SYNCHRONIZATION SIGNAL AND BROADCAST CHANNEL BLOCK IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to a wireless communication system, and relates more particularly to a synchronization signal and broadcast channel block in such a system.

BACKGROUND

A synchronization signal and broadcast channel block (SSB) in New Radio (NR) conveys basic system information that a user equipment (UE) requires for initial access. If an SSB is associated with a System Information Block (SIB) of Type 1 (SIB1) that defines scheduling of other system information blocks, the SSB is referred to as a cell-defining (CD) SSB. This is because the SSB in this case is associated with a unique cell global identifier (CGI). Otherwise, the SSB is referred to as a non-CD-SSB.

In these and other contexts, non-CD-SSBs advantageously allow for multiple SSBs to be transmitted within the same carrier frequency for the same cell. Non-CD- SSBs also advantageously facilitate deployment of non-standalone cells for dual connectivity. However, non-CD-SSBs threaten to increase signaling overhead and jeopardize the success of automatic neighbor relation (ANR) processes.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments herein, a synchronization signal and broadcast channel block (SSB) conveys different information depending on whether the SSB is a cell-defining (CD) SSB or a non-CD-SSB. For example, if the SSB is a non-CD-SSB, the SSB may convey not only the frequency position of a CD-SSB but also other information about the CD-SSB or about the CD-SSB’s cell. This other information may include, for instance, the physical cell identity (PCI) of the

CD-SSB’s cell, a subcarrier spacing of the CD-SSB, and/or at least a portion of a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier to which the CD-SSB’s cell belongs. In some embodiments, the bit(s) in the non-CD-SSB that are used to convey this other information are bit(s) that would have otherwise redundantly conveyed information already conveyed by the CD-SSB. These and other embodiments may thereby exploit redundancies between the non-CD-SSB and the CD-SSB in order convey more information than otherwise possible, without increasing the signaling overhead required to do so. Moreover, where the additional information conveyed is the PCI of the CD-SSB’s cell, some embodiments advantageously facilitate successful ANR even when the non-CD-SSB uses a different PCI than the CD-SSB.

More particularly, some embodiments herein include a method performed by a wireless device configured for use in a wireless communication system. The method may comprise receiving a first synchronization signal and broadcast channel block, SSB. The first SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a first cell identity. The first SSB conveys a first set of one or more bits, a second set of one or more bits, and a third set of one or more bits. The first set of one or more bits may indicate whether the first SSB provides parameters (e.g., a control resource set and search space) for the wireless device to receive a system information block of a first type, SIB1. The SIB1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks. The second set of one or more bits, if the first set of one or more bits indicates the first SSB does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 , indicates one or more frequency positions where the wireless device may find a second SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 or indicates a frequency range where there is not any SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1. The second SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a second cell identity. The interpretation or presence of the third set of one or more bits in the first SSB depends on whether the first SSB provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates information about the second SSB.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of the second cell identity.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least one of any one or more of: a subcarrier spacing of the second SSB; how one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB are to be interpreted; and whether the one or more bits conveyed by the broadcast channel payload represent a time index or a beam index. In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of an identifier of a public land mobile network, PLMN.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least one of any one or more of: at least a portion of a system frame number, SFN; a subcarrier spacing for an SIB1 ; and an SSB index for the first SSB.

In some embodiments, the third set of one or more bits includes at least one of any one or more of: one or more bits defining a system frame number field of a master information block, MIB, in the first SSB; one or more bits defining a subcarrier spacing common field of the MIB in the first SSB; and one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB.

In some embodiments, the third set of one or more bits includes: one or more bits defining a field of a master information block, MIB, in the first SSB; and one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB.

In some embodiments, the third set of one or more bits indicates either a system frame number or at least a portion of the second cell identity, depending respectively on whether or not the first SSB provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication system is a New Radio, NR, Unlicensed (NR-U) system.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving the second SSB based on information indicated by the third set of one or more bits.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises interpreting the third set of one or more bits in the first SSB in dependence on whether the first cell provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing one or more actions based on the first SSB.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing an automatic neighbor relation procedure, cell identification procedure, and/or measurement reporting procedure based on information conveyed by the third set of one or more bits. Embodiments herein also include a method performed by a radio network node configured for use in a wireless communication system. The method comprises transmitting a first synchronization signal and broadcast channel block, SSB. The first SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a first cell identity. The first SSB conveys a first set of one or more bits, a second set of one or more bits, and a third set of one or more bits. The first set of one or more bits may indicate whether the first SSB provides parameters (e.g., a control resource set and search space) for the wireless device to receive a system information block of a first type, SIB1. The SIB1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks. The second set of one or more bits, if the first set of one or more bits indicates the first SSB does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 , indicates one or more frequency positions where the wireless device may find a second SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 or indicates a frequency range where there is not any SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1. The second SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a second cell identity. The interpretation or presence of the third set of one or more bits in the first SSB depends on whether the first SSB provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates information about the second SSB.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of the second cell identity.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least one of any one or more of: a subcarrier spacing of the second SSB; how one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB are to be interpreted; and whether the one or more bits conveyed by the broadcast channel payload represent a time index or a beam index.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of an identifier of a public land mobile network, PLMN.

