node steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

Example Embodiment B2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features or functions described above.

Example Embodiment B3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

Group C Example Embodiments

Example Embodiment Cl. A method by a user equipment (UE) for performing uplink (UL) codebook-based transmission using an 8 transmitter (Tx) partially coherent codebook, the method comprising: receiving, from the network node, a message containing an UL reference signal (RS) configuration that configures at least one Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource; receiving, from the network node, a message containing an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; receiving, from the network node, an indication to perform a transmission and an indication of a rank and a precoder that should be applied to the transmission, wherein the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; performing the transmission based on the rank and the precoder that are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

Example Embodiment C2. The method of Example Embodiment Cl, comprising sending, to the network node, information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook. Example Embodiment C3. The method of Example Embodiment C2, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook indicates an ability of the UE to perform a PUSCH transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook.

Example Embodiment C4. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C2 to C3, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook comprises at least one of: a. an indication to support N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; b . an indication to support of AT maxi mum number of UL layers per antenna group for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook ; c. an indication to support certain UL layer combinations between different antenna groups; d. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction; e. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group; f. an indication to support predefined codebook subset restrictions; g. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group (in legacy NR there are 4 possible ways to co-phase the two polarizations, in addition to the spatial co-phasing of the different antenna elements, which is done per polarization) h. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor (i.e. how dense in angular domain the DFT based precoders are sampled) for one or more antenna groups; i. an indication to support one or more of the following 8 Tx partially coherent codebooks i. 8 Tx over a single antenna group, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration 5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration ii. 8 Tx over two antenna groups, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; iii. 8 Tx over two antenna groups, where the antenna groups a distributed in the horizontal dimension wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration; 4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; iv. 8 Tx over two antenna groups, where the antenna groups a distributed in the vertical dimension, wherein the antenna groups a distributed in the horizontal dimension, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; v. 8 Tx over four antenna groups, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration; 2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; vi. 8 Tx over four antenna groups, where the antenna groups are distributed in the horizontal dimension, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; vii. 8 Tx over four antenna groups, where the antenna groups are distributed both in the vertical and the horizontal dimension (i.e. two rows and two columns)

1. Support of maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. Support of maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. Support of one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. Support of bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. Support of bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. Restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. Restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. Restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration.

Example Embodiment C5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C 1 to C4, comprising receiving, from the network node, a message that triggers a transmission of SRS resources.

Example Embodiment C6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C5, wherein the transmission comprises a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission.

Example Embodiment C7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C6, wherein a pre-defined codebook subset of restrictions is based on restricting certain UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

Example Embodiment C8. The method of Example Embodiment C7, wherein restricting certain UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups comprises restricting certain layer combinations that have a large difference in number of layers for the different antenna groups, i.e. UL layer combinations [1,3] and [1,4] on a UE with two antenna groups (note that totally using a single antenna group might still be supported, i.e. [4 0] ).

Example Embodiment C9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C8, wherein a pre-defined codebook subset of restrictions is based on restricting certain UL layers for specific antenna groups. Example Embodiment CIO. The method of Example Embodiment C9, wherein a number of supported UL layers for a first antenna group is [1,2, 3, 4], and the number of supported UL layers for a second antenna group is [1,2].

Example Embodiment Cl 1. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to CIO, wherein a pre-defined codebook subset of restrictions is based on restricting a certain precoder used at a first antenna group is used also for a second antenna group (i.e. different beams must be used for different antenna groups, since otherwise there is a risk if two antenna groups point in the same direction send their respective layers in the same direction , which could lead to unacceptable inter-layer interference).

Example Embodiment C12.The method of Example Embodiment Cl 1, wherein restricting certain precoders per antenna groups comprises, for example, restricting such that only certain precoders are applicable for a first antenna group, and restrict such that another subset of precoders is applicable for a second antenna group.

Example Embodiment Cl 3. The method of Example Embodiment Cl 1, wherein restricting certain precoders per antenna groups comprises, for example, restricting the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration (i.e., if we use DFT based precoders (like legacy NR Type-I DL codebook), the oversampling factor can be defined per antenna group or the same over sampling factor can be defined for all antenna groups).

