Technical Field

This disclosure relates to communication networks, and in particular to adapting a packet delay budget (PDB) for a UE-to-network relay scenario.

Background

For a 5 ^th Generation communication network, clause 5.7.3.4 of the 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TS 23.501 v16.5.0 defines a Packet Delay Budget (PDB). The PDB defines an upper bound for the time that a packet may be delayed between a wireless device (known as a User Equipment - UE) and the User Plane Function (UPF) that terminates an N6 interface. For a certain 5G Quality of Service (QoS) Indicator (5QI) the value of the PDB is the same in uplink (UL) and downlink (DL). In the case of 3GPP access, the PDB is used to support the configuration of scheduling and link layer functions (e.g. the setting of scheduling priority weights and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) target operating points). For Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) QoS Flows using the Delay-critical resource type, a packet delayed more than PDB is counted as lost if the data burst is not exceeding the Maximum Data Burst Volume (MDBV) within the period of PDB, and the QoS Flow is not exceeding the Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR). For GBR QoS Flows with GBR resource type not exceeding GFBR, 98 percent of the packets shall not experience a delay exceeding the 5QI's PDB.

The 5G Access Network (AN) Packet Delay Budget (5G-AN PDB) is determined by subtracting a static value for the Core Network (CN) Packet Delay Budget (CN PDB), which represents the delay between any UPF terminating N6 (that may possibly be selected for the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session) and the 5G-AN from a given PDB.

The present disclosure concerns the 5G-AN PDB, and in particular the PDB where a UE is operating as a relay UE between another UE (referred to as a ‘remote UE’) and the radio AN (RAN). The connection between the remote UE and the relay UE can be according to 5G techniques, in which case the connection is known as ‘sidelink’ and is specified in the 3GPP Release 16 standards. Alternatively, other communication technologies can be used, such as WiFi or Bluetooth.

Fig. 1 is an architecture model using a Proximity-based Services (ProSe) 5G UE- to-Network Relay, which is taken from 3GPP TR 23.752 v0.3.0. Thus Fig. 1 shows a Remote UE that is connected to the NG-RAN via a Relay UE (e.g. a ProSe UE-to- Network Relay). The relay UE can be a dedicated relay device, or a typical UE that can selectively operate as a relay UE. The interface between the Remote UE and the Relay UE is a PC5 interface, and the interface between the Relay UE and the RAN is the Uu interface.

The Relay UE entity provides the functionality to support connectivity to the network for Remote UEs. It can be used for both public safety services and commercial services (e.g. an interactive service).

A UE is considered to be a Remote UE for a certain relay UE if it has successfully established a PC5 link to this Relay UE. A Remote UE can be located within NG-RAN coverage or outside of NG-RAN coverage. The Relay UE shall relay unicast traffic (UL and DL) between the Remote UE and the network. The Relay UE shall provide generic function that can relay any Internet Protocol (IP) traffic. A Relay UE can be Layer 3 (L3) based or Layer 2 (L2) based.

Summary

In the upcoming 3GPP Release 17 (Rel-17) Study Item (SI) on New Radio (NR) sidelink relay (3GPP submission RP-193253), several objectives will be studied. One of these objectives is to consider the impact on the user plane protocol stack and the control plane procedure, e.g. connection management of relayed connection.

As described above, for a flow with critical QoS requirement, its 5G-AN PDB (i.e. the delay budget between the UE and the RAN) is determined by subtracting the value for the CN PDB (i.e., the delay budget between UPF and the RAN). For such a flow, a dynamic value for the CN PDB can be configured by the Session Management Function (SMF) or the RAN node locally. Therefore, the flow will have a specific AN PDB, which every packet (e.g. IP packet) of the flow needs to fulfil in order to guarantee required QoS for the flow.

For a UE directly connecting to RAN without relaying, there is only one hop transmission between the UE and the RAN. Thus for every transmission (either UL or DL), the gNB can make a proper scheduling for the transmission limited by the AN PDB.

However for a remote UE connecting to a UE to network relay UE via a sidelink (as shown in Fig. 1), every transmission initiated by the remote UE will be relayed to the RAN via the relay UE. In such a case, the transmission for a flow in RAN would comprise two hops, meaning that the transmission through the two hops needs to fulfil the AN PDB. One straightforward option would be to split the AN PDB between the two hops. In this way, the RAN node (i.e. the gNB) can configure respective PDB for each hop. The two PDBs are summarised to be equal to the AN PDB. Therefore, the transmission on each hop can fulfil a separate PDB.

However, due to varying radio channel quality, the transmission time on either of the two hops could change packet-by-packet. A semi-static setting of the PDB for each hop will not give optimum performance especially when the UE (either the remote UE or the relay UE) moves.

Therefore, it is an aim to provide a solution to mitigate the drawbacks of semi-static setting of the PDB for each hop.

In some embodiments, a mechanism to adapt the PDB for each link depending on measured packet delay or measured radio link quality is proposed. In this way, in the event that a packet from the remote UE or the gNB is delayed on the initial link that it traverses, the packet can be prioritised for transmission on the next link to still fulfil the overall PDB in RAN. In case a packet is transmitted using a shorter time than the PDB on the initial link, the packet can be transmitted on the next link with lower priority to release resources to other high priority transmissions, while still meeting the PDB requirement in RAN.

As used herein, the remote UE relay UE part is referred to as the “remoterelay link” or “RR link” for short, and the relay UE base station/RAN node/gNB part is referred to as the “relay-base station link” or “RB link” for short. It should be noted, therefore, that for UL transmissions the packet(s) first traverse the RR link followed by the RB link (i.e. remote UE relay UE and then relay UE -> gNB). For DL transmissions the packet(s) first traverse the RB link followed by the RR link (i.e. gNB relay UE and then relay remote UE). These labels for the links are shown in Fig. 1.

Some embodiments propose a coordinated transmission and scheduling procedure limited by a PDB across the two links in a UE to network relay scenario. In order to enforce the PDB requirement across the two links, the PDB configured for each link can be dynamically reconfigured based on measured packet delay or radio link quality on each link. The PDB configured for a flow on a link may be updated by applying at least one of the following signalling options. In a first option, based on a measured packet delay, the PDB value or the adjustment of the current PDB value can be determined by a UE (i.e. the remote UE or the relay UE), and the UE can inform the gNB of the adjusted PDB value. The PDB value can also be exchanged between the remote UE and the relay UE. In the second option, the UE(s) can report their measured packet delay or change/adjustment of measured packet delay to the gNB. The gNB then determines the PDB value that needs to be reconfigured for the link. For either of these options, the information/signalling exchange between a UE (e.g., a relay or remote UE) and the gNB may be carried by a Radio Resource Control (RRC) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). The information/signalling exchange between UEs may be carried by an RRC or a MAC CE. The information/signalling may be relayed by a UE to another UE by an RRC or a MAC CE, or via another layer (such as an adaptation layer, or a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer).

