TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to adapting a filter configuration for filtering a measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network.

BACKGROUND

In 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 8, the Evolved Packet System (EPS) was specified. EPS is based on the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio network and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). It was originally intended to provide voice and mobile broadband (MBB) services but has continuously evolved to broaden its functionality. Since Release 13 Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and LTE category Ml (LTE-M) are part of the LTE specifications and provide connectivity to massive machine type communications (mMTC) services.

In 3GPP Release 15, the first release of the 5G system (5GS) was specified. This is a new generation’s radio access technology intended to serve use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC) and mMTC. 5G includes the New Radio (NR) access stratum interface and the 5G Core Network (5GC). The NR physical and higher layers are reusing parts of the LTE specification, and to that add needed components when motivated by the new use cases. One such component is the introduction of a framework for beamforming and beam management to extend the support of the 3 GPP technologies to a frequency range going beyond 6 GHz.

In Release 15, 3GPP also started the work to prepare NR for operation in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN). The work resulted in TR 38.811 V15.1.0. In Release 16, the work to prepare NR for operation in an NTN network continues with the study item “Solutions for NR to support Non-Terrestrial Network.” In parallel the interest to adapt LTE for operation in NTN is growing. As a consequence, 3 GPP is considering introducing support for NTN in both LTE and NR in Release 17.

1. NR Measurement Framework

NR supports a rigorous measurement framework, including e.g. User Equipment (UE) measurement methods for the support of radio resource management (RRM), uplink power control, and channel state information (CSI) measurements. In Radio Resource Control (RRC) state, RRC CONNECTED, a NR UE measures multiple beams (at least one) of a cell. The measurements include metrics such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR and CQI to mention a few. To improve the accuracy measured values are filtered in frequency and time. Time filtering takes place at two different levels:

LI filtering: internal layer 1 filtering of the measurements. Exact filtering is to a large extent implementation dependent. After the layer 1 filtering, and if layer 3 filtering applies, layer 1 reports the processed beam specific measurements to layer 3.

L3 filtering: there are two types of L3 filtering. A) Layer 3 filtering for cell quality: the beam specific measurements reported by layer 1 are first consolidated to derive cell quality. The output after consolidation is then fed into layer 3 filters for processing. B) Layer 3 beam filtering: the beam specific measurements reported by layer 1 are separately fed into beam- specific layer 3 filters for processing.

The measurement framework also contains methods for reporting the measured values from a UE to the network. The reporting includes both CSI reporting and RRM reporting.

The next section describes parts of the NR measurements and reporting methods to further illustrate how the NR measurement framework is specified.

1.1 RSRP Measurements

RSRP is defined as the linear average over the power contributions of the resource elements of the antenna port(s) that carry reference signals. In NR, there are two RSRP quantities; SSB based RSRP and CSI-RS based RSRP. For the SSB based RSRP, UE calculates RSRP from SSS and/or DMRS in PBCH in SS/PBCH block (or SSB). For the CSI-RS based RSRP, UE calculates RSRP from CSI-RS. The estimated RSRP is for example reported to the network or used to estimate the path loss.

There are two levels of RSRP measurements; Layer 1 (LI) RSRP and Layer 3 (L3) RSRP. In this application, we refer to these metrics as RSRPL1 and RSRP L3. RSRP Ll is calculated by filtering RSRP over several reference signal periodicities. For example, CSI-RS based RSRP Ll is calculated by filtering or averaging over 3 transmission occasions [5] If network transmits CSI-RS every 20 ms, UE outputs RSRP Ll every 60 ms (20 ms x 3 samples). Filtering method for RSRP Ll is up to UE implementation, but 3GPP CSI-RS measurement requirements [5] specifies the RSRP Ll measurement accuracy and measurement period. RSRP L3 filtering is controlled by the network and specified in 3GPP TS38.331 V15.7.0, clause 5.5.3.2:

L3 filtering is expected to be performed every RSRP Ll output period. For example, if UE calculates RSRP Ll every 60ms, the L3 filtering of RSRP Ll is performed every 60 ms.

3GPP TS 38.331 V15.7.0, clause specifies the possible filter coefficients ki are {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19}. Since the effective filter coefficient, a, is given by a=l/2(ki/4), if the network needs less filtered, i.e. a shorter filter response time, RSRP, ki is set to close to 0 implying a close to 1. If the network needs deep filtered RSRP, i.e. a long filter response time, ki is set to close to larger integer such as 19 implying a close to 0.

1.2 RRML3 Measurement Event Triggering

L3 Measurement event triggering provides the network with the ability to configure a UE to report RRM measurements if a specific condition is fulfilled, i.e. if the condition is fulfilled a Measurement Report will be triggered and sent to the network. Such type of condition may for instance be that the serving cell power is above a threshold (A1 event), a neighbouring cell power is above a threshold (A4) or that a neighbouring cell power is an offset above serving cell (A3). This is for instance useful for mobility since it tells the network that a neighbouring cell is better than the serving cell etc. The conditions will typically include configurations to avoid frequent triggering of measurement reporting. This is done by hysteresis as well as the time to trigger which tells the UE how long the condition needs to hold true before the measurement report is triggered.

1.3 CSI Framework in NR

In NR, a UE can be RRC configured for CSI measurements and reporting. The configuration may include multiple CSI reporting settings (a.k.a., CSI reporting configurations) and multiple CSI resource setting (a.k.a., CSI resource configurations). Different CSI resource configurations can be configured for channel and interference measurements. The configured measurement resource set(s) can be based on NZP CSI-RS, SSB and CSI-IM resources.

For each CSI reporting configuration, a UE feeds back a CSI report. Each CSI reporting configuration can contain the Measurement restriction indication which indicates to the UE if the reported measurement should be filtered in LI or not before being reported to the network.

NR supports periodic, a periodic and semi-persistent CSI Reporting.

