TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to estimated future transmission activity of a communication device in a communication network, and more particularly to methods and related devices and nodes supporting determining and signalling the estimate.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Next-generation random access protocols must support the connectivity of massive mobile devices. Current random-access protocols adopted in fifth generation (5G) narrowband-internet of Things (NB-loT) follow a grant-based design. Each active user equipment (UE) first selects a preamble (that is, an information sequence) from a predefined set of preambles and reports its access intention and status information (e.g., buffer size) to an access point (AP). The AP then authorizes the granted communication devices to send their connection requests in the next step. Finally, the AP allocates the resource blocks to the granted communication devices so that they can access the network without contention. This four-stage grant-based random-access protocol creates a high signaling overhead, which makes it inefficient for large-scale loT networks with massive devices. The terms "user equipment", "UE", or "mobile device" herein may be interchangeable with and replaced with the term "communication device"; and the terms "access point" or "AP" herein may be interchangeable with and replaced with the term "network node".

[0003] Grant-free massive access has arisen as an alternative approach for flexible random access with reduced latency and signaling overhead. This approach may allow the communication devices to access the network without requesting a grant prior to transmission. However, this may result in a high probability of pilot collision unless the channel coherence is long enough that all communication devices can be allocated mutually orthogonal pilots, which is typically not the case in practice. Often, the devices are allocated non-orthogonal pilots. Resolving pilot collisions is critical in grant-free massive access, especially in Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) scenarios. [0004] Combining grant-free random access with modern multiple-antenna technology, especially massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO), may bring new opportunities to exploit the spatial degrees of freedom to improve collision resolution. Massive MIMO may also offer other advantages such as a large array gain and channel hardening effects. Some algorithms for device activity detection (and joint device activity detection) for massive MIMO with grant-free access may offer some performance (e.g., see Liu, L., Larsson, E. G., Yu, W., Popovski, P., Stefanovic, C, & De Carvalho, E., Sparse signal processing for grant-free massive connectivity: A future paradigm for random access protocols in the Internet of Things. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 2018).

[0005] Uplink configured grants may be another approach. Dynamic scheduling of uplink transmissions is the main mode of operation in Long Term Evolution (LTE) and new radio (NR). While this may be a flexible scheduling solution, it may have a large overhead in terms of signaling. In LTE and NR, there are also some mechanisms to reduce the signaling load such as "configured grant type 1" and "configured grant type 2". A configured uplink grant type 1 can be provided to the UE by radio resource control (RRC). Once activated by RRC, the UE may make periodic transmissions (without any additional explicit grants) with a configured periodicity, time-offset, frequency resources and a modulation and coding scheme. A configured uplink grant type 2 is similar, but activation and deactivation is done with L1/L2 control signaling (using the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) instead of with RRC signaling.

[0006] There currently exist certain challenges. The performance of activity detection algorithms can be poor if there are too many communication devices relative to the number of available pilots, and the number of communication devices is large.

SUMMARY

[0007] There is a need for improved grant-free random access of a communication device to a communication network that may improve overhead (or enable low overhead) while having a large degree of flexibility to efficiently support use cases with varying traffic behavior.

[0008] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Various embodiments include a type of uplink signaling by which a communication device sends statistical predictions on how likely it is to transmit at given points in the future. In some embodiments, these predictions may also contain information about additional statistics related to transmissions, e.g., packet size distribution, priority class, latency requirements, error tolerance, etc. Thus, a vast amount of data that the communication device has access to (e.g., video streams, sensor data, battery status, or other information) and that would nominally be infeasible to convey to an AP, is condensed into a message that provides the AP with side information about the communication device's future behavior which in turn can aid device activity detection. [0009] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Performance may be improved in device activity detection in grant-free random access, e.g., probability of detection versus probability of false alarm. Such improvement may, in turn, lead to improved overall throughput, lower latency, and higher relatability. Additional potential technical advantages may include that knowledge related to future traffic also may provide more time for the network to adapt its operational states, e.g., to activate more resources (frequency bands, base stations, antenna elements, RAN compute capacity, etc.) before an actual overload situation occurs. Thus, more robust network performance and a better user experience may be achieved.

[0010] In various embodiments, a method performed by a communication device for determining an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period is provided. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The method further includes signalling information related to the estimate to a network node of the communication network. [0011] In some embodiments, the method further includes performing a reduction or compression of the probability to obtain the plurality of quantized parameters.

[0012] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving an acknowledgement from the network node of receipt of the information related to the estimate.

[0013] In some embodiments, the method further includes, during the future time period, determining that the communication device has data to transmit to the network node; and signalling the data to the network node in a grant-free transmission. [0014] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving an acknowledgement from the network node of receipt of the data.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method further includes obtaining updated data from the sensor of the communication device related to expected uplink traffic of the communication device. The method further includes updating the estimate to an updated estimate when the estimate changes by a predetermined amount. The updated estimate includes an incremental difference with the estimate. The method further includes signalling the updated information related to the updated estimate to the network node of the communication network.

[0016] In another embodiment, a communication device for providing estimated future transmission activity of the communication device to a network node of a communication network is provided. The communication device includes at least one processor and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing program code that is executed by the at least one processor to perform operations. The operations include determine an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include signal information related to the estimate to the network node of the communication network. [0017] In another embodiment, a communication device is provided for providing estimated future transmission activity of the communication device to a network node of a communication network. The communication device is adapted to perform the following operations. The operations include determine an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include signal information related to the estimate to the network node of the communication network.

[0018] In another embodiment, a computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry of a communication device is provided. Execution of the program code causes the communication device to perform operations. The operations include determine an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include signal information related to the estimate to the network node of the communication network. [0019] In another embodiment, a computer program product comprising a non- transitory storage medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry of a communication device is provided. Execution of the program code causes the communication device to perform operations. The operations include determine an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period.

The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include signal information related to the estimate to the network node of the communication network.

