REPEATER-ASSISTED CHANNEL ACCESS WITH NETWORK-CONTROLLED

REPEATERS

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 63/343,952 filed May 19, 2022 entitled “Repeater- Assisted Channel Access with Network-Controlled Repeaters,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to repeater-assisted channel access with a network-controlled repeater (NCR).

BACKGROUND

[0003] A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, such as base stations, which may be otherwise known as an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), or other suitable terminology. Each network communication device, such as a base station, may support wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE), or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system, such as time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subslots, mini-slots, aggregated slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers). Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies (RATs) including third generation (3G) RAT, fourth generation (4G) RAT, fifth generation (5G) RAT, and other suitable RATs beyond 5G. In some cases, a wireless communications system may be a non-terrestrial network (NTN), which may support various communication devices for wireless communications in the NTN. For example, an NTN may include network entities onboard non-terrestrial vehicles such as satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and high-altitude platforms systems (HAPS), as well as network entities on the ground, such as gateway entities capable of transmitting and receiving over long distances. [0004] Wireless communications systems may include one or more wireless repeaters that receive and retransmit signals (e.g., from a base station or a UE). A wireless repeater extends the footprint or layout of cells in a cellular system for improving key performance indicators such as throughput and coverage. As a result, wireless repeaters may extend the cells beyond their originally planned boundaries.

SUMMARY

[0005] The present disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, and systems that support repeater- assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters. An NCR refers to a repeater that is controlled by the network (e.g., by a base station). For instance, the NCR receives control signals from a serving base station and applies information obtained from the control signals for at least one of beamforming, determining a direction of communication (downlink versus uplink), turning the analog relaying on and off, and so on. A base station configures and signals the NCR to perform repeater-assisted channel access. According to techniques discussed in the present disclosure, the NCR listens to the medium and relays any signals it receives to the base station. The base station performs channel sensing based at least in part on the relayed signals and accesses the medium if the channel is detected idle. By utilizing the described techniques, an NCR is able to operate in the unlicensed spectrum with the base station performing channel sensing.

[0006] Some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein may include wireless communication at a device (e.g., an NCR), and the device receives, from a base station, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel; receives, from the base station, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater-assisted channel access; in response to the second signaling and based at least in part on the channel access configuration: receives, from the wireless channel, signals; and transmits, to the base station, the signals.

[0007] In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the channel access configuration comprises at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types. Additionally or alternatively, the second signaling indicates at least one of: a subset of the one or more sensing directions; a subset of the one or more sensing durations; a subset of the one or more amplification gains; or a subset of one or more sensing types. Additionally or alternatively, to receive the signals from the wireless channel includes applying a beam associated with a sensing direction of the one or more sensing directions for a sensing duration of the one or more sensing durations. Additionally or alternatively, to transmit the signals to the base station includes applying an amplification gain from the one or more amplification gains. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless channel is in an unlicensed spectrum. Additionally or alternatively, the device comprises an NCR.

[0008] Some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein may include wireless communication at a device (e.g., a base station), and the device transmits, to an NCR, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel; transmits, to the NCR, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater-assisted channel access; and receives, from the NCR, signals received by the NCR from the wireless channel based at least in part on the channel access configuration.

[0009] In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the channel access configuration comprises at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types. Additionally or alternatively, the second signaling indicates at least one of: a subset of the one or more sensing directions; a subset of the one or more sensing durations; a subset of the one or more amplification gains; or a subset of one or more sensing types. Additionally or alternatively, the signals are received by the NCR from the wireless channel by applying a beam associated with a sensing direction of the one or more sensing directions for a sensing duration of the one or more sensing durations. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless channel is in an unlicensed spectrum. Additionally or alternatively, the device comprises a base station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Various aspects of the present disclosure for repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters are described with reference to the following Figures. The same numbers may be used throughout to reference like features and components shown in the Figures.

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that comprises a network-controlled repeater in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [0012] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a base station and a UE communicating indirectly through an NCR.

[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a system that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system that supports repeater-assisted channel access in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a system that supports channel access by the repeater in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates an example block diagram of components of a device (e.g., an NCR) that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates an example block diagram of components of a device (e.g., a base station) that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIGs. 8-11 illustrate flowcharts of methods that support repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Implementations of repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters are described. Service providers may want to use NCRs for relaying signals in the unlicensed spectrum. One challenge for operation of NCRs in the unlicensed spectrum is coexistence. For example, the shared spectrum around 60GHz is possibly used by other systems in the vicinity of the NCRs, e.g., IEEE 802.1 lad/ay systems. These systems find their main use cases indoors for establishing personal basic service sets (PBSS) as well as an air interface for realizing wireless backhaul. While listen- before-talk (LBT) mechanisms are devised to allow proper coexistence of the NR-U systems with other systems sharing the spectrum, operation of NCRs at unlicensed 60GHz spectrum introduces new challenges. One such challenge is regional regulations for using unlicensed spectrum may require channel sensing (e.g., LBT) by any entity transmitting a signal, while NCRs are primarily relay-type network entities that may not possess LBT capabilities. Other potential requirements include a minimum antenna gain to warrant a certain degree of directivity of the transmission, autonomous transmit power control to keep the potential interference generated by a transmitter to a minimum level, and long-term sensing strategies to discover time or frequency resources where there is little chance of collisions or interference. Another sch challenge is, for example at 60GHz, unlicensed channel access aims at high directivity, hence requiring directional channel sensing and channel access.

[0020] Using the techniques discussed herein, a base station configures and signals the NCR to perform repeater-assisted channel access. The NCR need not sense the channel itself, but instead, the NCR listens to the medium and relays any signals it receives to the base station. The base station performs channel sensing based at least in part on the relayed signals and accesses the medium if the channel is detected idle. By utilizing the described techniques, an NCR is able to operate in the unlicensed spectrum with the base station performing channel sensing. For example, the base station performs channel sensing and controls the NCR so that the NCR operates in the unlicensed spectrum while complying with regulations, requirements, and conventions of using the unlicensed spectrum.

[0021] Aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a wireless communications system. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to device diagrams and flowcharts that relate to repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters.

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 that comprises a network-controlled repeater in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more base stations 102, one or more UEs 104, and a core network 106. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 5G network, such as a new radio (NR) network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, such as 6G, which may comprise 4G and/or 5G components. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA), etc.

[0023] The one or more base stations 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the base stations 102 described herein may be, or include, or may be referred to as a base transceiver station, an access point, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a Radio Head (RH), a relay node, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or other suitable terminology. A base station 102 and a UE 104 may directly communicate via a communication link 108, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, a base station 102 and a UE 104 may perform wireless communication over a NR-Uu interface. Additionally or alternatively, a base station 102 and a UE 104 may communicate indirectly through an NCR 116.

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an example 200 of a base station and a UE communicating indirectly through an NCR. In the example 200, the base station 102 and the UE communicate indirectly through the NCR 116 via communications links 202 and 204. The communication link 202 may be referred to as an NCR backhaul link and the communication link 204 may be referred to as an NCR access link. The NCR may include a component, referred to as an NCR forwarding unit (NCR-FU) 206, which may be connected to the base station 102 and/or the UE 104 via the links 202 and/or 204, respectively. Additionally or alternatively, the NCR may comprise an NCR mobile terminal (NCR- MT) 208, which may also be referred to as an NCR mobile termination, that is connected to the base station 102 via a communication link 210 referred to as an NCR control link (C-link). The base station 102 and the NCR 116 may communicate control information on forwarding signals from the base station 102 to the UE 104, or vice versa, through the NCR backhaul link (communication link 202), the NCR access link (communication link 204), and the NCR-FU 206.

[0025] In one or more implementations, the NCR-MT 208 is defined as a function entity to communicate with the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) via C-link (communication link 210) to enable the information exchanges (e.g., side control information). The C-link is based on NR Uu interface. This side control information is at least for the control of the NCR-FU 206. [0026] In one or more implementations, the NCR-FU 206 is defined as a function entity to perform the amplify-and-forwarding of uplink (UL)/ downlink (DL) radio frequency (RF) signal between the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) and the UE 104 via backhaul link (communication link 202) and access link (communication link 204). The behavior of the NCR-FU 206 is controlled according to the received side control information from the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB).

[0027] Returning to FIG. 1, a base station 102 may provide a geographic coverage area 110 for which the base station 102 may support services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area. For example, a base station 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. The NCR 116 may extend this geographic coverage area 110. In some implementations, a base station 102 may be moveable, such as when implemented as a gNB onboard a satellite or other non- terrestrial station (NTS) associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, and different geographic coverage areas 110 may be associated with different base stations 102. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0028] The one or more UEs 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region or coverage area 110 (which may include coverage area by the base station 102, coverage area by the NCR 116, or coverage area by the base station 102 and the NCR 116) of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, a customer premise equipment (CPE), a subscriber device, or as some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, a UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet-of-Things (loT) device, an Internet-of-Everything (loE) device, or as a machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be stationary in the wireless communications system 100. In other implementations, a UE 104 may be mobile in the wireless communications system 100, such as an earth station in motion (ESIM).

[0029] The one or more UEs 104 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some examples of UEs 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1. A UE 104 may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as the base stations 102, other UEs 104, or network equipment (e.g., the core network 106, a relay device, a gateway device, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a vehicle-mounted relay (VMR), a location server that implements a location management function (LMF), or other network equipment). Additionally, or alternatively, a UE 104 may support communication with other base stations 102 or UEs 104, which may act as relays in the wireless communications system 100.

[0030] A UE 104 may also support wireless communication directly with other UEs 104 over a communication link 112. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular- V2X deployments, the communication link 112 may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a PC5 interface.

[0031] A base station 102 may support communications with the core network 106, or with another base station 102, or both. For example, a base station 102 may interface with the core network 106 through one or more backhaul links 114 (e.g., via an SI, N2, or other network interface). The base stations 102 may communicate with each other over the backhaul links 114 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or another network interface). In some implementations, the base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., between the base stations 102). In some other implementations, the base stations 102 may communicate with each other indirectly (e.g., via the core network 106). In some implementations, one or more base stations 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). The ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as remote radio heads, smart radio heads, gateways, transmissionreception points (TRPs), and other network nodes and/or entities. [0032] The core network 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), or a 5G core (5GC), which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management functions (AMF)), and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more base stations 102 associated with the core network 106.

[0033] According to one or more implementations, the wireless communications system 100 includes a wireless repeater that is an NCR, illustrated as NCR 116. It is to be appreciated that the wireless system 100 can include any number of NCRs 116. A base station 102 transmits and receives signals within a particular geographical distance or range, referred to as a cell. This distance or range, and thus the cell, can be extended using one or more NCRs.

[0034] One or more of the NCRs 116 and base stations 102 are operable to implement various aspects of communications between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104, including repeater- assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters, as described herein. An NCR 116, is a repeater controlled by the network (e.g., a base station 102). For instance, in one or more implementations the NCR 116 may comprise an analog repeater, such as an NCR-FU, further comprising an NCR-MT by which the NCR 116 can receive control signals via a control link from a serving base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) and apply information obtained from the control link for beamforming, determining a direction of communication (downlink versus uplink), turning the analog relaying on and off, and so on.

[0035] While the cell footprint in a conventional cellular system is generally determined by system parameters such as transmission power and beamforming as well as environment factors such as buildings and obstacles, NCRs 116 provide an additional degree of freedom to the service provider to change the footprint of a cell based on the number of NCRs 116 and their position, their transmission power and beamforming, and other such adjustable parameters. This allows, for example, the coverage area provided by the base station 102 to be extended by the NCR 116. [0036] When an NCR 116 operates in licensed spectrum, interference from the aforementioned cell extension may be managed by proper cell planning (offline) and interference management mechanisms (online). However, additionally or alternatively, service providers may want to use NCRs 116 for relaying signals in the unlicensed spectrum.

