WO2025212009A1 - Cwt, network node for cwt scheduling and methods therein - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of present disclosure relate to CWT scheduling by a network node. A network node determines activation/deactivation pattern for carrier wave transmission for at least one CWTs, to save overall energy consumption of the network. Interference measurement of CWTs may be considered when determining the scheduling pattern.

Description

CWT, NETWORK NODE FOR CWT SCHEDULING AND METHODS THEREIN

[0001] The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/574757, filed 2024-04-04, entitled “CWT SCHEDULING FOR AMBIENT IOT”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to a network node for CWT scheduling.

BACKGROUND

Zero-Energy loT & Ambient loT

[0003] In the sixth generation telecommunication landscape, there's a strong focus on Internet of Things (loT) growth considering energy -efficient devices. Therefore, the 3GPP standards highlight a shift towards energy harvesting and battery-less devices called zeroenergy or ambient loT. These new loT devices target low-end use cases with ultra-low complexity, ultra-low power consumption, and a compact form factor. The goal is to provide efficient and sustainable connectivity, particularly in sectors like healthcare and agriculture.

[0004] Wireless loT devices are often battery powered and both the need to change battery and the battery lifetime may be concerns for many potential applications such as asset tracking or environmental/industrial sensors. For this reason, the wireless communications industry has been interested in so-called zero-energy (ZE) devices. ZE devices refer to wireless loT devices that do not require battery replacement, and often harvest energy from the environment. In some use cases, such as monitoring the temperature of foodstuffs, the ZE devices may have small batteries that are disposable (e.g., organic, compostable batteries), rechargeable or have very limited capacity.

[0005] These ZE-IoT devices can in addition be of very small form factor and could even be printable and they target ultra-low power consumption to enable operation based on either energy -harvesting from an ambient sources or back-scattering communication (cf. Radio Frequency Identification, RFID). That is, instead of relying on energy for communication being provided by a battery it is instead harvested from an ambient source, such as vibrations, solar power, RF, etc. (harvesting), or a charge carrier wave is provided to the device which is modulated and reflected back to a reader (in the back-scattering communication case). This enables energy autonomous operation during the lifetime of the devices without need for either manual replacement or charging of the batteries. Compared to existing radio access technologies, this puts new requirements on the radio interface and the protocols.

[0006] Recently work on this has been performed in 3GPP, referred to as Ambient-IoT (A-IoT). Ambient loT devices are characterized in the study according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating RF signals for their transmissions. The study item description (SID) RP-234058, Study on solutions for Ambient loT (Internet of Things) in NR, HS as Moderator, a considers the following set of Ambient loT devices:

• ~1 pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, neither DL nor UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

• < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, DL and/or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission may be generated internally by the device, or be backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

[0007] An Ambient loT (A-IoT) device can rely on backscattering or the device internal components may be able to generate the transmission without back-scattering.

[0008] The device categories defined above can be further refined as follows:

• Device 1: ~1 pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, neither DL nor UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

• Device 2a: < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, DL and/or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

• Device 2b: < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, DL and/or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is generated internally by the device.

[0009] The following terminology is used for radio links and physical channels:

• R2D = reader-to-device link (“downlink”)

• D2R = device-to-reader link (“uplink”) • PRDCH = physical reader-to-device channel

• PDRCH = physical device-to-reader channel

B ackscatering communication

[0010] In backscatering communication, passive devices can communicate by modulating and reflecting an incoming carrier wave. That is, a carrier wave transmited by a carrier wave transmiter (CWT) is modulated and reflected by the passive device (‘Tag’ in Figure 1), and the modulated signal is then read by a reader. In this way the CWT provides the energy to the passive device to enable it to send uplink data to the reader.

[0011] These devices can also acquire the necessary energy for receiving data by harvesting energy from the signal transmited by CWT. The signal transmited from the CWT for backscatering and harvesting can be separately designed to be suitable for each of the mentioned purposes. Figure 1 shows an illustration of backscatering communication (bistatic setup). The most well-known example of backscatering communication today is RFID. The 3- node setup illustrated in Figure 1 is referred to as the ‘bistatic’ backscatering communication, whereas the 2-node case where a CWT and a reader are located in the same node is referred to as ‘monostatic’ backscatering communication.

[0012] The SID considers two different connectivity topologies: Topology 1 where a base station (BS) communicates directly with the device, and Topology 2 where a base station communicates with the device via an intermediate New Radio (NR) user equipment (UE). The CWT may be inside or outside of the connectivity topology, i.e., the CWT may coincide with one of the nodes in the connectivity topology or be a separate node outside the connectivity topology.

[0013] There currently exist certain challenges. From network power consumption perspective, continued transmission by a CWT can lead to unnecessary energy consumptions. Moreover, having all the CWTs in the deployment transmiting continuously and simultaneously, the overall interference in the network increases.

SUMMARY

[0014] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. The present disclosure includes embodiments for coordinating between the reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission. Certain embodiments include ON and OFF modes for CWTs and NW control scheduling of the CWTs for transmitting a specific signal in a specific time intervals. Certain embodiments can enable energy efficient transmission of the CWTs in the deployment and thus to improve the overall network energy consumption. Embodiments also can reduce possible interference.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a network node serving a first cell is provided. The method includes determining at least one CWTs on activation/deactivation pattern for carrier wave transmission, the at least one CWTs being associated with the first cell, among which a first CWT operates at frequency fl. The method further includes transmitting signaling to the at least one CWTs about the activation/deactivation pattern determination.