[0020] In another embodiment, a method performed by a network node of a communication network for use of estimated future transmission activity of a communication device is provided. The method includes receiving, from the communication device, information related to an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The method further includes using the information to detect activity of the communication device.

[0021] In some embodiments, the method further includes, based on the information, determining the probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period.

[0022] In some embodiments, the method further includes signalling an acknowledgement to the communication device of receipt of the information related to the estimate.

[0023] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving data from the communication device in a grant-free transmission.

[0024] In some embodiments, the method further includes signalling an acknowledgement to the communication device of receipt of the data.

[0025] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving updated information related to an updated estimate from the communication device. The updated estimate includes an incremental difference with the estimate. [0026] In another embodiment, a network node of a communication network for use of estimated future transmission activity of a communication device is provided. The network node includes at least one processor and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing program code that is executed by the at least one processor to perform operations. The operations include receive, from the communication device, information related to an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include use the information to detect activity of the communication device.

[0027] In another embodiment, a network node of a communication network for use of estimated future transmission activity of a communication device is provided. The network node is adapted to perform the following operations. The operations include receive, from the communication device, information related to an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include use the information to detect activity of the communication device.

[0028] In another embodiment, a computer program comprising program code to be executed by processing circuitry of a network node is provided. Execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations. The operations include receive, from the communication device, information related to an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include use the information to detect activity of the communication device.

[0029] In another embodiment, a computer program product comprising a non- transitory storage medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry of a network node is provided. Execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations. The operations include receive, from the communication device, information related to an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The operations further include use the information to detect activity of the communication device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 a plot of an example of traffic from a mobile sensor of a communication device having multiple activity states;

[0032] Figure 2 is a signalling diagram between a network node and a communication device in accordance with some embodiments of the present;

[0033] Figure 3 illustrates a first example of a quantized version of a probability mass function in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 4 illustrates a second example of a quantized version of a probability mass function in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a first basis-function in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a second basis-function in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 7 illustrates a third example of a first basis-function in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0038] Figure 8 illustrates am approximated probability function that is composed by th three example basis-functions of Figures 5-7 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0039] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating operations quantizing traffic prediction information in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0040] Figure 10 is a signalling diagram including incremental predictive traffic reports provided by a communication device to a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; [0041] Figure 11 is a signalling diagram in which the communication device sends several possible traffic profiles to a network node in one composite message during an initialization phase in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; [0042] Figure 12 is a signalling diagram illustrating the use of pre-defined classes of mobile device traffic in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; [0043] Figure 13 illustrates a plot of probability of miss detection versus probability of false alarm for activity detection for the numerical example in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 14 is a block diagram of a communication device (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 15 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0046] Figure 16 is a block diagram of a core network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0047] Figures 17 and 18 are flow charts of operations of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0048] Figures 19 and 20 are flow charts of operations of a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0049] Figure 21 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0050] Figure 22 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

[0051] Figure 23 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0052] Figure 24 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0053] Figure 25 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art, in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present/used in another embodiment.

[0055] In real-world networks, communication devices may have predictable activity patterns. Knowledge of these patterns may be exploited as additional information in the device activity detection to improve its performance. However, typically, it may be difficult to learn such user behavior patterns purely from the AP side, since the AP has only limited information. More specifically, estimating the parameters of an activity (behavior) model is an ill-conditioned problem because an AP observes. Predicting future activity from such observations is difficult. The AP also may not be able to observe complete information about the activity patterns. For example, the AP may not know about all previous failed access attempts (since device activity algorithms cannot deduce when an access attempt was unsuccessful).

[0056] A drawback with uplink configured grants (type 1 and type 2) includes that it is the RRC on the network side that determines all parameters of the configured grant, while it is the UE that has the best knowledge of the current traffic. When the traffic changes, the set of configuration parameters in a configured grant may quickly become ill suited for the needs of the UE.

[0057] A configured uplink grant is still a form of traffic scheduling, and while it may lack some drawbacks that come with dynamic scheduling in terms of signaling overhead, a configured uplink grant also has very little flexibility in comparison to dynamic scheduling. [0058] As previously indicated, there is a need for improved grant-free random access of a communication device to a communication network that may improve overhead (or enable low overhead) while having a large degree of flexibility to efficiently support use cases with varying traffic behavior. Potential advantages that may be provided by one or more embodiments may include improving grant-free random access of a communication device to a communication network by including an uplink signal by which a communication device sends an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period (in other words, statistical predictions on how likely the communication device is to transmit at given points in the future). In some embodiments, these predictions may also contain information about additional statistics related to transmissions, e.g., packet size distribution, priority class, latency requirements, error tolerance, etc. (referred to herein as "side information"). Thus, a vast amount of data that the communication device has access to (e.g., video streams, sensor data, battery status, or other information) and that would nominally be infeasible to convey to a network node, (e.g., an AP), is condensed into a message that provides a network node (e.g., an AP) with side information about the communication device's future behavior which in turn can aid device activity detection. By including the uplink signaling by which a communication device sends an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period, improvement to overhead (or enabling low overhead) while having a large degree of flexibility to efficiently support use cases with varying traffic behavior may be accomplished. Performance also may be improved in device activity detection in grant-free random access, e.g., probability of detection versus probability of false alarm. Such improvement, in turn, may lead to improved overall throughput, lower latency, and higher relatability. Further, knowledge related to future traffic also may provide more time for the network to adapt its operational states, e.g., to activate more resources (frequency bands, base stations, antenna elements, RAN compute capacity, etc.) before an actual overload situation occurs. Thus, more robust network performance and a better user experience may be achieved.

[0059] Various embodiments of the present disclosure include a system with at least one network node and at least one communication device. The communication device determines an estimate of its future activity, and transmits information related to the estimated future activity to the network node. The network node can use the information about the estimated future activity of the communication device as side information in device activity detection.