[0037] One challenge for operation of NCRs 116 in the unlicensed spectrum is coexistence. The shared spectrum around 60GHz is possibly used by other systems in the vicinity of the NCRs 116, e.g., IEEE 802.11ad/ay systems. These systems find their main use cases indoors for establishing personal basic service sets (PBSS) as well as an air interface for realizing wireless backhaul as one of the main target use cases for development of EDMG (enhanced directional multi-gigabit) systems.

[0038] While listen-before-talk (LBT) mechanisms are devised to allow proper coexistence of the NR in unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) systems with other systems sharing the spectrum, operation of NCRs 116 at unlicensed 60GHz spectrum introduces new challenges. One such challenge is regional regulations for using unlicensed spectrum may require channel sensing (LBT) by any entity transmitting a signal, while NCRs 116 are primarily relay -type network entities that may not possess LBT capabilities. Other potential requirements include a minimum antenna gain to warrant a certain degree of directivity of the transmission, autonomous transmit power control to keep the potential interference generated by a transmitter to a minimum level, and long-term sensing strategies to discover time or frequency resources where there is little chance of collisions or interference. Another such challenge is, particularly at 60GHz, unlicensed channel access aims at high directivity, hence requiring directional channel sensing and channel access.

[0039] The techniques discussed herein address these issues, enabling repeaters to perform channel sensing and channel access in unlicensed spectrum at high frequencies, or alternatively, to assist the system to perform channel sensing and channel access.

[0040] Coverage is a fundamental aspect of cellular network deployments. Mobile operators rely on different types of network nodes to offer blanket coverage in their deployments. Deployment of regular full-stack cells is one option, but it may not be always possible (e.g., no availability of backhaul) or economically viable.

[0041] As a result, new types of network nodes have been considered to increase mobile operators’ flexibility for their network deployments. For example, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) was introduced in Release 16 and enhanced in Release 17 as a new type of network node not requiring a wired backhaul. Another type of network node is the RF repeater which simply amplify- and-forward any signal that they receive. RF repeaters can see a wide range of deployments in 2G, 3G and 4G to supplement the coverage provided by regular full-stack cells. In Release 17, RAN4 specified RF and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements for such RF repeaters for NR targeting both FR1 and FR2.

[0042] While an RF repeater presents a cost effective means of extending network coverage, it has its limitations. An RF repeater simply does an amplify-and-forward operation without being able to take into account various factors that could improve performance. Such factors may include information on semi-static and/or dynamic downlink/uplink configuration, adaptive transmitter/receiver spatial beamforming, ON-OFF status, etc.

[0043] An NCR is an enhancement over conventional RF repeaters with the capability to receive and process control information from the network. The control information could allow a network- controlled repeater to perform an amplify-and-forward (signal forwarding) operation in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits could include mitigation of unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration.

[0044] In aspects of this disclosure, various scenarios and assumptions with respect to NR NCRs are taken into consideration. These scenarios and assumptions include NCRs are inband RF repeaters used for extension of network coverage on FR1 and FR2 bands, while FR2 deployments may be prioritized for both outdoor and O2I scenarios; for only single hop stationary NCRs; NCRs are transparent to UEs; NCR can maintain the gNB-repeater link and repeater-UE link simultaneously; and cost efficiency is a consideration point for NCRs.

[0045] In aspects of this disclosure, which side control information is necessary for NCRs including assumption of maximum transmission power is taken into consideration. This side control information includes at least one of: beamforming information; timing information to align transmission / reception boundaries of NCR; information on UL-DL time division duplex (TDD) configuration; ON-OFF information for efficient interference management and improved energy efficiency; power control information for efficient interference management (e.g., as the 2nd priority). [0046] In aspects of this disclosure, L1/L2 signaling (including its configuration) to carry the side control information is taken into consideration.

[0047] In aspects of this disclosure, identification and authorization of network-controlled repeaters is taken into consideration.

[0048] The channel access schemes for NR-based access for unlicensed spectrum can be classified into four categories. Category 1 (e.g., Catl) may refer to immediate transmission after a short switching gap. This is used for a transmitter to immediately transmit after a switching gap inside a channel occupancy time (COT). The switching gap from reception to transmission is to accommodate the transceiver turnaround time and may not be longer than a constant duration, e.g., 16 microseconds (ps).

[0049] Category 2 (e.g., Cat2) may refer to LBT without random back-off. The duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting entity transmits is deterministic.

[0050] Category 3 (e.g., Cat3) may refer to LBT with random back-off with a contention window of fixed size. The LBT procedure has the following procedure as one of its components. The transmitting entity draws a random number N within a contention window. The size of the contention window is specified by the minimum and maximum value of N. The size of the contention window is fixed. The random number N is used in the LBT procedure to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting entity transmits on the channel.

[0051] Category 4 (e.g., Cat4) may refer to LBT with random back-off with a contention window of variable size. The LBT procedure has the following as one of its components. The transmitting entity draws a random number N within a contention window. The size of contention window is specified by the minimum and maximum value of N. The transmitting entity can vary the size of the contention window when drawing the random number N. The random number N is used in the LBT procedure to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensed to be idle before the transmitting entity transmits on the channel.

[0052] For different transmissions in a COT and different channels/signals to be transmitted, different categories of channel access schemes can be used. [0053] Various specific values for timings or durations are discussed herein. It is to be appreciated that these specific values are examples and that other values may additionally or alternatively be used.

[0054] A channel refers to a carrier or a part of a carrier consisting of a contiguous set of resource blocks (RBs) on which a channel access procedure is performed in shared spectrum.

[0055] A channel access procedure is a procedure based on sensing that evaluates the availability of a channel for performing transmissions. In one or more implementations, the basic unit for sensing is a sensing slot with a duration T _st = 9us. The sensing slot duration T _st is considered to be idle if a base station 102 (e.g., an eNB/gNB) or a UE senses the channel during the sensing slot duration, and determines that the detected power for at least 4us within the sensing slot duration is less than energy detection threshold V _Thresh . Otherwise, the sensing slot duration T _si is considered to be busy.

[0056] A channel occupancy refers to transmission(s) on channel(s) by base station/eNB/gNB/UE(s) after performing the corresponding channel access procedures in this clause.

[0057] A Channel Occupancy Time refers to the total time for which base station/eNB/gNB/UE and any base station/eNB/gNB/UE(s) sharing the channel occupancy perform transmission(s) on a channel after a base station/eNB/gNB/UE performs the corresponding channel access procedures described in this clause. For determining a Channel Occupancy Time, if a transmission gap is less than or equal to, for example, 25us, the gap duration is counted in the channel occupancy time. A channel occupancy time can be shared for transmission between a base station 102 (e.g., an eNB/gNB) and the corresponding UE(s).

[0058] A DL transmission burst is defined as a set of transmissions from a base station 102 (e.g., an eNB/gNB) without any gaps greater than, for example, 16us. Transmissions from a base station 102 (e.g., an eNB/gNB) separated by a gap of more than 16us are considered as separate DL transmission bursts. A base station 102 (e.g., an eNB/gNB) can transmit transmission(s) after a gap within a DL transmission burst without sensing the corresponding channel(s) for availability.

[0059] A UL transmission burst is defined as a set of transmissions from a UE without any gaps greater than, for example, 16us. Transmissions from a UE separated by a gap of more than 16 us are considered as separate UL transmission bursts. A UE can transmit transmission(s) after a gap within a UL transmission burs without sensing the corresponding channel(s) for availability. [0060] A discovery burst refers to a DL transmission burst including a set of signal(s) and/or channel(s) confined within a window and associated with a duty cycle. The discovery burst can be any of the following: transmission(s) initiated by one type of base station (e.g., an eNB) that includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and cell-specific reference signal(s)(CRS) and may include non-zero power channel state information (CSI) reference signals (CSI-RS); transmission(s) initiated by another type of base station (e.g., a gNB) that includes at least a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block consisting of a primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), physical broadcast channel (PBCH) with associated demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) and may also include CORESET for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) with SIB1, and PDSCH carrying SIB1 and/or non-zero power CSI reference signals (CSI-RS).

[0061] An example of channel access procedures for semi-static channel occupancy is described in the following.

[0062] Channel access procedures based on semi-static channel occupancy as described herein are intended for environments where the absence of other technologies is guaranteed e.g., by level of regulations, private premises policies, etc.

[0063] If a base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) provides UE(s) with higher layer parameters ChannelAccessMode-rl6 =' semiStatic' by SIB1 or dedicated configuration for a serving cell, a periodic channel occupancy can be initiated by the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) on a channel(s) within the bandwidth of the serving cell every T _x within every two consecutive radio frames, starting from the even indexed radio frame at i ■ T _x with a maximum channel occupancy time T _y = 0.95T _x , where T _x = period in ms, is a higher layer parameter provided in SemiStaticChannelAccessConfig 0,1, ... , - 1 T _x

[0064] A duration of T _z = max(0.05T _x , lOOus) at the end of a period is referred to as the idle duration of that period.

[0065] If the base station (e.g., a gNB) additionally configures a UE 104 with higher layer parameter ue-SemiStaticChannelAccessConfig consisting of ue-Period and ue-Offset, the UE can initiate a channel occupancy on a channel(s) within the bandwidth of the serving cell every T _u = ue- Period in ms with corresponding maximum channel occupancy time T _v = 0.95T _u . The offset of the periodic channel occupancy is determined by T _o = ue-Offset as the number of symbols from the beginning of an even indexed radio frame to the start of the first period in that radio frame in which the UE can initiate a channel occupancy. A duration of T _w = max(0.05T _u , 10 Orts) at the end of a period is referred to as the idle duration of that period.

[0066] For determining a Channel Occupancy Time based on semi-static channel access procedures, duration of any transmission gap within a period excluding the corresponding idle duration is counted in the channel occupancy time. In the following procedures in this clause, when a base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) or UE 104 performs sensing for evaluating a channel availability, the sensing is performed at least during a sensing slot duration T _st = 9rts, unless longer sensing duration is required (e.g. by level of regulation), in which case sensing is performed within a duration of T _st = 16us. When sensing is performed within a duration of T _st = 16us, the channel is considered to be idle if the channel is sensed to be idle for total of at least Sus with at least 4us of sensing occurring in the last 9us time interval in the sensing duration. The corresponding X _Thresh adjustment for performing sensing by a gNB or a UE is described in clauses 4.1.5 and 4.2.3, respectively, of 3 ^rd generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specification (TS) 37.213.

[0067] Examples of channel access procedures to initiate a channel occupancy are discussed in the following. This includes a procedure if channel occupancy is initiated by only one type of base station 102 (discussed with reference to a gNB as an example), and a procedure if channel occupancy is initiated by a base station 102 (discussed with reference to a gNB as an example) or a UE 104.

[0068] If a UE 104 fails to access the channel(s) prior to an intended UL transmission to a gNB, Layer 1 notifies higher layers about the channel access failure.

[0069] An example of channel occupancy initiated only by gNB is discussed in the following. This is followed if ue-SemiStaticChannelAccessConfig is absent.

[0070] A channel occupancy initiated by a gNB and shared with UE(s) satisfies the following. The gNB transmits a DL transmission burst starting at the beginning of the channel occupancy time immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _st . If the channel is sensed to be busy, the gNB does not perform any transmission during the current period. [0071] The gNB may transmit a DL transmission burst(s) within the channel occupancy time immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _si if the gap between the DL transmission burst(s) and any previous transmission burst is more than 16us. The gNB may transmit DL transmission burst(s) after UL transmission burst(s) within the channel occupancy time without sensing the channel if the gap between the DL and UL transmission bursts is at most 16us.

[0072] A UE 104 may transmit UL transmission burst(s) after detection of a DL transmission burst(s) within the channel occupancy time as follows. If the gap between the UL and DL transmission bursts is at most 16us, the UE 104 may transmit UL transmission burst(s) after a DL transmission burst(s) within the channel occupancy time without sensing the channel. If the gap between the UL and DL transmission bursts is more than 16us, the UE 104 may transmit UL transmission burst(s) after a DL transmission burst(s) within the channel occupancy time after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _si within a 25 its interval ending immediately before transmission.

