WO2024093097A1

WO2024093097A1 - Communication devices and methods for communications

Info

Publication number: WO2024093097A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/083420
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mingzeng Dai; Jing HAN; Congchi ZHANG; Lianhai WU
Original assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited
Priority date: 2023-03-23
Filing date: 2023-03-23
Publication date: 2024-05-10

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a solution for communications. In one aspect of the solution, a communication device obtains first configuration information about a QoE measurement. The first configuration information comprises an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink. The communication device also obtains QoE supporting information about a first terminal device. The QoE supporting information comprises QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device. In turn, the communication device determines, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information, the first terminal device for the QoE measurement.

Description

COMMUNICATION DEVICES AND METHODS FOR COMMUNICATIONS

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication, and in particular to communication devices and methods for communications.

BACKGROUND

The Quality of Experience (QoE) Measurement Collection (QMC) function enables collection of application layer measurements from user equipment (UE) . Radio Access Network (RAN) visible QoE (RVQoE) measurements are also supported, where a subset of configured QoE metrics is reported from the UE to a gNB as an explicit information element (IE) readable by the gNB.

New Radio (NR) sidelink communication was introduced in Release 16. Support of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) services via the PC5 interface can be provided by NR sidelink communication. NR sidelink communication may be used to support other services than V2X services.

QoE measurement over sidelink has not been supported yet. In order to improve user experience using NR sidelink communication and optimize sidelink performance (for example, optimize radio resource selection) , it makes sense to support QMC function as well as RVQoE measurement over sidelink.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for communications.

In a first aspect, there is provided a communication device. The communication device comprises a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to: obtain, via the transceiver, first configuration information about a QoE measurement, the first configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; obtain, via the transceiver, QoE supporting information about a first terminal device, the QoE supporting information comprising QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device; and determine, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information, the first terminal device for the QoE measurement.

In a second aspect, there is provided a second terminal device. The second terminal device comprises a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to: receive, from a network device, second configuration information about a QoE measurement, the second configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; and transmit, to a first terminal device for the QoE measurement, third configuration information about the QoE measurement, the third configuration information comprising the indication.

In a third aspect, there is provided a first terminal device. The first terminal device comprises a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to: transmit, to a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device, QoE supporting information about the first terminal device, the QoE supporting information comprising QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device; receive, from the second terminal device, third configuration information about a QoE measurement, the third configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; perform the QoE measurement based on the third configuration information; and transmit, to the second terminal device, a second report of the QoE measurement.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a communication device. The method comprises: obtaining, at a communication device, first configuration information about a QoE measurement, the first configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; obtaining QoE supporting information about a first terminal device, the QoE supporting information comprising QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device; and determining, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information, the first terminal device for the QoE measurement.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a second terminal device. The method comprises: receiving, from a network device, second configuration information about a QoE measurement, the second configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; and transmitting, to a first terminal device for the QoE measurement, third configuration information about the QoE measurement, the third configuration information comprising the indication.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a first terminal device. The method comprises: transmitting, to a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device, QoE supporting information about the first terminal device, the QoE supporting information comprising QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device; receiving, from the second terminal device, third configuration information about a QoE measurement, the third configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; performing the QoE measurement based on the third configuration information; and transmitting, to the second terminal device, a second report of the QoE measurement.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium has instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method of any of the fourth, the fifth or the sixth aspect.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication environment in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

Fig. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a communication device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating an example process for communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating another example process for communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below. In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “some embodiments, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment (s) described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment (s) . Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” or the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element could also be termed as a second element, and similarly, a second element could also be termed as a first element, without departing from the scope of embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms. In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatuses are referred to as “best, ” “lowest, ” “highest, ” “minimum, ” “maximum, ” or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a, ” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises, ” “comprising, ” “has, ” “having, ” “includes” and/or “including, ” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, components and/or the like, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. For example, the term “includes” and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to. ” The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on. ” The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment. ” The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment. ” The use of an expression such as “A and/or B” can mean either “only A” or “only B” or “both A and B. ” Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

As used herein, the term “communication environment” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as, 5G NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) , and so on. Further, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication environment may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) , the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will also be future type communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned systems.

As used herein, the term “network device” generally refers to a node in a communication environment via which a terminal device can access the communication environment and receive services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , a radio access network (RAN) node, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , an infrastructure device for a V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication, a transmission and reception point (TRP) , a reception point (RP) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto BS, a pico BS, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

As used herein, the term “terminal device” generally refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communications. By way of example rather than a limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE) , an end user device, a subscriber station (SS) , an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) , or an access terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and playback appliance, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , a USB dongle, a smart device, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device (for example, a remote surgery device) , an industrial device (for example, a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms: “terminal device, ” “communication device, ” “terminal, ” “user equipment” and “UE, ” may be used interchangeably.