[0060] Some embodiments further include the communication device obtaining data from a sensor, and determining an estimate of future activity of the communication device based on the data from the sensor. The communication device transmits to the network node information related to the estimated future activity. The estimated future activity can be in the form of: a set of quantized coefficients (e.g., {ai _< }); future access probabilities {p _t }; a set of parameters describing future access probabilities (e.g., (l, m, s )); an indicator (e.g., traffic prediction indicator (TPI)). Some embodiments further include the network node, based on the information transmitted from the communication device, determining an estimate of future access probabilities {p _t }; and the communication device performing data reduction (which can include compression) of {p _t } and obtaining a set of coefficients {a _k }. In some embodiments, the parameters { a _k } are obtained by fitting a family of pre-determined basis functions {pf }.

[0061] In a communication network, each communication device observes sensor data (which could be massive, and typically large enough that it cannot feasibly be sent in its entirety to the network node). Examples of such sensor data include, but are not limited to, video streams from a camera, audio signals, light, temperature and vibration observations, air pressure sensors, humidity sensors, etc. Data can also be derived from observations of the behavior of humans and other agents (e.g., from an accelerometer of the communication device). Services, higher layer functions, applications, etc. that are currently running locally on the UE may not be fully known to the radio access network (RAN), but the UE can use such information to derive statistical information related to future transmissions.

[0062] Figure 1 is a plot of an example of traffic from a mobile sensor of a communication device having multiple activity states. Figure 1 shows a plot of example traffic with time on the x-axis and packet size or transmission priority on the y-axis. While Figure 1 depicts traffic in the non-limiting context of two distinctly different activity states, a low activity state (si) and a high activity state (s2), traffic is not so limited. Instead, the traffic may include more that two activity states, the level of activity in the states may be varied from that illustrated in Figure 1, etc.

[0063] Figure 1 also includes a triggering event (e.g., sensor data, application data, etc.).

[0064] Figure 2 is a signalling diagram between a network node 201 and a communication device 203 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example embodiment of Figure 2, predictive traffic information is used to improve uplink reception. Based on the triggering event, communication device 203 determines a statistical prediction of its future activity, e.g., in terms of the likelihood that the communication device 203 will access the channel at given future points in time as illustrated in operation 205 of Figure 2. In operation 207, communication device 203 signals to network node 201 a predictive traffic report including the statistical prediction.

In response, in operation 209, network node 201 signals to communication device 203 a predictive traffic report acknowledgement. In operation 211, network node 201 updates traffic related a-priori information for communication device 203. Subsequently, in operation 213, communication device 203 determines that it needs an uplink data transmission an, in operation 215, makes a grant-free transmission of uplink data to network node 201. In operation 217, network node 201 detects the communication device 201 activity using a-priori information and, in operation 219, receives the uplink data from communication device 203. In operation 221, network node 201 signals to communication device 203 an uplink data received acknowledgement.

[0065] In some embodiments, communication device activity is described as a probability function. The prediction of communication device activity can be, for example, represented by a probability mass function: p _t =Prob(UE will want to transmit at time t from now), where t = 1, 2, 3, ... , ¥. Error! Reference source not found, and 4 provide two examples, respectively, of a quantized version of {p _t }. Figure 3 illustrates a first example of a quantized version of a probability mass function {p _t } in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4 illustrates a second example of a quantized version of a probability mass function {p _t } in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [0066] In some embodiments, a communication device activity probability function uses basis-functions. Once the communication device (e.g., communication device 203) has determined its best estimate of its future activity, represented by the probability mass function [p _t ], this function is quantized into a manageable number of coefficients in order to convey it to the AP (e.g., network node 201). The estimation of [pt] and the transmission of an approximated version of it to the AP are performed as a data reduction (also referred to herein as dimension reduction) scheme. An example embodiment is as follows: Use a basis function expansion in terms of a pre-determined family of K probability mass functions K such that

[0067] In some embodiments, the would be well-localized in time, although that is not required.

[0068] The communication device then determines K coefficients [a _± , ... , a _K } such that

[0069] These coefficients can be determined, for example, using the least-squares

(LS) regression, in which case optimal coefficients { a _t , ... , a _K } are found by minimizing the residual:

[0070] Specifically, considering a finite time series t = 1, ··· , N, define a = ,and the least- squares solution (optimal coefficient vector) can be obtained as:

[0071] The communication device sends the coefficients [a ₁ , ... , a _K } to the AP, which in turn uses å _k =i ^a _k P _t as the estimate of p _t (that is, the probability that this particular communication device will access the channel at time t in the future).

[0072] In an example embodiment, the basis-functions could be rectangles, as illustrated in Figures 5 to 7. Figure 5 illustrates an example of a first basis-function in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 6 illustrates an example of a second basis-function {pi} in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 7 illustrates an example of a third basis-function {pi } in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Effectively the basis- functions correspond to having the communication device state that "the probability that I will access the channel between time t _j and t _i+1 in the future is equal to ...". The approximated probability function that is composed by these three example basis- functions is illustrated in Figure 8. An approximated {p _t }, denoted [p _t ] in Figure 8, using the three example basis functions of Figure 5-7, is compared to an instance of a true {p _t }. [0073] In some embodiments, the coefficients {a _k } can be quantized to further reduce the dimension of the data that needs be conveyed to the AP (e.g., network node 201). This quantization can be performed as an integral part of the least-squares regression. For example, assume that a _k for k = 1, 2, ··· , K takes values from a finite set V = {v _t , v ₂ , ··· , v _M } where M is a finite number. The number of bits needed to represent each quantized a _k is [log ₂ M], The objective is then to find the optimal quantized coefficient vector that minimizes the sum with

[0074] In another embodiment, [p _t ] (or { a _k } if the basis function approach is used) is quantized using a vector quantization scheme before they are transmitted to the AP (e.g., network node 201). For example, the communication device and the AP may use a shared codebook.