2. UL Power Control

3GPP TS 38.213 V15.7.0 specifies the UL power control for RRC Connected mode. In short, it comprises an open loop component that aims to determine the UE output power P to overcome for a path loss (PL) to meet an uplink receive target power level PO.

Take NR PUSCH power control for example. The downlink pathloss estimate calculated by the UE using reference signal (RS) index q_d for transmission in the uplink BWP b of carrier f of serving cell c is denoted by PLb,f,c (qa). The UE may be configured with up to 4 RS resource indexes as pathloss reference for PUSCH power control.

PL is estimated based on a in layer 3 filtered version of the layer 1 estimated signal strength (RSRP Ll). The recursive filter is based on a configurable filter coefficient a defined in TS 38.331 [3] The filter is as already presented in section 2.1.1.1 defined as:

RSRP_L3,n= (1-a)* RSRP_L3,n-l + a* RSRP Ll (Eq.l)

The filter coefficient a is determined under the assumption of a RSRP Ll measurement rate which is determined according to TS 38.133 V15.6.0.

3. Satellite Communications

A satellite radio access network usually includes the following components: a satellite that refers to a space-borne platform; an earth-based gateway that connects the satellite to a base station or a core network, depending on the choice of architecture; feeder link that refers to the link between a gateway and a satellite; and an access link that refers to the link between a satellite and a UE.

Depending on the orbit altitude, a satellite may be categorized as low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), or geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite. LEO: typical heights ranging from 250 - 1,500 km, with orbital periods ranging from 90 - 120 minutes. MEO: typical heights ranging from 5,000 - 25,000 km, with orbital periods ranging from 3 - 15 hours. GEO: height at about 35,786 km, with an orbital period of 24 hours.

The significant orbit height means that satellite systems are characterized by a path loss that is significantly higher than what is expected in terrestrial networks. To overcome the high pathloss it is often required that the access and feeder links are operated in line of sight conditions. The NTN radio channels defining the access and feeder links may therefore be dominated by a line of sight component. A consequence of this is that the orthogonality between transmitter polarization modes, e.g. right hand circular polarization (RHCP) and left hand circular polarization (LHCP), is maintained as a transmitted signal travels through the atmosphere to a receiver located on the face of earth. This can be compared to terrestrial networks where non-line of sight conditions are typical, for which the signal polarization mode is expected to be affected by the radio link.

A communication satellite typically generates several NTN beams over a given area. The footprint of an NTN beam is usually in an elliptic shape, which has been traditionally considered as a cell. The footprint of an NTN beam is also often referred to as a spotbeam. The spotbeam may move over the earth surface with the satellite movement or may be earth fixed with some beam pointing mechanism used by the satellite to compensate for its motion. The size of a spotbeam depends on the system design, which may range from tens of kilometers to a few thousands of kilometers.

An NTN beam may, in comparison to the beams observed in a terrestrial network, be very wide and cover an area outside of the area defined by the served cell. NTN beams covering adjacent cells will overlap and cause significant levels of intercell interference. To overcome the large levels of interference a typical approach in an NTN is to configure adjacent cells with different carrier frequencies and polarization modes. SUMMARY

Certain challenges presently exist. For example, an NTN UE should typically use long LI and L3 measurement filters for facilitating accurate measurements, including RSRP, in LOS conditions, but when needed use a short LI and L3 measurement filters to track rapid changes of large magnitude variations in RSRP. These requirements are contradicting and are problematic to support in a NR NW adapted for NTN due to: (1) that the LI filtering for CSI reporting is partly controlled by network signaling through the Measurement restriction indication, and cannot be adapted sufficiently fast to cope with both of the described scenarios due to the large RTT expected in a NTN; and (2) that the L3 filter coefficients are configured based on RRC signaling and can also not be flexibly adapted to cope with both of the described scenarios in the presence of the large RTT expected in a NTN. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

Accordingly, UE methods for adapting the NR LI and L3 filter coefficients to the radio conditions and requirements of an NTN are proposed herein. Although the invention is focused on NR it applies equally well for LTE and NB-IoT. The invention is focused on RSRP measurements, but apply similarly to other metrics where LI and L3 filtering is applied such as RSRQ, SINR, and interference.

In one aspect there is provided a method performed by a wireless device for filtering a measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network. The method includes adapting a filter configuration. The step of adapting the filter configuration comprises adapting the filter configuration based on at least one of: a comparison between two or more measurement values of the physical channel or the signal, a comparison between two or more filtered measurement values of the physical channel or the signal, or one or more measurement values of the physical channel or the signal.

In another aspect there is provided a method performed by a network node for configuring a wireless device to filter a measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network. The method includes the network node signaling configuration information to the wireless device, wherein the configuration information comprises an indication to adapt a filter configuration based on at least one of: a comparison between two or more measurement values of the physical channel or the signal, a comparison between measurement two or more filtered measurement values of the physical channel or the signal, or one or more measurement values of the physical channel or the signal during a defined time period.

In another aspect there is provided a computer program comprising instructions (644) which when executed by processing circuitry causes the processing circuitry to perform any of the method disclosed herein. In another aspect there is provided a carrier containing the computer program, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, and a computer readable storage medium.

Some technical advantages are that the proposed methods supports a fast adaptation of the LI and L3 filter response time. This enables e.g. a NR UE to efficiently estimate RSRP for exact adjustment of the UL power control in case of persistent LOS conditions, and to be prepared for rapid changes in RSRP due to UE making the transition to and from NLOS conditions

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments

FIG. 1 illustrates a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a comparison between LoS fading and NLoS fading.

FIG. 5 illustrates a rapid and significant drop in RSRP.

FIG. 6 is block diagram of a node according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a network according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a UE according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a communication system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment.

FIG. 16 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus.

FIG. 17 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus.

FIG. 18 illustrates a normalized filter response for a default filter configuration (ki = 4) and a maximum length configuration (ki = 19).