[0016] In some embodiments of this aspect, the method further includes measuring CWT interference. A further embodiment includes deciding another operating frequency when determining the activation/deactivation pattern for the CWTs.

[0017] In some embodiments of this aspect, the network node is acting as a CWT, and the transmitting signaling to the first CWT associated with the first cell is a message internally transmitted within the network node, and the network node performs CW transmission when itself is activated for CW transmission.

[0018] In some embodiments of this aspect, the network node acts as a reader of UL signal from a A-IoT device which is triggered by receiving CW transmission from an activated CWT. [0019] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a CWT associated with a first cell served by a network node is provided. The method includes receiving signaling from the network node about activation/deactivation pattern for the CWT; and when it is activated, performing carrier wave transmission according to the activation/deactivation pattern.

[0020] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a network node serving a second cell is provided. The method includes receiving signaling from a neighboring network node about activation/deactivation pattern for the one or more CWTs associated with the second cell for carrier wave transmission; and transmitting signaling to the one or more CWTs about the activation/deactivation pattern.

[0021] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node including processing circuitry and power supply circuitry is provided. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the methods embodiments performed by a CWT described in this present disclosure.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a carrier wave transmiter including processing circuitry and power supply circuitry is provided. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the methods embodiments performed by a network node described in this present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: [0024] Figure 1 is an illustration of backscattering communication according to background of this disclosure.

[0025] Figure 2 shows a scenario where uplink transmissions coexist at a victim base station when CWT is outside the connectivity topology.

[0026] Figure 3 shows a scenario where downlink transmissions coexist at a victim A-IoT device when CWT is outside the connectivity topology.

[0027] Figure 4 illustrates an example of scheduling groups of CWTs for transmitting RF EH CW and BKS CW according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0028] Figure 5 illustrates an example of activate/deactivate multiple CWTs in a time order according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0029] Figure 6 shows methods for a network node controlling CWTs’ scheduling by determining their activation/deactivation pattern according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0030] Figure 7 shows a method for a CWT controlled by its associated network node according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0031] Figure 8 shows a method for a network node coordinating with a neighboring node for scheduling associated CWTs according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0032] Figure 9 shows an illustrative structure of a network node according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] 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.

[0034] In a scenario where an A-IoT device camped in different cells coexisting at the same time, there will be different interference sources generated within system for the uplink when a BS is receiving and also in DL when the A-IoT device is receiving. Reference is made to Figures 2 to 4. Figure 2 shows UL coexisting overview for CWT outside the topology. Figure 3 shows DL coexisting overview for CWT outside the topology. Figure 4 shows CW signal power spectrum in frequency domain.

[0035] In a specific scenario where an additional CWT node is deployed within the network to provide an external carrier wave (CW) signal to the A-IoT device to backscatter the modulated uplink signal, there will be different interference sources for uplink receiving at either Base station or a UE as intermediate node and downlink receiving at the A-IoT device. This is illustrated in Figure 2 for uplink receiving and Figure 3 for downlink receiving respectively.

[0036] In Figure 2, for example, when the BS receiving the A-IoT uplink signal at frequency fl, both the CWT node transmitting at frequency fl and another CWT node transmitting at frequency f2 locate far away however interfering to this victim BS. The noise/leakage into the UL modulated signal at a certain frequency offset to the CW signal from the CWT node transmitting at fl can be overlapped with the UL modulated signal and therefore contributes directly to the co-channel interference to the wanted A-IoT signal at the victim base station. Another interference source is the leakage power from another CW signal in adjacent channel transmitted by another CWT node in a neighbor cell. The third interferer source is an A-IoT device in the neighbor cell.

[0037] Similarly, in DL coexisting scenario, the CW signals from CWT nodes transmitting at both f2 and f3 which is different from both f2 and fl can potentially interfere with the A-IoT device receiving at fl as the A-IoT device has only RF ED (envelop detector) which is a nonlinear receiving device. When the fl and f2 has equal spacing to that of f2 and 13, there is 3^rd intermodulated product (IM3) which can be generated in the receiving A-IoT device and overlapping with the DL received signal. Overall, for both uplink receiving and downlink receiving, the interference mitigation is important to decode the uplink signal and downlink signal in the presence of the CW interferers.

[0038] Table 1 shows aggressor, parameter, and notes of UL interference from aggressors to BS receiving at frequency fl, in accordance with Figure 2.

Embodiments relating to the measurement of interference strength from CWT node

[0040] A cell can be enabled when associated CWT node is transmitting CW signals. When the cell is configured with frequency fl, the associated CWT node should be also transmitting at fl so the channel with frequency fl can be configured for this cell.

[0041] To measure CWT interference level at a victim cell, CWT node(s) associated with a neighboring cell operating at f2 as the aggressor cell could be turned on and therefore, the interference level I_adjcent_cwr is measured at the victim cell. Then, a CWT node associated with the victim cell is turned on and a BS serving this cell can measure the local interference level I_iocai_cwT. These two measurement results will be compared with interference threshold levels tolerated by the victim cell, one threshold for A-IoT DL receiving and the other for BS receiving in UL.

[0042] In a case the I_adjcent_cwr is greater than either of the thresholds, a different frequency f3 could be assigned to the adjacent cell, i.e., the neighboring aggressor cell, so that the CWT interference could be lowered because the leakage from the adjacent cell should be lower when frequency distance between two cell frequencies becomes larger.