[0075] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating operations quantizing traffic prediction information in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Operations of a UE are illustrated in boxes having solid lines, and operations of an AP are illustrated in boxes having dashed lines. Referring first to operations of the UE, the UE collects and/or processes 901 sensing data from a sensor of the UE. The collection/processing of the sensing data triggers the UE to predict (that is, perform a statistical determination of an estimate) 903 of future activity of the UE (e.g., the likelihood that the UE will access a channel at given future points in time). The predicted activity can be represented by a probability mass function, (p _t }£l ±, where {p _t } is the probability mass function for the probability that the UE will transmit at time t from now, where t = 1, 2, 3, . . ., ¥. [0076] Still referring to Figure 9, once the UE has determined the prediction of future activity 903 represented by the probability mass function, the UE quantizes 905 the prediction into a manageable number of coefficients to convey to the AP. The quantization can be performed as described above to obtain K coefficients { a _t , ... , a _K }. The communication device determines K coefficients [a ₁ , ... , a _K } such that

[0077] These coefficients can be determined, for example, using the least-squares

(LS) regression, in which case optimal coefficients { a _t , ... , a _K } are found by minimizing the residual:

[0078] Specifically, considering a finite time series t = 1, ··· , N, define a = the least- squares solution (optimal coefficient vector) can be obtained as:

[0079] The communication device transmits quantized prediction to the AP.

[0080] Still referring to Figure 9, the AP receives the quantized prediction, and constructs 907 the predicted future activity from the quantized prediction (that is, constructs from The AP uses the constructed predicted future activity 909 in signal processing as the estimate of p _t (that is, the probability that this particular communication device will access the channel at time t in the future).

[0081] Figure 10 is a signalling diagram including incremental predictive traffic reports provided by a communication device to a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0082] Referring to Figure 10, incremental (that is, differential) updates of UE activity probability are provided. To avoid transmitting redundant information repeatedly, in this embodiment the UE (e.g., communication device 201) transmits 1005 updates to {p _t } incrementally, that is, a new update when the estimated future activity changes significantly (as illustrated in block 1001). For example, the UE may update 1003 its { p _t } when the difference between a previously transmitted [p _t ] and the currently estimated [pt] exceeds a pre-determined threshold. This difference can be measured, for example, by the following metric: where {w _t } is pre-determined sequence of coefficients (typically decaying).

[0083] Thus, only differential information is transmitted when the communication device 203 sends an updated {{p}_t}. For example, all communication devices and the AP can have a shared codebook of dimension L. This could be, for instance, a Grassmannian codebook (see e.g., https://en.wikipedi3.org/wiki/Gr3ssmannian (accessed on July 1, 2021)). Once a UE (e.g., communication device 203) generates a new prediction 1003 of its future activity it first divides the time index sequence {I,.,.,T} into D = \T/L ] segments of equal length (padding zeros to the last segment, if necessary). Each segment, treated as an L-dimensional vector, is then compared with the segment in the same position from the previous {p _t } sequence. When the magnitude of the difference exceeds a pre-determined threshold, the quantized differential updates will be sent 1005 to the AP (e.g., network node 201).

[0084] Figure 11 is a signalling diagram in which communication device 203 sends

1103 several possible traffic profiles to network node 201 in one composite message during an initialization phase in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. This may enable the communication device to quickly switch between a set of pre-defined traffic profiles by sending a small indicator message.

[0085] In the embodiment of Figure 11, communication device 203 obtains 1101 characteristics of expected uplink traffic {pi _, P2} for at least two operational states {si, s2}. When communication device 203 and network node 201 agree on a set of valid traffic profiles (operations 1103, 1105), traffic prediction reporting is reduced to an indicator (e.g., a small indicator) report 1109 from communication device 203 to network node 201. When the state of communication device 203 changes 1107, 1115 in a way such that future traffic is impacted, communication device 203 sends 1109, 1117 a traffic prediction indicator (TPI) to network node 201 that can be a single bit (in a case of two states {si, s2}, e.g. high activity and low activity) or a small number of bits (in a case of more than two states, e.g. high activity and low priority, high activity and high priority, low activity and low priority, low activity and high priority, etc.). Network node 201 acknowledges 1111, 1119 receipt of the state indicator report; and updates traffic related a-priori information for communication device 203 in accordance with the received traffic report state 1109 and/or 1117, respectively.

[0086] In some embodiments, as illustrated in Figure 12, there can be pre-defined classes of mobile device behaviors (e.g., that may be defined in a standard). This may reduce the amount of signaling needed for initialization of the mobile device 203.

[0087] Figure 12 is a signalling diagram illustrating the use of pre-defined classes of mobile device traffic in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Mobile device 203 obtains 1201 mobile device traffic type class [class x]. Mobile device 203 signals 1203 a UE traffic type class report {class x} to network node 201. Network node 201 signals 1205 an acknowledgement to mobile device 203 of the UE traffic type class report {class x}. Mobile device 203 detects 1207 a state y operation; and signals 1209 a state indicator report {state y} to network node 201. Network node 201 signals 1211 an acknowledgement to mobile device 203 of the state indicator report {state y}. Network node 201 updates 1213 traffic related a-priori information for mobile device 203 in accordance with state y for traffic class x.

[0088] In some embodiments, a model based description of predictive traffic is used. In some cases, future traffic can be described by a mathematical model, e.g., a mathematical model of packet arrival rate and packet size distribution. The packet arrival rate can be, e.g., approximated by a Poisson distribution with intensity parameter of l transmission per seconds. Alternatively, the packet arrival can be periodic, and can accurately be described in terms of a periodicity (p) and a transmission window of length N slots such that the probability outside of the periodic transmission window is (or is close to) zero and the transmission probability inside of the transmission window is 1/N. The traffic size can, e.g., follow a uniform distribution between a maximum and minimum packet size [minSize, maxSize] or a normal distribution described by a mean m and a standard deviation s. In such embodiments, the traffic prediction report can simply contain quantized versions of the model parameters, e.g. (l, m, s). The set of parameters can be compressed by defining them in a standardized table and transmitting an index to a row in that table that best describe the parameters.