FIG. 19 illustrates impact of L3 filtering on a uniformly distributed noise source.

FIG. 20 illustrates coupling loss variations due to LOS to NLOS transitions for a LEO, Ka- band case.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 shows an example NTN 100, according to some embodiments. NTN 100 depicted in FIG. 1 comprises a UE 102, a gateway 104, a network node 106 (e.g., a base station), and a satellite 108. An access link 120 is shown between UE 102 and satellite 108. A feeder link 140 is shown between gateway 104 and satellite 108. As shown in FIG. 1, the satellite 108 has generated several NTN beams shown illustrated by spotbeams 160a-d.

Typically, UEs in an NTN are most often operated in line of sight (LOS) conditions for which the small scale, or fast, fading is limited compared to the fading experienced in non-line of sight (NLOS) conditions. This is shown in FIG. 4. It is therefore beneficial to use long RSRP L3 measurement filter, associated with a small aL3 (close to 0) filter coefficient, to estimate a RSRP with high accuracy. An infrequent measurement reporting interval is also motivated, since the radio environment is expected to be static.

Although a UE is expected to mostly operate in LOS conditions, the UE will, when entering NLOS conditions (e.g. when moving indoors) experience a rapid and significant drop in RSRP. This is shown in FIG. 5. It is therefore beneficial to use a short RSRP L3 measurement filter, associated with a large aL3 (close to 1) filter coefficient, to capture rapid changes in RSRP to facilitate an efficient adaptation of the UE output power. As noted above, however, these requirements are contradicting and are problematic to support in a NR NW adapted for NTN. Accordingly, methods for adapting the NR LI and L3 filter coefficients to the radio conditions and requirements of an NTN are proposed herein. Although the embodiments are focused on NR, the embodiments apply equally well for LTE and NB-IoT. The embodiments are focused on RSRP measurements, but apply similarly to other metrics where LI and L3 filtering is applied such as RSRQ, SINR, and interference.

1. LI Filter

In one embodiment, the RSRP Ll measurement, filtering and input period ATLl = N*TRS (with TRS being the periodicity of the measured reference signal and N being an integer) is adapted based on the difference in RSRP Ll measured over two or more samples collected over time. In a basic example, two consecutive samples RSRP Ll(tn) and RSRP_Ll(tn+l) with tn = T0+n*ATLl is used to exemplify:

ARSRP Ll = RSRP Ll (tn) - RSRP_Ll(tn+l) (Eq.2)

If abs(ARSRP Ll) is equal to or is greater than a first threshold (THI RSRP LI), then N and ATLl is reduced by a first integer step size DN1 . If abs(ARSRP Ll) is less than a second threshold (TH2 RSRP L1), then N and ATLl is increased by a second integer step size DN2.

The adaptation may also be based on ARSRP L l , with different step sizes depending if ARSRP Ll holds a positive or a negative value.

In one aspect of the embodiment the magnitude in the change in N, i.e. DN1 and DN2, is made dependent on ARSRP L l As one example N = 3 as long as ARSRP Ll is lower than a pre-defmed, or signaled, threshold, and otherwise N = 1, implying that DN1=DN2=2.

In the above methods, RSRP Ll may be replaced by the unfiltered RSRP measurement value collected at the physical layer to make the RSRP Ll measurement period ATLl dependent on a change in RSRP.

In one embodiment the UE reports the applicable LI filter setting together with the LI measurements to the network.

In one embodiment, the L3 filter coefficient “a” is made dependent on the difference in RSRP, RSRP Ll or RSRP L3 measured over two or more samples collected over time. In a basic example, two consecutive samples RSRP_L3(tn) and RSRP_L3(tn+l) with tn = T0+n*ATLl is used to exemplify:

ARSRP_L3 = RSRP L3 (tn) - RSRP_L3(tn+l) (Eq.3)

If abs(ARSRP LX), with X = {‘PHY’, 1, 3}, equals to or is greater than a first threshold (THI RSRP LX) for Ml consecutive times, then the L3 filter coefficient a is increased by a first value. If ARSRP LX is less than a second threshold (TH2 RSRP LX) for M2 consecutive times, then aL3 is reduced by a second value. Here ‘PHY’ denotes the unfiltered RSRP value measured at the physical layer in the UE. In some embodiments, a=l/2(ki/4), so the changes may be implemented as a change in the index ki.

The adaptation may also be based on ARSRP LX, with different levels of change in the index ki depending if ARSRP LX holds a positive or a negative value.

In one embodiment, two recursive parallel filters according to Eq.1 is configured for determining RSRP L3. The first filter RSRP_L3(a) is configured with filter coefficient a, and the second filter RSRP_L3(b) is configured with coefficient b with a > b.

In yet one embodiment, the RSRP L3 input to the UL power control computation of path loss is made dependent on the difference between RSRP_L3(a) and RSRP_L3(b):

ARSRP_L3(tn) = RSRP L3 (a,tn) - RSRP_L3(b,tn) (Eq.4)

In one embodiment RSRP_L3(tn) = RSRP_L3(a,tn) if abs(ARSRP_L3(tn)) equals to or is greater than a first threshold TH1 RSRP L3 for M3 consecutive times, and otherwise RSRP_L3(tn) = RSRP Ll (bL3,tn).

In one aspect of the previous embodiment, the filter RSRP Ll (b) is reset if ARSRP_L3(tn) equals to or is greater than a first threshold TH1 RSRP L3 for M4 consecutive times.

In some further embodiments, the layer 3 filter (i.e., the RSRP_L3,n in Eq. 1) is reset when the LI filter length is changed.

In one embodiment the UE reports the applicable L3 filter setting together with the L3 measurements to the network.

In one embodiment, two L3 filtering configurations run simultaneously producing outputs. Which output, i.e RSRP 3 that is used for power control depends on whether the absolute RSRP is above a configured threshold (this can be named powerControlL3thres). Which output from the two L3 filtering configurations that is used for determining the switch may be configurable.