In some embodiments, a PDB based scheduling algorithm is applied or implemented in a gNB. In the scheduling algorithm, a flow with lower PDB will be prioritised over another flow with a higher PDB. In addition, a UE may report its queuing delay of a flow (e.g. the queuing time for the oldest packets in the queue) to another UE or to the gNB. The report may be relayed to the gNB by another UE. Based on the information, the gNB can make scheduling decision for a flow by considering the PDB and/or the queuing delay of the flow. In general, a flow with a lower PDB margin (i.e. PDB minus the queuing time) will be prioritised over another flow with a higher PDB margin.

For a transmission carried out on a link (between a remote UE and a relay UE, or between a relay UE and the gNB), upon availability of a grant, the transmitting UE selects logical channels (LCHs) according to a logical channel prioritisation (LCP) procedure. For an LCH, the LCP procedure takes its PDB and/or queuing time as inputs for decision making. In an example, an LCH with lower PDB can be prioritised over another LCH with higher PDB. In another example, an LCH with lower PDB margin (i.e. PDB minus the queuing time) can be prioritised over another LCH with higher PDB margin. In another example, in the LCP, the UE can consider both the existing mapping restrictions (e.g. LCH priority) and the PDB or PDB margin as inputs. The UE may calculate a priority index for an LCH based on its LCH priority and the PDB factors (PDB or PDB margin). Different scaling or weight factors can be applied to the input arguments to calculate a final priority index.

The embodiments above can provide one or more advantages. For example they can provides reduced latency for delay sensitive transmissions. As another example, the PDB adaptation can better match the link quality and thus a more efficient resource usage. According to a first aspect, there is provided a method of operating a node in a communication network. A first wireless device is communicating with a base station in a cellular communication network via a RR link to a second wireless device and via a RB link from the second wireless device to the base station. A first packet delay budget, PDB, is defined for one of uplink transmissions from the first wireless device to the base station and downlink transmissions from the base station to the first wireless device, and the first PDB is a sum of a RR link PDB for transmissions via the RR link and a RB link PDB for transmissions via the RB link. The method comprises obtaining a first quality measure for the RR link and/or a second quality measure for the RB link; and adjusting the RR link PDB and/or the RB link PDB based on the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure and the first PDB.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, on execution by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform the method according to the first aspect or any embodiment thereof.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a node in a communication network. A first wireless device is communicating with a base station in a cellular communication network via a RR link to a second wireless device and via a RB link from the second wireless device to the base station. A first packet delay budget, PDB, is defined for one of uplink transmissions from the first wireless device to the base station and downlink transmissions from the base station to the first wireless device, and the first PDB is a sum of a RR link PDB for transmissions via the RR link and a RB link PDB for transmissions via the RB link. The node is configured to obtain a first quality measure for the RR link and/or a second quality measure for the RB link; and adjust the RR link PDB and/or the RB link PDB based on the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure and the first PDB.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a node in a communication network. A first wireless device is communicating with a base station in a cellular communication network via a RR link to a second wireless device and via a RB link from the second wireless device to the base station. A first packet delay budget, PDB, is defined for one of uplink transmissions from the first wireless device to the base station and downlink transmissions from the base station to the first wireless device, and the first PDB is a sum of a RR link PDB for transmissions via the RR link and a RB link PDB for transmissions via the RB link. The node comprises a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor whereby said node is operative to obtain a first quality measure for the RR link and/or a second quality measure for the RB link; and adjust the RR link PDB and/or the RB link PDB based on the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure and the first PDB.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an architecture model using a ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay;

Fig. 2 is an illustration of a wireless network in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 3 is an illustration of a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 4 is an illustration of a virtualisation environment in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 5 is an illustration of a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 6 shows a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 7 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 8 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 9 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 10 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a node in accordance with various embodiments; and Fig. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method of operating a node in accordance with various embodiments.

Detailed Description

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

As noted above, for a UE-to-network relay, the remote UE needs to send (or receive) a packet through the two links limited by a given PDB. Due to varying radio channel quality, the transmission time on either of the two hops can change packet by packet. The techniques described herein propose a mechanism to adapt the PDB for each link depending on measured packet delay or measured radio link quality. In this way, in case a packet is delayed on a first link, the packet can be prioritised for transmission on the second link to still fulfil the overall PDB in RAN. In case a packet is transmitted using a shorter time than the PDB on the first link, the packet can be transmitted with lower priority to release resources to other high priority transmissions, but still meeting the PDB requirement in RAN.

Some embodiments propose a coordinated transmission and scheduling procedure limited by a PDB across the two links in a UE-to-network relay scenario. In order to enforce the PDB requirement across the two links, the PDB configured for each link can be dynamically reconfigured based on measured packet delay or radio link quality on each link.

Thus, various embodiments are described relating to how a remote UE transmits a packet of a QoS flow to a gNB via a relay UE limited by the PDB of the flow in RAN. The embodiments are described in the context of NR, i.e. , the remote UE and the relay UE are deployed in an NR cell, however the embodiments are not limited to NR cells, and the embodiments are also applicable to any UE-to-network relay such as LTE UE- to-network relay. The connection between a remote UE and a relay UE is also not limited to a sidelink, and any short-range communication technology such as, e.g., WiFi or Bluetooth, can be used instead. The below embodiments are applicable to both L2 UE- to-network relay and L3 UE-to-network relay unless otherwise indicated.

As noted above, the remote relay UE part is referred to as the “RR link”, and the relay base station/RAN node/gNB part is referred to as the “RB link”. It should be noted, therefore, that for UL transmissions the packet(s) first traverse the RR link followed by the RB link (i.e. remote UE -> relay UE and then relay UE gNB). For DL transmissions the packet(s) first traverse the RB link followed by the RR link (i.e. gNB remote UE). The term “first link” is used herein to refer to the first link between a remote UE and a base station that is traversed by a data packet, and the term “second link” is used to refer to the second link between a remote UE and a base station that is traversed by a data packet. This means that, for UL transmissions, the “first link” is the RR link and the “second link” is the RB link. For DL transmissions, the “first link” is the RB link and the “second link” is the RR link.