[0089] In some embodiments, additional information is included in the traffic prediction reports. Traffic prediction reports can be provided per service class. Alternatively, the current quality of service (QoS) requirements (latency tolerance, error tolerance, etc.) can be included in the reporting. A service with a low latency tolerance can be, e.g., given a higher a-priori probability in a user activity detection algorithm to reduce the number of missed detections (which may be at the expense of an increased false alarm rate).

[0090] Various embodiments include events in a communication device that may trigger a change in predictive traffic behavior. The prediction of future traffic in a communication device may change for a multitude of reasons. Some non-limiting and non- exhaustive examples are provided in the list below:

• A new service, or a new higher-layer function, or a new application is activated in the device. It may be, e.g., for logging purposes in a third-party (over-the-top) application that the network is unaware of.

• The mobile sensor may be, e.g., requested to periodically send positioning information in addition to the normal sensor data.

• The communication device may receive a command to increase its periodicity and information detail of its reporting.

• A communication device may detect that a human is interacting with it and this may trigger a higher activity level.

• The communication device may detect an anomaly of some kind (vibration increase, smoke detected, sound detected, etc.) that causes the traffic behavior to change.

• The communication device may receive information from a camera (in the device or in the vicinity) that something interesting or unexpected is happening or likely to happen.

• A low battery status is detected. When the battery power is low the communication device needs to conserve energy, and this may trigger a more restrictive behavior until the communication device is recharged again. [0091] A numerical example is now discussed. Figure 13 illustrates a plot of probability of miss detection on the y-axis versus probability of false alarm for activity detection on the x-axis for a numerical example in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The example of Figure 13 illustrates a simulation that demonstrates a benefit of having activity probability side information in the device activity detection in a massive MIMO access point. More specifically, Figure 13 shows an example of how side information may be exploited to improve the device activity detection at the AP, for a sample simulation setup. In the simulation, there was a single-cell network, one AP with M = 100 antennas and N = 2000 single-antenna devices. On average, there were K = 100 active devices at every time instance. Devices were assumed to be divided into two groups, V _A and D _B , with \V _A \ = K = 100 and \Ί) _B \ = N — K = 1900. Devices in group A and group B access the AP with probabilities e _A and e _B = respectively. The simulation set e _avg = K/N = 0.05 to make the expected number of channel accesses equal to K. The length of the pilot sequences was L = 100. The signal- to-noise ratio (SNR) was 10 dB. A modified version of the approximate message passing (AMP) algorithm proposed for device activity detection in massive MIMO in Liu, L., & Yu, W., Massive connectivity with massive MIMO— Part I, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 2018 was applied. The modification replaced the access probability e in the algorithm with specific probabilities for each one of the UEs. These probabilities precisely represent the side information provided to the detector. A modified stopping criterion was also used. The maximum number of iterations in the AMP algorithm was 50. The tradeoff between the probability of false alarm and the probability of miss for different values of e _A (that is values of 0.05, 0.65, and 0.95) is presented in Figure 13. Figure 13 shows that with more prior knowledge of the device activity (higher e _A ), the detection performance can be improved.

[0092] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a communication device

1400 (also referred to as a user equipment, UE, a mobile device, mobile terminal, a mobile communication terminal, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a wireless terminal, mobile device, a wireless communication terminal, a user equipment node/terminal/device, a computer, etc.) configured to provide operations according to embodiments of inventive concepts. (Communication device 1400 may be provided, for example, as discussed below with respect to wireless devices UE QQ112A, UE QQ112B, and wired or wireless devices UE QQ112C, UE QQ112D of Figure 21, UE QQ200 of Figure 22, and virtualization hardware QQ504 and virtual machines QQ508A, QQ508B of Figure 25, all of which should be considered interchangeable in the examples and embodiments described herein and be within the intended scope of this disclosure, unless otherwise noted.) As shown, computing device may include transceiver circuitry 1401 (also referred to as a transceiver, e.g., corresponding to interface QQ212 of Figure 22 having transmitter QQ218 and receiver QQ220) including a transmitter and a receiver configured to provide uplink and downlink radio communications with a base station(s) (e.g., corresponding to network node QQ110A, QQ110B of Figure 21, and network node QQ300 of Figure 23 also referred to as a RAN node) of a communication network (e.g., radio access network). Communication device may also include processing circuitry 1403 (also referred to as a processor, e.g., corresponding to processing circuitry QQ202 of Figure 22, and control system QQ512 of Figure 25) coupled to the transceiver circuitry, and memory circuitry 1405 (also referred to as memory, e.g., corresponding to memory QQ210 of Figure 21) coupled to the processing circuitry. The memory circuitry 1405 may include computer readable program code that when executed by the processing circuitry 1403 causes the processing circuitry to perform operations according to embodiments disclosed herein. According to other embodiments, processing circuitry 1403 may be defined to include memory so that separate memory circuitry is not required. Communication device may also include an interface (such as a user interface) coupled with processing circuitry 1403, and/or communication device may be incorporated in a vehicle.

[0093] As discussed herein, operations of communication device may be performed by processing circuitry 1403 and/or transceiver circuitry 1401. For example, processing circuitry 1403 may control transceiver circuitry 1401 to transmit communications through transceiver circuitry 1401 over a radio interface to a communication network ( e.g., a radio access network node (also referred to as a base station)) and/or to receive communications through transceiver circuitry 1401 from a communication network (e.g., a RAN node over a radio interface). Moreover, modules may be stored in memory circuitry 1405, and these modules may provide instructions so that when instructions of a module are executed by processing circuitry 1403, processing circuitry 1403 performs respective operations (e.g., operations discussed below with respect to Example Embodiments relating to computing devices). According to some embodiments, a communication device 1400 and/or an element(s)/function(s) thereof may be embodied as a virtual node/nodes and/or a virtual machine/machines.