In another embodiment, a special configuration when UE triggers L3 measurement reports is introduced where the UE switches L3 filtering configuration after triggering a L3 measurement report. Example: If A1 event (serving cell above configured threshold) is configured and the condition is fulfilled, then the UE will trigger a measurement report and also change the L3 filter configuration.

In another embodiment, a time during which the “RSRP to be filtered”, RSRP Ll or RSRP L3 is required to be below the threshold in order for the UE to consider the “threshold requirement” to be fulfilled is introduced. This time, that can be called “time-to-evaluate a threshold”, can be network configured or fixed in specification or left to UE implementation.

This “time-to-evaluate a threshold” can be considered together with M3 and M4 mentioned in 5.2 or instead of M3 and M4.

In yet another embodiment, a hysteresis is considered with the thresholds. That is, UE considers the actual threshold to be THI RSRP LX + H, where H is value for the hysteresis. In another subembodiment, instead of having first and second threshold, there is one threshold and absolute hysteresis value is either added or reduced from that one threshold depending on whether UE is considering the RSRP value to be above or below the threshold, respectively. For example, UE would consider:

RSRP LX < TH RSRP L3 - H (Eq.5)

Or:

RSRP LX > TH RSRP L3 + H (Eq.6)

In another embodiment, some or all of the following: the above mentioned thresholds, ARSRP LX or RSRP and Lx are configured by network, or fixed in specification or left to UE implementation.

In one embodiment, the adaptations of LI input rates and/or L3 filtering operations are applied separately for each RS index q_d to calculate the downlink pathloss estimate PLb,f,c (qa) for determining uplink transmit power. Relevant types of RSs include SSB and NZP-CSI-RS.

In one embodiment, the RSRP measurements used to determine the adaptations of LI input rates and/or L3 filtering operations described in this invention are based on consolidation/selection of the beam specific measurement results. For example, the changes of filter coefficients are triggered only if the triggering condition (i.e., ARSRP LX satisfying a certain condition) is met for the measurements in all the beams or the top N strongest beams.

In one embodiment, the adaptations of LI input rates and/or L3 filtering operations described in this invention are applied to process measurements to calculate the downlink pathloss estimate for determining uplink power control, while the processing of measurements for other purposes, such as the evaluation of reporting criteria based on cell quality and/or beam selection for reporting, does not employ the adaptations of LI input rates and/or L3 filtering operations described in this invention.

In one embodiment, the usage of measurement processing adaptation described in this invention is configured by a network node. UE applies the adapted measurement processing procedure only if the feature is configured by the network node.

In another embodiment, the usage of measurement processing adaptation described in this invention is applicable to UE with certain capability or of certain type, e.g., NTN UE type, GEO UE type, UE capable of NTN access, and UE capable of GEO access, or applicable to certain deployment scenarios, e.g. a scenario where the propagation delay between a network node and UE exceeds a certain threshold.

In the above elaboration, the adaptations of LI input rates and/or L3 filtering operations, as well as the corresponding configuration schemes, are described in the context of RSRP measurement quantity, since RSRP is the most relevant measurement quantity for estimating downlink pathloss for determining uplink transmit power. The same techniques however apply to other measurement quantities such as Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to- Interference Ratio (RS-SINR), interference, and/or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 200 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, process 200 is performed by UE 102. At step s201, the UE adapts a filter configuration based on at least one of: (i) a comparison between two or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, (ii) a comparison between two or more filtered measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, and (iii) one or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network during a defined time period. In some embodiments, adapting the filter configuration comprises one or more of adapting an input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or a filter impulse response time and/or length.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 300 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, process 300 is performed by network node 106. At step s301, the network node signals configuration information to UE 102, wherein the configuration information comprises an indication to adapt a filter configuration of the UE based on at least one of: a comparison between two or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, a comparison between two or more filtered measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, and one or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network during a defined time period.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a network, such as the example network illustrated in FIG. 1. For simplicity, the network of FIG. 1 only depicts gateway 104, network node 106, satellite 108, and UE 102. In practice, network 100 may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between UEs or between a UE and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 106 and UE 102 are depicted with additional detail. The network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more UEs to facilitate the UEs’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the network.

The network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 100 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node 106 and UE 102 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or UE functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, UEs, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

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 the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the UE and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a UE with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a UE that has accessed the wireless network.

As used herein, user equipment (UE) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other EIEs. Unless otherwise noted, the term UE may be used interchangeably herein with the term “wireless device (WD).” Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE) a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc..

A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehi cl e-to- vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD 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 WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3 GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a node, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 6, the node may be WD 102 or base station 106. The node 102, 106, may comprise: processing circuitry (PC) 602, which may include one or more processors (P) 655 (e.g., one or more general purpose microprocessors and/or one or more other processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like); communication circuitry 648, which is coupled to an antenna arrangement 649 comprising one or more antennas and which comprises a transmitter (Tx) 645 and a receiver (Rx) 647 for enabling node 102 to transmit data and receive data (e.g., wirelessly transmit/receive data); and a local storage unit (a.k.a., “data storage system”) 608, which may include one or more non-volatile storage devices and/or one or more volatile storage devices. In embodiments where PC 602 includes a programmable processor, a computer program product (CPP) 641 may be provided. CPP 641 includes a computer readable medium (CRM) 642 storing a computer program (CP)

643 comprising computer readable instructions (CRI) 644. CRM 642 may be a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as, magnetic media (e.g., a hard disk), optical media, memory devices (e.g., random access memory, flash memory), and the like. In some embodiments, the CRI 644 of computer program 643 is configured such that when executed by PC 602, the CRI causes node 102 to perform steps described herein (e.g., steps described herein with reference to the flow charts). In other embodiments, node 102 may be configured to perform steps described herein without the need for code. That is, for example, PC 602 may consist merely of one or more ASICs. Hence, the features of the embodiments described herein may be implemented in hardware and/or software.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in FIG. 7. For simplicity, the wireless network of FIG. 7 only depicts network 706, network nodes 760 and 760b, and WDs 710, 710b, and 710c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between UEs or between a UE and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 760 and WD 710 are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more UEs to facilitate the UEs’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.