The core idea of the techniques presented herein is to adjust the PDB for a first link according to measured packet delay or radio quality of the link, so that the PDB for the second link will be updated accordingly (i.e. the change to the PDB of the second link will be opposite to the change of the first link). This can further affect how a packet transmission should be scheduled on the second link. In detail, if a packet is transmitted using shorter latency on the first link, the packet will have a longer delay budget on the second link. On the other hand, if the packet is transmitted using longer latency on the first link, the packet will have shorter delay budget on the second link. For a UL transmission (from the remote UE to the gNB), the first link is the connection from the remote UE to the relay UE (the RR link), and the second link is the connection from the relay UE to the gNB (the RB link). For a DL transmission (from the gNB to the remote UE), the first link is the connection from the gNB to the relay UE (the RB link), and the second link is the connection from the relay UE to the remote UE (the RR link).

In a first set of embodiments, for a remote UE connecting to a UE-to-network relay (a relay UE), a respective PDB can be configured for every QoS flow on each link, which can be dynamically updated based on measured packet delay of the QoS flow on the corresponding link. The respective PDBs can be configured for each direction (i.e. the UL transmission direction from the remote UE to the gNB via the relay UE, and the DL transmission direction from the gNB to the remote UE via the relay UE). In this way, for each direction there will be two PDBs for each QoS flow. Each PDB can be associated with a different link. For a same QoS flow, since the sum of the two PDBs are equal to the configured AN PDB for the flow, the change of the PDB of a first link would be opposite to the change of the PDB of a second link. In other words, an increment of the PDB for the first link would be equal to a decrement of the PDB of the second link, and vice versa, a decrement of the PDB for the first link would be equal to an increment of the PDB of the second link, while keeping sum of the two PDB values of the flow unchanged. For a PDB configured for a QoS flow on a link, the PDB can be changed depending on measured flow packet delay. In other words, if the measured packet delay increases, the PDB can also be increased. Otherwise, the PDB can be decreased if the measured packet delay decreases. The change of the PDB can be determined according the change of the measured latest packet delay compared to previous measured values. The purpose of adjusting PDB values depending on measured packet delay is to set a proper PDB value for a first link considering the link’s actual radio link quality. If the link quality is good, a lower PDB can be applied to the link, so a larger PDB can be applied to the second link. In this case, the corresponding transmission on the second link can be transmitted with longer delay due to larger PDB margin. Vice versa, a larger PDB can be applied to the first link in case the link radio quality becomes poor, and a lower PDB will need to be applied to the second link as a result. This can mean the corresponding transmission on the second link must be transmitted with lower latency due to lower PDB margin. A coordinated transmission or scheduling across two hops/links are therefore achieved. A delayed transmission on the first link can be transmitted faster (e.g. with higher priority) on the second link to achieve a short latency in order to fulfil an overall PDB requirement.

There are several ways in which the PDB value for a link can be changed depending on measured packet delay. In an example, the change of the PDB can be calculated by a change in the measured packet delay multiplied by a scaling factor. The scaling factor may take a value in the range between 0 and 1. In another example, the change of the PDB can be calculated by a non-linear function using a change of the measured packet delay as an input. In yet another example, the PDB value can be determined based on the measured packet delay. In this case, the determining procedure can take the packet delay as an input instead of the change of packet delay.

In some embodiments, for a remote UE connecting to a UE-to-network relay (relay UE), every QoS flow can be mapped to a separate dedicated radio bearer (DRB). It is also possible that multiple QoS flows are mapped to a same DRB. In this case, these flows would have similar flow QoS characteristics. Therefore, packet delay of a flow on a link can be measured per DRB. The packet delay can be measured comprising a packet delay in upper layer Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) plus a transmission delay in the physical layer. The packet delay in upper layer PDCP captures the delay from packet arrival at a PDCP upper service access point (SAP) until the grant to transmit the packet is available, which includes a delay component for the UE getting resources granted (from sending request to the gNB to get the first grant). This delay component can be skipped in case of configured grant based transmission. For sidelink, this delay component is determined depending on applied resource allocation mode. For the Mode 1 resource allocation mode, this delay is determined to be the same as for the cellular link. For the Mode 2 resource allocation mode, this delay can be the delay that the UE takes to select the resource. The measurement can be done separately per DRB. The formula defined in clause 4.3.1.1 in of 3GPP TS 38.314 v16.0.0 for a UE to measure PDCP packet delay on a cellular link can be reused here:

The formula for PDCP Packet Average Delay per DRB per UE is: where the definitions of the parameters in this formula are defined in Table 1 below.

Table 1

A packet transmission delay in the physical layer comprises the delay for the initial transmission and also for the retransmissions. After a grant is obtained, the grant processing time and packet preparation time are also considered.

In some embodiments, for a remote UE connecting to a UE-to-network relay, PDB update/reconfiguration for a flow on a first link can be triggered based on UE measured radio link quality. If measured radio link quality becomes better, the PDB configured for the link can be reduced, thus, the PDB of the second link can be increased accordingly. Vice versa, if the measured radio link quality becomes worse, the PDB configured for the link can be increased, thus, the PDB of the second link needs to be decreased accordingly to maintain the overall PDB unchanged. Similar mechanisms as in the embodiments above can be applied to determine the PDB adjustment based on measured radio link quality.

Furthermore, for any of the above embodiments, it is possible for the PDB of each link to be updated from packet to packet, or updated every configured number of transmitted packets, or every configured time period.

Furthermore, a PDB adjustment step may be (pre)configured, e.g. it may be that the change in PDB in each adjustment occasion or the accumulated change in PDB in a certain time period should not exceed a certain value or percentage.

In addition, an imbalance limitation on PDB of the two links may be (pre)configured, e.g. it may be that the ratio of PDB of a link to the total AN PDB should not be higher than x% or lower than y% of the total AN PDB, or the PDB of one link should not be m% higher or n% lower than the PDB of another link.

In some embodiments, the PDB configured for a flow on a link may be updated by applying at least one of the below signalling options.

In a first option, based on measured packet delay, the PDB value or the adjustment of the current PDB value can be determined by the UE (i.e. the remote UE or the relay UE), and indicated to the gNB. The PDB value can also be exchanged/shared between the remote UE and the relay UE. Optionally a relay UE may only indicate (a change in) PDB in the DL direction to the gNB and/or only indicate (a change in) PDB in the UL direction to the remote UE.

In a second option, the UE can report its measured packet delay or change/adjustment of measured packet delay to the gNB. The gNB can determine the PDB value which needs to be reconfigured for each link and indicate it to the UE (i.e. the remote UE or the relay UE). Optionally the gNB may only indicate (a change in) PDB in the DL direction to the relay UE and/or indicate (a change in) PDB in the UL direction to the relay UE and the remote UE.

For either of the above options, the information/signalling exchange between a UE (e.g. a relay or remote UE) and the gNB may be carried by RRC signalling or a MAC CE. The information/signalling exchange between UEs may be carried by RRC signalling or a MAC CE. The information/signalling may be relayed by a UE to the gNB or the remote U E by an RRC signalling or a MAC CE, or via another layer (such as an adaptation layer, or RLC layer).