[0094] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a network node 1500

(also referred to as an AP (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)) of a communication network (e.g., a Radio Access Network (RAN) configured to provide cellular communication) according to embodiments of the present disclosure. (Network node 1500 may be provided, for example, as discussed below with respect to network node QQ110A, QQ110B of Figure 21, network node QQ300 of Figure 23, and/or hardware QQ504 or virtual machine QQ508A, QQ508B of Figure 25, all of which should be considered interchangeable in the examples and embodiments described herein and be within the intended scope of this disclosure, unless otherwise noted.) As shown, the network node may include transceiver circuitry 1501 (also referred to as a transceiver, e.g., corresponding to portions of RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 and radio front end circuitry QQ318 of Figure 23) including a transmitter and a receiver configured to provide uplink and downlink radio communications with communication devices. The network node may include network interface circuitry 1507 (also referred to as a network interface, e.g., corresponding to portions of communication interface QQ306 of Figure 23) configured to provide communications with other nodes (e.g., with other network nodes) of the communication network (e.g., RAN and/or core network CN). The network node may also include processing circuitry 1503 (also referred to as a processor, e.g., corresponding to processing circuitry QQ302 of Figure 23) coupled to the transceiver circuitry, and memory circuitry 1505 (also referred to as memory, e.g., corresponding to memory QQ304 of Figure 23) coupled to the processing circuitry. The memory circuitry 1505 may include computer readable program code that when executed by the processing circuitry 1503 causes the processing circuitry to perform operations according to embodiments disclosed herein. According to other embodiments, processing circuitry 1503 may be defined to include memory so that a separate memory circuitry is not required. [0095] As discussed herein, operations of the network node may be performed by processing circuitry 1503, network interface 1507, and/or transceiver 1501. For example, processing circuitry 1503 may control transceiver 1501 to transmit downlink communications through transceiver 1501 over a radio interface to one or more mobile terminals UEs and/or to receive uplink communications through transceiver 1501 from one or more communication devices over a radio interface. Similarly, processing circuitry 1503 may control network interface 1507 to transmit communications through network interface 1507 to one or more other network nodes and/or to receive communications through network interface from one or more other network nodes. Moreover, modules may be stored in memory 1505, and these modules may provide instructions so that when instructions of a module are executed by processing circuitry 1503, processing circuitry 1503 performs respective operations (e.g., operations discussed below with respect to Example Embodiments relating to network nodes). According to some embodiments, network node 1500 and/or an element(s)/function(s) thereof may be embodied as a virtual node/nodes and/or a virtual machine/machines.

[0096] According to some other embodiments, a network node may be implemented as a core network CN node without a transceiver. In such embodiments, transmission to a wireless communication device may be initiated by the network node so that transmission to the wireless communication device is provided through a network node including a transceiver (e.g., through a base station or RAN node). According to embodiments where the network node is a RAN node including a transceiver, initiating transmission may include transmitting through the transceiver.

[0097] Figure 16 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a core network (CN) node 1600 (e.g., an SMF (session management function) node, an AMF (access and mobility management function) node, etc.) of a communication network configured to provide operations according to embodiments of the present disclosure. (CN node 1600 may be provided, for example, as discussed below with respect to core network node QQ108 of Figure 21, hardware QQ504 or virtual machine QQ508A, QQ508B of Figure 25, all of which should be considered interchangeable in the examples and embodiments described herein and be within the intended scope of this disclosure, unless otherwise noted) As shown, the CN node may include network interface circuitry 1607 configured to provide communications with other nodes of the core network and/or a radio access network RAN. The CN node may also include a processing circuitry 1603 (also referred to as a processor,) coupled to the network interface circuitry, and memory circuitry 1605 (also referred to as memory) coupled to the processing circuitry. The memory circuitry 1605 may include computer readable program code that when executed by the processing circuitry 1603 causes the processing circuitry to perform operations according to embodiments disclosed herein. According to other embodiments, processing circuitry 1603 may be defined to include memory so that a separate memory circuitry is not required.

[0098] As discussed herein, operations of the CN node may be performed by processing circuitry 1603 and/or network interface circuitry 1607. For example, processing circuitry 1603 may control network interface circuitry 1607 to transmit communications through network interface circuitry 1607 to one or more other network nodes and/or to receive communications through network interface circuitry from one or more other network nodes. Moreover, modules may be stored in memory 1605, and these modules may provide instructions so that when instructions of a module are executed by processing circuitry 1603, processing circuitry 1603 performs respective operations. According to some embodiments, CN node 1600 and/or an element(s)/function(s) thereof may be embodied as a virtual node/nodes and/or a virtual machine/machines.

[0099] In the description that follows, while the communication device may be any of the communication device 1400, wireless device QQ112A, QQ112B, wired or wireless devices UE QQ112C, UE QQ112D, UE QQ200, virtualization hardware QQ504, virtual machines QQ508A, QQ508B, or UE QQ606, the communication device 1400 shall be used to describe the functionality of the operations of the communication device. Operations of the communication device 1400 (implemented using the structure of the block diagram of Figure 14) will now be discussed with reference to the flow charts of Figures 17 and 18 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, modules may be stored in memory 1405 of Figure 14, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective communication device processing circuitry 1403, processing circuitry 1403 performs respective operations of the flow chart. [00100] Referring first to Figure 17, a method performed by a communication device (203, 1400) for providing estimated future transmission activity of the communication device to a network node (201, 1500) of a communication network is provided. The method includes determining (1701) an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The method further includes signalling (1703) information related to the estimate to the network node of the communication network.

[00101] In some embodiments, the determining (1701) an estimate includes: obtaining data from a sensor of the communication device related to expected uplink traffic of the communication device; identifying a triggering event from the data for determining the estimate; and responsive to the triggering event, determining the estimate from the data.