The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 706 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node 760 and WD 710 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or UE functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, UEs, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

In FIG. 7, network node 760 includes processing circuitry 770, device readable medium 780, interface 790, auxiliary equipment 784, power source 786, power circuitry 787, and antenna 762. Although network node 760 illustrated in the example wireless network of FIG. 7 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 760 are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 780 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 760 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 760 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB’ s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 760 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 780 for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 762 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 760 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 760, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 760.

Processing circuitry 770 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 770 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 770 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.

Processing circuitry 770 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 760 components, such as device readable medium 780, network node 760 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 770 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 780 or in memory within processing circuitry 770. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 770 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 770 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 772 and baseband processing circuitry 774. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 772 and baseband processing circuitry 774 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 772 and baseband processing circuitry 774 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 770 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 780 or memory within processing circuitry 770. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 770 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 770 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 770 alone or to other components of network node 760, but are enjoyed by network node 760 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 780 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 770. Device readable medium 780 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 770 and, utilized by network node 760. Device readable medium 780 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 770 and/or any data received via interface 790. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 770 and device readable medium 780 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 790 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node 760, network 706, and/or WDs 710. As illustrated, interface 790 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 794 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 706 over a wired connection. Interface 790 also includes radio front end circuitry 792 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 762. Radio front end circuitry 792 comprises filters 798 and amplifiers 796. Radio front end circuitry 792 may be connected to antenna 762 and processing circuitry 770. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 762 and processing circuitry 770. Radio front end circuitry 792 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 792 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 798 and/or amplifiers 796. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 762. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 762 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 792. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 770. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 760 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 792, instead, processing circuitry 770 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 762 without separate radio front end circuitry 792. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 772 may be considered a part of interface 790. In still other embodiments, interface 790 may include one or more ports or terminals 794, radio front end circuitry 792, and RF transceiver circuitry 772, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 790 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 774, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 762 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 762 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 790 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 762 may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 762 may be separate from network node 760 and may be connectable to network node 760 through an interface or port.

Antenna 762, interface 790, and/or processing circuitry 770 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 762, interface 790, and/or processing circuitry 770 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

Power circuitry 787 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 760 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 787 may receive power from power source 786. Power source 786 and/or power circuitry 787 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 760 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 786 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 787 and/or network node 760. For example, network node 760 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 787. As a further example, power source 786 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 787. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node 760 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 7 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 760 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 760 and to allow output of information from network node 760. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 760.

As illustrated, UE 710 includes antenna 711, interface 714, processing circuitry 720, device readable medium 730, user interface equipment 732, auxiliary equipment 734, power source 736 and power circuitry 737. WD 710 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 710, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 710. Antenna 711 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 714. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 711 may be separate from WD 710 and be connectable to WD 710 through an interface or port. Antenna 711, interface 714, and/or processing circuitry 720 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 711 may be considered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 714 comprises radio front end circuitry 712 and antenna 711.

Radio front end circuitry 712 comprise one or more filters 718 and amplifiers 716. Radio front end circuitry 714 is connected to antenna 711 and processing circuitry 720, and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 711 and processing circuitry 720. Radio front end circuitry 712 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 711. In some embodiments, WD 710 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 712; rather, processing circuitry 720 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 711. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 722 may be considered a part of interface 714. Radio front end circuitry 712 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 712 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 718 and/or amplifiers 716. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 711. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 711 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 712. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 720. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 720 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 WD 710 components, such as device readable medium 730, WD 710 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 720 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 730 or in memory within processing circuitry 720 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 720 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 722, baseband processing circuitry 724, and application processing circuitry 726. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry 720 of WD 710 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 722, baseband processing circuitry 724, and application processing circuitry 726 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 724 and application processing circuitry 726 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 722 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 722 and baseband processing circuitry 724 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 726 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 722, baseband processing circuitry 724, and application processing circuitry 726 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 722 may be a part of interface 714. RF transceiver circuitry 722 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 720.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry 720 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 730, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 720 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 device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 720 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 720 alone or to other components of WD 710, but are enjoyed by WD 710 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally. Processing circuitry 720 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 720, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 720 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 710, 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.

Device readable medium 730 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 720. Device readable medium 730 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 720. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 720 and device readable medium 730 may be considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 732 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 710. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 732 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 710. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 732 installed in WD 710. For example, if WD 710 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD 710 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment 732 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 732 is configured to allow input of information into WD 710, and is connected to processing circuitry 720 to allow processing circuitry 720 to process the input information. User interface equipment 732 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 732 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 710, and to allow processing circuitry 720 to output information from WD 710. User interface equipment 732 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 732, WD 710 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 734 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 734 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 736 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD 710 may further comprise power circuitry 737 for delivering power from power source 736 to the various parts of WD 710 which need power from power source 736 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 737 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry 737 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 710 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry 737 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 736. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 736. Power circuitry 737 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 736 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 710 to which power is supplied.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 8200 may be any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE 800, as illustrated in FIG. 8, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although FIG. 8 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa.

In FIG. 8, UE 800 includes processing circuitry 801 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 805, radio frequency (RF) interface 809, network connection interface 811, memory 815 including random access memory (RAM) 817, read-only memory (ROM) 819, and storage medium 821 or the like, communication subsystem 831, power source 833, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 821 includes operating system 823, application program 825, and data 827. In other embodiments, storage medium 821 may include other similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in FIG. 8, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

In FIG. 8, processing circuitry 801 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 801 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 801 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer. In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 805 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE 800 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 805. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 800. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE 800 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 805 to allow a user to capture information into UE 800. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

In FIG. 8, RF interface 809 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface 811 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 843a. Network 843a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 843a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 811 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface 811 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately. RAM 817 may be configured to interface via bus 802 to processing circuitry 801 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 819 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 801. For example, ROM 819 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 821 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium 821 may be configured to include operating system 823, application program 825 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 827. Storage medium 821 may store, for use by UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

Storage medium 821 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro- DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 821 may allow UE 800 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 821, which may comprise a device readable medium.