In addition: • The RRC signalling message between the two UEs, or between a UE and a gNB, may be a measurement report signalling, or UE assistance information signalling, or any other RRC signalling message.

• The information/signalling between two UEs may be carried a newly defined MAC CE for indicating measured packet delay or PDB.

• In case the information/signalling is relayed from a UE to another UE via a layer (such as an adaptation layer, or RLC layer), a new control PDU for indicating measured packet delay or PDB may be defined.

• The information may be added in the adaptation layer header when a data packet is transmitted.

A set of PDB or PDB percentage values may be signalled or configured to a UE. When updating the PDB configuration of a link, the signalling/information regarding a PDB configuration can be conveyed by the index of the PDB or PDB percentage configuration. Alternatively, a mapping table between PDB or PDB percentage values/configurations and indices may be captured in a specification (e.g. a 3GPP specification) in a hard-coded fashion.

In some embodiments, on reception of the information/signalling from a UE, a PDB based scheduling algorithm can be applied or evaluated in a gNB. In the scheduling algorithm, a flow or UE with lower PDB will be prioritised over another flow or UE with higher PDB. In addition, a UE may report its queuing delay of a flow (e.g. the queuing time for the oldest packets in the queue) to another UE or the gNB. The report may be relayed to the gNB by another UE. Based on the information, the gNB can make a scheduling decision for a flow or UE by considering the PDB and/or the queuing delay of the flow of the UE. In general, a flow with lower PDB margin (i.e. PDB minus the queuing time) will be prioritised over another flow with higher PDB margin. A UE will be prioritised based on the lowest PDB or PDB margin of all its flows.

In some embodiments, for a transmission carried out on a link (e.g. between a remote UE and a relay UE, or between a relay UE and the gNB), upon availability of a grant, the transmitting UE can select LCHs according to the LCP procedure. For an LCH, the LCP procedure takes its PDB and/or queuing time as inputs for decision making.

In an example, a LCH with lower PDB is prioritised over another LCH with higher

PDB. In another example, an LCH with lower PDB margin (i.e. PDB minus the queuing time) is prioritised over another LCH with higher PDB margin.

In another example, the UE makes a decision considering both the existing mapping restrictions (e.g. LCH priority) and the PDB or PDB margin as inputs. The UE may calculate a priority index for an LCH based on its LCH priority and the PDB factors (PDB or PDB margin). Different scaling or weight factors can be applied to the input arguments to calculate a final priority index.

In another example, the lower layer of the UE first serves LCHs with PDB or PDB margin smaller than a (pre)configured threshold, and among those LCHs, LCP based on LCH priority is performed. Alternatively, the lower layer of the UE first serves LCHs with LCH priority higher than a (pre)configured threshold, and among those LCHs, LCP based on PDB or PDB margin is performed.

In some embodiments, on the cellular link, the relay UE’s own traffic and the traffic from the remote UE(s) can be mapped to different LCHs. Every LCH on the cellular link may be associated with a different Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)- Scheduling Request (SR) configuration/PUCCH-SR resource for dynamic scheduling. Some of the LCHs on the cellular link may serve the relay UE’s own transmissions, while the other LCHs on the cellular link may serve the relayed transmissions. In case PDB has been reconfigured for at least one LCH on the cellular link, the priority indices of the LCHs, and the mapping relation between LCHs and PUCCH-SR resources may be also reconfigured. So, an LCH associated with lower PDB or PDB margin needs to be prioritised over other LCHs with larger PDBs or PDB margins. A prioritised LCH should be able to trigger PUCCH-SRs more frequently than a low priority LCH. The priority indices of the LCHs, and the mapping relation between LCHs and PUCCH-SR resources on the cellular link can be reconfigured by the gNB via RRC signalling or a MAC CE. Alternatively, the SR configuration may be mapped to LCH priority and/or PDB or PDB margin instead of LCH itself.

In some embodiments, there may not be a PDB split between the sidelink and the cellular link, and therefore there is an overall PDB configured for both links. In this case, the remote UE, the relay UE and the gNB will coordinate how a packet transmission should be controlled through the two links to meet the PDB requirement.

For any of the above embodiments, the UE (i.e. the remote UE or the relay UE) can monitor packet delay for every transmission. If there is long delay during transmission on the first link, there is a lower PDB margin left for the transmission on the second link, and the packet transmission on the second link will be scheduled with higher priority than the other transmissions with higher PDB margin. The gNB may be involved in case the transmission uses a dynamic grant.

In some embodiments, the UE (i.e. the remote UE and/or the relay UE) can monitor PDB fulfilment of every packet transmission per QoS flow per link. In case there is only one common PDB for both the sidelink and the cellular link for a flow, the UE can monitor the two links together as if they are connected together as a single link.

For a QoS flow, if there are at least a configured number of packets that cannot meet the PDB for a link, the UE may declare a failure event for the link indicating that it is risky to fulfil the PDB for the flow on the link. The failure event may only be declared when the PDB imbalance limitation has been reached while a configured number of packets cannot meet the PDB for a link. Alternatively, the failure event may be declared for the flow on the link in case the PDB of the flow cannot be met for the flow transmissions for at least a configured time period. In addition, the UE may take one of the below actions to handle the risk or the failure.

For the transmission direction from the remote UE to the relay UE (the RR link), the remote UE may:

• release the DRB and/or the flow where the failure or risk is being declared/detected;

• remap the flow where the failure or risk is being declared/detected to another DRB;

• report the risk or the failure to higher layer, and the higher layer may determine how to handle the flow e.g. remap the flow to other DRB or release the DRB and/or the flow;

• select another direct or indirect path (alternatively, the remote UE may only select another path in case the failure or the risk has been declared/detected for at least a configured number of flows or at least X% of the total number of flows).

For the transmission direction from the relay UE to the gNB (the RB link), the relay UE may:

• release the DRB and/or the flow where the failure or risk is being declared/detected;

• remap the flow where the failure or risk is being declared/detected to another DRB in the same serving cell/bandwidth part (BWP)/carrier; • report the risk or the failure to core network or application server (AS), which may determine how to handle the flow, i.e. remap the flow to other DRB or release the DRB and/or the flow;

• trigger RRC connection re-establishment;

• remap the flow to a DRB in another serving cell/BWP/carrier.

For the transmission direction from the relay UE to the remote UE (the RR link), the relay UE may:

• release the DRB and/or the flow where the failure or risk is being declared/detected;

• remap the flow where the failure or risk is being declared/detected to another DRB;

• report the risk or the failure to a higher layer, and the higher layer may determine how to handle the flow, i.e., remap the flow to other DRB or release the DRB and/or the flow or select another direct/indirect path for the flow;

• inform the risk or the failure to the remote UE, which may be triggered to select another direct or indirect path.