[00102] In some embodiments, the information related to the estimate comprises at least one of: a plurality of quantized parameters for the probability of transmission of the communication device for the future time period; the probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period; an indicator of the probability of transmission of the communication device for the future time period; and a plurality of parameters derived from a model, wherein the plurality of parameters describe the probability of transmission of the communication device for the future time period. [00103] Referring now to Figure 18, in some embodiments, the method further comprises performing (1801) a reduction or compression of the probability to obtain the plurality of quantized parameters.

[00104] In some embodiments, the plurality of quantized parameters are obtained by at least one of fitting a plurality of pre-determined basis functions to the probability and a vector quantization.

[00105] In some embodiments, the indicator is based on a plurality of pre-defined traffic profiles provided by the communication device to the network node.

[00106] In some embodiments, the information further includes metrics related to transmissions of the communication device. [00107] Still referring to Figure 18, in some embodiments, the method further includes receiving (1803) an acknowledgement from the network node of receipt of the information related to the estimate.

[00108] In some embodiments, the method further includes during the future time period, determining (1805) that the communication device has data to transmit to the network node; and signalling (1807) the data to the network node in a grant-free transmission.

[00109] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving (1809) an acknowledgement from the network node of receipt of the data.

[00110] In some embodiments, the method further includes obtaining (1811) updated data from the sensor of the communication device related to expected uplink traffic of the communication device. The method further includes updating (1813) the estimate to an updated estimate when the estimate changes by a predetermined amount. The updated estimate includes an incremental difference with the estimate. The method further includes signalling (1815) the updated information related to the updated estimate to the network node of the communication network.

[00111] Various operations from the flow chart of Figure 18 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of a method performed by a communication device. For example, operations of blocks 1801-1815 of Figure 18 may be optional.

[00112] In the description that follows, while the network node may be any of the network node 1500, network node QQ110A, QQ110B, QQ300, QQ606, hardware QQ504, or virtual machine QQ508A, QQ508B, the network node 1500 shall be used to describe the functionality of the operations of the network node. Operations of the network node 1500 (implemented using the structure of Figure 15) will now be discussed with reference to the flow charts of Figures 19 and 20 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, modules may be stored in memory 1505 of Figure 15, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by respective network node processing circuitry 1503, processing circuitry 1503 performs respective operations of the flow charts.

[00113] Referring first to Figure 19, a method performed by a network node (201, 1500) of a communication network for use of estimated future transmission activity of a communication device (203, 1400) is provided. The method includes receiving (1901), from the communication device, information related to an estimate of transmission activity of the communication device for a future time period. The estimate includes a probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period. The method further includes using (1903) the information to detect activity of the communication device.

[00114] In some embodiments, the information related to the estimate includes at least one of: a plurality of quantized parameters for the probability of transmission of the communication device for the future time period; the probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period; an indicator of the probability of transmission of the communication device for the future time period; and a plurality of parameters derived from a model, wherein the plurality of parameters describe the probability of transmission of the communication device for the future time period. [00115] In some embodiments, the plurality of quantized parameters are a reduction or compression of the probability.

[00116] In some embodiments, the plurality of quantized parameters are obtained by at least one of fitting a plurality of pre-determined basis functions to the probability and a vector quantization.

[00117] In some embodiments, the indicator is based on a plurality of pre-defined traffic profiles provided by the communication device to the network node.

[00118] In some embodiments, the information further includes metrics related to transmissions of the communication device.

[00119] Referring now to Figure 20, in some embodiments, the method further includes, based on the information, determining (2001) the probability of a transmission of the communication device for the future time period.

[00120] In some embodiments, the method further includes signalling (2003) an acknowledgement to the communication device of receipt of the information related to the estimate.

[00121] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving (2005) data from the communication device in a grant-free transmission. [00122] In some embodiments, the method further includes signalling (2007) an acknowledgement to the communication device of receipt of the data.

[00123] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving (2009) updated information related to an updated estimate from the communication device. The updated estimate includes an incremental difference with the estimate.

[00124] Various operations from the flow chart of Figure 20 may be optional with respect to some embodiments of a method performed by a network node. For example, operations of blocks 2001-2009 of Figure 20 may be optional.

[00125] Although communication device 1400 and network node 1500 are illustrated in the example block diagrams of Figures 14 and 15 each may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices and servers with different combinations of components or network functions. It is to be understood that each of a communication device and a network node comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of each of a communication device and a network node are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, each device may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., a memory may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

[00126] Figure 21 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[00127] In the example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunication network QQ102 that includes an access network QQ104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes QQllOa and QQllOb (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes QQ110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes QQ110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs QQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs QQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[00128] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system QQ100 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

[00129] The UEs QQ112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes QQ110 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs QQ112 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network QQ102 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network QQ102.

[00130] In the depicted example, the core network QQ106 connects the network nodes QQ110 to one or more hosts, such as host QQ116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network QQ106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node QQ108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[00131] The host QQ116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and/or the telecommunication network QQ102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host QQ116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server. [00132] As a whole, the communication system QQ100 of Figure 21 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[00133] In some examples, the telecommunication network QQ102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network QQ102. For example, the telecommunications network QQ102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[00134] In some examples, the UEs QQ112 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network QQ104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network QQ104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR- DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[00135] In the example, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and/or QQ112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node QQllOb). In some examples, the hub QQ114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub QQ114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network QQ106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes QQ110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub QQ114. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub QQ114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub QQ114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub QQ114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices. [00136] The hub QQ114 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node QQllOb. The hub QQ114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and/or QQ112d), and between the hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, the hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network QQ104 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes QQ110 while still connected via the hub QQ114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node QQllOb. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node QQllOb, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

[00137] Figure 22 shows a UE QQ200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[00138] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[00139] The UE QQ200 includes processing circuitry QQ202 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ204 to an input/output interface QQ206, a power source QQ208, a memory QQ210, a communication interface QQ212, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 22. 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.

[00140] The processing circuitry QQ202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory QQ210. The processing circuitry QQ202 may be implemented as one or more hardware- implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry QQ202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[00141] In the example, the input/output interface QQ206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE QQ200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[00142] In some embodiments, the power source QQ208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source QQ208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source QQ208 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE QQ200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source QQ208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source QQ208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE QQ200 to which power is supplied.