In FIG. 8, processing circuitry 801 may be configured to communicate with network 843b using communication subsystem 831. Network 843a and network 843b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem 831 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 843b. For example, communication subsystem 831 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.8, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver may include transmitter 833 and/or receiver 835 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 833 and receiver 835 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem 831 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 831 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network 843b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 843b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near- field network. Power source 813 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 800.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 800 or partitioned across multiple components of UE 800. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 831 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry 801 may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 802. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 801 perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 801 and communication subsystem 831. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 900 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 900 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 930. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 920 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 920 are run in virtualization environment 900 which provides hardware 930 comprising processing circuitry 960 and memory 990. Memory 990 contains instructions 995 executable by processing circuitry 960 whereby application 920 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 900, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices 930 comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 960, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 990-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 995 or software executed by processing circuitry 960. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 970, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 980. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media 990-2 having stored therein software 995 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 960. Software 995 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 950 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 940 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 940, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 950 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 920 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 940, and the implementations may be made in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 960 executes software 995 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 950, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 950 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 940.

As shown in FIG. 9, hardware 930 may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 930 may comprise antenna 9225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 930 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 9100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 920.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. In the context of NFV, virtual machine 940 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines 940, and that part of hardware 930 that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 940, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines 940 on top of hardware networking infrastructure 930 and corresponds to application 920 in FIG. 9.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 9200 that each include one or more transmitters 9220 and one or more receivers 9210 may be coupled to one or more antennas 9225. Radio units 9200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 930 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system 9230 which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 930 and radio units 9200.

With reference to FIG. 10, a communication system in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The illustrated communication system includes telecommunication network 1010, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network 1011, such as a radio access network, and core network 1014. Access network 1011 comprises a plurality of base stations 1012a, 1012b, 1012c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 1013a, 1013b, 1013c. Each base station 1012a, 1012b, 1012c is connectable to core network 1014 over a wired or wireless connection 1015. A first UE 1091 located in coverage area 1013c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1012c. A second UE 1092 in coverage area 1013a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1012a. While a plurality of UEs 1091, 1092 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 1012. Telecommunication network 1010 is itself connected to host computer 1030, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 1030 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1021 and 1022 between telecommunication network 1010 and host computer 1030 may extend directly from core network 1014 to host computer 1030 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1020. Intermediate network 1020 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 1020, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 1020 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of FIG. 10 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1091, 1092 and host computer 1030. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1050. Host computer 1030 and the connected UEs 1091, 1092 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 1050, using access network 1011, core network 1014, any intermediate network 1020 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection 1050 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection 1050 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station 1012 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 1030 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 1091. Similarly, base station 1012 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 1091 towards the host computer 1030.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 11. In communication system 1100, host computer 1110 comprises hardware 1115 including communication interface 1116 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 1100. Host computer 1110 further comprises processing circuitry 1118, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 1118 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 1110 further comprises software 1111, which is stored in or accessible by host computer 1110 and executable by processing circuitry 1118. Software 1111 includes host application 1112.

Host application 1112 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE 1130 connecting via OTT connection 1150 terminating at UE 1130 and host computer 1110. In providing the service to the remote user, host application 1112 may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 1150.

Communication system 1100 further includes base station 1120 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1125 enabling it to communicate with host computer 1110 and with UE 1130. Hardware 1125 may include communication interface 1126 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 1100, as well as radio interface 1127 for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection 1170 with UE 1130 located in a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 11) served by base station 1120. Communication interface 1126 may be configured to facilitate connection 1160 to host computer 1110. Connection 1160 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in FIG. 11) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware 1125 of base station 1120 further includes processing circuitry 1128, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 1120 further has software 1121 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system 1100 further includes UE 1130 already referred to. Its hardware 1135 may include radio interface 1137 configured to set up and maintain wireless connection 1170 with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE 1130 is currently located.

Hardware 1135 of UE 1130 further includes processing circuitry 1138, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 1130 further comprises software 1131, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1130 and executable by processing circuitry 1138. Software 1131 includes client application 1132. Client application 1132 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1130, with the support of host computer 1110. In host computer 1110, an executing host application 1112 may communicate with the executing client application 1132 via OTT connection 1150 terminating at UE 1130 and host computer 1110. In providing the service to the user, client application 1132 may receive request data from host application 1112 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1150 may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application 1132 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer 1110, base station 1120 and UE 1130 illustrated in FIG. 11 may be similar or identical to host computer 1030, one of base stations 1012a, 1012b, 1012c and one of UEs 1091, 1092 of FIG. 10, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in FIG. 11 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 10.

In FIG. 11, OTT connection 1150 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer 1110 and UE 1130 via base station 1120, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE 1130 or from the service provider operating host computer 1110, or both. While OTT connection 1150 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection 1170 between UE 1130 and base station 1120 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1130 using OTT connection 1150, in which wireless connection 1170 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve an OTT service such as extending battery life, increasing bandwidth/throughput via reduced signal to noise, reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness,

A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 1150 between host computer 1110 and UE 1130, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 1150 may be implemented in software 1111 and hardware 1115 of host computer 1110 or in software 1131 and hardware 1135 of UE 1130, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection 1150 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 1111, 1131 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection 1150 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station 1120, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 1120. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer 1110’s measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software 1111 and 1131 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 1150 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 12 will be included in this section. In step 1210, the host computer provides user data. In substep 1211 (which may be optional) of step 1210, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1220, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 1230 (which may be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1240 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 13 will be included in this section. In step 1310 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1320, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1330 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 14 will be included in this section. In step 1410 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1420, the UE provides user data. In substep 1421 (which may be optional) of step 1420, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep 1411 (which may be optional) of step 1410, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in substep 1430 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 1440 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 15 will be included in this section. In step 1510 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 1520 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1530 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

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

FIG. 16 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1600 in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 7). The apparatus may be implemented in a UE or network node (e.g., UE 710 or network node 760 shown in FIG. 7). Apparatus 1600 is operable to carry out the example method described with reference to FIG. 2 and possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the method of FIG.