In some embodiments, the dynamic PDB adaptation methodology between two hops (links) may only be applied for flows/services with low PDB requirements, for example where the total AN PDB is lower than a threshold, while for flows/services with high PDB requirements, a semi-static PDB per link can be adopted to reduce the signalling overhead.

In some embodiments, a UE capability bit can be defined that is used to indicate whether the UE supports dynamically updating the PDB for a link in a relay scenario.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in Fig. 2. For simplicity, the wireless network of Fig. 2 only depicts network 206, network nodes 260 and 260b, and WDs 210, 210b, and 210c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 260 and wireless device (WD) 210 are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.

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

Network 206 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node 260 and WD 210 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

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

In Fig. 2, network node 260 includes processing circuitry 270, device readable medium 280, interface 290, auxiliary equipment 284, power source 286, power circuitry 287, and antenna 262. Although network node 260 illustrated in the example wireless network of Fig. 2 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 260 are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 280 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 260 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 260 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB’s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 260 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 280 for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 262 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 260 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 260, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 260.

Processing circuitry 270 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 270 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 270 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Processing circuitry 270 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 260 components, such as device readable medium 280, network node 260 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 270 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 280 or in memory within processing circuitry 270. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 270 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 270 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 272 and baseband processing circuitry 274. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 272 and baseband processing circuitry 274 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 272 and baseband processing circuitry 274 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, gNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 270 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 280 or memory within processing circuitry 270. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 270 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 270 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 270 alone or to other components of network node 260, but are enjoyed by network node 260 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 280 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 270. Device readable medium 280 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 270 and, utilized by network node 260. Device readable medium 280 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 270 and/or any data received via interface 290. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 270 and device readable medium 280 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 290 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node 260, network 206, and/or WDs 210. As illustrated, interface 290 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 294 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 206 over a wired connection. Interface 290 also includes radio front end circuitry 292 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 262. Radio front end circuitry 292 comprises filters 298 and amplifiers 296. Radio front end circuitry 292 may be connected to antenna 262 and processing circuitry 270. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 262 and processing circuitry 270. Radio front end circuitry 292 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 292 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 298 and/or amplifiers 296. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 262. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 262 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 292. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 270. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 260 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 292, instead, processing circuitry 270 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 262 without separate radio front end circuitry 292. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 272 may be considered a part of interface 290. In still other embodiments, interface 290 may include one or more ports or terminals 294, radio front end circuitry 292, and RF transceiver circuitry 272, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 290 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 274, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 262 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals 264, 265. In Fig. 2, WD 210b can be considered as operating as a relay UE for WD 210c, which is operating as a remote UE and does not otherwise have a connection (or perhaps coverage) from the network nodes 260. Antenna 262 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 292 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 262 may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 262 may be separate from network node 260 and may be connectable to network node 260 through an interface or port.

Antenna 262, interface 290, and/or processing circuitry 270 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 262, interface 290, and/or processing circuitry 270 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

Power circuitry 287 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 260 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 287 may receive power from power source 286. Power source 286 and/or power circuitry 287 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 260 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 286 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 287 and/or network node 260. For example, network node 260 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 287. As a further example, power source 286 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 287. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node 260 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 2 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 260 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 260 and to allow output of information from network node 260. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 260. As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Any of the WDs can operate as a relay UE as described herein, or as a remote UE as described herein. Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc.. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (loT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) device. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

As illustrated, wireless device 210 includes antenna 211 , interface 214, processing circuitry 220, device readable medium 230, user interface equipment 232, auxiliary equipment 234, power source 236 and power circuitry 237. WD 210 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 210, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 210.

Antenna 211 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 214. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 211 may be separate from WD 210 and be connectable to WD 210 through an interface or port. Antenna 211 , interface 214, and/or processing circuitry 220 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 211 may be considered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 214 comprises radio front end circuitry 212 and antenna 211. Radio front end circuitry 212 comprise one or more filters 218 and amplifiers 216. Radio front end circuitry 212 is connected to antenna 211 and processing circuitry 220, and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 211 and processing circuitry 220. Radio front end circuitry 212 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 211. In some embodiments, WD 210 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 212; rather, processing circuitry 220 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 211. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 222 may be considered a part of interface 214. Radio front end circuitry 212 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 212 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 218 and/or amplifiers 216. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 211. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 211 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 212. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 220. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 220 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 210 components, such as device readable medium 230, WD 210 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 220 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 230 or in memory within processing circuitry 220 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 220 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 222, baseband processing circuitry 224, and application processing circuitry 226. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry 220 of WD 210 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 222, baseband processing circuitry 224, and application processing circuitry 226 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 224 and application processing circuitry 226 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 222 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 222 and baseband processing circuitry 224 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 226 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 222, baseband processing circuitry 224, and application processing circuitry 226 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 222 may be a part of interface 214. RF transceiver circuitry 222 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 220.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry 220 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 230, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 220 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 220 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 220 alone or to other components of WD 210, but are enjoyed by WD 210 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 220 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 220, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 220 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 210, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Device readable medium 230 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 220. Device readable medium 230 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 220. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 220 and device readable medium 230 may be considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 232 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 210. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 232 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 210. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 232 installed in WD 210. For example, if WD 210 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD 210 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment 232 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 232 is configured to allow input of information into WD 210, and is connected to processing circuitry 220 to allow processing circuitry 220 to process the input information. User interface equipment 232 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 232 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 210, and to allow processing circuitry 220 to output information from WD 210. User interface equipment 232 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 232, WD 210 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 234 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 234 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 236 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD 210 may further comprise power circuitry 237 for delivering power from power source 236 to the various parts of WD 210 which need power from power source 236 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 237 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry 237 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 210 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry 237 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 236. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 236. Power circuitry 237 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 236 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 210 to which power is supplied.

Fig. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 300 may be any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-loT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE 300, as illustrated in Fig. 3, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although Fig. 3 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa. The UE in Fig. 3 can operate as a relay UE or as a remote UE as described herein.