[0043] In another case, total interference level I_adjcent_cwr plus I_iocai_cwr may exceed one of the above two thresholds, the different frequency f3 can be assigned to the neighboring cell or the victim cell by selecting a different frequency/channel than the frequency/channel currently used for the aggressor Cell or the victim cell. For example, the frequency/channel to be used for each cell is predefined with N frequency/channel for different set, so that each of the cells can randomly select one frequency/channel if it found the interference from aggressor is higher than predefined interference tolerated threshold.

Embodiment group 1: Coordinating transmission of RF energy harvesting (EH) signal and backscattering (BKS) signal

[0044] Passive A-IoT devices receives the signals transmitted by CWT for two main purposes:

• RF signal energy harvesting (RF EH CW transmission)

• Use of the signal for backscattering (BKS CW transmission)

[0045] Since the signals designed for RF energy harvesting and backscattering might be different, the BS/reader (both in the case when the associated CWTs are inside the topology and in the case when the associated CWTs are outside of the topology) can activate (ON), deactivate (OFF), and schedule the CWTs for transmitting signal suitable either for RF energy harvesting or backscattering.

[0046] In one embodiment, the CWT can be configured (by the associated BS or designed by deployment) to transmit either only RF EH CW or only BKS CW, or both. For example, just RF EH CW is required to power the receiver of device category 1 for downlink reception, just BKS CW is required for uplink transmission from backscattering devices (category 1 and 2a), but both RF EH CW and BKS CW in combination may be needed for an uplink transmission for which control information is required (e.g., scheduling information).

[0047] In a related embodiment, a BS associated to several CWTs can activate a group of CWTs for transmitting RF-EH CW and other group for transmitting BKS CW. This activation can be either in a periodic way or based on any time-based pattern. The CWT group size and the number of the groups (N and n, respectively) can be based on:

• Predefined by the deployment

• DL and UL traffic

• CWTs deployment and physical distance of CWTs

• CWT/Cell ID

[0048] Figure 4 shows the grouping for n=N=l. [0049] This solution can also control the UL transmission load (considering the high density of the A-IoT devices it can be also an important issue), since only the A-IoT devices in coverage of the CWT that transmits BKS will transmit in UL.

[0050] Figure 4 also shows an example of CWT scheduling for transmitting RF EH CW and BKS CW signals.

[0051] The controlling BS can also configure the CWTs to transmit RF EH CW or BKS CW in different bands (e.g., UL and DL).

[0052] In another embodiment the BSs can coordinate among themselves for activation and deactivation of the CWTs.

Embodiment group 2: scheduling the RF EH CW transmission

[0053] For the A-IoT device category 1 to obtain the energy required for receiving data from the reader, it relies on harvested energy from the RF signal transmitted by CWT (or separate RF source). However, the device can receive this energy and performing the harvesting slightly before receiving the DL data. This will be even necessary for the cases with larger self-discharging rate capacitors. Therefore, the controlling BS can schedule/activate the associated RF EH CWT(s) to start transmitting only a few time slots (or in general any time unit) before the DL transmission, e.g., starting from time t and ending at time t₂, t₂ being the start of the downlink transmission and reception time for the device. In other words, the BS makes the CWT(s) being in ON mode from time t to time t₂.

[0054] In a related embodiment, the time points and t₂ can be determined based on the following parameters:

• Distance between CWT and X% of the A-IoT devices: predefined by deployment

• The size of the DL packet or rather the expected device reception time (may not need to fully charge the capacitors)

• The A-IoT devices’ capacitor characteristics: including the capacity, the charging rate, or the smallest energy storage size required to be supported by devices

• The A-IoT devices’ energy harvesting efficiency

The time that the service is needed (e.g., the inventory can be done every a few hours) . [0055] For example, in case the CWT is located far from most of the A-IoT devices, distance between t₂ and t_x could be set larger.

[0056] In another related embodiment, for periodic DL transmission, the BS can configure the ON/OFF periods for the associated RF EH CWTs, which is like having duty cycle for the RF EH CWTs. The ON/OFF duration can be determined based on the following parameters:

• Distance between CWT and X% of the A-IoT devices: predefined by deployment

• The size of the DL packet or rather the expected device reception time (may not need to fully charge the capacitors)

• The A-IoT devices’ capacitor characteristics: including the capacity, the charging rate, or the smallest energy storage size required to be supported by devices

• The A-IoT devices’ energy harvesting efficiency

• The time that the service is needed (e.g., the inventory can be done every a few hours).

[0057] In a related embodiment, each of the CWTs can receive a binary sequence, in which each of the bits shows if the corresponding CWT should be ON or OFF. (e.g., 1 shows ON and 0 shows OFF).

[0058] In another embodiment, the RF EH CWTs can be preconfigured for having the periodic transmission (without BS control/configurations). Then, the BS/reader can transmit the DL transmission a few slots/frames (any time metric) after the RF EH CW transmissions. For CWT outside of the topology, the ON/OFF cycle of the RF EH CWTs can be estimated by BS/reader.