Example Embodiment Cl 4. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 3, wherein the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration is configured in PUSCH config IE as specified in 3GPP TS 38.331.

Example Embodiment Cl 5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 4, wherein the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration consists of an indication of one of the pre-configured codebook subset restrictions for 8 Tx partially coherent codebooks.

Example Embodiment Cl 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 5, wherein a bitstring indicates the rank and precoder (TPMI) restriction, where each bit in the bitfield is associated with a TPMI for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook.

Example Embodiment Cl 7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 6, wherein a field is used to indicate which total ranks that are supported for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook.

Example Embodiment Cl 8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 7, wherein a field is used to indicate which ranks that are supported per antenna group for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook. Example Embodiment C19.The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C18, wherein one or more field(s) is used to indicate which rank combinations that are supported over multiple antenna groups for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook (e.g. the UE might be configured with the following rank combinations or a UE with two antenna groups: [0,1], [0,2], [1,1] and [2,0], which means that all other possible rank combinations are not supported, for example rank combination [1,2], where a single UL layer is transmitted on the first antenna group, and two UL layers is transmitted on the second antenna group ).

Example Embodiment C20.The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C19, wherein a field is used to indicate the oversampling factor per antenna group, for a subset of all antenna groups or for all antenna groups.

Example Embodiment C21.The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C20, wherein a size of a bitfield in DCI used to indicate the rank and precoder (TPMI) to the UE for the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook is automatically adapted based on a required number of entries/codepoints associated with the configured 8 Tx partially codebook.

Example Embodiment C22.The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C21, wherein the bitfield in DCI is the “Precoding information and number of layers” bitfield in DCI format 0 1 and 0_2.

Example Embodiment C23. The method of Example Embodiments Cl to C22, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

Example Embodiment C24.A user equipment comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C23.

Example Embodiment C25.A wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C23.

Example Embodiment C26. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments C 1 to C23.

Example Embodiment C27. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C23.

Example Embodiment C28. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C23.

Group D Example Embodiments Example Embodiment DI. A method by a network node for receiving an uplink (UL) codebook-based transmission that is transmitted using an 8 transmitter (Tx) partially coherent codebook, the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a message containing an UL reference signal (RS) configuration that configures at least one Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource; transmitting, to the UE, a message containing an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; transmitting, to the UE, an indication to perform a transmission and an indication of a rank and a precoder that should be applied to the transmission, wherein the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; and receiving, from the UE, transmission based on the rank and the precoder that are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

Example Embodiment D2. The method of Example Embodiment DI, comprising receiving, from the UE, information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook.

Example Embodiment D3. The method of Example Embodiment D2, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook indicates an ability of the UE to perform a PUSCH transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook.

Example Embodiment D4. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D2 to D3, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook comprises at least one of: a. an indication to support N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; b . an indication to support of AT maxi mum number of UL layers per antenna group for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook ; c. an indication to support certain UL layer combinations between different antenna groups; d. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction; e. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group; f. an indication to support predefined codebook subset restrictions; g. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group (in legacy NR there are 4 possible ways to co-phase the two polarizations, in addition to the spatial co-phasing of the different antenna elements, which is done per polarization) h. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor (i.e. how dense in angular domain the DFT based precoders are sampled) for one or more antenna groups; i. an indication to support one or more of the following 8 Tx partially coherent codebooks viii. 8 Tx over a single antenna group, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration ix. 8 Tx over two antenna groups, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration; 6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; x. 8 Tx over two antenna groups, where the antenna groups a distributed in the horizontal dimension wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; xi . 8 Tx over two antenna groups, where the antenna groups a distributed in the vertical dimension, wherein the antenna groups a distributed in the horizontal dimension, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration; 4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; xii. 8 Tx over four antenna groups, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; xiii. 8 Tx over four antenna groups, where the antenna groups are distributed in the horizontal dimension, wherein the information indicates at least one of:

1. an indication to support maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. an indication to support maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration; 3. an indication to support one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. an indication to support bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. an indication to restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. an indication to restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. an indication to restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration; xiv. 8 Tx over four antenna groups, where the antenna groups are distributed both in the vertical and the horizontal dimension (i.e. two rows and two columns)