In Fig. 3, UE 300 includes processing circuitry 301 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 305, radio frequency (RF) interface 309, network connection interface 311 , memory 315 including random access memory (RAM) 317, read-only memory (ROM) 319, and storage medium 321 or the like, communication subsystem 331 , power source 333, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 321 includes operating system 323, application program 325, and data 327. In other embodiments, storage medium 321 may include other similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in Fig. 3, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

In Fig. 3, processing circuitry 301 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 301 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine- readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware- implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 301 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 305 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE 300 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 305. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 300. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE 300 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 305 to allow a user to capture information into UE 300. The input device may include a touch- sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

In Fig. 3, RF interface 309 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface 311 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 343a. Network 343a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 343a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 311 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface 311 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM 317 may be configured to interface via bus 302 to processing circuitry 301 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 319 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 301. For example, ROM 319 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 321 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium 321 may be configured to include operating system 323, application program 325 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 327. Storage medium 321 may store, for use by UE 300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

Storage medium 321 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 321 may allow UE 300 to access computerexecutable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non- transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 321 , which may comprise a device readable medium. In Fig. 3, processing circuitry 301 may be configured to communicate with network 343b using communication subsystem 331. Network 343a and network 343b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem 331 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 343b. For example, communication subsystem 331 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.11 , CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, LITRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver may include transmitter 333 and/or receiver 335 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 333 and receiver 335 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem 331 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 331 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network 343b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 343b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source 313 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 300.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 300 or partitioned across multiple components of UE 300. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 331 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry 301 may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 302. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 301 perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 301 and communication subsystem 331. In another example, the non- computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 400 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 400 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 430. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 420 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 420 are run in virtualization environment 400 which provides hardware 430 comprising processing circuitry 460 and memory 490. Memory 490 contains instructions 495 executable by processing circuitry 460 whereby application 420 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 400, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices 430 comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 460, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 490-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 495 or software executed by processing circuitry 460. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 470, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 480. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine- readable storage media 490-2 having stored therein software 495 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 460. Software 495 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 450 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 440 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 440, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 450 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 420 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 440, and the implementations may be made in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 460 executes software 495 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 450, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 450 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 440.

As shown in Fig. 4, hardware 430 may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 430 may comprise antenna 4225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 430 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 4100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 420.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. In the context of NFV, virtual machine 440 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, nonvirtualized machine. Each of virtual machines 440, and that part of hardware 430 that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 440, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines 440 on top of hardware networking infrastructure 430 and corresponds to application 420 in Fig. 4.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 4200 that each include one or more transmitters 4220 and one or more receivers 4210 may be coupled to one or more antennas 4225. Radio units 4200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 430 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system 4230 which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 430 and radio units 4200.

Fig. 5 shows a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments. Thus, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network 510, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network 511 , such as a radio access network, and core network 514. Access network 511 comprises a plurality of base stations 512a, 512b, 512c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 513a, 513b, 513c. Each base station 512a, 512b, 512c is connectable to core network 514 over a wired or wireless connection 515. A first UE 591 located in coverage area 513c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 512c. A second UE 592 in coverage area 513a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 512a. While a plurality of UEs 591 , 592 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 512.

Telecommunication network 510 is itself connected to host computer 530, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud- implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 530 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 521 and 522 between telecommunication network 510 and host computer 530 may extend directly from core network 514 to host computer 530 or may go via an optional intermediate network 520. Intermediate network 520 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 520, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 520 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of Fig. 5 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 591 , 592 and host computer 530. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 550. Host computer 530 and the connected UEs 591, 592 are configured to communicate data and/or signalling via OTT connection 550, using access network 511, core network 514, any intermediate network 520 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. In particular embodiments, UE 592 can be a remote UE that is communicating with the access network 511 via UE 591 that is operating as a relay UE. OTT connection 550 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection 550 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station 512 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 530 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 591. Similarly, base station 512 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 591 towards the host computer 530. Likewise, relay UE 591 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 530 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to remote UE 591. Similarly, relay UE 591 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the remote UE 591 towards the host computer 530.

Fig. 6 shows a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Fig. 6. Similar to Fig. 5, UE 630 can be a remote UE that is communicating with base station 620 via another UE that is operating as a relay UE. The relay UE is not shown in Fig. 6, but can have a similar configuration to UE 630. In communication system 600, host computer 610 comprises hardware 615 including communication interface 616 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 600. Host computer 610 further comprises processing circuitry 618, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 618 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 610 further comprises software 611 , which is stored in or accessible by host computer 610 and executable by processing circuitry 618. Software 611 includes host application 612. Host application 612 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE 630 connecting via OTT connection 650 terminating at UE 630 and host computer 610. In providing the service to the remote user, host application 612 may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 650.

Communication system 600 further includes base station 620 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 625 enabling it to communicate with host computer 610 and with UE 630. Hardware 625 may include communication interface 626 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 600, as well as radio interface 627 for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection 670 with UE 630 located in a coverage area (not shown in Fig. 6) served by base station 620. Communication interface 626 may be configured to facilitate connection 660 to host computer 610. Connection 660 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Fig. 6) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware 625 of base station 620 further includes processing circuitry 628, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 620 further has software 621 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system 600 further includes UE 630 already referred to. Its hardware 635 may include radio interface 637 configured to set up and maintain wireless connection 670 with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE 630 is currently located. Hardware 635 of UE 630 further includes processing circuitry 638, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 630 further comprises software 631 , which is stored in or accessible by UE 630 and executable by processing circuitry 638. Software 631 includes client application 632. Client application 632 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 630, with the support of host computer 610. In host computer 610, an executing host application 612 may communicate with the executing client application 632 via OTT connection 650 terminating at UE 630 and host computer 610. In providing the service to the user, client application 632 may receive request data from host application 612 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application 632 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer 610, base station 620 and UE 630 illustrated in Fig. 6 may be similar or identical to host computer 530, one of base stations 512a, 512b, 512c and one of UEs 591 , 592 of Fig. 5, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Fig. 6 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Fig. 5.

In Fig. 6, OTT connection 650 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer 610 and UE 630 via base station 620, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE 630 or from the service provider operating host computer 610, or both. While OTT connection 650 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection 670 between UE 630 and base station 620 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 630 using OTT connection 650, in which wireless connection 670 (which includes the first link between the remote UE 630 and the relay UE and the second link between the relay UE and the base station 620) forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may reduce the latency for delay sensitive transmissions and thereby provide benefits such as a reduced user waiting time and better responsiveness. A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 650 between host computer 610 and UE 630, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 650 may be implemented in software 611 and hardware 615 of host computer 610 or in software 631 and hardware 635 of UE 630, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection 650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 611 , 631 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection 650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station 620, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 620. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signalling facilitating host computer 610’s measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software 611 and 631 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 650 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

Fig. 7 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, a relay UE and a remote UE which may be those described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 7 will be included in this section. In step 710, the host computer provides user data. In substep 711 (which may be optional) of step 710, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 720, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the remote UE. In step 730 (which may be optional), the base station transmits to the remote UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, via a relay UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 740 (which may also be optional), the remote UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer. Fig. 8 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, a relay UE and a remote UE which may be those described with reference to Fig. 5 and 6. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 8 will be included in this section. In step 810 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 820, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the remote UE. The transmission may pass via the base station and a relay UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 830 (which may be optional), the remote UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

Fig. 9 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, a relay UE and a remote UE which may be those described with reference to Fig. 5 and 6. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 9 will be included in this section. In step 910 (which may be optional), the remote UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 920, the remote UE provides user data. In substep 921 (which may be optional) of step 920, the remote UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep 911 (which may be optional) of step 910, the remote UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the remote UE initiates, in substep 930 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 940 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the remote UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

Fig. 10 shows methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, a relay UE and a remote UE which may be those described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Fig. 10 will be included in this section. In step 1010 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the remote UE via the relay UE. In step 1020 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1030 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

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

Fig. 11 illustrates a node 1100 comprising processing circuitry (or logic) 1101. The node 110 can be a base station (e.g. gNB) or a UE (which can operate as a remote UE and/or as a relay UE). It will be appreciated that the node 1100 may comprise one or more virtual machines running different software and/or processes. The node 1100 may therefore comprise one or more servers, switches and/or storage devices and/or may comprise cloud computing infrastructure that runs the software and/or processes.