As described above, QoE measurement over sidelink has not been supported yet. In order to improve user experience using NR sidelink communication and optimize sidelink performance (for example, optimize radio resource selection) , it makes sense to support QMC function as well as RVQoE measurement over sidelink.

In order to support QMC function over sidelink, some issues may need to be solved. For example, how to select destination UE for QoE measurement for sidelink needs to be solved.

Currently, for management-based QoE measurement activation, the Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) sends one or more QoE measurement configurations directly to the gNB. The gNB selects one or more UEs that meet the required QoE measurement capability and area scope. However, for sidelink, it is not clear how to select destination UE for the QoE measurement.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for communications. In this solution, a communication device obtains first configuration information about a QoE measurement. The first configuration information comprises an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink. The communication device also obtains QoE supporting information about a first terminal device. The QoE supporting information comprises QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device. In turn, the communication device determines, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information, the first terminal device for the QoE measurement.

Hereinafter, principle of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication environment 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication environment 100 may include a first terminal device 110, a second terminal device 120, a third terminal device 130, network (NW) devices 140 and 150, a core network (CN) 160 and OAM 170. The network devices 140 and 150 may communicate with the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 and the third terminal device 130 via respective wireless communication channels.

In some embodiments, the network device 140 may be a gNB in NR.

In some embodiments, the network device 150 may be an eNB in Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.

It is to be understood that the number of devices in Fig. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations to the present disclosure. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and/or terminal devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

The communications in the communication environment 100 may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) , LTE, LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) , Machine Type Communication (MTC) and the like. Furthermore, the communications may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols.

In some embodiments, the communications in the communication environment 100 may comprise cellular network communication. In the cellular network communication, for example, the second terminal device 120 may transmit data to the network device 140 (i.e., uplink transmissions) or receive data from the network device 140 (i.e., downlink transmissions) .

In some embodiments, the communications in the communication environment 100 may comprise sidelink communication. Sidelink communication is a type of wireless communication directly between two or more terminal devices, such as two or more terminal devices among the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 and the third terminal device 130. In this type of communication, the two or more terminal devices that are geographically proximate to each other can directly communicate without going through the network device 140, the network device 150 or the CN 160.

Data transmission in sidelink communication is thus different from that in the cellular network communication. In the sidelink communication, data is transmitted directly from a source terminal device (also referred to as S-UE) to a destination terminal device (also referred to as D-UE) over sidelink. Data transmission over sidelink is also referred to as sidelink transmission. An interface between the source terminal device and destination terminal device may comprise a PC5 interface. In order to perform sidelink communication, a PC5 Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection may be established between the source terminal device and the destination terminal device.

In some embodiments, in order to improve user experience using the sidelink communication and optimize sidelink performance, it makes sense to support QMC function over sidelink.

In embodiments where the second terminal device 120 performs sidelink transmission to the first terminal device 110, the first terminal device 110 may perform QoE measurement for the sidelink transmission. Such QoE measurement may be referred to as QoE measurement for sidelink or QoE measurement over sidelink.

In turn, the first terminal device 110 may transmit a report of the QoE measurement for sidelink to the second terminal device 120. Then, the second terminal device 120 may transmit the report of the QoE measurement for sidelink to the network device 140. Further, the network device 140 may forward the report of the QoE measurement for sidelink to the CN 160 or to the OAM 170 via the CN 160. In this way, user experience using the sidelink communication may be improved based on the report.

Fig. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method 200 implemented at a communication device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 200 may be implemented at the network device 140 or 150. Alternatively, the method 200 may be implemented at the first terminal device 110 or the second terminal device 120. For the purpose of discussion, the method 200 will be described from the perspective of the network device 140 with reference to Fig. 1.

At block 210, the network device 140 obtains first configuration information about a QoE measurement. The first configuration information comprises an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink.

At block 220, the network device 140 obtains QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110. The QoE supporting information comprises QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device 110.

At block 230, the network device 140 determines, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information, the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement.

Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating an example process 300 for communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 300 may be considered as an example implementation of the method 200. For the purpose of discussion, the process 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 300 may involve the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120, the network device 140, the CN 160 and the OAM 170.