1. Support of maximum number of layers for this configuration;

2. Support of maximum number of UL layers per antenna group for this configuration;

3. Support of one or more pre-defined codebook subset restrictions for this configuration;

4. Support of bitwise TPMI codebook restriction for this configuration;

5. Support of bitwise TPMI codebook restriction per antenna group for this configuration;

6. Restrict one or more antenna groups for this configuration;

7. Restrict co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group for this configuration; and

8. Restrict the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration.

Example Embodiment D5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to D4, comprising transmitting, to the UE, a message that triggers a transmission of SRS resources.

Example Embodiment D6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D5, wherein the transmission comprises a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission. Example Embodiment D7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D6, wherein a pre-defined codebook subset of restrictions is based on restricting certain UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

Example Embodiment D8. The method of Example Embodiment D7, wherein restricting certain UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups comprises restricting certain layer combinations that have a large difference in number of layers for the different antenna groups, i.e. UL layer combinations [1,3] and [1,4] on a UE with two antenna groups (note that totally using a single antenna group might still be supported, i.e. [4 0] ).

Example Embodiment D9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D8, wherein a pre-defined codebook subset of restrictions is based on restricting certain UL layers for specific antenna groups.

Example Embodiment DIO. The method of Example Embodiment D9, wherein a number of supported UL layers for a first antenna group is [1,2, 3, 4], and the number of supported UL layers for a second antenna group is [1,2].

Example Embodiment Dl l. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to D 10, wherein a pre-defined codebook subset of restrictions is based on restricting a certain precoder used at a first antenna group is used also for a second antenna group (i.e. different beams must be used for different antenna groups, since otherwise there is a risk if two antenna groups point in the same direction send their respective layers in the same direction , which could lead to unacceptable inter-layer interference).

Example Embodiment D12. The method of Example Embodiment Dl l, wherein restricting certain precoders per antenna groups comprises, for example, restricting such that only certain precoders are applicable for a first antenna group, and restrict such that another subset of precoders is applicable for a second antenna group.

Example Embodiment D13. The method of Example Embodiment Dl l, wherein restricting certain precoders per antenna groups comprises, for example, restricting the oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups for this configuration (i.e., if we use DFT based precoders (like legacy NR Type-I DL codebook), the oversampling factor can be defined per antenna group or the same over sampling factor can be defined for all antenna groups).

Example Embodiment D 14. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to DI 3, wherein the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration is configured in PUSCH config IE as specified in 3GPP TS 38.331. Example Embodiment D 15. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to DI 4, wherein the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration consists of an indication of one of the pre-configured codebook subset restrictions for 8 Tx partially coherent codebooks.

Example Embodiment DI 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to DI 5, wherein a bitstring indicates the rank and precoder (TPMI) restriction, where each bit in the bitfield is associated with a TPMI for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook.

Example Embodiment DI 7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to DI 6, wherein a field is used to indicate which total ranks that are supported for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook.

Example Embodiment D 18. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to D 17, wherein a field is used to indicate which ranks that are supported per antenna group for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook.

Example Embodiment DI 9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to DI 8, wherein one or more field(s) is used to indicate which rank combinations that are supported over multiple antenna groups for the configured partially coherent 8 Tx codebook (e.g. the UE might be configured with the following rank combinations or a UE with two antenna groups: [0,1], [0,2], [1,1] and [2,0], which means that all other possible rank combinations are not supported, for example rank combination [1,2], where a single UL layer is transmitted on the first antenna group, and two UL layers is transmitted on the second antenna group).

Example Embodiment D20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to DI 9, wherein a field is used to indicate the oversampling factor per antenna group, for a subset of all antenna groups or for all antenna groups.

Example Embodiment D21. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to D20, wherein a size of a bitfield in DCI used to indicate the rank and precoder (TPMI) to the UE for the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook is automatically adapted based on a required number of entries/codepoints associated with the configured 8 Tx partially codebook.

Example Embodiment D22. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to D21, wherein the bitfield in DCI is the “Precoding information and number of layers” bitfield in DCI format 0 1 and 0_2.