2 is not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus 1600. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1600 may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause a filter adaptation unit 1602 and any other suitable units of apparatus 1600 to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 16, apparatus 1600 includes a filter adaptation unit 1602 configured to adapt a filter configuration.

FIG. 17 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1700 in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 7). The apparatus may be implemented in a UE or network node (e.g., UE 710 or network node 760 shown in FIG. 7). Apparatus 1700 is operable to carry out the example method described with reference to FIG. 3 and possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the method of FIG.

3 is not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus 1700. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1700 may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause a filter configuration signaling unit 1702 and any other suitable units of apparatus 1700 to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 17, apparatus 1700 includes a filter configuration signaling unit 1702 configured to signal configuration information.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

Summary of various example embodiments

Example 1. A method performed by a wireless device for filtering a measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted from a network node serving a cell in a radio access network, the method comprising: adapting a filter configuration based on at least one of: a comparison between two or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, a comparison between two or more filtered measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, and one or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network during a defined time period.

Example 2. The method of example 1, further comprising: calculating an absolute difference between a first measurement value of the physical channel or the signal transmitted in a radio access network and a second measurement value of the physical channel or the signal transmitted in a radio access network; and adapting the filter configuration based on the calculated absolute difference.

Example 3. The method of example 2, wherein the adapting the filter configuration comprises: determining that the absolute difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value is equal to or greater than a threshold; and in response to the determining, adapting at least one of: (i) an input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) a filter impulse response length.

Example 4. The method of example 3, wherein the adapting the filter comprises reducing at least one of: (i) the input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) the filter impulse response length.

Example 5. The method of any one of examples 2-4, wherein the adapting the filter configuration comprises: determining that the absolute difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value is less than a threshold; and in response to the determining, increasing or maintaining at least one of: (i) an input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) the filter impulse response length. Example 6. The method of any one of examples 2-5, wherein the adapting the filter configuration comprises: determining that the absolute difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value comprises a positive value; and in response to the determining, adapting at least one of: (i) an input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) the filter impulse response length.

Example 7. The method of example 6, wherein the adapting the filter comprises reducing at least one of: (i) the input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) the filter impulse response length.

Example 8. The method of any one of examples 2-7, wherein the adapting the filter configuration comprises: determining that the absolute difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value is a negative value; and in response to the determining, increasing at least one of (i) an input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) the filter impulse response length.

Example 9. The method of any one of examples 1-8, wherein the filter configuration comprises a recursive moving average filter.

Example 9a. The method of example 9, wherein adapting the recursive moving average filter impulse length comprises adapting a filter coefficient.

Example 10. The method of any one of examples 1-9, wherein the measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted from a network node serving a cell in a radio access network is one of: a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement value, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement value, a Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SINR) measurement value, an interference measurement value, or a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurement value.

Example 11. The method of any one of examples 1-10, wherein the measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted from a network node serving a cell in a radio access network is one of one of: a LI filtered measurement value, a L3 filtered measurement value, or an unfiltered measurement value.

Example 12. The method of example 1, wherein the measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network filtered by two or more filter configurations comprises: a first filtered measurement value calculated using a first filter configuration, the first filter configuration comprising a first filter impulse response length, and a second filtered measurement value calculated using a second filter configuration, the second filter configuration comprising a second filter impulse response length different than the first filter impulse response length.

Example 13. The method of example 12 wherein the first filter impulse response length is longer than the second filter impulse response length.

Example 14. The method of any one of examples 12-13, further comprising: determining that an absolute difference between the first filtered measurement value and the second filtered measurement value is equal to or less than a threshold; and in response to the determining, calculating an uplink power control path loss using the first filtered measurement value.

Example 15. The method of any one of examples 12-13, further comprising: determining that an absolute difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value is greater than a threshold; and in response to the determining, calculating an uplink power control path loss using the second filtered measurement value.

Example 16. The method of any one of examples 12-13, further comprising: determining that an absolute difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value is equal to or greater than a threshold; and in response to the determining, resetting the second filter configuration.

Example 17. The method of example 1, further comprising: resetting a second filter configuration in response to the adapting the first filter configuration.

Example 18. The method of any one of examples 1-17, further comprising: signalling an indication of the adapted filter configuration to a network node in the radio access network.

Example 19. The method of any one of examples 1-18, wherein the radio access network comprises a 3GPP radio access network adapted for operation in a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

Example 20. The method of example 1, further comprising: obtaining a first measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network output from a first filter configuration; obtaining a second measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network output from a second filter configuration; determining that at least one of the first measurement value or the second measurement value exceeds a threshold; and adapting the filter configuration in response to the determining.

Example 21. The method of example 20, wherein the adapting the filter configuration in response to the determining comprises: selecting one of the first filter configuration or the second filter configuration for use in calculating an uplink power control path loss.

Example 22. The method of any one of examples 20-21, further comprising: triggering a measurement report based on the determining that at least one of the first measurement value or the second measurement value exceeds a threshold.

Example 23. The method of example 1, further comprising: determining that each of the one or more measurement values during the defined time period is below a threshold; and in response to the determining, adapting at least one of: (i) an input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) a filter impulse response length.