Generally, in the process 300, the second terminal device 120 performs sidelink transmission to the first terminal device 110. Thus, for brevity, the second terminal device 120 is also referred to as a source terminal device or S-UE 120, and the first terminal device 110 is also referred to as a destination terminal device or D-UE 110. In addition, in the process 300, the network device 140 determines the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement for sidelink.

Specifically, the network device 140 receives 310 a first QoE measurement activation message from the CN 160 or OAM 170.

In some embodiments, QMC function may be activated in the network device 140 by direct configuration from the OAM 170. In such embodiments, the activation may be referred to as management-based activation and QoE measurement may be referred to as management-based QoE measurement. In such embodiments, the network device 140 may receive the first QoE measurement activation message from the OAM 170.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the QMC function may be activated in the network device 140 by signalling from the OAM 170 via the CN 160. In such embodiments, the activation may be referred to as signalling-based activation and QoE measurement may be referred to as signalling-based QoE measurement. In such embodiments, the network device 140 may receive the first QoE measurement activation message from the CN 160 by means of UE-associated signalling.

The first QoE measurement activation message may comprise the first configuration information about the QoE measurement. The first configuration information comprises the indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink. Hereinafter, for the purpose of discussion, the indication is also referred to as a sidelink QoE measurement indication.

In some embodiments, the sidelink QoE measurement indication may comprise a dedicated indicator indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the sidelink QoE measurement indication may comprise a service type indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink. In other words, the sidelink QoE measurement indication may be implicitly indicated by a dedicated or new service type. For example, the new service type may be a sidelink service type.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information may comprise a first application layer measurement configuration list. The first application layer measurement configuration list may comprise one or more application layer measurement configurations. Hereinafter, for the purpose of discussion, the first application layer measurement configuration list will be described by taking a first application layer measurement configuration in the list for example.

In some embodiments, the first configuration information may also comprise information for QoE measurement collection associated with each of the one or more application layer measurement configurations. For example, information for QoE measurement collection associated with the first application layer measurement configuration may comprise at least one of the following: a first identifier (ID) , a service type, an area scope, an Measurement Collection Entity (MCE) Internet Protocol (IP) address, a slice scope, Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) alignment information and an indication of available RAN visible QoE metrics.

In some embodiments, the first ID may be configured to identify the first application layer measurement configuration and a report of QoE measurement associated with the first application layer measurement configuration. For example, the first ID may include but is not limited to QoE reference.

In some embodiments, the service type may comprise at least one of the following: a streaming service, Multimedia Telephony Service for IP Multimedia Subsystem (MTSI) service, or Augmented Reality (AR) service.

In some embodiments, optionally, upon receiving the first QoE measurement activation message from the CN 160 or the OAM 170, the network device 140 may select one of source terminal devices based on sidelink assisted information reported by the source terminal devices. In the process 300, it is assumed that the network device 140 selects the second terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, optionally, upon receiving the first QoE measurement activation message from the CN 160 or the OAM 170, the network device 140 may transmit 315, via Uu interface to the second terminal device 120, a request for QoE supporting information about a destination terminal device.

In some embodiments, the request for QoE supporting information may be used for a specific destination terminal device. In such embodiments, the request may comprise an ID of the destination terminal device, such as Destination Layer-2 ID or any other ID identifying the destination terminal device. If the ID of the destination terminal device is not comprised in the request, the second terminal device 120 may report QoE supporting information about any destination terminal devices that the second terminal device 120 connects with.

In some embodiments, optionally, if an ID of the first terminal device 110 is comprised in the request for QoE supporting information, the second terminal device 120 transmits 320 the request for QoE supporting information to the first terminal device 110 over PC5-RRC connection.

If the ID of the first terminal device 110 is not comprised in the request for QoE supporting information, the second terminal device 120 may transmit the request to any of destination terminal devices that the second terminal device 120 connects with.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may transmit the request for QoE supporting information in UECapabilityEnquirySidelink message to the first terminal device 110.

The first terminal device 110 transmits 325, to the second terminal device 120, QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110 over PC5-RRC connection. The QoE supporting information comprises QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the QoE measurement capability of the first terminal device 110 may indicate at least one of the following:

- whether the first terminal device 110 supports QoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device;

- whether the first terminal device 110 supports QoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device for a service type, for example, for streaming service; or

- whether the first terminal device 110 supports RVQoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device; or

- whether the first terminal device 110 supports RVQoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device for a service type, for example, for streaming service.