[0073] A UE 104 may be indicated by the gNB to transmit UL transmission burst(s) within the channel occupancy time without sensing the channel or after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _si within a 25 its interval ending immediately before transmission.

[0074] The gNB and UEs do not transmit any transmissions in a set of consecutive symbols for a duration of at least T _z = max(0.05T _x , 10 Orts) before the start of the next period.

[0075] An example of channel occupancy initiated by gNB or UE is discussed in the following. This is followed if ue-SemiStaticChannelAccessConfig is present.

[0076] In one or more implementations, the channel occupancy initiated by gNB and sensing procedures are as follows.

[0077] The gNB initiates a channel occupancy in a period of duration T _x if the gNB transmits a DL transmission burst starting at the beginning of the period immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _st = 9 its and ends the transmission of the DL transmission burst before the start of the idle duration of that period. When a UL or DL transmission burst(s) is associated with the channel occupancy that is initiated in that period by the gNB, the following are applicable: the UL or DL transmission burst(s) is confined within that period and ends before the start of the idle duration of that period; if the gap between the DL transmission burst(s) and any previous DL transmission burst in that period is more than 16us, the DL transmission burst(s) may be transmitted if the channel is sensed to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _st = 9us immediately before the DL transmission; if the gap between the UL transmission burst(s) and any previous DL transmission burst in that period is more than 16us, the UL transmission burst(s) may be transmitted if the channel is sensed to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _si = 9us within a 25 its interval ending immediately before the UL transmission; if the gap between the UL transmission burst(s) and any previous DL transmission burst in that period is at most 16us, the UL transmission burst(s) may be transmitted without sensing.

[0078] In one or more implementations, the channel occupancy initiated by UE and sensing procedures are as follows.

[0079] A UE initiates a channel occupancy in a period of duration T _u if the UE transmits a UL transmission burst starting at the beginning of the period immediately after sensing the channel to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _st = 9us and ends the transmission of the UL transmission burst before the start of the idle duration of that period. When a UL or DL transmission burst(s) is associated with the channel occupancy that is initiated in that period by the UE, the following are applicable: the UL or DL transmission burst(s) is confined within that period and ends before the start of the idle duration of that period; if the gap between the UL transmission burst(s) and any previous UL transmission burst in that period is more than 16us, the UL transmission burst(s) may be transmitted if the channel is sensed to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _si = 9us immediately before the UL transmission; if the gap between the DL transmission burst(s) and any previous UL transmission burst in that period is more than 16us, the DL transmission burst(s) may be transmitted if the channel is sensed to be idle for at least a sensing slot duration T _si = 9us within a 25 its interval ending immediately before the DL transmission; if the gap between the DL transmission burst(s) and any previous UL transmission burst in that period is at most 16us, the DL transmission burst(s) may be transmitted without sensing.

[0080] When a DL transmission burst(s) is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated in a period of duration T _u by a UE, the DL transmission burst(s) shall include unicast user plane data or control information intended for the UE initiating the channel occupancy in that period. The gNB may include in the DL transmission burst(s) an additional transmission(s) intended to other UEs than the UE that has initiated the channel occupancy in that period or broadcast transmission(s), only if the gNB satisfies the condition that the detection of the additional DL transmission(s) at any UE will not be associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by gNB following the procedures described in Clause 4.3.1.2.3 and 4.3.1.2.4 of 3GPP TS 37.213.

[0081] When a UE is configured with a configured grant for which cg-RetransmissionTimer-rl6 is provided and if the UE is provided cg-COT-SharingList-r!6 by higher layers, the UE is configured with a table wherein each row is given by higher layer parameter CG-COT-Sharing-rl 6. One row of the table is configured for indicating that the channel occupancy sharing is not available and other rows of the table each provides a channel occupancy sharing information. In this case, each configured grant physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission includes 'COT sharing information' in configured grant (CG)-uplink control information (UCI) that indicates a row index to the table, which is chosen by the UE independently of the channel access priority class (CAPC) information that the row may carry. If the gNB shares a channel occupancy initiated by the UE and detects a CG-UCI in slot n that includes 'COT sharing information', the gNB may transmit a transmission that follows the configured grant PUSCH transmission starting from slot n + 0, where 0 = offset-r!6 slots, for a duration of D =duration-rl6 slots where duration-rl6 and offset-rl6 are higher layer parameters provided by CG-COT-Sharing-rl 6.

[0082] In one or more implementations, association with initiated channel occupancy for configured UL transmissions is as follows.

[0083] When a UE is configured with a UL transmission, the UE follows the following procedures to determine if the configured UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB or the UE. If the configured UL transmission would occur at the beginning of a period of duration T _u and would end before the idle duration corresponding to that period, the following is applied: if the configured UL transmission would occur within a period of duration T _x and would end before the idle duration corresponding to that period and if the UE has already determined that the gNB has initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213, the UE assumes that the configured UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB; otherwise, the UE assumes that the configured UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy to be initiated by the UE. If the configured UL transmission would occur at the beginning of a period of duration T _u and would overlap with the idle duration corresponding to that period, the following is applied: if the configured UL transmission would occur within a period of duration T _x and would end before the idle duration corresponding to that period, and if the UE has already determined that the gNB has initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213, the UE assumes that the configured UL transmission is associated with the channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB; otherwise, the UE drops the configured UL transmission. If the configured UL transmission would occur after the beginning of a period of duration T _u and would end before the idle duration corresponding to that period, the following is applied: if the UE has already initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213, the UE assumes that the configured UL transmission is associated with the channel occupancy that is initiated by the UE. If the UE has not already initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213, then if the configured UL transmission would occur within a period of duration T _x and would end before the idle duration corresponding to that period and if the UE has already determined that the gNB has initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213, the UE assumes that the configured UL transmission is associated with the channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB; otherwise, the UE drops the configured UL transmission(s). If the configured UL transmission would occur after the beginning of a period of duration T _u and would overlap with the idle duration corresponding to that period, the following is applied: if the configured UL transmission would occur within a period of duration T _x and end would before the idle duration corresponding to that period and the UE has already determined that the gNB has initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213, the UE assumes that the configured UL transmission is associated with the channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB; otherwise, the UE drops the configured UL transmission.

[0084] If the configured UL transmission is a PUSCH with PUSCH repetition type B, the above procedures are applicable to a nominal repetition.

[0085] In one or more implementations, association with initiated channel occupancy for scheduled UL transmissions is as follows. This can include intra-period scheduled UL transmissions and cross-period scheduled UL transmissions. [0086] When a UL transmission(s) is scheduled by a downlink control information (DCI), the scheduling DCI indicates the channel access parameters for the UL transmission(s). Based on the DCI, the UE determines if the scheduled UL transmission(s) is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB or the UE, and whether sensing and cyclic prefix (CP) extension are applicable.

[0087] In one or more implementations, for intra-period scheduled UL transmissions.

[0088] The procedures in this clause are applicable when a scheduled UL transmission and the corresponding scheduling DCI are confined within the same period of duration T _x and the same carrier.

[0089] If the UE is indicated that the scheduled UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB, and the UE is indicated to perform the UL transmission without sensing, the UE applies CP extension if applicable and is expected to transmit the scheduled UL transmission without sensing as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213.

[0090] If the UE is indicated that the scheduled UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB and the UE is indicated to perform the UL transmission after sensing, the following are applied: if the UL transmission follows a previous UL transmission after a gap of at most 16us, the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission without sensing. Otherwise, the UE senses the channel for at least a sensing slot duration T _st = 9 its within a 25 its interval immediately before the scheduled UL transmission as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213. If the channel is sensed to be idle, the UE is expected to transmit the scheduled UL transmission, and drop otherwise.

[0091] If the UE is indicated that the scheduled UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the UE, the following are applied, if the UL transmission would occur at the beginning of a period of duration T _u , the UE is expected to sense the channel for at least a sensing slot duration T _st = 9us immediately before the UL transmission as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213. If the channel is sensed to be idle, the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission, and drop otherwise. If the UL transmission would occur after the beginning of a period of duration T _u , if the UE has not initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213, the UE is expected to drop the transmission; otherwise, if the UE has already initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213, if the UL transmission would follow a previous UL transmission after a gap of at most 16us, the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission without sensing; otherwise, if the UL transmission would follow a previous UL transmission, if any, after a gap of more than 16us, the UE is expected to sense the channel for at least a sensing slot duration T _si = 9us immediately before the UL transmission as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213 where the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission if the channel is sensed to be idle, and drop the UL transmission otherwise.

[0092] In one or more implementations, for cross-period scheduled UL transmissions

[0093] The procedures in this clause are applicable when a scheduled UL transmission and the corresponding scheduling DCI are confined within different periods of duration T _x .

[0094] If the UE is indicated that the scheduled UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB and the UE is indicated to perform the UL transmission without sensing, the following are applied: if the scheduled UL transmission starts after the beginning of a period of duration T _x and ends before the start of the idle duration corresponding to that period and if the UE has determined that a channel occupancy corresponding to the period is initiated by the gNB as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3 GPP TS 37.213, the UE applies CP extension if applicable and is expected to transmit the scheduled UL transmission without sensing as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213; otherwise, the UE drops the scheduled UL transmission.

[0095] If the UE is indicated that the scheduled UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB and the UE is indicated to perform the UL transmission after sensing, the following are applied: if the scheduled UL transmission starts after the beginning of a period of duration T _x and ends before the start of the idle duration corresponding to that period and if the UE has determined that a channel occupancy corresponding to the period is initiated by the gNB as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3 GPP TS 37.213, if the UL transmission follows a previous UL transmission after a gap of at most 16us, the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission without sensing. Otherwise, the UE senses the channel for at least a sensing slot duration T _st = 9us within a 25 its interval immediately before the scheduled UL transmission as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213 where the UE is expected to transmit the scheduled UL transmission if the channel is sensed to be idle and drop the scheduled UL transmission otherwise; otherwise, the UE drops the scheduled UL transmission.

[0096] If the UE is indicated that the scheduled UL transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the UE the following are applied. If the UL transmission would start at the beginning of a period of duration T _u and would end before the start of the idle duration corresponding to that period, the UE is expected to sense the channel for at least a sensing slot duration T _si = 9us immediately before the UL transmission as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213 where the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission if the channel is sensed to be idle, and drop the UL transmission otherwise. If the UL transmission would start after the beginning of a period of duration T _u and would end before the start of the idle duration corresponding to that period, if the UE has already initiated a channel occupancy in that period as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213 the following is applied: if the UL transmission follows a previous UL transmission after a gap of more than 16us, the UE is expected to sense the channel for at least a sensing slot duration T _st = 9us immediately before the UL transmission as described in Clause 4.3.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213 where the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission if the channel is sensed to be idle, and drop the UE is expected to transmit otherwise; if the UL transmission follows a previous UL transmission after a gap of at most 16us, the UE is expected to transmit the UL transmission without sensing; otherwise, the UE drops the transmission.

[0097] An example of channel access procedures for consecutive UL transmissions is discussed in the following.