[0059] In another embodiment, the RF EH CW transmission is adapted depending on whether A-IoT devices are in actual need of the RF EH CW transmission. In some cases, devices may be able to be adequately served by some other energy source that they can harvest for energy, for example some other RF signal or light. In these cases, it may be beneficial (in terms of required power consumption and/or generated interference) to lower the power of the RF EH CW transmission or switch it off. If it later on turns out that the mentioned other energy source is no longer sufficient, the RF EH CW transmission can be adapted again by switching it on or increasing its power. The controlling BS/reader can base these decisions either on assistance information signaled from the A-IoT devices (e.g., as a LI control field or as a MAC control element) to the BS/reader or on trial-and-error-based approaches where the BS/reader adapts the RF EH CW transmission and detects whether this affects the success rate in its attempts to communicate with the A-IoT devices.

Embodiment group 3: scheduling the BKS CW transmission

[0060] Some A-IoT devices rely on CWT backscattering for transmitting in PDRCH. Therefore, considering high density of the devices, for controlling the transmission in PDRCH (i.e., UL traffic), the BS/reader can consider scheduling for activating and deactivating the associated CWTs for BKS CW transmission.

[0061] In a related embodiment, the NW can divide the associated CWTs into several groups. The NW can schedule/activate the CWTs in a group manner for transmitting BKS CW signals. The CWTs group size and the number of the groups can be selected based on:

• The CWTs deployment and physical distance between CWTs

• CWT/Cell ID

• The CWT’s association with each of the cells

[0062] In another embodiment, the muting pattern of the CWT nodes/group of the CWT nodes can be configured. For one example, group 1 CWT nodes is muted when group 2 CWT node is turned on.

[0063] In a related embodiment, each of the CWTs can receive a binary sequence, in which each of the bits shows if the CWT should be ON or OFF (e.g., 1 shows ON and 0 shows OFF). [0064] In another related embodiment, different frequency shifts for backscattering can be considered for different groups.

[0065] In another embodiment, the BS/NW, by knowing the location of the active CWTs and their coverage area, can simply increase the cell granularity which enable positioning with higher accuracy than cell-ID based positioning.

Embodiment group 4: NW coordination between CWTs

[0066] By coordination between the BSs associated to neighboring CWTs, the neighboring CWTs can be scheduled in a way that when one is in ON mode the other one is not transmitting (e.g., is in OFF mode).

[0067] In one related embodiment, for the case (D1T1-A1, referred as Deployment scenario 1 with connectivity Topology in 3GPP TR38.769 V0.1.1), where the CWTs are in topology, the BS that acting as CWT can be in ON mode, but a CWT belonging to another BS that receives UL signaling can be OFF. This can reduce the interference in the receiver side caused by CW. In one alternative, the BS which receives the backscattered UL transmission would be in control and signal to another BS acting as CWT when to transmit the CW over Xn interface (i.e. , a new CWT control message over Xn introduced).

[0068] A BS associated to several CWTs can coordinate among the CWTs to transmit in an order.

[0069] Figure 5 shows an illustration of CWT scheduling. Those 4 CWTs can belong to one or more BS. If they belong to one BS, the BS can schedule those CWTs in a time order. If they belong to 2 BSs, respectively, the 2 BSs can coordinate to schedule those CWTs in a time order. The ON/OFF period and/or durations of the CWTs can be determined based on the following parameters:

• The CWTs and A-IoT devices’ distributions;

• The size of the DL packet to be transmitted.

Embodiment group 5: Connecting CWT and RF harvesting operation to scheduling

[0070] In one embodiment the triggering of CWT transmission and RF harvesting transmission by network nodes is connected to the scheduling of downlink and uplink transmissions is the following manner.

[0071] Downlink transmissions are always preceded by a RF energy harvesting transmission, such that the BS sends a RF harvesting command to the RF harvesting node a time period (t2-ti) prior to the downlink transmission occasion, and BS sends the downlink transmission to the A-IoT device at time point t2, where (t2-ti) is determined as described above, e.g., the device’s expected harvesting time for the procedure.

[0072] Uplink transmissions are always preceded by a RF energy harvesting transmission, such that the BS sends a RF harvesting command to the RF harvesting node at least a time period (t2-ti) prior to the downlink transmission occasion of control information associated to the uplink transmission. And then, the BS sends the control information to the A-IoT device at time point t2, where (t2-ti) is determined as described above, e.g., the device’s expected harvesting time for the procedure. The BS sends a CWT command to the CWT to trigger a CW transmission at time point t2, at which time point the BS switches on the receiver to receive the backscattered transmission from the device.

Embodiment 6: Frequency hopping pattern [0073] The CW signal transmited by the CWT can be single-tone or multi-tone. In order to combat fading and to randomize interference, frequency hopping can be carried out for the CWT tones.

[0074] In one embodiment, the hopping patern of the CWT tones is a function of one or more of:

• CWT ID

• CWT group ID (as described in Section 2.7.3)

• Cell ID

• Hopping offset

[0075] The above information can be communicated by a BS to the associated CWT via the interface between them.

[0076] An Ambient 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 wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot..

[0077] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE in the forms of an A-IoT device 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 device 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 device may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a device 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.

[0078] From the embodiments described a method by a network node is provided. The network node serves at least a first cell. The method includes determining at least one CWTs on activation/deactivation pattern for carrier wave transmission. The at least one CWTs is associated with the first cell, among which a first CWT operates at frequency fl. The method further includes transmitting signaling to the at least one CWTs about the activation/deactivation pattern determination.

[0079] Further, the network node can obtain measured interference from neighboring CWTs. Furtherly, the network can determine another operating frequency f2 for the first CWT when determining the activation/deactivation pattern.