In some embodiments, the area scope information of the first terminal device 110 may indicate at least one of the following:

- the serving cell ID of the first terminal device 110 and (optional with) the Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) of the first terminal device 110;

- the serving Tracking Area Identifier (TAI) of the first terminal device 110; or

- the serving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) of the first terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit the QoE supporting information in a UECapabilitySidelink message.

Upon receiving the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 forwards 330 the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110 to the network device 140 via Uu interface.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may forward the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110 together with an ID of the first terminal device 110. The ID of the first terminal device 110 may be a Destination Layer-2 ID or any other ID identifying the first terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the network device 140 may obtain the QoE supporting information about the destination terminal device before the action 310. In such embodiments, the actions 315 and 320 are not needed, and the first terminal device 110 may transmit the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110 to the second terminal device 120 and then to the network device 140 directly by performing the actions 325 and 330.

In turn, the network device 140 determines 335, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110, the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement. In order to determine the first terminal device 110 to perform the QoE measurement for sidelink, the network device 140 may determine, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110, whether to select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement.

In some embodiments, when determining whether to select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement, the network device 140 may consider the QoE measurement capability of the first terminal device 110. For example, the network device 140 may determine whether the first terminal device 110 supports QoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device for a service type. For example, if the first terminal device 110 supports QoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device for the service type, the network device 140 may select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement.

In some embodiments, when determining whether to select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement, the network device 140 may also consider the area scope information of the first terminal device 110. For example, if an area scope of the first terminal device 110 is not included in an Area Scope of the QoE measurement, the network device 140 may not select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement. The OAM 170 may provide the Area Scope of the QoE measurement in the first QoE measurement activation message. The Area Scope of the QoE measurement may be a list of cells. If the area scope information (for example, a serving cell) transmitted by the first terminal device 110 at the action 325 is not in the list of cells, the network device 140 may not select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement.

Upon determining the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement, the network device 140 transmits 340, via Uu interface to the second terminal device 120, second configuration information about the QoE measurement.

In some embodiments, the second configuration information may comprise at least one of the following:

- an ID of the first terminal device 110,

- the sidelink QoE measurement indication,

- a second application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement,

- a second ID identifying the second application layer measurement configuration between the network device 140 and the second terminal device 120, or

- a configuration for RAN visible QoE metrics.

In some embodiments, with the ID of the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 may be aware of the selected destination terminal device for the QoE measurement.

In some embodiments, the second application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement may be the same as the first application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement included in the first configuration information about the QoE measurement from the CN 160 or the OAM 170.

In some embodiments, the network device 140 may allocate the second ID identifying the second application layer measurement configuration over Uu interface. For example, the second ID may be an RRC ID of the QoE measurement used for Uu interface. For example, the RRC ID may be measConfigApplayerId.

In some embodiments, the second ID may also be used to identify a first report of the QoE measurement from the second terminal device 120.

Upon receiving the second configuration information from the network device 140, the second terminal device 120 transmits 345, to the first terminal device 110, third configuration information about the QoE measurement over PC5-RRC connection. The third configuration information about the QoE measurement comprises the sidelink QoE measurement indication.

In some embodiments, the third configuration information about the QoE measurement may further comprise at least one of the following:

- a third ID identifying a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device 110 and the second terminal device 120,

- the third application layer measurement configuration,

- a configuration for establishment of a dedicated sidelink Signalling Radio Bearer (SRB) for a second report of the QoE measurement, or

- a configuration for RAN visible QoE metrics.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may determine the third ID identifying the third application layer measurement configuration over sidelink. For example, the third ID may be an RRC ID of the QoE measurement used for sidelink. For example, the RRC ID may be measConfigApplayerId.

In some embodiments, the third ID may also be used to identify a second report of the QoE measurement from the first terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may maintain a mapping between the second ID and the third ID.

In some embodiments, the dedicated sidelink SRB for the second report of the QoE measurement may be a sidelink (SL) SRB4 that is used for QoE measurement report via sidelink and may have lower priority than other SL SRBs.

Upon receiving the third configuration information about the QoE measurement, the first terminal device 110 performs 350 the QoE measurement based on the third configuration information.

In some embodiments, if the QoE measurement for sidelink is per service type, it is possible that the first terminal device 110 has multiple sidelink connections with multiple source terminal devices. In such embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may measure the service with one of the source terminal devices, such as the second terminal device 120. In such embodiments, the network device 140 may provide an ID of the second terminal device 120 in the second configuration information about the QoE measurement. The second terminal device 120 may provide the ID of the second terminal device 120 in the third configuration information about the QoE measurement. In turn, the first terminal device 110 may measure the service with the second terminal device 120.