Example Embodiment D23. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D 1 to D22, wherein the network node comprises a gNodeB (gNB).

Example Embodiment D24. The method of any of the Example Embodiments DI to D23, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment. Example Embodiment D25. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D24.

Example Embodiment D26. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D24.

Example Embodiment D27. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D24.

Example Embodiment D28. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D24.

Group E Example Embodiments

Example Embodiment El. A user equipment for performing uplink (UL) codebook-based transmission using an 8 transmitter (Tx) partially coherent codebook, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

Example Embodiment E2. A network node for receiving an uplink (UL) codebook-based transmission using an 8 transmitter (Tx) partially coherent codebook, network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

Example Embodiment E3. A user equipment (UE) for performing uplink (UL) codebookbased transmission using an 8 transmitter (Tx) partially coherent codebook, the 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 and C Example 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.

Example Embodiment E4. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

Example Embodiment E5. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.

Example Embodiment E6. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Example Embodiment E7. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

Example Emboidment E8. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

Example Embodiment E9. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Example Emboidment El 0. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

Example Emboidment El l. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host. Example Embodiment El 2. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Example Embodiment El 3. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

Example Embodiment El 4. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

Example Embodiment El 5. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Example Embodiment El 6. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

Example Embodiment E17.The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

Example Embodiment El 8. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. Example Embodiment El 9. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

Example Emboidment E20.The method of any of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Example Embodiment E21. A communication system configured to provide an over-the- top service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

Example Embodiment E22. The communication system of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and/or the user equipment.

Example Embodiment E23. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

Example Embodiment E24. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

Example Embodiment E25. The host of the any of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

Example Embodiment E26. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

Example Embodiment E27. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

Claims

1. A method (900) by a user equipment, UE (204, 312), for performing uplink, UL, codebookbased transmission using an 8 transmitter, Tx, partially coherent codebook, the method comprising: sending (902), to a network node (202, 310), information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; receiving (904), from the network node, a message comprising an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, wherein the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration comprises at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations; receiving (906), from the network node, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, wherein the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; and transmitting (908) the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts the UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein data is transmitted over only one of the two or more antenna groups.

4. The method of Claim 2, wherein data is transmitted, by the UE, over two or more of the antenna groups, and wherein precoder candidates for each antenna group are configured to distribute a plurality of UL layers between the two or more antenna groups.

5. The method of Claim 4, wherein the rank is an even rank and a number of layers per antenna group is the same.

6. The method of Claim 4, wherein the rank is an odd rank and a number of layers per antenna group differs by at most one.

7. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts an oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups.

8. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts co-phasing of polarizations within at least one antenna group.

9. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook comprises at least one of: a. an indication that the UE supports N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; b. an indication that the UE supports predefined codebook subset restrictions; c. an indication that the UE supports restricted co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group; d. an indication that the UE supports restricted oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups; and e. an indication that the UE supports 8 Tx over two antenna groups and/or 8 Tx over four antenna groups.

10. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts a certain precoder used at a first antenna group to be also used for a second antenna group.

11. A method (1000) by a network node (202, 310) for receiving an uplink, UL, codebookbased transmission that is transmitted using an 8 transmitter, Tx, partially coherent codebook, the method comprising: receiving (1002), from a user equipment, UE (204, 312), information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; transmitting (1004), to the UE, a message comprising an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, wherein the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration comprises at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations; transmitting (1006), to the UE, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, wherein the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; and receiving (1008), from the UE, the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder that are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts the UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein data is transmitted, by the UE, over only one of the two or more antenna groups.

14. The method of Claim 12, wherein data is transmitted, by the UE, over two or more of the antenna groups, and wherein precoder candidates for each antenna group are configured to distribute a plurality of UL layers between the two or more antenna groups.

15. The method of Claim 14, wherein the rank is an even rank and a number of layers per antenna group is the same.

16. The method of Claim 14, wherein the rank is an odd rank and a number of layers per antenna group differs by at most one.

17. The method of any one of Claims 11 to 16, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts an oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups.

18. The method of any one of Claims 11 to 17, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts co-phasing of polarizations within at least one antenna group.