[0080] When the network is acting as the first CWT, which means that CWT is within the connectivity topology, the signaling transmitted to the first CWT can be an internal message within the network node. And the network performs CW transmission when it is activated according to the determined pattern.

[0081] When the network node is a receiver of an UL message from a A-IoT device which receives the CW to be transmitted, the network node may coordinate with another neighboring network node with which the first CWT is associated. Alternatively, the network in meanwhile is associated with the first CWT.

[0082] There could be other factors for the network node to determine the activation/deactivation pattern, such as uplink and downlink traffic, CWT deployment and physical distance.

[0083] A method by a CWT being out of the topology is also provided. In this case, the CWT receives activation/deactivation pattern for carrier wave transmission, so that unnecessary wakeup would be avoided for the overall energy saving. Further, if interference measurement is also considered for activation/deactivation pattern determination, interference would also be mitigated by switching on/off only necessary CWTs.

[0084] As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU). [0085] 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, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) 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).

[0086] In a case of a CWT being inside of the connectivity topology, the CWT is located in a network node, so that the network node can acting as CW transmission performer with necessary antennas. In meanwhile, it is also capable of processing interference measurement, calculating of activation/deactivation pattern, depending on e.g., neighboring CWTs’ deployment, it’s own DL and UL traffic needs.

[0087] Figure 9 shows a network node QQ300 in accordance with some embodiments. The network node QQ300 includes a processing circuitry QQ302, a memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306, and a power source QQ308. The network node QQ300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., aNodeB component and aRNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components.

[0088] The processing circuitry QQ302 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 QQ300 components, such as the memory QQ304, to provide network node QQ300 functionality.

[0089] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ314 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 QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0090] The memory QQ304 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, 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 QQ302. The memory QQ304 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 QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300. The memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ302 and/or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 and memory QQ304 is integrated.

[0091] The communication interface QQ306 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 QQ306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) QQ316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes radio front-end circuitry QQ318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna QQ310. Radio front-end circuitry QQ318 comprises filters QQ320 and amplifiers QQ322. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may be connected to an antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 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 QQ318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ320 and/or amplifiers QQ322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. [0092] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) 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.

[0093] 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. EMBODIMENTS

Group A Embodiments

1. A method performed by a user equipment or A-IoT device or CWT for assisting in coordination between the reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising:

Receiving signals transmitted by CWT for one or more of: RF signal energy harvesting (RF EH CW transmission); Use of the signal for backscattering (BKS CW transmission).

2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein one or more of the signals are for at least one of: activate (ON), deactivate (OFF), and schedule the CWT for transmitting signal suitable either for RF energy harvesting or backscattering.

3. The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the CWT can be configured (by BS or designed by deployment) to transmit either only RF EH CW or only BKS CW, or both. For example, just RF EH CW is required to power the receiver of device type 1 for downlink reception, just BKS CW is required for uplink transmission from backscattering devices (type 1 and 2a), but both RF EH CW and BKS CW in combination may be needed for an uplink transmission for which control information is required (e.g., scheduling information).

4. A method performed by a user equipment or A-IoT device or CWT for assisting in coordination between the reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising:

Being scheduled or activated by a network node/BS so the RF EH CWTs start transmitting only a few time slots (or in general any time unit) before the DL transmission starting from time t and ending at time t₂. (Being in ON mode from time to time t₂).

5. The method of embodiment 4, wherein the times U and t₂, can be selected based on the following parameters:

• Distance between CWT and X% of the A-IoT devices: predefined by deployment • The size of the DL packet or rather the expected device reception time (may not need to fully charge the capacitors)

• The device’s capacitor characteristics: including the capacity, the charging rate, ... , or the smallest energy storage size required to be supported by devices.

• The device’s energy harvesting efficiency.

• The time that the service is needed (e.g., the inventory can be done every a few hours)

• t₂ being the start of the downlink transmission and reception time for the device.

6. The method of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein for the periodic DL transmission, the BS can configure the ON/OFF periods for RF EH CWTs, which is like having duty cycle for RF EH CWTs. The ON/OFF duration can be selected based on the following parameters:

• Distance between CWT and X% of the A-IoT devices: predefined by deployment

• The size of the DL packet or rather the expected device reception time (may not need to fully charge the capacitors)

• The device’s capacitor characteristics: including the capacity, the charging rate, ... , or the smallest energy storage size required to be supported by devices.

• The device’s energy harvesting efficiency.

• The time that the service is needed (e.g., the inventory can be done every a few hours) t₂ being the start of the downlink transmission and reception time for the device.

7. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 6, wherein each of the CWTs can receive a binary sequence, in which each of the bits shows if the CWT should be ON or OFF. (e.g., 1 shows ON and 0 shows OFF).

8. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 7, wherein the RF EH CWT can be preconfigured for having the periodic transmission (without BS control/configurations). Then, the BS/reader can transmit the DL transmission a few slots/frames (any time metric) after the RF EH CW transmissions. For CWT outside of the topology, the ON/OFF cycle of the RF EH CWTs can be estimated by BS/reader. 9. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 8, wherein the RF EH CW transmission is adapted depending on whether devices are in actual need of the RF EH CW transmission. In some cases, devices may be able to be adequately served by some other energy source that they can harvest for energy, for example some other RF signal or light. In these cases, it may be beneficial (in terms of required power consumption and/or generated interference) to lower the power of the RF EH CW transmission or switch it off. If it later on turns out that the mentioned other energy source is no longer sufficient, the RF EH CW transmission can be adapted again by switching it on or increasing its power. The controlling BS/reader can base these decisions either on assistance information signaled from the devices (e.g., as a LI control field or as a MAC control element) to the BS/reader or on trial-and-error-based approaches (where the BS/reader adapts the RF EH CW transmission and detects whether this affects the success rate in its attempts to communicate with the devices).