[00143] The memory QQ210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory QQ210 includes one or more application programs QQ214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ216. The memory QQ210 may store, for use by the UE QQ200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[00144] The memory QQ210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as 'SIM card.' The memory QQ210 may allow the UE QQ200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory QQ210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium. [00145] The processing circuitry QQ202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface QQ212. The communication interface QQ212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ222. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ218 and/or a receiver QQ220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter QQ218 and receiver QQ220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[00146] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface QQ212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[00147] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface QQ212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[00148] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input. [00149] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Nonlimiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE QQ200 shown in Figure 22.

[00150] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[00151] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[00152] Figure 23 shows a network node QQ300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).

[00153] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[00154] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multicell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[00155] The network node QQ300 includes a processing circuitry QQ302, a memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306, and a power source QQ308. The network node QQ300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node QQ300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node QQ300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory QQ304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna QQ310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node QQ300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node QQ300.

[00156] The processing circuitry QQ302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node QQ300 components, such as the memory QQ304, to provide network node QQ300 functionality.

[00157] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[00158] The memory QQ304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device- readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry QQ302. The memory QQ304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300. The memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ302 and/or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 and memory QQ304 is integrated.

[00159] The communication interface QQ306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface QQ306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) QQ316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes radio front-end circuitry QQ318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna QQ310. Radio front-end circuitry QQ318 comprises filters QQ320 and amplifiers QQ322. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may be connected to an antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front- end circuitry QQ318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ320 and/or amplifiers QQ322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

[00160] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node QQ300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry QQ318, instead, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 is part of the communication interface QQ306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ306 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, the radio front-end circuitry QQ318, and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown). [00161] The antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna QQ310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna QQ310 is separate from the network node QQ300 and connectable to the network node QQ300 through an interface or port.

[00162] The antenna QQ310, communication interface QQ306, and/or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and/or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

[00163] The power source QQ308 provides power to the various components of network node QQ300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source QQ308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node QQ300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source QQ308. As a further example, the power source QQ308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[00164] Embodiments of the network node QQ300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 23 for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node QQ300 and to allow output of information from the network node QQ300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ300.

[00165] Figure 24 is a block diagram of a host QQ400, which may be an embodiment of the host QQ116 of Figure 21, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host QQ400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host QQ400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[00166] The host QQ400 includes processing circuitry QQ402 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ404 to an input/output interface QQ406, a network interface QQ408, a power source QQ410, and a memory QQ412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures QQ2 and QQ3, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host QQ400.

[00167] The memory QQ412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs QQ414 and data QQ416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host QQ400 or data generated by the host QQ400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host QQ400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs QQ414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (FIEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs QQ414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host QQ400 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs QQ414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[00168] Figure 25 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments QQ500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

[00169] Applications QQ502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[00170] Hardware QQ504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers QQ506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs QQ508a and QQ508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs QQ508), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs QQ508. [00171] The VMs QQ508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs QQ508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[00172] In the context of NFV, a VM QQ508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non- virtualized machine. Each of the VMs QQ508, and that part of hardware QQ504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs QQ508 on top of the hardware QQ504 and corresponds to the application QQ502.

[00173] Flardware QQ504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Flardware QQ504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware QQ504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration QQ510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications QQ502. In some embodiments, hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system QQ512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units. [00174] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non- transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[00175] In the above description of various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of present inventive concepts. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which present inventive concepts belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[00176] When an element is referred to as being "connected", "coupled", "responsive", or variants thereof to another element, it can be directly connected, coupled, or responsive to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected", "directly coupled", "directly responsive", or variants thereof to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Furthermore, "coupled", "connected", "responsive", or variants thereof as used herein may include wirelessly coupled, connected, or responsive. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. The term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[00177] It will be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements/operations, these elements/operations should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element/operation from another element/operation. Thus, a first element/operation in some embodiments could be termed a second element/operation in other embodiments without departing from the teachings of present inventive concepts. The same reference numerals or the same reference designators denote the same or similar elements throughout the specification.

[00178] As used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "comprises", "include", "including", "includes", "have", "has", "having", or variants thereof are open-ended, and include one or more stated features, integers, elements, steps, components or functions but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, steps, components, functions or groups thereof. Furthermore, as used herein, the common abbreviation "e.g.", which derives from the Latin phrase "exempli gratia," may be used to introduce or specify a general example or examples of a previously mentioned item, and is not intended to be limiting of such item. The common abbreviation "i.e.", which derives from the Latin phrase "id est," may be used to specify a particular item from a more general recitation.

[00179] Example embodiments are described herein with reference to block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations of computer-implemented methods, apparatus (systems and/or devices) and/or computer program products. It is understood that a block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by computer program instructions that are performed by one or more computer circuits. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor circuit of a general purpose computer circuit, special purpose computer circuit, and/or other programmable data processing circuit to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, transform and control transistors, values stored in memory locations, and other hardware components within such circuitry to implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks, and thereby create means (functionality) and/or structure for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block(s).

[00180] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a tangible computer-readable medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks. Accordingly, embodiments of present inventive concepts may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) that runs on a processor such as a digital signal processor, which may collectively be referred to as "circuitry," "a module" or variants thereof.

[00181] It should also be noted that in some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the flowcharts. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Moreover, the functionality of a given block of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be separated into multiple blocks and/or the functionality of two or more blocks of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be at least partially integrated. Finally, other blocks may be added/inserted between the blocks that are illustrated, and/or blocks/operations may be omitted without departing from the scope of inventive concepts. Moreover, although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

[00182] Many variations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present inventive concepts. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of present inventive concepts. Accordingly, the above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the examples of embodiments are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall within the spirit and scope of present inventive concepts. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of present inventive concepts is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the present disclosure including the examples of embodiments and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.