[0098] For semi-static channel occupancy, the following channel access procedures for consecutive scheduled UL transmissions are applicable. If a UE is scheduled by a gNB to transmit a set of UL transmissions including PUSCH or sounding reference signal (SRS) symbol(s) using a UL grant, the UE shall not apply a CP extension for the remaining UL transmissions in the set after the first UL transmission after accessing the channel. If a UE is scheduled to transmit a set of consecutive UL transmissions without gaps including PUSCH using one or more UL grant(s), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) using one or more DL grant(s), or SRS with one or more DL grant(s) or UL grant(s) and the UE transmits one of the scheduled UL transmissions in the set after accessing the channel, the UE may continue transmission of the remaining UL transmissions in the set, if any. [0099] When a UE is provided with higher layer parameter ue-SemiStaticChannelAccessConfig the following are applicable. The UE may assume that any scheduled or configured UL transmission(s) within a UL transmission burst is associated with the same channel occupancy that is initiated either by the gNB or by the UE. If the UE is scheduled by a DCI to transmit multiple UL transmissions, the UE assumes that the indicated initiator of the associated channel occupancy in the DCI is applied for all the UL transmissions scheduled by the DCI. If the UE transmits a PUSCH transmission with repetition type B and the UE has already determined based on the procedures in Clause 4.3.1.2.4 of 3GPP TS 37.213 for scheduled PUSCH repetition or based on the procedures in Clause 4.3.1.2.3 of 3GPP TS 37.213 and/or the above rules in this clause with respect to channel occupancy association for configured PUSCH repetition, that the PUSCH transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated either by the gNB or by the UE, the followings are applicable: if the UE has already determined that the PUSCH transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the gNB and if a nominal PUSCH repetition of the PUSCH transmission overlaps with an idle duration corresponding to a period of duration T _x in which the channel occupancy is initiated, all the symbols during the idle duration are considered as invalid symbols and the corresponding actual repetition after the idle period, if any, is dropped; if the UE has already determined that the PUSCH transmission is associated with a channel occupancy that is initiated by the UE and if a nominal PUSCH repetition of the PUSCH transmission overlaps with an idle duration corresponding to a period of duration T _u in which the channel occupancy is initiated, all the symbols during the idle duration are considered as invalid symbols.

[0100] An example of channel access procedures for transmission(s) on multiple channels is discussed in the following.

[0101] For semi-static channel occupancy, if a gNB/UE intends to transmit on a set of channels C a transmission that starts at the same time on the set of channels C, the gNB/UE shall perform channel access on each channel c _L 6 C, according to the procedures described in clause 4.3.1.1 to 4.3.1.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213 when applicable. The following are applicable for the transmission on a channel within the bandwidth of a carrier: if the transmission is a UL transmission, the UE may not transmit on channel c _L 6 C within the bandwidth of the carrier, if the UE fails to access any of the channels, of the carrier bandwidth, on which the UE is scheduled or configured by UL resources for the UL transmission; if the transmission is a UL transmission, the UE may not transmit on a channel within the bandwidth of the carrier if the UE is configured without intra-cell guard band(s) on a UL bandwidth part and if the UE fails to access any of the channels of the UL bandwidth part; if the transmission is a DL transmission, the gNB may not transmit on a channel within the bandwidth of the carrier if the gNB configures the carrier without intra-cell guard band(s) on a DL bandwidth part and if the gNB fails to access any of the channels of the DL bandwidth part.

[0102] In aspects of this disclosure, Channel access procedures for frequency range 2-2 is taken into consideration. When a gNB/UE(s) is required by regulations to sense channel(s) for availability for performing transmission(s) on the channel(s) or when a gNB provides UE(s) with higher layer parameters LBT-Mode by SIB1 or dedicated configuration indicating that the channel access procedures would be performed for performing transmission(s) on channel(s), the channel access procedures as follows for accessing the channel(s) on which the transmission(s) are performed by the gNB/UE(s), are applied. As discussed in the following, when sensing is applicable, the basic unit to perform sensing is a sensing slot with a duration T _sl = 5/zs. The channel is considered to be idle for the sensing slot duration T _sl if a gNB or a UE senses the channel during the sensing slot duration and determines that the detected energy after the antenna assembly within the sensing slot duration is less than energy detection threshold X _Thresh as discussed below. Otherwise, the channel is considered busy for the sensing slot duration T _sl .

[0103] The spatial domain filter for sensing beam(s) during the sensing slot duration at the gNB, or at a UE when the UE does not indicate a capability for beam correspondence without the uplink beam sweeping, or at a UE when the UE uses a different beam for sensing than the beam used for transmission, covers the transmission beam(s) of the intended transmission(s) within the channel occupancy.

[0104] If a UE indicates a capability for beam correspondence without the uplink beam sweeping and if the UE selects the same sensing beam(s) as the transmission beam(s), the spatial domain filter for sensing beam is determined as described in Clause 5.1.5 of 3GPP TS 38.214.

[0105] If a channel occupancy includes transmission(s) in different beams that are multiplexed in spatial domain, one of the followings is applicable for the corresponding sensing to perform the transmission(s) within the channel occupancy. Type 1 channel access procedure as described in Clause 4.4.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213 is applied before the start of the channel occupancy using a single sensing beam where the single beam covers all the transmission beams within the channel occupancy; when the channel is accessed the transmission(s) within the channel occupancy across different beams can occur. Type 1 channel access procedure as described in Clause 4.4.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213 is applied before the start of the channel occupancy simultaneously per sensing beam where each sensing beam covers a transmission beam within the channel occupancy; when the channel is accessed the transmission(s) within the channel occupancy across different beams can occur.

[0106] If a channel occupancy includes transmissions in different beams that are multiplexed in time domain, one of the followings is applicable for the corresponding sensing to perform the transmissions within the channel occupancy. Type 1 channel access procedure as described in Clause 4.4.1 of 3 GPP TS 37.213 is applied before the start of the channel occupancy using a single sensing beam where the single beam covers all the transmissions beams within the channel occupancy; when the channel is accessed the transmissions within the channel occupancy across different beams can occur following the procedures described in Clause 4.4.3 of 3GPP TS 37.213. When the gNB/UE can perform simultaneous sensing in different beams, Type 1 channel access procedure as described in Clause 4.4.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213 is applied before the start of the channel occupancy per sensing beam where each sensing beam covers a transmission beam within the channel occupancy; when the channel is accessed the transmission within the channel occupancy across different beams can occur following the procedures described in Clause 4.4.3 of 3GPP TS 37.213.

[0107] When the gNB/UE can perform simultaneous sensing in different beams, Type 1 channel access procedure as described in Clause 4.4.1 of 3 GPP TS 37.213 is applied before the start of the channel occupancy per sensing beam where each sensing beam covers a transmission beam within the channel occupancy. When the channel is accessed the transmission within the channel occupancy can occur following the procedures in Clause 4.4.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213 before switching to a different beam within the channel occupancy.

[0108] For Type 1 channel access procedures, the following describes channel access procedures to be performed by a gNB/UE where the time duration spanned by the sensing slots that are sensed to be idle before a transmission(s) is random based on a fixed contention window size. This is applicable to any transmission initiating a channel occupancy by the gNB/UE. [0109] The gNB/UE may transmit a transmission after first sensing the channel to be idle during the sensing slot duration of a defer duration T _d and after the counter N is zero in step 4. The counter N is adjusted by sensing the channel for additional sensing slot duration(s) according to the following steps: 1) set IV = N _init , where N _init is a random number uniformly distributed between 0 and CW, and go to step 4; 2) if TV > 0 and the gNB/UE chooses to decrement the counter, set N = N — 1; 3) sense the channel for an additional sensing slot duration, and if the channel is idle for the additional sensing slot duration, go to step 4; else, go to step 5; 4) if TV = 0, stop; else, go to step 2. 5) sense the channel until either it is detected busy within an additional defer duration T _d or it is detected to be idle for the sensing slot of the additional defer duration T _d 6) if the channel is sensed to be idle during the sensing slot duration of the additional defer duration T _d , go to step 4; else, go to step 5.

[0110] In the above procedures, CW is the contention window and CW = 3. The defer duration is T _d = 8/rs and includes a sensing slot duration T _st = 5 ps for performing as least a single measurement to determine whether the channel is idle. A gNB/UE shall not transmit on a channel for a Channel Occupancy Time that exceeds 5ms.

[0111] For Type 2 channel access procedures, the following describes channel access procedures to be performed by a gNB/UE where the time duration spanned by sensing slots that are sensed to be idle before a DL/UL transmission(s) is deterministic. A gNB/UE may transmit a transmission(s) on a channel immediately after T _d which includes a sensing slot with a duration T _si = 5 ps where the channel is sensed to be idle.

[0112] For Type 3 channel access procedures, a gNB/UE may transmit a transmission on a channel without sensing the channel.

[0113] For channel access procedures in a shared channel occupancy, if a gNB/UE initiates a channel occupancy using the channel access procedures described in clause 4.4.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213 on a channel, the gNB/UE may transmit a DL/UL transmission(s) that is followed by a UL/DL transmission(s) within the maximum Channel Occupancy Time described in Clause 4.4.1 of 3GPP TS 37.213. In this case, the following are applicable to the UL/DL transmission(s): regardless of the duration of the gap between the UL/DL transmission(s) and previous DL/UL transmission(s) on the channel, the UL/DL transmission(s) occurs following the procedures described in Clause 4.4.3 of 3 GPP TS 37.213; or if the gap between the UL/DL transmission(s) and previous DL/UL transmission(s) on the channel is more than a threshold that is determined by the gNB and is at least 8/zs, the UL/DL transmission s) occurs following the procedures described in Clause 4.4.2 of 3GPP TS 37.213. Otherwise, the UL/DL transmission(s) occurs following the procedures described in Clause 4.4.3 of 3GPP TS 37.213.

[0114] With respect to exempted transmissions from sensing, in regions where channel sensing is required to access a channel for transmission and short control signaling exemption is allowed by regulation, a gNB/UE may transmit the following transmission(s) on a channel without sensing the channel: transmission(s) of the discovery burst by the gNB; transmission(s) of the first message in a random access procedure by the UE. When the gNB/UE transmits the above transmission(s) without sensing on a channel by utilizing the exemption above, the total duration of such transmission(s) by the gNB/UE shall not occupy the corresponding channel more than 10ms over any 100ms interval.

[0115] With respect to channel access procedures for transmission(s) on multiple channels, if a gNB/UE intends to transmit on a set of channels C the gNB/UE performs the applicable channel access procedures on each channel c _L 6 C.

[0116] With respect to energy detection threshold adaptation procedures, a gNB/UE accessing a channel on which transmission(s) on beam(s) are performed within a channel occupancy, shall set the energy detection threshold X _Thresh to be less than or equal to the maximum energy detection threshold ^Thresh max that is determined as follows: where P _max is the RF output power limit in dBm, P _out is the maximum effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of the intended transmission(s) by the gNB/UE to acquire a channel occupancy in dBm where P _out < P _max . The maximum EIRP used for the transmission(s) by the initiating gNB/UE during the channel occupancy is limited to P _out - BW is the [channel bandwidth or bandwidth part bandwidth] in MHz.

[0117] In one or more implementations, NCRs 116 possess at least two functions. One such functionality is receiving signals in the analog domain and relaying or forwarding the signals, which is essentially amplifying the received signals and transmitting them. This function may be referred to as an NCR-FU. The NCR 116 may or may not be capable of processing those signals in the digital/baseband domain or extract any information from them. Another function may be referred to as an NCR-MT, which may receive control information and process them in the digital domain in order to obtain information on how to receive, amplify, and forward the signals by the NCR-FU. The information may include indication of beamforming, gain, DL-UL switching, on-off switching, and the like.

[0118] In one or more implementations, the NCR 116 includes a functionality to perform sensing (LBT) and channel access in the unlicensed spectrum. The NCR 116 may perform sensing (LBT) and channel access in the unlicensed spectrum using various different techniques.

[0119] In one or more implementations, for LBT and unlicensed channel access with NCRs, the NCR 116 implements repeater-assisted channel access. The NCR 116 assists the base station 102 by listening to the channel and relaying any received signals to the base station 102. In this case, the base station 102 performs the channel access procedure, e.g., the clear channel assessment including channel sensing or LBT. Upon successfully completing the channel access procedure, the ensuing channel occupancy is a base station 102 (e.g., eNB or gNB)-initiated channel occupancy.

[0120] Additionally or alternatively, for LBT and unlicensed channel access with NCRs the NCR 116 implements channel access by the repeater. The NCR 116 itself performs the channel access procedure, e.g., the clear channel assessment including channel sensing or LBT. Upon successfully completing the channel access procedure, the ensuing channel occupancy is a base station 102 (e.g., eNB or gNB)-initiated channel occupancy.