Group B Embodiments

10. A method performed by a network node for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising: enabling a first cell when associated CWT node is transmitting a CW signal, wherein when the cell is configured with frequency fl, the associated CWT node should be also transmitting fl so the channel fl can be configured for this cell; turning on CWT nodes associated with a neighboring cell (operated at f2 at the aggressor cell) to measure the CWT interference level for the victim cell.

11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the interference level I_adjcent_cwr is measured at the victim cell, then the CWT node associated with this victim cell is turned on and the BS in this cell can measure the interference level I_iocai_cwr these two measurement will be compared with the interference threshold level tolerated by the cell, one threshold for A-IoT DL receiving and another one for BS receiving in UL.

12. The method of embodiment 10 or 11, wherein in a case the I_adjcent_cwr is greater than either of the thresholds, a different frequency f3 could be assigned to the adjacent cell, so that the CW interference could be lowered because the leakage from adjacent cell should be lower when frequency distance between two cell frequency becomes larger. 13. The method of embodiment 10, 11, or 12, wherein the total interference power I_adjcent_cwT plus I_adjcent_cwT may exceed the one of the above two threshold, the different frequency f3 can be assigned to the neighbor cell or the victim cell select a different frequency/channel than the frequency/channel used for aggressor Cell. For example, the frequency /channel to be used for each cell is predefined withN frequency/channel for different set, the cell can randomly select one frequency if it is found the interference from aggressor is higher than predefined interference tolerated threshold.

14. A method performed by a network node for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising:

Transmitting signals to A-IOT for one or more of: RF signal energy harvesting (RF EH CW transmission); Use of the signal for backscattering (BKS CW transmission).

15. The method of embodiment 14, wherein since the signals designed for RF harvesting and backscattering might be different, the BS/reader (both in the case when the CWTs are inside the topology and in the case when the CWTs are outside of the topology) can activate (ON), deactivate (OFF), and schedule the CWT for transmitting signal suitable either for RF energy harvesting or backscattering.

16. The method of embodiment 14 or 15, wherein the CWT can be configured (by BS or designed by deployment) to transmit either only RF EH CW or only BKS CW, or both. For example, just RF EH CW is required to power the receiver of device type 1 for downlink reception, just BKS CW is required for uplink transmission from backscattering devices (type 1 and 2a), but both RF EH CW and BKS CW in combination may be needed for an uplink transmission for which control information is required (e.g., scheduling information).

17. The method of embodiment 14 to 16, wherein, a BS associated to several CWTs can activate a group of CWTs for transmitting RF-EH CW and other group for transmitting BKS CW. This activation can be either in a periodic way or based on any time-based pattern. The CWT group size and the number of the groups (N and n, respectively) can be based on:

• Predefined by the deployment • DL and UL traffic

• CWTs deployment and physical distance of CWTs

• CWT/Cell ID

18. The method of any of embodiments 14 to 17, wherein can also control the UL transmission load (considering the high density of the A-IoT devices it can be also an important issue), since only the A-IoT devices in coverage of the CWT that transmits BKS will transmit in UL.

19. The method of any of embodiments 14 to 18, wherein the BS can also configure the CWTs to transmit RF EH CW or BKS CW in different bands (e.g., UL and DL).

20. The method of any of embodiments 14 to 19, wherein the BSs can coordinate among themselves for activation and deactivation of the CWTs.

21. A method performed by a network node for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising:

Transmitting an RF signal for an IOT device to obtain energy required for receiving data from a reader.

22. The method of embodiment 21, wherein the BS can schedule/activate the RF EH CWTs to start transmitting only a few time slots (or in general any time unit) before the DL transmission starting from time t and ending at time t₂. (Being in ON mode from time to time t₂).

23. The method of embodiment 21 or 22, wherein the times t and t₂, can be selected based on the following parameters:

• Distance between CWT and X% of the A-IoT devices: predefined by deployment

• The size of the DL packet or rather the expected device reception time (may not need to fully charge the capacitors) • The device’s capacitor characteristics: including the capacity, the charging rate, ... , or the smallest energy storage size required to be supported by devices.

• The device’s energy harvesting efficiency.

• The time that the service is needed (e.g., the inventory can be done every a few hours)

• t₂ being the start of the downlink transmission and reception time for the device.

24. The method of any of embodiments 21 to 23, wherein, for the periodic DL transmission, the BS can configure the ON/OFF periods for RF EH CWTs, which is like having duty cycle for RF EH CWTs. The ON/OFF duration can be selected based on the following parameters:

• Distance between CWT and X% of the A-IoT devices: predefined by deployment

• The size of the DL packet or rather the expected device reception time (may not need to fully charge the capacitors)

• The device’s capacitor characteristics: including the capacity, the charging rate, ... , or the smallest energy storage size required to be supported by devices.

• The device’s energy harvesting efficiency.

• The time that the service is needed (e.g., the inventory can be done every a few hours) t₂ being the start of the downlink transmission and reception time for the device.