Example 24. The method of example 1, further comprising: determining that each of the one or more measurement values during the defined time period is above a threshold; and in response to the determining, adapting at least one of: (i) an input time periodicity of measurements to be filtered or (ii) a filter impulse response length.

Example 25. The method of any one of examples 23-24, further comprising: adapting the threshold in accordance with a hysteresis value.

Example 26. The method of any one of examples 1-25, further comprising: obtaining one or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network in accordance with the adapted filter configuration; and calculating an uplink power control path loss using the obtained one or more measurement values.

Example 27. The method of any one of examples 1-26, wherein each of the measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network are associated with a satellite beam.

Example 28. The method of any one of examples 1-27, further comprising: obtaining configuration information from a network node, the configuration information comprising an indication to adapt the filter configuration.

Example 29. A method performed by a network node for configuring a wireless device to filter a measurement value of a physical channel or a signal transmitted from a network node serving a cell in a radio access network, the method comprising: signalling configuration information to the wireless device, wherein the configuration information comprises an indication to adapt a filter configuration of the wireless device based on at least one of: a comparison between two or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, a comparison between measurement two or more filtered measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network, and one or more measurement values of a physical channel or a signal transmitted in a radio access network during a defined time period.

Example 30. A wireless device configured to perform any one of examples 1-28.

Example 31. A network node configured to perform example 29.

Example 32. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer processor cause the processor to perform any one of the above examples.

Example 33. A computer program product, storage medium, memory, or carrier comprising a computer program according to example 32.

Additional Description

EIL power control

The NR physical layer (see TS 38.213) specifies uplink power control algorithms for the support ofPUSCH, PUCCH, SRS and PRACH transmissions in RRC Connected mode. Common to these algorithms is that they contain an open loop power control component which adapts the UE output power according to the estimated pathloss PL. PL is defined as the difference between the base station reference signal power and the higher layer filtered RSRP.

RSRP is first estimated by the UE according to the measurement definitions in TS 38.215. The estimates are then filtered in layer 1 (LI), and finally in layer 3 (L3). The L3 filtering is based on a recursive filtered configured by RRC according to TS 38.331, section 5.5.3.2:

“F, _t = (1 — a) *F _{n !} + a *M _n where

M„ is the latest received measurement result from the physical layer;

F _n is the updated filtered measurement result, that is used for evaluation of reporting criteria or for measurement reporting; F„-i is the old filtered measurement result, where Fo is set to Mi when the first measurement result from the physical layer is received; and a = l/2 ^(kl/4) , where ki is the filter Coefficient for the corresponding measurement quantity of the i:th QuantityConfigNR in quantityConfigNR-List, and i is indicated by quantityConfiglndex in MeasObjectNR; ”

The LI filtering is to a large extent up to implementation, but TS 38.331, section 5.5.3.2, requires that the LI measurement period is equal to one intra-frequency LI measurement period:

“2> adapt the filter such that the time characteristics of the filter are preserved at different input rates, observing that the filterCoefficient k assumes a sample rate equal to X ms; The value of X is equivalent to one intra-frequency LI measurement period as defined in TS 38.133 [14] assuming non-DRX operation, and depends on frequency range. ”

The intra-frequency LI measurement period X is defined in TS 38.133, section 9.2.5.2. It depends on the configuration, but equals at least 200 ms in the case of SSB used for RSRP measurements, when no connected mode DRX is configured. FIG. 18 illustrates the normalized filter response for the default filter configuration (ki = 4) and the maximum length configuration (ki = 19).

In the normal case it is expected that the UE operates under clear sky conditions with line of sight (LOS) to the serving satellite. A long filter configuration is then beneficial to provide maximum reduction of LI RSRP estimation error including the component stemming from the intrinsic thermal noise in the RF of the UE which typically impairs RSRP measurements. This is illustrated in FIG. 19 where a vector N of samples from a, between -5 to 5 dB, uniformly distributed LI estimation error is filtered by the L3 default filter, and by the longest available L3 filter configuration. It is seen that the filter configuration based on ki=19 is outperforming the default configuration. This is a simple model which is based on the required LI -RSRP accuracy specified to 5 dB for FR1 in normal conditions (see TS 38.133).

Since the channel power variations will be very limited in LOS the slowness of a long filter configuration is not expected to impact performance in most cases. The NR radio must, however, be prepared to manage scenarios where pathloss changes drastically in both GEO and LEO scenarios. One example of such scenarios is blockage. If the line of sight to the satellite is blocked by objects such as buildings, trees, bridges, etc., there would be sudden drop in path gains. TR 38.811 models the blocking case by means of a LOS probability and the clutter loss which ranges up to 44 dB. This implies that the radio link needs to be able to handle quick and drastic changes of the channel strength. FIG. 20 presents a coupling loss trace from a VS AT UE in an arbitrary LEO scenario where clutter losses up to around 12 dB are experienced. The UE is assumed to move at 30 km/h in a rural environment.

In scenarios like this it is important that the UE can quickly adapt the UL power accordingly. In Release 15 the RSRP L3 filter rate is RRC configurable. But due to the large RTT in NTNs, especially in the case of GEO, it appears to be inefficient to use RRC reconfiguration for adapting the L3 filter response time when a UE makes a transition from LOS to NLOS conditions. Instead the UE can e.g. be configured with multiple L3 filter settings, and be required to use the long filter under stable RSRP conditions but switch to a shorter filter when significant changes in RSRP are detected in the lower layers.

While various embodiments are described herein, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of this disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Additionally, while the processes described above and illustrated in the drawings are shown as a sequence of steps, this was done solely for the sake of illustration. Accordingly, it is contemplated that some steps may be added, some steps may be omitted, the order of the steps may be re-arranged, and some steps may be performed in parallel. Also, the phrase “receiving from” should construed to cover receiving directly from or receiving indirectly from. That is, a first entity receives a message from a second entity even in the case where a third entity receives the message transmitted by the second entity and then forwards the message to the first entity.

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.