[0121] It should be noted that the repeater-assisted channel access approach does not need implementation of any additional functionalities for channel sensing. However, it may not satisfy regulatory requirements or delay requirements. The channel access by the repeater approach addresses those issues at the cost of additional complexity of the NCR 116.

[0122] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a system 300 that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The system 300 illustrates beamforming for channel sensing and forwarding signals by the NCR 116. As illustrated, multiple different beams 302, 304, and 306 are used to communicate with different UEs 104. This allows, for example, channel sensing and forwarding signals by the NCR 116 despite signals between the base station 102 and one or more UEs 104 being interfered with or blocked by an obstacle 308 such as a building. [0123] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system 400 that supports repeater-assisted channel access in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At 402, the NCR 116 receives a configuration from the base station 102, where the configuration may indicate one or more channel access parameters. This channel access configuration at 402 may also be referred to below as the first step with respect to repeater-assisted channel access. The channel access configuration at 402 may be communicated over the control link (C-link) 210.

[0124] At 404, the NCR receives a control message signaling from the base station 102, where the signaling indicates values for any unassigned LBT parameters and/or triggers a repeater-assisted channel access procedure. This control message signaling at 404 may also be referred to below as the second step with respect to repeater-assisted channel access. The control message at 404 may be communicated over the control link (C-link) 210.

[0125] At 406, the NCR 116 transmits (forwards), to the base station, any signals received by the NCR 116 according to the LBT parameters indicated by the configuration (at 402) and/or signaling (at 404). These received signals at 406 may also be referred to below as the third step with respect to repeater-assisted channel access. The forwarding of the signals at 406 may occur over the NCR backhaul link 202.

[0126] In one or more implementations, repeater-assisted channel access is implemented as follows for unlicensed channel access.

[0127] In a first step at 402, the NCR 116 receives a configuration from a base station 102 (e.g., a gNB), where the configuration may indicate channel access parameters to the NCR 116 such as at least one of: one or more receive (RX or Rx) beams or directions for channel access procedure; a minimum beamforming gain for one or multiple beams or directions; one or more sensing durations for channel access procedure; one or more channel access categories, and optionally parameters for a channel access category, such as a contention window size or a minimum/maximum value for a determination of a random contention windows size; one or more sensing types; or one or more values of amplification gain.

[0128] In a second step at 404, the NCR 116 receives a signaling (e.g., a control message) from the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB), where the signaling indicates values for any unassigned LBT parameters and/or triggers a repeater-assisted channel access procedure. [0129] In a third step at 406, the NCR 116 listens to the medium and receives any signals according to the LBT parameters indicated by the configuration and/or signaling and relays the signals to the base station 102 (e.g., gNB).

[0130] Aspects of these first, second, and third steps are discussed in the following.

[0131] The first step discussed above refers to a configuration prior to triggering the repeater- assisted channel access procedure. In one or more implementations, the NCR 116 may receive values for the channel access parameters by configuration in the first step, while the dynamic signaling in the second step triggers a configured channel access procedure. Additionally or alternatively, some channel access parameters may not be assigned by the configuration. In this case, the signaling in the second step may assign values to any unassigned channel access parameters and trigger a repeater- assisted channel access procedure. Additionally or alternatively, both the configuration in the first step and the signaling in the second step may indicate values for one or more channel access parameters, in which case a value indicated by the signaling may override a value indicated by the configuration, or alternatively, the value indicated by the signaling may be neglected. Additionally or alternatively, there may be no configuration, and an indication from the base station (e.g., gNB) to the NCR 116 to perform repeater-assisted channel access procedure may only comprise the dynamic signaling in the second step.

[0132] Whether a certain channel access procedure parameter is assigned a value by a configuration in the first step or signaling in the second step may not affect certain aspects of the NCR 116 behavior according to the techniques discussed herein. For example, aspects such as timing of applying a parameter value or control signaling overhead on the control link (C-link) 210 may change without changing other aspects such as the signal forwarding behavior on the NCR backhaul link 202. Therefore, the phrase “configuration/signaling” may be used herein to refer to any combination of one or both of configuration and signaling that indicates the information when the latter (unchanging) aspects are concerned.

[0133] In the discussions above, a direction of channel access may refer to an RX beam indicated by a direction, an angle value, a spatial quasi-collocation (QCL) (e.g., QCL Type D) with a reference signal, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state comprising a spatial QCL, or the like. [0134] In each configuration/signaling, one or multiple RX beams or directions for channel access may be configured as follows: Direction #1 ; Direction #2; ... ; Direction #N.

[0135] In the case that the information is in a configuration message, values for the direction parameters may or may not be assigned. If the values are not assigned in the configuration, a value assignment may be indicated by a dynamic signaling that triggers a repeater-assisted channel access procedure.

[0136] A sensing duration may be indicated by a value in time units, e.g., microseconds (us), a value in units of symbols (e.g., symbol durations) possibly associated with an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) numerology or subcarrier spacing (SCS), or the like.

[0137] In each configuration/signaling, one or multiple sensing durations may be configured, for example as follows: Duration #1 := 16us; Duration #2 := 25us; ... ; Duration #M := 16us.

[0138] In the case that the information is in a configuration message, values (e.g., 16us, 25us, etc.) may or may not be assigned. If not assigned, the configuration may still indicate an association between the sensing direction(s) and the duration(s). For example, if M=N, the association may be one-to-one.

[0139] Alternatively, or additionally, a sensing duration value may be obtained implicitly, for example by indicating a value for a parameter such as channel sensing type, based on which the NCR 116 may determine a duration for the associated repeater-assisted LBT.

[0140] In each configuration/signaling, one or multiple sensing types may be configured, for example, as follows: Sensing Type #1 := SensingSlot; Sensing Type #2 := SensingDeferral; ... ; Sensing Type #M := ....

[0141] In the case that the information is in a configuration message, values may or may not be assigned. If not assigned, the configuration may still indicate an association between the sensing direction(s) and the sensing type(s). For example, if M=N, the association may be one-to-one.

[0142] A value of amplification gain may also be configured, which indicates the amplification gain the NCR 116 should apply when forwarding any signals received during the channel sensing duration. This amplification gain may be important, for example, because the gNB compares the received signal strength with a threshold, such as an energy detection (ED) threshold, in order to determine whether the medium is busy or idle.

[0143] In each configuration/signaling, one or multiple amplification gains may be configured as follows: Gain #1; Gain #2; ... ; Gain #M.

[0144] In practice, all values of amplification gain may be equal, which may be indicated by configuration or obtained by other explicit or implicit means such as an uplink power control signaling.

[0145] If no amplification gain is configured, the NCR 116 may determine an amplification gain based on the estimated path loss between NCR 116 and base station 102 (e.g., gNB). This will ensure that the signal relayed by the NCR 116 is received with the same (or approximately same) power level as the sensed power level seen by the NCR 116.

[0146] In the second step, the base station 102 (e.g., gNB) may send a control message to the NCR 116 comprising values for any unassigned parameters for repeater-assisted channel access procedure. The control message may be an L1/L2 control message such as a DCI message in a PDCCH or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) message.

[0147] For example, values for sensing directions may be indicated as the following example: Direction #1 := QCL Type D with synchronization signal block (SSB) #2; Direction #2 := QCL Type D with CSI-RS #5; Direction #5 := QCL Type D with SRS #3; Direction #8 := 45 degrees with respect to a reference angle; Direction #10 := direction associated with a specific UE; ....

[0148] The “reference angle” in the above example may be one of the following: an absolute angle such as an azimuth angle with respect to North, East, South, or West; an angle associated with a line of sight (LOS) between the gNB and the NCR; an angle associated with a beam direction, which may be associated with a signal such as a reference signal (SSB, CSI-RS, etc.).

[0149] Values for a sensing duration may be indicated as the following example: Duration #1 := 16us; Duration #2 := 25us; Duration #5 := 1 SensingSlot; Duration #8 := 1 SensingDeferral; ....

[0150] Similarly, values for a sensing type may be indicated as the following example: Sensing Type #1 := SensingSlot; Sensing Type #8 := SensingDeferral; .... [0151] Values for amplification gain may also be indicated in the control message (i.e., the signaling in the second step).

[0152] In one or more implementations, the configuration may comprise other channel access parameters such as a sensing (e.g., LBT) bandwidth, whether the sensing and/or channel access is omni-directional, pseudo-omnidirectional, or directional, and the like.

[0153] In one or more implementations, the NCR 116 may receive one multiple configurations in the first step, where each configuration may assign values to some or all parameters for a repeater- assisted channel access procedure. Then, the control message in the second step may comprise an index to one of the configurations and indication of values for any parameters that are not assigned a value by the indexed configuration. In some implementations, if a parameter is assigned a value by both configuration and signaling, the signaling may override the value assigned by the configuration for the repeater-assisted channel access procedure occasion that the signaling triggers.

[0154] In the third step, the NCR 116 receives any signals and forwards them to the base station 102 (e.g., gNB) according to the parameters indicated in the configuration or signaling of the first and second steps. The third step may comprise the following: applying an Rx beam in one or multiple directions indicated by the configuration/signaling; receiving any signals for a sensing duration indicated by the configuration/signaling, or alternatively, for a duration associated with an indicated channel sensing type; applying the indicated/associated amplification gain for forwarding the signals; or forwarding the amplified signals to the base station (e.g., gNB).

[0155] In some implementations, even if the NCR 116 performs the sensing for a short period, e.g., 4 ps in a 9 ps sensing slot, the NCR 116 may forward the amplified signal for a longer duration, e.g., the full sensing slot duration of 9 ps to make sure the forwarded signal falls (e.g., completely) within the sensing slot period/duration of the base station 102 (e.g., gNB).

[0156] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a system 500 that supports channel access by the repeater in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At 502, the NCR 116 receives a configuration from the base station 102, where the configuration may indicate one or more channel access parameters. This channel access configuration at 502 may also be referred to below as the first step with respect to channel access by the repeater. [0157] At 504, the NCR receives a control message signaling from the base station 102, where the signaling indicates values for any unassigned LBT parameters and/or triggers a channel access by the repeater procedure. This control message signaling at 504 may also be referred to below as the second step with respect to channel access by the repeater.

[0158] At 506, the NCR 116 performs a channel access procedure according to the configuration (indicated at 502) and/or signaling (indicated at 504). This performing at 506 may also be referred to below as the third step with respect to channel access by the repeater.

[0159] At 508, the NCR 116 reports the result of the channel access procedure at 506 to the base station 102. This reporting may also be referred to below as the fourth step with respect to channel access by the repeater.

[0160] In one or more implementations, channel access by the repeater is implemented as follows for unlicensed channel access.

[0161] In a first step at 502, the NCR 116 receives a configuration from a base station 102 (e.g., a gNB), where the configuration may indicate channel access parameters to the NCR such as at least one of: one or more RX beams or directions for channel access procedure; one or more durations for channel access procedure; one or more sensing types; one or more values of ED threshold; or other LBT parameters such as one or multiple values of a priority class, one or more channel access categories, and optionally parameters for a channel access category, such as a contention window size or a minimum/maximum value for a random determination of a contention window size. The channel access configuration at 502 may be communicated over the control link (C-link) 210.

[0162] In a second step at 504, the NCR 116 receives a signaling (e.g., a control message) from the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB), wherein the signaling indicates values for any unassigned LBT parameters and/or triggers a channel access by the repeater procedure. The signaling at 404 may be communicated over the control link (C-link) 210.

[0163] In a third step at 506, the NCR 116 performs channel access procedure according to the configuration and/or signaling. [0164] In a fourth step at 508, the NCR 116 reports the result of the channel access procedure to the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB). The channel access procedure results at 508 may be communicated over the control link (C-link) 210.

[0165] Aspects of these first, second, third, and fourth steps are discussed in the following.