25. The method of any of embodiments 21 to 24, wherein each of the CWTs can receive a binary sequence, in which each of the bits shows if the CWT should be ON or OFF. (e.g., 1 shows ON and 0 shows OFF).

26. The method of any of embodiments 21 to 25, wherein the RF EH CWT can be preconfigured for having the periodic transmission (without BS control/configurations). Then, the BS/reader can transmit the DL transmission a few slots/frames (any time metric) after the RF EH CW transmissions. For CWT outside of the topology, the ON/OFF cycle of the RF EH CWTs can be estimated by BS/reader.

27. The method of any of embodiments 21 to 26, wherein, the RF EH CW transmission is adapted depending on whether devices are in actual need of the RF EH CW transmission. In some cases, devices may be able to be adequately served by some other energy source that they can harvest for energy, for example some other RF signal or light. In these cases, it may be beneficial (in terms of required power consumption and/or generated interference) to lower the power of the RF EH CW transmission or switch it off. If it later on turns out that the mentioned other energy source is no longer sufficient, the RF EH CW transmission can be adapted again by switching it on or increasing its power. The controlling BS/reader can base these decisions either on assistance information signaled from the devices (e.g., as a LI control field or as a MAC control element) to the BS/reader or on trial-and-error-based approaches (where the BS/reader adapts the RF EH CW transmission and detects whether this affects the success rate in its attempts to communicate with the devices).

28. A method performed by a network node for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising: considering high density of the devices, for controlling the transmission in PDRCH (UL traffic), the BS/reader can consider scheduling for activating and deactivating the CWTs for BKS CW transmission; wherein A-IoT devices rely on CWT backscattering for transmitting in PDRCH.

29. The method of embodiment 28, wherein the NW can divide the CWTs into several groups. The NW can schedule/activate the CWTs in a group manner for transmitting BKS CW signal. The CWTs group size and the number of the groups can be selected based on:

• The CWTs deployment and physical distance between CWTs

• CWT/Cell ID

• The association of the each cell .

30. The method of embodiment 28 or 29, wherein the muting pattern of the CWT nodes /group of the CWT nodes can be configured. For one example, group 1 CWT nodes is muted when group 2 CWT node is turned on.

31. The method of any of embodiment 28 to 30, wherein each of the CWTs can receive a binary sequence, in which each of the bits shows if the CWT should be ON or OFF. (e.g., 1 shows ON and 0 shows OFF). 32. The method of any of embodiments 28 to 31, wherein different frequency shifts (for backs cattering) can be considered for different groups.

33. The method of any of embodiments 28 to 32, wherein the BS/NW, by knowing the location of the active CWTs and their coverage area, can simply increase the cell granularity which enable positioning with higher accuracy than cell-ID based positioning.

34. A method performed by a network node for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising: scheduling the neighboring CWTs in a way that when one is in ON mode the other one is not transmitting (is in OFF mode), by coordination between the BSs associated to neighboring CWTs.

35. The method of embodiment 34, wherein for the case (D1T1-A1), where the CWTs are in topology, the BS that is CWT can be in ON mode, but CWT belong to the BS that receives UL can be OFF. This can reduce the interference in the receiver side caused by CW. In one alternative, the BS which receives the backscattered UL transmission would be in control and signal to another BS acting as CWT when to transmit the CW over Xn interface (i.e., a new CWT control message over Xn introduced).

36. The method of embodiment 34 or 35, wherein a BS associated to several CWTs can coordinate between the CWTs to transmit in an order.

37. The method of any of embodiments 34 to 36 wherein the period, durations,... can be selected based on the following parameters:

• The CWTs and A-IoT devices distributions;

• The size of the DL packet.

38. A method performed by a network node for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising: triggering carrier wave transmission (CWT) and RF harvesting transmission by network nodes, wherein it is connected to the scheduling of downlink and uplink transmissions is the following manner.

39. The method of embodiment 38, wherein downlink transmissions are always preceded by a RF energy harvesting transmission, such that the BS sends a RF harvesting command to the RF harvesting node a time (t2-ti) before the downlink transmission occasion, and BS sends the downlink transmission to the device at time t2, where (t2-ti) is determined as described above, e.g., the devices expected harvesting time for the procedure.

40. The method of embodiment 38 or 39, wherein uplink transmissions are always preceded by a RF energy harvesting transmission, such that the BS sends a RF harvesting command to the RF harvesting node a time (t2-ti) before the downlink transmission occasion of control information associated to the uplink transmission, and BS sends the control info to the device at time t2, where (t2-ti) is determined as described above, e.g., the devices expected harvesting time for the procedure. Then BS sends a CWT command to the CWT network node to trigger a CW transmission at time t2, at which the BS opens the receiver to receive the backscattered transmission from the device.

41. A method performed by a network node for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, the method comprising: performing frequency hopping in order to combat fading and to randomize interference.