Alternatively, in embodiments where the first terminal device 110 has multiple sidelink connections with multiple source terminal devices, the first terminal device 110 may measure the same service running with all the source terminal devices related to the service type. In such embodiments, the network device 140 may or may not provide an ID of the second terminal device 120 in the second configuration information about the QoE measurement. The second terminal device 120 may not provide the ID of the second terminal device 120 in the third configuration information about the QoE measurement.

In turn, the first terminal device 110 transmits 355 the second report of the QoE measurement to the second terminal device 120 over PC5-RRC connection.

In some embodiments, the second report of the QoE measurement may comprise one or more Application layer measurement reports and RVQoE measurement results (if configured) . In addition, the first terminal device 110 may also provide the third ID (for example, the RRC ID of the QoE measurement used for sidelink) together with the second report.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit the second report of the QoE measurement through the dedicated sidelink SRB.

Upon receiving the second report of the QoE measurement from the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 may identify the second report by the third ID (for example, the RRC ID of the QoE measurement used for sidelink) .

In turn, the second terminal device 120 transmits 360 a first report of the QoE measurement to the network device 140. The first report comprises the second ID, for example, the RRC ID of the QoE measurement used for Uu interface. With the second ID, the network device 140 may determine that the first report of the QoE measurement is associated with the second application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement transmitted by the network device 140.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may transmit the first report of the QoE measurement through SRB4.

In some embodiments, the network device 140 may allocate a common ID of a QoE measurement, for example, a common RRC ID of the QoE measurement. The common ID of the QoE measurement may be used for both Uu interface and sidelink and it can uniquely identify a QoE measurement in both Uu interface and sidelink. In such embodiments, the third ID may be the same as the second ID.

In such embodiments, the common RRC ID of the QoE measurement may a new IE other than the existing RRC ID. If the common RRC ID of QoE measurement is present, the second terminal device 120 may ignore the existing RRC ID.

Fig. 4 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating an example process 400 for communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 400 may be considered as another example implementation of the method 200. For the purpose of discussion, the process 400 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 400 may involve the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120, the network device 140, the CN 160 and the OAM 170.

Generally, the process 400 is different from the process 300 in that in the process 400, the second terminal device 120 determines the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement for sidelink.

Actions 310, 320, 325, 345, 350 and 355 in the process 400 are the same as those in the process 300. Thus, details of these actions are omitted for brevity.

Actions 415, 430, 435, 440 and 460 are different from actions in the process 300.

Specifically, upon receiving the first QoE measurement activation message from the CN 160 or the OAM 170, the network device 140 transmits 415 a second QoE measurement activation message to the second terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, the second QoE measurement activation message may be similar to the first QoE measurement activation message.

For example, the second QoE measurement activation message may comprise the first configuration information about the QoE measurement. The first configuration information comprises the sidelink QoE measurement indication, the first application layer measurement configuration, an ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration and so on.

In some embodiments, the ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration may be also configured to identify a report of QoE measurement associated with the first application layer measurement configuration. For example, the ID may be a QoE reference. For another example, the ID may be an RRC ID of the QoE measurement for Uu interface allocated by the network device 140.

Similar to the action 335 in the process 300, at 430, the second terminal device 120 determines, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110, the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement. In order to determine the first terminal device 110 to perform the QoE measurement for sidelink, the second terminal device 120 may determine, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110, whether to select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement.

In some embodiments, when determining whether to select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement, the second terminal device 120 may consider the QoE measurement capability of the first terminal device 110. For example, the second terminal device 120 may determine whether the first terminal device 110 supports QoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device for a service type. For example, if the first terminal device 110 supports QoE measurement over sidelink as a destination terminal device for the service type, the second terminal device 120 may select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement.

In some embodiments, when determining whether to select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement, the second terminal device 120 may also consider the area scope information of the first terminal device 110. For example, if an area scope of the first terminal device 110 is not included in an Area Scope of the QoE measurement, the second terminal device 120 may not select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement. The OAM 170 may provide the Area Scope of the QoE measurement in the first QoE measurement activation message. The Area Scope of the QoE measurement may be a list of cells. If the area scope information (for example, a serving cell) transmitted by the first terminal device 110 at the action 325 is not in the list of cells, the second terminal device 120 may not select the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement.

Upon determining the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement, the second terminal device 120 generates 435 the third configuration information about the QoE measurement based on the first configuration information about the QoE measurement. The third configuration information about the QoE measurement comprises the sidelink QoE measurement indication.