[0166] The first step discussed above description refers to a configuration prior to triggering the channel access procedure. In one or more implementations, the NCR 116 may receive values for the channel access parameters by configuration in the first step, while the dynamic signaling in the second step triggers a configured channel access procedure. Additionally or alternatively, some channel access parameters may not be assigned by the configuration. Additionally or alternatively, both the configuration in the first step and the signaling in the second step may indicate values for one or more channel access parameters, in which case a value indicated by the signaling may override a value indicated by the configuration, or alternatively, the value indicated by the signaling may be neglected. In this case, the signaling in the second step may assign values to any unassigned channel access parameters and trigger a channel access procedure by the NCR 116. Additionally or alternatively, there may be no configuration, and an indication from the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) to the NCR 116 to perform channel access may only comprise the dynamic signaling in the second step.

[0167] Whether a certain channel access parameter is assigned a value by a configuration in the first step or signaling in the second step may not affect certain aspects of the NCR 116 behavior according to the techniques discussed herein. Therefore, the phrase “configuration/signaling” may be used herein to refer to any combination of one or both of configuration and signaling that indicates the information.

[0168] The configuration/signaling to the NCR may include at least one of sensing direction, sensing duration, or sensing type analogous to the discussion above regarding repeater-assisted channel access.

[0169] Furthermore, in each configuration/signaling, one or multiple ED thresholds may be configured as follows: ED Threshold #1; ED Threshold #2; ... ; ED Threshold #M.

[0170] In one or more implementations, all values of ED threshold may be equal, which may be indicated by configuration or obtained by other explicit or implicit manners such as regulations or the standard specification. [0171] In the second step, the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) may send a control message to the NCR 116 comprising values for any unassigned parameters for repeater-assisted channel access procedure. The control message may be an L1/L2 control message such as a DCI message in a PDCCH or a MAC CE message.

[0172] Examples for assigning values to at least one of the sensing direction, sensing duration, or sensing type are analogous to the discussion above regarding repeater-assisted channel access.

[0173] Furthermore, values for ED threshold may be indicated such as the following example: ED threshold #1, associated with beam-width #1, beam-width #3; ED threshold #2, associated with beam-width #2; ....

[0174] Association between an ED threshold value and a beam-width may be determined by the standard specification, regulation, or configuration.

[0175] Additionally or alternatively, other channel access procedure parameters such as a priority class may be indicated in the channel access procedure configuration and/or the control message signaling.

[0176] In the third step, the NCR 116 may perform channel access procedure according to indicated parameter values for a sensing direction, sensing duration, sensing type, and/or ED threshold. This step may comprise the following: applying an Rx beam in one or multiple directions indicated by the configuration/signaling; receiving any signals for a duration indicated by the configuration/signaling, or alternatively, for a duration associated with an indicated channel access procedure type; comparing a signal strength of the received signals with the indicated ED threshold to determine whether the medium (channel) is idle or busy; if the signal strength is not larger than the ED threshold, then the medium is determined as idle; if the signal strength is larger than the ED threshold, then the medium is determined as busy.

[0177] In the fourth step, the NCR 116 reports the result, e.g., whether the medium is idle or busy, to the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB).

[0178] Additionally or alternatively, in one or more implementations the NCR 116 may perform the following in the fourth step: if the medium is determined as idle, the NCR 116 decrements a backoff timer, and if the timer reaches zero, the NCR 116 may report an idle medium to the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB); if the medium is determined as busy, the NCR 116 continues the sensing.

[0179] Additionally or alternatively, the NCR 116 may receive an indication of a UE 104 identity/identifier (ID) in the channel access procedure configuration or control message signaling. Then, upon receiving an indication to perform a sensing associated with the UE 104 ID, the NCR 116 may perform channel access procedure as describe above. Then: if the medium is determined as idle, the NCR 116 decrements a backoff timer, and if the timer reaches zero, the scheduling request (SR) may report an idle medium to the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB); if the medium is determined as busy, the NCR 116 continues the channel access procedure.

[0180] In some situations, the channel access by the repeater may raise issues with delay aspects related to the gNB-NCR link, because the channel sensing and access times are in the order of microseconds, while the communication between the NCR 116 and the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) for clear channel signaling may take an order of magnitude longer.

[0181] Additionally or alternatively, in order to address this issue, in the fourth step the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) may start transmitting the signals. According to regulations, the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) may perform a channel access procedure of its own in order to determine whether the medium is idle. However, even if the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) senses the medium idle and starts the transmission, the NCR 116 may or may not relay the base station’s signal(s) based on whether the NCR 116 determines that the medium is idle based on its own channel access procedure.

[0182] In this situation, it may occur that the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) transmits the signals, but the NCR 116 does not relay the base station’s signal(s) to one or more target UE(s) 104. As a result, the error rate as perceived by the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) may increase compared to the other techniques. This issue may be addressed, for example, by appropriate adjustments in the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process. Optionally, the NCR 116 informs the base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) that it did not relay the base station’s signal, possibly indicating which directions or which target UEs 104 were not being served by the NCR 116 due to the busy medium as perceived by the NCR 116. The information may be communicated, for example, by means of a MAC control element containing a set of beams, transmission configuration indicator (TCI), UE IDs, for which the NCR 116 did not relay the base station’s signal. Additionally or alternatively, the information may be communicated by a not-acknowledgement (NACK) message produced by the NCR 116 and transmitted to the base station 102.

[0183] In one or more implementations, the wireless communications system 100 supports one or both of repeater-assisted channel access and channel access by the repeater. Whether an NCR is capable of performing either or both of the methods may be indicated in various manners, such as by a capability signaling to the gNB. Then, the gNB may send configuration and signaling according to the channel access procedure capability of the repeater. The NCR may additionally indicate what specific aspects, functions, parameters, range of values, or the like associated with channel access method it supports. Alternatively, the capability and/or the additional information may be provided to the network through a hard-coded or 0AM (pre-)configuration.

[0184] In one or more implementations, methods for consistent LBT failure detection are considered. One consistent LBT failure detection mechanism introduces a counter/timer: Ibt- FailureDetectionTimer. The counter is first reset to 0. Then, every time an LBT failure is detected by LI, the timer is incremented. Any time that the UE does not experience LBT failure, the counter is reset to 0. However, if the counter reaches a threshold Ibt-FailurelnstanceMaxCount, the UE reports a consistent LBT failure to the higher layers.

[0185] Here, LBT failure does not mean a sensing/LBT mechanism that returns channel ‘busy.’ Instead, it refers to a case where LBT fails to allow channel/medium access, according to the specification/signaling, within a certain time period.

[0186] Some techniques work unambiguously when omnidirectional sensing is used. However, with directional LBT at FR2/4, an issue is whether a consistent LBT failure detection should be enhanced if/when multiple beams are used for sensing the channel.

[0187] In one or more implementations, one counter/timer Ibt-FailureDetectionTimer is used for directional LBT. This information may be indicated to the NCR through configuration/signaling, e.g., when the NCR performs the channel access procedure itself (e.g., the channel access by the repeater discussed above).

[0188] Additionally or alternatively, multiple such counters are used for directional LBT, where each counter is associated with an Rx beam used for sensing, or generally, a beam used for sensing. This information may be indicated to the NCR through configuration/signaling, e.g., when the NCR performs the channel access procedure itself (e.g., the channel access by the repeater discussed above). In one or more implementations, information of association between a counter and an Rx beam may be indicated to the NCR in a configuration (in step 1). Then, when a control message signaling (in step 2) indicates an Rx beam, the NCR may use the associated counter for performing the channel access procedure.

[0189] Additionally or alternatively, one or multiple such counters are used for directional LBT, wherein each counter is associated with one or multiple associated Rx beams used for sensing. The association between Rx beams may be defined such that, for example, the angle between any of the Rx beams and a reference angle is not larger than a threshold. The reference angle may be hypothetical, or instead, associated with a reference Rx beam. By way of another example, the beamwidths associated with the Rx beams are identical, or otherwise the difference between the beamwidths is not larger than a threshold. In the case that beam- widths are not identical, a method of ED threshold adaptation may be used so as to compensate the variation of antenna gain associated with the change of beam-width. By way of yet another example, the Rx beams are each associated with another beam such as an SS/PBCH (SSB) beam or periodic tracking reference signal (TRS) beam, e.g., SSB or periodic TRS is the QCL source RS with spatial QCL indication such the QCL Type D.

[0190] Additionally or alternatively, multiple such counters are used, where each counter is associated with a Tx beam used for channel access after sensing. This information may be indicated to the NCR through configuration/signaling, e.g., when NCR performs the channel access procedure itself (e.g., the channel access by the repeater discussed above). In some implementations, information of association between a counter and a Tx beam may be indicated to the NCR in a configuration (in step 1). Then, when a control message signaling (in step 2) indicates a Tx beam, the NCR may use the associated counter for performing the channel access procedure.

[0191] Additionally or alternatively, one or multiple such counters are used, where each counter is associated with one or multiple associated Tx beams used for channel access after sensing. The association between Tx beams may be defined such that, for example, the angle between any of the Tx beams and a reference angle is not larger than a threshold. The reference angle may be hypothetical, or instead, associated with a reference Tx beam. By way of another example, the beamwidths associated with the Tx beams are identical, or otherwise the difference between the beamwidths is not larger than a threshold. In the case that beam- widths are not identical, a method of ED threshold adaptation may be used so as to compensate the variation of antenna gain associated with the change of beam-width. By way of yet another example, the Tx beams are each associated with another beam such as an SS/PBCH (SSB) beam or periodic TRS beam, e.g., SSB or periodic TRS is the QCL source RS with spatial quasi-collocation (QCL) indication such the QCL Type D.

[0192] Additionally or alternatively, a node/entity sensing a channel with different beams is configured with one Ibt-FailureDetectionTimer. The node increments the Ibt-FailureDetectionTimer by one, when LBT fails in all beam directions where sensing is performed. If the node has a successful LBT in at least one beam direction, the node resets the Ibt-FailureDetectionTimer to zero.

[0193] By extension, in one or more implementations, a node/entity sensing a channel with different beams is configured with one Ibt-FailureDetectionTimer. The node increments the Ibt- FailureDetectionTimer by one, when LBT fails in at least M beam directions where sensing is performed. Otherwise, the node resets the Ibt-FailureDetectionTimer to zero. The value of M may be configured or signalled as a fixed number, or alternatively, it may be configured or signalled as a ratio of the total number of beams used for the sensing.

[0194] Unless stated otherwise herein, definitions related to channel access such as those related to mechanisms for sensing, backoff, and transmission of signals are assumed according to how the terms are understood in the related literature including 3GPP TS 37.213. In one or more implementations, a definition may be applied, but with a different value for a related parameter. For example, the parameter values specified in 3GPP TS 37.213 may be applied to one frequency band while other values may be applied for a millimeter- wave frequency band in the implementations and examples discussed herein.

[0195] In one or more implementations, instead of transmitting a transmission, transmitting a signal is used.

[0196] In one or more implementations, instead of sensing a channel, sensing a medium is used, e.g., to avoid confusing a channel according to the definition in 3GPP TS 37.213 as a part of the spectrum with the more common definition of a channel in standard specifications such as physical control channels and physical shared channels.

[0197] In one or more implementations, a sensing/LBT/clear channel assessment (CCA)/enhanced CCA (eCCA) may be called successful if the medium/channel is sensed idle, while it may be called failed if the medium/channel is sensed busy. Definition of idle and busy may be determined according to a sensing process such as ED with specified values for timing and ED threshold.

[0198] In one or more implementations, a symbol/slot “occurring” at a time may refer to a start time or end time of the symbol/slot occurring at the time, possibly plus or minus a tolerance interval. Particularly, a symbol may be called occurring at a time if the time is anytime from the start to the end of the symbol. The timing of a symbol may be determined with respect to a frame/subframe/slot timing determined with reference to synchronization signals, and possibly in association with a numerology parameter such as a subcarrier spacing (SCS).

[0199] In one or more implementations, exponential-reset refers to a method of exponential increase of the contention window size in response to a continuing channel access failure, but a reset of the contention window size in response to a successful channel access.