The processing circuitry 1101 controls the operation of the node 1100 and can implement the methods described herein in relation to a node. The processing circuitry 1101 can comprise one or more processors, processing units, multi-core processors or modules that are configured or programmed to control the node 1100 in the manner described herein. In particular implementations, the processing circuitry 1101 can comprise a plurality of software and/or hardware modules that are each configured to perform, or are for performing, individual or multiple steps of the method described herein in relation to the node 1100.

In some embodiments, the node 1100 may optionally comprise a communications interface 1102. The communications interface 1102 can be for use in communicating with other nodes, such as other virtual nodes, a remote UE and a base station in the case of the node being a relay UE, a relay UE in the case of the node being a remote UE, and a relay UE in the case of the node being a base station. For example, the communications interface 1102 can be configured to transmit to and/or receive from other nodes or network functions requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar. The processing circuitry 1101 may be configured to control the communications interface 1102 to transmit to and/or receive from other nodes or network functions requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar.

Optionally, the node 1100 may comprise a memory 1103. In some embodiments, the memory 1103 can be configured to store program code that can be executed by the processing circuitry 1101 to perform the method described herein in relation to the node 1100. Alternatively or in addition, the memory 1103 can be configured to store any requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar that are described herein. The processing circuitry 1101 may be configured to control the memory 1103 to store any requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar that are described herein.

The flow chart in Fig. 12 illustrates a method of operating a node in a communication network in accordance with various embodiments. A first wireless device (a remote UE) is communicating with a base station in a cellular communication network via a first link to a second wireless device (a relay UE) and via a second link from the second wireless device (relay UE) to the base station. The method in Fig. 12 may be performed by any of the first wireless device, the second wireless device and the base station. In other words, the node may be one of the first wireless device, the second wireless device and the base station. A first PDB is defined for one of uplink transmissions from the first wireless device to the base station and downlink transmissions from the base station to the first wireless device. The first PDB is a sum of a first link PDB for transmissions via the first link and a second link PDB for transmissions via the second link.

In step 1201 the node obtains a first quality measure for the first link and/or a second quality measure for the second link. In step 1202 the node adjusts the first link PDB and/or the second link PDB based on the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure and the first PDB.

In some embodiments, the first quality measure is a first packet delay for packets transmitted via the RR link, and the second quality measure is a second packet delay for packets transmitted via the RB link.

In alternative embodiments, the first quality measure is a first radio link quality for the RR link, and the second quality measure is a second radio link quality for the RB link.

In some embodiments, step 1202 can comprise increasing or decreasing one of the RR link PDB and the RB link PDB by a first amount, and respectively decreasing or increasing the other one of said RR link PDB and the RB link PDB by the first amount such that the first PDB is constant. The first amount can be selected based on: (i) a difference between an expected packet delay for the RR link determined from the first quality measure and a previous packet delay for the RR link; or (ii) a difference between an expected packet delay for the RB link determined from the second quality measure and a previous packet delay for the RB link.

In some embodiments, the first PDB relates to multiple traffic flows between the first wireless device and the base station.

In some embodiments, step 1202 is performed (i) per packet transmitted between the first wireless device and the base station; (ii) after a plurality of packets are transmitted between the first wireless device and the base station; or (iii) after a time period has passed since a previous adjustment to the RR link PDB and the RB link PDB.

In embodiments where the node is one of the first wireless device and the second wireless device, the method can further comprise sending an indication of the adjusted RR link PDB and the adjusted RB link PDB to the base station. In further embodiments, the method can also comprise sending the indication of the adjusted RR link PDB and the adjusted RB link PDB to the other one of the first wireless device and the second wireless device. In these embodiments, the method can further comprise selecting a logical channel to use to transmit one or more packets via the RR link or the RB link based on the adjusted RR link PDB and/or the adjusted RB link PDB. Then, the one or more packets are transmitted using the selected logical channel. Thus, the logical channel can be selected taking into account the adjusted RR link PDB and/or the adjusted RB link PDB. Optionally, one or more further metrics, such as priority, can be taken into account in addition to the adjusted RR link PDB and/or the adjusted RB link PDB to select the logical channel. In embodiments where the node is the second wireless device, the quality measure can be a delay measure for a packet received at the second wireless device via one of the RR link and the RB link. The method can also comprise the steps of determining a PDB margin by subtracting the delay measure from one of the RR link PDB and the RB link PDB, and prioritising the packet on one of the RR link and the RB link according to the PDB margin. Thus, the prioritisation of the packet on one of the RR link and the RB link can take into account the PDB margin. Optionally, one or more further metrics can be taken into account in addition to the PDB margin to prioritise the packet.

In embodiments where the node is the base station, step 1201 comprises obtaining the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure from one or both of the first wireless device and the second wireless device. The method may further comprise evaluating a scheduling algorithm to determine a priority level for packets to be transmitted via the RR link based on (i.e. taking into account) the adjusted RR link PDB. Alternatively the method may further comprise evaluating a scheduling algorithm to determine a priority level for packets to be transmitted via the RB link based on (i.e. taking into account) the adjusted RB link PDB. In either case, one or more further metrics in addition to the adjusted RR/RB link PDB can be taken into account to determine the priority level for the packets to be transmitted.

In some embodiments, a failure event can be determined to have occurred if at least a threshold number of packets to be transmitted via the RR link and/or the RB link cannot meet the RR link PDB, the RB link PDB and/or the first PDB.

In some embodiments, a failure event can be determined to have occurred if transmissions via the RR link and/or the RB link cannot meet the RR link PDB, the RB link PDB and/or the first PDB for at least a threshold time period.