- the third ID identifying a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device 110 and the second terminal device 120,

- the third application layer measurement configuration,

- the configuration for establishment of the dedicated sidelink SRB for the second report of the QoE measurement, or

- the configuration for RAN visible QoE metrics.

In some embodiments, the third ID may also be used to identify the second report of the QoE measurement from the first terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may maintain a mapping between the ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration and the third ID.

In turn, upon transmitting 345 the third configuration information about the QoE measurement to the second terminal device 120, the second terminal device 120 transmits 440 a sidelink QoE configuration feedback message to the network device 140.

In some embodiments, the sidelink QoE configuration feedback message may comprise status information indicating whether the third configuration information about the QoE measurement is configured to the first terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the status information may comprise the ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration, such as the QoE reference or RRC ID of the QoE measurement for Uu interface allocated by the network device 140.

In some embodiments, the status information may also comprise an ID of the first terminal device 110.

Upon receiving 355 the second report of the QoE measurement from the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 transmits 460 a first report of the QoE measurement to the network device 140. The first report comprises the ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration. With the ID, the network device 140 may determine that the first report of the QoE measurement is associated with the first application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement transmitted by the network device 140.

In some embodiments, the network device 140 may transmit a QoE pause indication to the second terminal device 120. For example, in case of network congestion, the network device 140 may transmit the QoE pause indication to the second terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, the QoE pause indication may indicate one of the following:

- transmissions of reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface and reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused,

- transmissions of the reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface are to be paused,

- transmissions of the reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused, or

- transmission of a first report of the QoE measurement for sidelink is to be paused.

In some embodiments, upon receiving the QoE pause indication, the second terminal device 120 may pause its related QoE reporting in Uu interface and store at least one of the following based on the QoE pause indication:

- reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface,

- reports of QoE measurements for sidelink, or

- a first report of the QoE measurement for sidelink.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may transmit the QoE pause indication to the first terminal device 110. The QoE pause indication may indicate one of the following:

- transmissions of reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused, or

- transmission of the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink is to be paused.

In some embodiments, upon receiving the QoE pause indication, the first terminal device 110 may store one of the following based on the QoE pause indication: the reports of QoE measurements for sidelink, or the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink.

In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may not transmit the QoE pause indication to the first terminal device 110. In such embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may continue transmitting, to the second terminal device 120, reports of QoE measurements for sidelink or the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink. The second terminal device 120 pauses transmitting, to the network device 140, the reports of QoE measurements for sidelink or the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink. The second terminal device 120 stores the received reports of QoE measurements for sidelink or the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 implemented at a second terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be implemented at a terminal device. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the second terminal device 120 with reference to Fig. 1.

At block 510, the second terminal device 120 receives, from the network device 140, second configuration information about a QoE measurement. The second configuration information comprises an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink.

At block 520, the second terminal device 120 transmits, to the first terminal device 110 for the QoE measurement, third configuration information about the QoE measurement. The third configuration information comprises the indication.

In some embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: determining a third ID identifying a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. The third configuration information about the QoE measurement comprises at least one of the following:

- the third ID,

- the third application layer measurement configuration,

- a configuration for establishment of a dedicated sidelink SRB for a second report of the QoE measurement, or

- a configuration for RAN visible QoE metrics.

In some embodiments, the second configuration information about the QoE measurement further comprises:

- an ID of the first terminal device 110,

- a second application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement,

- a second ID identifying the second application layer measurement configuration between the network device and the second terminal device, or

- the configuration for RAN visible QoE metrics.

In some embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: maintaining a mapping between the second ID and the third ID.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 implemented at a second terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented at a terminal device. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the first terminal device 110 with reference to Fig. 1.

At block 610, the first terminal device 110 transmits, to the second terminal device 120 performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device 110, QoE supporting information about the first terminal device 110. The QoE supporting information comprises QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device 110.

At block 620, the first terminal device 110 receives, from the second terminal device 120, third configuration information about a QoE measurement. The third configuration information comprises an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink.

At block 630, the first terminal device 110 performs the QoE measurement based on the third configuration information.

At block 640, the first terminal device 110 transmits, to the second terminal device 120, a second report of the QoE measurement.

In some embodiments, transmitting the second report of the QoE measurement comprises: transmitting the second report of the QoE measurement through a dedicated sidelink SRB.

In some embodiments, the method 600 further comprises receiving a QoE pause indication from the first terminal device 110. The QoE pause indication indicates one of the following: transmissions of reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused, or transmission of the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink is to be paused. The method 600 further comprises storing one of the following based on the QoE pause indication: the reports of QoE measurements for sidelink, or the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink.