[0200] In one or more implementations, multiplicative-increase additive- decrease (MIAD) is an alternative to exponential-reset, where the contention window size is multiplied by a factor in response to a channel access failure, but it is added to a negative value in response to a successful channel access.

[0201] In the discussions herein, a beam may be indicated by a spatial parameter such as a reference signal ID, a reference signal resource indicator, a spatial quasi-collocation (QCL) parameter such as a QCL Type D, a TCI state, a geographical direction of communication, a range of geographical directions for communication, an associated beam-width, or the like.

[0202] Additionally, a beam parameter may be a beam direction, a beam-width, a TCI state ID, an RS ID, a QCL Type D parameter comprising an RS ID as a resource, or a combination thereof.

[0203] In the discussions herein, mention is made of configuring an NCR or signaling to an NCR. Indications to an NCR may be performed by a hard-coded pre-configuration, an operation, administration, and management (0AM) static configuration, or a higher-layer (e.g., radio resource control (RRC)) semi-static configuration, lower- lay er (e.g., L1/L2) dynamic signaling, or a combination thereof. In one or more implementations, when the focus is on a functionality of an indication rather than the format and the originating network layer (e.g., 0AM vs. RRC vs. L1/L2), the general terms “configuration/signaling” or “configured/signaled” may be used. [0204] In the discussions herein, mention is made of power/gain. Control link indications to an NCR from the network (e.g., base station) may control the output power, the gain applied to a received signal before forwarding the signal, or both. The effect is similar when implementing the techniques discussed herein.

[0205] In one or more implementations, if an input signal x is received, with a received power P_x, by applying a gain G to the signal, the transmission power of the output signal will be P_y=G*P x. An indication to the NCR may intend to control P_y, G, or both. The general term power/gain in this disclosure may refer to one or both of these parameters.

[0206] With respect to amplify-and-forward (A&F) relaying performed by a repeater, including a network-controlled repeater, different terms may be used in different contexts. It should be noted that these terms may be used interchangeably, and emphasis on using certain terms in this disclosure is not to limit the scope.

[0207] Repeating or relaying a signal by a repeater or relay may comprise receiving the signal, potentially processing the signal, and transmitting the potentially processed signal. The processing may comprise amplifying the signal, denoising the signal, and so on. According to the techniques discussed herein, the processing may comprise applying a frequency offset, also known as applying a frequency shift or shifting the frequency.

[0208] Transmitting the potentially processed signal may also be referred to as forwarding the signal, hence the term amplify-and-forward. This term may be used herein and the more generic term transmitting may also be used.

[0209] Furthermore, despite discussion using the terms repeater, analog repeater, RF repeater, amplify-and-forward (A&F) relay, and NCR herein, it should be noted that the techniques discussed herein are not limited in scope to those devices or devices that are referred to by those terms in specifications and implementation. For example, many implementations and examples are applicable to other types of network nodes such as digital repeaters, baseband repeaters, digital relays, decode- and-forward (D&F) relays, and the like.

[0210] In one or more implementations, the techniques discussed herein may be applied to the following examples: a repeater, for example an analog/RF repeater, without a network control channel, where a configuration of applying a frequency offset is provided by a pre-configuration on a hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof, accessible by the repeater; a digital/D&F/baseband repeater with a network control channel, a pre-configuration on a hardware/software/firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0211] In one or more implementations, the terms antenna, panel, and antenna panel are used interchangeably. An antenna panel may be a hardware that is used for transmitting and/or receiving radio signals at frequencies lower than 6GHz, e.g., frequency range 1 (FR1), or higher than 6GHz, e.g., frequency range 2 (FR2) or millimeter wave (mmWave). In one or more implementations, an antenna panel may comprise an array of antenna elements, where each antenna element is connected to hardware such as a phase shifter that allows a control module to apply spatial parameters for transmission and/or reception of signals. The resulting radiation pattern may be called a beam, which may or may not be unimodal and may allow the device (e.g., UE 104, node) to amplify signals that are transmitted or received from one or multiple spatial directions.

[0212] In one or more implementations, an antenna panel may or may not be virtualized as an antenna port in the specifications. An antenna panel may be connected to a baseband processing module through a RF chain for each of transmission (egress) and reception (ingress) directions. A capability of a device in terms of the number of antenna panels, their duplexing capabilities, their beamforming capabilities, and so on, may or may not be transparent to other devices. In one or more implementations, capability information may be communicated via signaling or, in one or more implementations, capability information may be provided to devices without a need for signaling. In the case that such information is available to other devices such as a central unit (CU), it can be used for signaling or local decision making.

[0213] In one or more implementations, an antenna panel may be a physical or logical antenna array including a set of antenna elements or antenna ports that share a common or a significant portion of an RF chain (e.g., in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) modulator, analog to digital (A/D) converter, local oscillator, phase shift network). The antenna panel may be a logical entity with physical antennas mapped to the logical entity. The mapping of physical antennas to the logical entity may be up to implementation. Communicating (receiving or transmitting) on at least a subset of antenna elements or antenna ports active for radiating energy (also referred to herein as active elements) of an antenna panel requires biasing or powering on of the RF chain which results in current drain or power consumption in the device (e.g., node) associated with the antenna panel (including power amplifier/low noise amplifier (LNA) power consumption associated with the antenna elements or antenna ports). The phrase "active for radiating energy," as used herein, is not meant to be limited to a transmit function but also encompasses a receive function. Accordingly, an antenna element that is active for radiating energy may be coupled to a transmitter to transmit radio frequency energy or to a receiver to receive radio frequency energy, either simultaneously or sequentially, or may be coupled to a transceiver in general, for performing its intended functionality. Communicating on the active elements of an antenna panel enables generation of radiation patterns or beams.

[0214] In one or more implementations, depending on implementation, a “panel” can have at least one of the following functionalities as an operational role of Unit of antenna group to control its Tx beam independently, Unit of antenna group to control its transmission power independently, Unit of antenna group to control its transmission timing independently. The “panel” may be transparent to another node (e.g., next hop neighbor node). For certain condition(s), another node or network entity can assume the mapping between device's physical antennas to the logical entity “panel” may not be changed. For example, the condition may include until the next update or report from device or comprise a duration of time over which the network entity assumes there will be no change to the mapping. Device may report its capability with respect to the “panel” to the network entity. The device capability may include at least the number of “panels”. In one implementation, the device may support transmission from one beam within a panel; with multiple panels, more than one beam (one beam per panel) may be used for transmission. Additionally or alternatively, more than one beam per panel may be supported/used for transmission.

[0215] In one or more implementations, an antenna port is defined such that the channel over which a symbol on the antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed.

[0216] Two antenna ports are said to be quasi co-located (QCL) if the large-scale properties of the channel over which a symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a symbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. The large-scale properties include one or more of delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and spatial Rx parameters. Two antenna ports may be quasi-located with respect to a subset of the large-scale properties and different subset of large-scale properties may be indicated by a QCL Type. The QCL Type can indicate which channel properties are the same between the two reference signals (e.g., on the two antenna ports). Thus, the reference signals can be linked to each other with respect to what the device can assume about their channel statistics or QCL properties. For example, qcl-Type may take one of the following values. Other qcl-Types may be defined based on combination of one or large-scale properties:

• 'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}

• 'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}

• 'QCL-TypeC: {Doppler shift, average delay}

• 'QCL-TypeD': {Spatial Rx parameter}.

[0217] Spatial Rx parameters may include one or more of: angle of arrival (AoA,) Dominant AoA, average AoA, angular spread, Power Angular Spectrum (PAS) of AoA, average AoD (angle of departure), PAS of AoD, transmit/receive channel correlation, transmit/receive beamforming, spatial channel correlation, etc.

[0218] The QCL-TypeA, QCL-TypeB and QCL-TypeC may be applicable for all carrier frequencies, but the QCL-TypeD may be applicable only in higher carrier frequencies (e.g., mmWave, FR2 and beyond), where essentially the device may not be able to perform omni-directional transmission, e.g., the device would need to form beams for directional transmission. A QCL-TypeD between two reference signals A and B, the reference signal A is considered to be spatially co-located with reference signal B and the device may assume that the reference signals A and B can be received with the same spatial filter (e.g., with the same RX beamforming weights).

[0219] An “antenna port” according to one or more implementations may be a logical port that may correspond to a beam (resulting from beamforming) or may correspond to a physical antenna on a device. In one or more implementations, a physical antenna may map directly to a single antenna port, in which an antenna port corresponds to an actual physical antenna. Additionally or alternatively, a set or subset of physical antennas, or antenna set or antenna array or antenna sub-array, may be mapped to one or more antenna ports after applying complex weights, a cyclic delay, or both to the signal on each physical antenna. The physical antenna set may have antennas from a single module or panel or from multiple modules or panels. The weights may be fixed as in an antenna virtualization scheme, such as cyclic delay diversity (CDD). The procedure used to derive antenna ports from physical antennas may be specific to a device implementation and transparent to other devices. [0220] In one or more implementations, a TCI-state (Transmission Configuration Indication) associated with a target transmission can indicate parameters for configuring a quasi-collocation relationship between the target transmission (e.g., target RS of demodulation reference signal (DM- RS) ports of the target transmission during a transmission occasion) and a source reference signal(s) (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)/CSI-RS/SRS) with respect to quasi co-location type parameter(s) indicated in the corresponding TCI state. The TCI describes which reference signals are used as QCL source, and what QCL properties can be derived from each reference signal. A device can receive a configuration of a plurality of transmission configuration indicator states for a serving cell for transmissions on the serving cell (e.g., between a serving gNB and a network-controlled repeater). In one or more implementations, a TCI state includes at least one source RS to provide a reference (device assumption) for determining QCL and/or spatial filter.

[0221] In one or more implementations, a UL TCI state is provided if a device is configured with separate DL/UL TCI by RRC signaling. The UL TCI state may include a source reference signal which provides a reference for determining UL spatial domain transmission filter for the UL transmission (e.g., dynamic-grant/configured-grant based PUSCH, dedicated PUCCH resources) in a component carrier (CC) or across a set of configured CCs/BWPs.

[0222] In one or more implementations, a joint DL/UL TCI state is provided if the device is configured with joint DL/UL TCI by RRC signaling (e.g., configuration of joint TCI or separate DL/UL TCI is based on RRC signaling). The joint DL/UL TCI state refers to at least a common source reference RS used for determining both the DL QCL information and the UL spatial transmission filter. The source RS determined from the indicated joint (or common) TCI state provides QCL Type- D indication (e.g., for device- dedicated PDCCH/PDSCH and is used to determine UL spatial transmission filter (e.g., for UE-dedicated PUSCH/PUCCH for a CC or across a set of configured CCs/BWPs. In one example, the UL spatial transmission filter is derived from the RS of DL QCL Type D in the joint TCI state. The spatial setting of the UL transmission may be according to the spatial relation with a reference to the source RS configured with qcl-Type set to 'typeD' in the joint TCI state.

[0223] In one or more implementations, a spatial relation information associated with a target transmission can indicate parameters for configuring a spatial setting between the target transmission and a reference RS (e.g., SSB/CSLRS/SRS). For example, the device may transmit the target transmission with the same spatial domain filter used for reception the reference RS (e.g., DL RS such as SSB/CSI-RS). In another example, the device may transmit the target transmission with the same spatial domain transmission filter used for the transmission of the reference RS (e.g., UL RS such as SRS). A device can receive a configuration of a plurality of spatial relation information configurations for a serving cell for transmissions on the serving cell.

[0224] It should be noted that the different steps or acts described for the various implementations and examples, in the text and in the flowcharts, may be permuted.

[0225] It should also be noted that each configuration may be provided by one or multiple configurations. An earlier configuration may provide a subset of parameters while a later configuration may provide another subset of parameters. Additionally or alternatively, a later configuration may override values provided by an earlier configuration or a pre-configuration.