42. The method of embodiment 41, wherein the CW signal transmitted by the CWT can be single-tone or multi-tone.

43. The method of embodiment 41 or 42, wherein the hopping pattern of the CWT tones is a function of one or more of:

• CWT ID

• CWT group ID (as described in Section 2.7.3)

• Cell ID

• Hopping offset

44. The method of any of embodiments 41 to 43, wherein the information can be communicated by the base station to the CWT via the interface between base station and CWT

Group C Embodiments

45. A user equipment, A-IoT, or CwT, for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

46. A network node, BS, A-IoT, or CWT for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

47. A user equipment, A-IoT, or CwT, for coordinating between a reader (either BS or intermediate node), network node (BS) and CWT for reducing the overall NW power consumptions and the interference caused by CWT transmission, comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. ABBREVIATIONS

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G 5th Generation 6G 6^th Generation ABS Almost Blank Subframe ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise BCCH Broadcast Control Channel BCH Broadcast Channel CA Carrier Aggregation CC Carrier Component

CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU CDMA Code Division Multiplex Access CGI Cell Global Identity CIR Channel Impulse Response CP Cyclic Prefix

CPICH Common Pilot Channel CQI Channel Quality Information C-RNTI Cell RNTI CSI Channel State Information DCCH Dedicated Control Channel DL Downlink DM Demodulation DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

DRX Discontinuous Reception DTX Discontinuous Transmission DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel DUT Device Under Test E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)

Ec/No Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band eMBMS Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services ECGI Evolved CGI eNB E-UTRAN NodeB ePDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

E-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network FDD Frequency Division Duplex FFS For Further Study gNB Base station in NR GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HO Handover HSPA High Speed Packet Access HRPD High Rate Packet Data LOS Line of Sight LPP LTE Positioning Protocol LTE Long-Term Evolution MAC Medium Access Control MAC Message Authentication Code MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe MDT Minimization of Drive Tests MIB Master Information Block MME Mobility Management Entity MSC Mobile Switching Center NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel NR New Radio OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OSS Operations Support System OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival O&M Operation and Maintenance PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel PCell Primary Cell PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDP Power Delay Profile PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PGW Packet Gateway PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel PLMN Public Land Mobile Network PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator PRACH Physical Random Access Channel PRS Positioning Reference Signal PSS Primary Synchronization Signal PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RACH Random Access Channel QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation RAN Radio Access Network RAT Radio Access Technology RFC Radio Link Control RLM Radio Link Monitoring RNC Radio Network Controller RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRC Radio Resource Control RRM Radio Resource Management RS Reference Signal RSCP Received Signal Code Power RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR

Reference Signal Received Power

RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR Reference Symbol Received Quality

RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference SCH Synchronization Channel SCell Secondary Cell

SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

SDU Service Data Unit

SFN System Frame Number SGW Serving Gateway SI System Information

SIB System Information Block

SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

SON Self-Organizing Network ss Synchronization Signal sss Secondary Synchronization Signal

TDD Time Division Duplex

TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

TOA Time of Arrival

TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

TTI Transmission Time Interval

UE User Equipment

UL Uplink

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival WCDMA Wideband CDMA

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

Claims

1. A method performed by a network node serving a first cell associated with at least one carrier wave transmitters, CWTs, comprising: determining the at least one CWTs on activation/deactivation pattern for carrier wave transmission, wherein the at least one CWTs comprising a first CWT operating at frequency fl; and transmitting signaling to the at least one CWTs about the activation/deactivation pattern determination.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining on activation/deactivation pattern for one or more CWTs operating at frequency f2 associated with a second neighboring cell served by a neighboring network node to the network node; and transmitting signaling to the neighboring network node about the activation/deactivation pattern determination.

3. The method of Claim 1 or 2, further comprising: measuring interference level caused by the at least one CWT associated with the first cell and the one or more CWTs associated with the second cell.

4. The method of Claim 3, wherein the determining on activation/deactivation pattern for the CWTs associated with the first cell and/or the second cell is at least partly based on the interference measurement.

5. The method of Claim 3 or 4, further comprising: deciding a different frequency from fl and f2 for the CWTs being associated with the first and/or the second cell that are to be activated.

6. The method of any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the determining on activation/deactivation pattern for the CWTs associated with the first cell and/or the second cell is at least partly based on uplink traffic and/or downlink traffic.

7. The method of any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the signaling about activation/deactivation pattern determination comprises at least one of: CWT/Cell IDs; activation/deactivation duration; timepoints of the duration; and operating frequency for the carrier wave transmission.

8. The method of Claim 7, wherein the signaling about activation/deactivation pattern determination comprises a binary sequence, in which each of the bits corresponds to a respective CWT for activation/deactivation.

9. The method of any of the precedent claims, wherein the at least one CWT associated with the first cell is located in the network node; or a receiver of signaling from an Ambient- Intemet-of-Things, A-IoT device is located in the network node, wherein the signaling from the A-IoT device is triggered by carrier wave transmission from the at least one CWT.

10. A network node serving a first cell which is associated with at least one carrier wave transmitters, CWTs, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of Claims 1 to 9; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

11. A method performed by a carrier wave transmitter, CWT, associated with a first cell served by a network node, comprising: receiving, from the network node, signaling about activation/deactivation pattern for the CWT; and when it is activated, performing carrier wave transmission according to the activation/deactivation pattern.

12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the signaling about activation/deactivation pattern comprises at least one of: CWT/Cell IDs; activate/deactivate duration; timepoints of the duration; and operating frequency for the carrier wave transmission.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein the signaling about activation/deactivation pattern determination comprises a binary sequence, in which each of the bits corresponds to a respective CWT for activation/deactivation.

14. A carrier wave transmitter, CWT, associated with a first cell served by a network node, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of Claims 11 to 13; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

15. A method performed by a network node serving a second cell which is associated with one or more CWTs, comprising: receiving signaling from a neighboring network node about activation/deactivation pattern for the one or more CWTs for carrier wave transmission; and transmitting signaling to the one or more CWTs about the activation/deactivation pattern.