Fig. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 700 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 700 can be considered as a further example implementation of the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 or the network device 140 as shown in Fig. 1. Accordingly, the apparatus 700 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 or the network device 140.

As shown, the apparatus 700 includes a processor 710, a memory 720 coupled to the processor 710, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 740 coupled to the processor 710, and a communication interface coupled to the TX/RX 740. The memory 710 stores at least a part of a program 730. The TX/RX 740 is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this disclosure may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2 interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs, S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Serving Gateway (S-GW) and the eNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB and a terminal device.

The program 730 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 710, enable the apparatus 700 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 710 of the apparatus 700, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 710 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 710 and memory 720 may form processing means 750 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 720 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 720 is shown in the apparatus 700, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the apparatus 700. The processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The apparatus 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

In summary, embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following solutions.

Clause 1. A communication device, comprising: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: obtain first configuration information about a QoE measurement, the first configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; obtain QoE supporting information about a first terminal device, the QoE supporting information comprising QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device; and determine, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information, the first terminal device for the QoE measurement.

Clause 2. The communication device of clause 1, wherein the indication comprises a dedicated indicator indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink.

Clause 3. The communication device of clause 1, wherein the indication comprises a service type indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink.

Clause 4. The communication device of clause 1, wherein the communication device comprises a network device.

Clause 5. The communication device of clause 4, wherein the processor is configured to obtain the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device by: receiving the QoE supporting information from a second terminal device, the second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device.

Clause 6. The communication device of clause 4, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit, to a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device, second configuration information about the QoE measurement, the second configuration information comprising at least one of the following:

· an identifier (ID) of the first terminal device,

· the indication,

· a second application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement,

· a second ID identifying the second application layer measurement configuration between the network device and the second terminal device, or

· a configuration for Radio Access Network (RAN) visible QoE metrics.

Clause 7. The communication device of clause 6, wherein the second ID is further configured to identify a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

Clause 8. The communication device of clause 6, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a first report of the QoE measurement from a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device, the first report comprising the second ID.

Clause 9. The communication device of clause 1, wherein the communication device comprises a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device.

Clause 10. The communication device of clause 9, wherein the processor is configured to obtain the first configuration information about the QoE measurement by:

receiving the first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information comprising a first application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement.

Clause 11. The communication device of clause 10, wherein the first configuration information further comprises an identifier (ID) identifying the first application layer measurement configuration.

Clause 12. The communication device of clause 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine a third identifier (ID) identifying a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and transmit, to the first terminal device, third configuration information about the QoE measurement which comprises at least one of the following:

· the third ID,

· the third application layer measurement configuration,

· a configuration for establishment of a dedicated sidelink Signalling Radio Bearer (SRB) for a second report of the QoE measurement, or

· a configuration for Radio Access Network (RAN) visible QoE metrics.

Clause 13. The communication device of clause 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit, to the network device, status information indicating whether the third configuration information about the QoE measurement is configured to the first terminal device.

Clause 14. The communication device of clause 13, wherein the status information comprises an ID of the first terminal device.

Clause 15. The communication device of clause 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: maintain a mapping between the ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration and the third ID.

Clause 16. The communication device of clause 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive the second report of the QoE measurement from the first terminal device through the dedicated sidelink SRB, the second report comprising the third ID.

Clause 17. The communication device of clause 16, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit a first report of the QoE measurement to the network device, the first report comprises the ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration.

Clause 18. The communication device of clause 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a QoE pause indication from a network device, the QoE pause indication indicating one of the following:

· transmissions of reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface and reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused,

· transmissions of the reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface are to be paused,

· transmissions of the reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused, or

· transmission of a first report of the QoE measurement for sidelink is to be paused.

Clause 19. The communication device of clause 18, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit the QoE pause indication to the first terminal device.

Clause 20. The communication device of clause 18, wherein the processor is further configured to: based on reception of the QoE pause indication, store at least one of the following:

· reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface,

· reports of QoE measurements for sidelink, or

· a first report of the QoE measurement for sidelink.

Clause 21. A second terminal device, comprising: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: receive, from a network device, second configuration information about a QoE measurement, the second configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; and transmit, to a first terminal device for the QoE measurement, third configuration information about the QoE measurement, the third configuration information comprising the indication.

Clause 22. The second device of clause 21, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine a third identifier (ID) identifying a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and the third configuration information about the QoE measurement comprises at least one of the following:

· the third ID,

· the third application layer measurement configuration,

· a configuration for Radio Access Network (RAN) visible QoE metrics.