[0226] It should also be noted that a configuration may be provided by a RRC signaling, a MAC signaling, a physical layer signaling such as a downlink control information (DCI) message, a combination thereof, or other methods. A configuration may include a pre-configuration or a semistatic configuration provided by the standard, by the vendor, by the network/operator, or a combination thereof. Each parameter value received through configuration or indication may override previous values for a similar parameter.

[0227] It should also be noted that L1/L2 control signaling may refer to control signaling in layer 1 (physical layer) or layer 2 (data link layer). Particularly, an L1/L2 control signaling may refer to an LI control signaling such as a DCI message or a UCI message, an L2 control signaling such as a MAC message, or a combination thereof. A format and an interpretation of an L1/L2 control signaling may be determined by the standard, a configuration, other control signaling, or a combination thereof.

[0228] It should also be noted that any parameter discussed herein may appear, in practice, as a linear function of that parameter in signaling or specifications.

[0229] It should also be noted that there is discussion herein to perform measurements for beam training on reference signals. Additionally or alternatively, in one or more implementations, a measurement may be performed on resources that are not necessarily configured for reference signals, but rather a node may measure a receive signal power and obtain a receive signal strength indicator (RS SI) or the like. [0230] It should also be noted that in the discussion herein, reference is made to beam indication. In one or more implementations, according to a standard specification, a beam indication may refer to an indication of a reference signal by an ID or indicator, a resource associated with a reference signal, a spatial relation information comprising information of a reference signal or a reciprocal of a reference signal (in the case of beam correspondence).

[0231] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a block diagram 600 of a device 602 that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 602 may be an example of an NCR 116 as described herein. The device 602 may support wireless communication and/or network signaling with one or more base stations 102, other UEs 104, network entities and devices, or any combination thereof. The device 602 may include components for bi-directional communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 604, a processor 606, a memory 608, a receiver 610, a transmitter 612, and an I/O controller 614. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0232] The communications manager 604, the receiver 610, the transmitter 612, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. For example, the communications manager 604, the receiver 610, the transmitter 612, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0233] In some implementations, the communications manager 604, the receiver 610, the transmitter 612, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some implementations, the processor 606 and the memory 608 coupled with the processor 606 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing, by the processor 606, instructions stored in the memory 608). [0234] Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, the communications manager 604, the receiver 610, the transmitter 612, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by the processor 606. If implemented in code executed by the processor 606, the functions of the communications manager 604, the receiver 610, the transmitter 612, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0235] In some implementations, the communications manager 604 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 610, the transmitter 612, or both. For example, the communications manager 604 may receive information from the receiver 610, send information to the transmitter 612, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 610, the transmitter 612, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein. Although the communications manager 604 is illustrated as a separate component, in some implementations, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 604 may be supported by or performed by the processor 606, the memory 608, or any combination thereof. For example, the memory 608 may store code, which may include instructions executable by the processor 606 to cause the device 602 to perform various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein, or the processor 606 and the memory 608 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0236] For example, the communications manager 604 may support wireless communication and/or network signaling at a device (e.g., the device 602, an NCR) in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The communications manager 604 and/or other device components may be configured as or otherwise support an apparatus, such as a UE, including a transceiver; a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor and the transceiver configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from a base station, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel; receive, from the base station, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater- assisted channel access; in response to the second signaling and based at least in part on the channel access configuration: receive, from the wireless channel, signals; and transmit, to the base station, the signals.

[0237] Additionally, the apparatus (e.g., an NCR) includes any one or combination of: where the channel access configuration comprises at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types; where the second signaling indicates at least one of: a subset of the one or more sensing directions; a subset of the one or more sensing durations; a subset of the one or more amplification gains; or a subset of one or more sensing types; where to receive the signals from the wireless channel includes applying a beam associated with a sensing direction of the one or more sensing directions for a sensing duration of the one or more sensing durations; where to transmit the signals to the base station includes applying an amplification gain from the one or more amplification gains; where the wireless channel is in an unlicensed spectrum; where the apparatus comprises a network-controlled repeater.

[0238] The communications manager 604 and/or other device components may be configured as or otherwise support a means for wireless communication and/or network signaling at an NCR, including receiving, from a base station, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel; receiving, from the base station, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater-assisted channel access; in response to the second signaling and based at least in part on the channel access configuration: receiving, from the wireless channel, signals; and transmitting, to the base station, the signals.

[0239] Additionally, wireless communication and/or network signaling at the NCR includes any one or combination of: where the channel access configuration comprises at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types; where the second signaling indicates at least one of: a subset of the one or more sensing directions; a subset of the one or more sensing durations; a subset of the one or more amplification gains; or a subset of one or more sensing types; where receiving the signals from the wireless channel includes applying a beam associated with a sensing direction of the one or more sensing directions for a sensing duration of the one or more sensing durations; where transmitting the signals to the base station includes applying an amplification gain from the one or more amplification gains; where the wireless channel is in an unlicensed spectrum; where the method is implemented in a network- controlled repeater. [0240] The processor 606 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 606 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other implementations, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 606. The processor 606 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 608) to cause the device 602 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0241] The memory 608 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 608 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 606 cause the device 602 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some implementations, the code may not be directly executable by the processor 606 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some implementations, the memory 608 may include, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0242] The I/O controller 614 may manage input and output signals for the device 602. The I/O controller 614 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 602. In some implementations, the I/O controller 614 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some implementations, the I/O controller 614 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. In some implementations, the I/O controller 614 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 606. In some implementations, a user may interact with the device 602 via the I/O controller 614 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 614.

[0243] In some implementations, the device 602 may include a single antenna 616. However, in some other implementations, the device 602 may have more than one antenna 616, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The receiver 610 and the transmitter 612 may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 616, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the receiver 610 and the transmitter 612 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 616 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 616.

[0244] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a block diagram 700 of a device 702 that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 702 may be an example of a base station 102, such as a gNB as described herein. The device 702 may support wireless communication and/or network signaling with one or more base stations 102, other UEs 104, core network devices and functions (e.g., core network 106), or any combination thereof. The device 702 may include components for bi-directional communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 704, a processor 706, a memory 708, a receiver 710, a transmitter 712, and an I/O controller 714. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0245] The communications manager 704, the receiver 710, the transmitter 712, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. For example, the communications manager 704, the receiver 710, the transmitter 712, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0246] In some implementations, the communications manager 704, the receiver 710, the transmitter 712, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some implementations, the processor 706 and the memory 708 coupled with the processor 706 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing, by the processor 706, instructions stored in the memory 708). [0247] Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, the communications manager 704, the receiver 710, the transmitter 712, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by the processor 706. If implemented in code executed by the processor 706, the functions of the communications manager 704, the receiver 710, the transmitter 712, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0248] In some implementations, the communications manager 704 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 710, the transmitter 712, or both. For example, the communications manager 704 may receive information from the receiver 710, send information to the transmitter 712, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 710, the transmitter 712, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein. Although the communications manager 704 is illustrated as a separate component, in some implementations, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 704 may be supported by or performed by the processor 706, the memory 708, or any combination thereof. For example, the memory 708 may store code, which may include instructions executable by the processor 706 to cause the device 702 to perform various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein, or the processor 706 and the memory 708 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0249] For example, the communications manager 704 may support wireless communication and/or network signaling at a device (e.g., the device 702, a base station) in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The communications manager 704 and/or other device components may be configured as or otherwise support an apparatus, such as a base station, including a transceiver; a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor and the transceiver configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to a NCR, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel; transmit, to the NCR, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater- assisted channel access; receive, from the NCR, signals received by the NCR from the wireless channel based at least in part on the channel access configuration. [0250] Additionally, the apparatus (e.g., a base station) includes any one or combination of: where the channel access configuration comprises at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types; where the second signaling indicates at least one of: a subset of the one or more sensing directions; a subset of the one or more sensing durations; a subset of the one or more amplification gains; or a subset of one or more sensing types; where the signals are received by the NCR from the wireless channel by applying a beam associated with a sensing direction of the one or more sensing directions for a sensing duration of the one or more sensing durations; where the wireless channel is in an unlicensed spectrum; where the apparatus comprises a base station.

[0251] The communications manager 704 and/or other device components may be configured as or otherwise support a means for wireless communication and/or network signaling at a base station, including transmitting, to a NCR, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel; transmitting, to the NCR, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater- assisted channel access; and receiving, from the NCR, signals received by the NCR from the wireless channel based at least in part on the channel access configuration.

[0252] Additionally, wireless communication at the base station includes any one or combination of: where the channel access configuration comprises at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types; where the second signaling indicates at least one of: a subset of the one or more sensing directions; a subset of the one or more sensing durations; a subset of the one or more amplification gains; or a subset of one or more sensing types; where the signals are received by the NCR from the wireless channel by applying a beam associated with a sensing direction of the one or more sensing directions for a sensing duration of the one or more sensing durations; where the wireless channel is in an unlicensed spectrum; where the method is implemented in a base station.

[0253] The processor 706 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor 706 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other implementations, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 706. The processor 706 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 708) to cause the device 702 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0254] The memory 708 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 708 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 706 cause the device 702 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some implementations, the code may not be directly executable by the processor 706 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some implementations, the memory 708 may include, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0255] The I/O controller 714 may manage input and output signals for the device 702. The I/O controller 714 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 702. In some implementations, the I/O controller 714 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some implementations, the I/O controller 714 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. In some implementations, the I/O controller 714 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 706. In some implementations, a user may interact with the device 702 via the I/O controller 714 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 714.

[0256] In some implementations, the device 702 may include a single antenna 716. However, in some other implementations, the device 702 may have more than one antenna 716, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The receiver 710 and the transmitter 712 may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 716, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the receiver 710 and the transmitter 712 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 716 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 716. [0257] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method 800 that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 800 may be implemented and performed by a device or its components, such as an NCR 116 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 7. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

[0258] At 802, the method may include receiving, from a base station, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel. The operations of 802 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 802 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0259] At 804, the method may include receiving, from the base station, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater-assisted channel access. The operations of 804 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 804 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0260] At 806, the method may include in response to the second signaling and based at least in part on the channel access configuration: receiving, from the wireless channel, signals; and transmitting, to the base station, the signals. The operations of 806 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 806 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0261] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method 900 that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 900 may be implemented and performed by a device or its components, such as an NCR 116 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 7. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

[0262] At 902, the method may include the channel access configuration comprising at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types. The operations of 902 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 902 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0263] At 904, the method may include receiving the signals from the wireless channel includes applying a beam associated with a sensing direction of the one or more sensing directions for a sensing duration of the one or more sensing durations. The operations of 904 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 904 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0264] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method 1000 that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1000 may be implemented and performed by a device or its components, such as an NCR 116 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 7. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

[0265] At 1002, the method may include the channel access configuration comprising at least one of: one or more sensing directions; one or more sensing durations; one or more amplification gains; or one or more sensing types. The operations of 1002 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1002 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0266] At 1004, the method may include transmitting the signals to the base station includes applying an amplification gain from the one or more amplification gains. The operations of 1004 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1004 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0267] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method 1100 that supports repeater-assisted channel access with network-controlled repeaters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1100 may be implemented and performed by a device or its components, such as a base station 102 (e.g., a gNB) as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 7. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

[0268] At 1102, the method may include transmitting, to a NCR, a first signaling indicating a channel access configuration for a wireless channel. The operations of 1102 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1102 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0269] At 1104, the method may include transmitting, to the NCR, a second signaling indicating a triggering of a repeater-assisted channel access. The operations of 1104 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1104 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0270] At 1106, the method may include receiving, from the NCR, signals received by the NCR from the wireless channel based at least in part on the channel access configuration. The operations of 1106 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1106 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0271] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. The order in which the methods are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number or combination of the described method operations may be performed in any order to perform a method, or an alternate method.

[0272] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0273] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer- readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0274] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non- transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or specialpurpose processor.

[0275] Any connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer- readable media. [0276] As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Similarly, a list of one or more of A, B, or C means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Similarly, a list of at least one of A; B; or C means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Similarly, a list of one or more of A; B; or C means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a “set” may include one or more elements.

[0277] The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described example.

[0278] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.