In the embodiments where a failure event can be detected, if a failure event is determined to have occurred, then the node can do one or more of: releasing a DRB and/or a QoS flow for the link to which the failure event relates; remapping a QoS flow for the link to which the failure event relates to a different DRB; reporting the failure event to the first wireless device, a higher layer in the communication network (such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and/or SMF in NR, or a MME in LTE), an AS, or a core network of the communication network; selecting a different path for the transmissions between the first wireless device and the base station; and triggering a RRC connection re-establishment for the RB link, or for the end-to- end connection between the remote wireless device and the base station over both the RR link and the RB link (which in the case of the RR link will require selecting a different path).

In embodiments where the node is the first wireless device, the method can further comprise providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via a transmission to the second wireless device.

In embodiments where the node is the second wireless device or the base station, the method can further comprise obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or the first wireless device.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the scope of the disclosure. Various exemplary embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

The following numbered statements set out various exemplary, non-limiting examples of the techniques described herein.

1 . A method of operating a node in a communication network, wherein a first wireless device is communicating with a base station in a cellular communication network via a RR link to a second wireless device and via a RB link from the second wireless device to the base station, wherein a first packet delay budget, PDB, is defined for one of uplink transmissions from the first wireless device to the base station and downlink transmissions from the base station to the first wireless device, wherein the first PDB is a sum of a RR link PDB for transmissions via the RR link and a RB link PDB for transmissions via the RB link, the method comprising: obtaining a first quality measure for the RR link and/or a second quality measure for the RB link; and adjusting the RR link PDB and/or the RB link PDB based on the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure and the first PDB.

2. A method as statemented in statement 1 , wherein the first quality measure is a first packet delay for packets transmitted via the RR link, and the second quality measure is a second packet delay for packets transmitted via the RB link.

3. A method as statemented in statement 1 , wherein the first quality measure is a first radio link quality for the RR link, and the second quality measure is a second radio link quality for the RB link.

4. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-3, wherein the step of adjusting comprises increasing or decreasing the RR link PDB by a first amount and respectively decreasing or increasing the RB link PDB by the first amount such that the first PDB is constant.

5. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-3, wherein the step of adjusting comprises increasing or decreasing the RB link PDB by a first amount and respectively decreasing or increasing the RR link PDB by the first amount such that the first PDB is constant.

6. A method as statemented in statement 4, the first amount is selected based on: (i) a difference between an expected packet delay for the RR link determined from the first quality measure and a previous packet delay for the RR link; or (ii) a difference between an expected packet delay for the RB link determined from the second quality measure and a previous packet delay for the RB link.

7. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-6, wherein the first PDB relates to multiple traffic flows between the first wireless device and the base station.

8. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-7, wherein the step of adjusting is performed (i) per packet transmitted between the first wireless device and the base station; (ii) after a plurality of packets are transmitted between the first wireless device and the base station; or (iii) after a time period has passed since a previous adjustment to the RR link PDB and the RB link PDB.

9. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-8, wherein the node is one of the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

10. A method as statemented in statement 9, wherein the method further comprises: sending an indication of the adjusted RR link PDB and the adjusted RB link PDB to the base station.

11. A method as statemented in statement 10, wherein the method further comprises: sending the indication of the adjusted RR link PDB and the adjusted RB link PDB to the other one of the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

12. A method as statemented in any of statements 9-11 , wherein the method further comprises: selecting a logical channel to use to transmit one or more packets via the RR link or the RB link based on the adjusted RR link PDB and/or the adjusted RB link PDB; and transmitting the one or more packets using the selected logical channel.

13. A method as statemented in any of statements 9-12, wherein the node is the second wireless device; wherein the quality measure is a delay measure for a packet received at the second wireless device via one of the RR link and the RB link; and the method further comprises: determining a PDB margin by subtracting the delay measure from one of the RR link PDB and the RB link PDB; and prioritising the packet on one of the RR link and the RB link according to the PDB margin.

14. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-8, wherein the node is the base station and wherein the step of obtaining comprises obtaining the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure from one or both of the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

15. A method as statemented in statement 14, wherein the method further comprises: evaluating a scheduling algorithm to determine a priority level for packets to be transmitted via the RR link based on the adjusted RR link PDB or a priority level for packets to be transmitted via the RB link based on the adjusted RB link PDB.

16. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-15, wherein the node is the first wireless device and the method further comprises: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via a transmission to the second wireless device.

17. A method as statemented in any of statements 1-15, wherein node is the second wireless device or the base station, and wherein the method further comprises: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or the first wireless device.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, on execution by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform the method of any of statements 1-17.

19. A node for use in a communication network, wherein a first wireless device is to communicate with a base station in a cellular communication network via a RR link to a second wireless device and via a RB link from the second wireless device to the base station, wherein a first packet delay budget, PDB, is defined for one of uplink transmissions from the first wireless device to the base station and downlink transmissions from the base station to the first wireless device, wherein the first PDB is a sum of a RR link PDB for transmissions via the RR link and a RB link PDB for transmissions via the RB link, wherein the node is configured to: obtain a first quality measure for the RR link and/or a second quality measure for the RB link; and adjust the RR link PDB and/or the RB link PDB based on the first quality measure and/or the second quality measure and the first PDB.

20. A node for use in a communication network, wherein a first wireless device is to communicate with a base station in a cellular communication network via a RR link to a second wireless device and via a RB link from the second wireless device to the base station, wherein a first packet delay budget, PDB, is defined for one of uplink transmissions from the first wireless device to the base station and downlink transmissions from the base station to the first wireless device, wherein the first PDB is a sum of a RR link PDB for transmissions via the RR link and a RB link PDB for transmissions via the RB link, wherein the node is configured to performed the steps of any of statements 1-18.

21 . A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a wireless device; wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of statements 1-18.

22. A communication system as statemented in statement 21 , further including the base station. 23. A communication system as statemented in statement 21 or 22, further including the first wireless device and the second wireless device, wherein the second wireless device is configured to communicate with the base station.

24. A communication system as statemented in any of statements 21-23, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the first wireless device comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

25. A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a first wireless device; wherein the first wireless device comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the first wireless device’s components configured to perform any of the steps of statements 1-18.

26. A communication system according to statement 25, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the first wireless device via a second wireless device.

27. A communication system as statemented in statement 25 or 26, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the first wireless device’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

28. A communication system including a host computer comprising: communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a first wireless device to a base station via a second wireless device, wherein the first wireless device comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the first wireless device’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 1-18.

29. A communication system as statemented in statement 28, further including the first wireless device.

30. A communication system as statemented in any of statements 28 or 29, further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the second wireless device and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the first wireless device to the base station via the second wireless device.

31. A communication system as statemented in any of statements 28-30, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and the first wireless device’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

32. A communication system as statemented in any of statements 28-31 , wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data; and the first wireless device’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.