Clause 23. The second device of clause 22, wherein the second configuration information about the QoE measurement further comprises:

· an identifier (ID) of the first terminal device,

· the configuration for RAN visible QoE metrics.

Clause 24. The communication device of clause 23, wherein the processor is further configured to: maintain a mapping between the second ID and the third ID.

Clause 25. A first terminal device, comprising: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: transmit, to a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device, QoE supporting information about the first terminal device, the QoE supporting information comprising QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device; receive, from the second terminal device, third configuration information about a QoE measurement, the third configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; perform the QoE measurement based on the third configuration information; and transmit, to the second terminal device, a second report of the QoE measurement.

Clause 26. The first terminal device of clause 25, wherein the processor is configured to transmit, to the second terminal device, the second report of the QoE measurement by: transmitting the second report of the QoE measurement through a dedicated sidelink Signalling Radio Bearer (SRB) .

Clause 27. The first terminal device of clause 25, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a QoE pause indication from the first terminal device, the QoE pause indication indicating one of the following:

· transmissions of reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused, or

· transmission of the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink is to be paused; and

· store one of the following based on the QoE pause indication:

· the reports of QoE measurements for sidelink, or

· the second report of the QoE measurement for sidelink.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims

A communication device, comprising:

a processor; and

a transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to:

obtain, via the transceiver, first configuration information about a Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement, the first configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink;

obtain, via the transceiver, QoE supporting information about a first terminal device, the QoE supporting information comprising QoE measurement capability and area scope information of the first terminal device; and

determine, based on the first configuration information and the QoE supporting information, the first terminal device for the QoE measurement.
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises a network device.
The communication device of claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to obtain the QoE supporting information about the first terminal device by:

receiving the QoE supporting information via the transceiver from a second terminal device, the second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device.
The communication device of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to:

transmit, via the transceiver to a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device, second configuration information about the QoE measurement, the second configuration information comprising at least one of the following:

an identifier (ID) of the first terminal device,

the indication,

a second application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement,

a second ID identifying the second application layer measurement configuration between the network device and the second terminal device, or

a configuration for Radio Access Network (RAN) visible QoE metrics.
The communication device of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a first report of the QoE measurement via the transceiver from a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device, the first report comprising the second ID.
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises a second terminal device performing sidelink transmission to the first terminal device.
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the first configuration information further comprises an identifier (ID) identifying a first application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement.
The communication device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a third identifier (ID) identifying a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and

transmit, via the transceiver to the first terminal device, third configuration information about the QoE measurement which comprises at least one of the following:

the third ID,

the third application layer measurement configuration,

a configuration for establishment of a dedicated sidelink Signalling Radio Bearer (SRB) for a second report of the QoE measurement, or

a configuration for Radio Access Network (RAN) visible QoE metrics.
The communication device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to:

transmit, via the transceiver to the network device, status information indicating whether the third configuration information about the QoE measurement is configured to the first terminal device.
The communication device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to:

maintain a mapping between the ID identifying the first application layer measurement configuration and the third ID.
The communication device of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a QoE pause indication via the transceiver from a network device, the QoE pause indication indicating one of the following:

transmissions of reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface and reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused,

transmissions of the reports of QoE measurements for Uu interface are to be paused,

transmissions of the reports of QoE measurements for sidelink are to be paused, or

transmission of a first report of the QoE measurement for sidelink is to be paused.
A second terminal device, comprising:

a processor; and

a transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to:

receive, via the transceiver from a network device, second configuration information about a Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement, the second configuration information comprising an indication indicating the QoE measurement is for sidelink; and

transmit, via the transceiver to a first terminal device for the QoE measurement, third configuration information about the QoE measurement, the third configuration information comprising the indication.
The second device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a third identifier (ID) identifying a third application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; and

the third configuration information about the QoE measurement comprises at least one of the following:

the third ID,

the third application layer measurement configuration,

a configuration for establishment of a dedicated sidelink Signalling Radio Bearer (SRB) for a second report of the QoE measurement, or

a configuration for Radio Access Network (RAN) visible QoE metrics.
The second device of claim 13, wherein the second configuration information about the QoE measurement further comprises:

an identifier (ID) of the first terminal device,

a second application layer measurement configuration for the QoE measurement,

a second ID identifying the second application layer measurement configuration between the network device and the second terminal device, or

the configuration for RAN visible QoE metrics.
The communication device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:

maintain a mapping between the second ID and the third ID.