19. The method of any one of Claims 11 to 18, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook comprises at least one of: a. an indication that the UE supports N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; b. an indication that the UE supports predefined codebook subset restrictions; c. an indication that the UE supports restricted co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group; d. an indication that the UE supports oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups; and e. an indication that the UE supports 8 Tx over two antenna groups and/or 8 Tx over 4 antenna groups.

20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Claims 11 to 19, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combination restricts at least one precoder used at a first antenna group for use also for a second antenna group.

21. A user equipment, UE (204, 312), for performing uplink, UL, codebook-based transmission using an 8 transmitter, Tx, partially coherent codebook, the UE comprising processing circuitry (202) configured to: send, to a network node (202, 310), information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; receive, from the network node, a message containing an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration, wherein the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration comprises at least one codebook restriction for UL layer combinations; receive, from the network node, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, wherein the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; and transmit the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

22. The UE of Claim 21, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts the UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

23. The UE of Claim 22, wherein data is transmitted over only one of the two or more antenna groups.

24. The UE of Claim 22, wherein data is transmitted, by the UE, over two or more of the antenna groups, and wherein precoder candidates for each antenna group are configured to distribute a plurality of UL layers substantially evenly between the two or more antenna groups.

25. The UE of Claim 24, wherein the rank is an even rank and a number of layers per antenna group is the same.

26. The UE of Claim 24, wherein the rank is an odd rank and a number of layers per antenna group differs by at most one.

27. The UE of any one of Claims 21 to 26, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts an oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups.

28. The UE of any one of Claims 21 to 27, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts co-phasing of polarizations within at least one antenna group.

29. The UE of any one of Claims 21 to 28, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook comprises at least one of: a. an indication that the UE supports N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; b. an indication that the UE supports predefined codebook subset restrictions; c. an indication that the UE supports restricted co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group d. an indication that the UE supports restricted oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups; and e. an indication that the UE supports 8 Tx over two antenna groups and/or 8 Tx over four antenna groups.

30. The UE of any one of Claims 21 to 29, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts a certain precoder used at a first antenna group to be also used for a second antenna group.

31. A network node (202, 310) for receiving an uplink, UL, codebook-based transmission that is transmitted using an 8 transmitter, Tx, partially coherent codebook, the network node comprising processing circuitry (302) configured to: receive, from a user equipment, UE (204, 312), information indicating a capability of the UE to send an UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; transmit, to the UE, a message containing an 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; transmit, to the UE, an indication of a rank and a precoder to be applied to the UL transmission, wherein the rank and the precoder are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration; and receive, from the UE, the UL transmission based on the rank and the precoder that are associated with the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook configuration.

32. The network node of Claim 31, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts the UL layer combinations over two or more antenna groups.

33. The network of Claim 32, wherein data is transmitted by the UE over only one of the two or more antenna groups.

34. The network of Claim 32, wherein data is transmitted, by the UE, over two or more of the antenna groups, and wherein precoder candidates for each antenna group are configured to distribute a plurality of UL layers substantially evenly between the two or more antenna groups.

35. The network node of Claim 34, wherein the rank is an even rank and a number of layers per antenna group is the same.

36. The network node of Claim 34, wherein the rank is an odd rank and a number of layers per antenna group differs by at most one.

37. The network node of any one of Claims 31 to 36, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts an oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups.

38. The network node of any one of Claims 31 to 37, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combinations restricts co-phasing of polarizations within at least one antenna group.

39. The network node of any one of Claims 31 to 38, wherein the information indicating the capability of the UE to send the UL transmission using the 8 Tx partially coherent codebook comprises at least one of: a. an indication that the UE supports N maximum number of UL layers for 8 Tx partially coherent codebook; b. an indication that the UE supports predefined codebook subset restrictions; c. an indication that the UE supports restricted co-phasing of polarizations within an antenna group; d. an indication that the UE supports oversampling factor for one or more antenna groups; and e. an indication that the UE supports 8 Tx over two antenna groups and/or 8 Tx over 4 antenna groups.

40. The network node of any one of Claims 31 to 39, wherein the at least one restriction for the UL layer combination restricts at least one precoder used at a first antenna group for use also for a second antenna group .