In some embodiments, when the first cell does provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least one of any one or more of: at least a portion of a system frame number, SFN; a subcarrier spacing for an SIB1 ; and an SSB index for the first SSB.

In some embodiments, the third set of one or more bits includes at least one of any one or more of: one or more bits defining a system frame number field of a master information block, MIB, in the first SSB; one or more bits defining a subcarrier spacing common field of the MIB in the first SSB; and one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB.

In some embodiments, the third set of one or more bits includes: one or more bits defining a field of a master information block, MIB, in the first SSB; and one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB.

In some embodiments, the third set of one or more bits indicates either a system frame number or at least a portion of the second cell identity, depending respectively on whether or not the first SSB provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication system is a New Radio, NR, Unlicensed (NR-U) system.

Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatus, computer programs, and carriers of those computer programs, such as non-transitory computer-readable mediums. For example, embodiments herein include a wireless device configured for use in a wireless communication system. The wireless device may be configured to receive a first synchronization signal and broadcast channel block, SSB. The first SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a first cell identity. The first SSB conveys a first set of one or more bits, a second set of one or more bits, and a third set of one or more bits. The first set of one or more bits may indicate whether the first SSB provides parameters (e.g., a control resource set and search space) for the wireless device to receive a system information block of a first type, SIB1. The SIB1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks. The second set of one or more bits, if the first set of one or more bits indicates the first SSB does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 , indicates one or more frequency positions where the wireless device may find a second SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 or indicates a frequency range where there is not any SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1. The second SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a second cell identity. The interpretation or presence of the third set of one or more bits in the first SSB depends on whether the first SSB provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

Embodiments herein also include a radio network node configured for use in a wireless communication system. The radio network node is configured to transmit a first synchronization signal and broadcast channel block, SSB. The first SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a first cell identity. The first SSB conveys a first set of one or more bits, a second set of one or more bits, and a third set of one or more bits. The first set of one or more bits may indicate whether the first SSB provides parameters (e.g., a control resource set and search space) for the wireless device to receive a system information block of a first type, SIB1. The SIB1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks. The second set of one or more bits, if the first set of one or more bits indicates the first SSB does not provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 , indicates one or more frequency positions where the wireless device may find a second SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 or indicates a frequency range where there is not any SSB that provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1. The second SSB may include one or more synchronization signals which indicate a second cell identity. The interpretation or presence of the third set of one or more bits in the first SSB depends on whether the first SSB provides parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to some embodiments.

Figure 2 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a wireless device according to some embodiments.

Figure 3 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a radio network node according to some embodiments.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a wireless device according to some embodiments. Figure 5 is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments.

Figure 6 is a block diagram of an SSB according to some embodiments.

Figure 7 is a block diagram of multiple SSBs transmitted in a cell according to some embodiments.

Figure 8 is a block diagram of a non-cell-defining SSB being used with a different Physical Cell Identity than a cell-defining SSB.

Figure 9 is a block diagram of a wireless communication network according to some embodiments.

Figure 10 is a block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments.

Figure 11 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment according to some embodiments.

Figure 12 is a block diagram of a communication network with a host computer according to some embodiments.

Figure 13 is a block diagram of a host computer according to some embodiments.

Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a

communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a

communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a

communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a

communication system, in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a wireless communication system 10 (e.g., a New Radio Unlicensed, NR-U, system) according to some embodiments. A radio network node 12 (e.g., a base station) and a wireless device 14 (e.g., a user equipment, UE) are shown as being configured for use in such a system 10. The radio network node 12 in this regard may provide the wireless device 14 with radio access to a radio access network (not shown), which may in turn connect the wireless device 14 with a core network (not shown) for the system 10.

The radio network node 12 more particularly is configured to transmit a first synchronization signal and broadcast channel block (SSB) 16-1 for a first (non-uniquely identified) cell 18-1. The first SSB 16-1 may be transmitted for the first cell 18-1 in the sense that the first SSB 16-1 includes one or more synchronization signals (e.g., a Primary Synchronization Signal, PSS, and a Secondary

Synchronization Signal, SSS) that indicate a first (non-unique) cell identity (e.g., a first Physical Cell Identity (PCI)) identifying the first cell 18-1. The radio network node 12 in this sense thereby transmits a first SSB 16-1 that includes one or more synchronization signals which indicate a first cell identity, e.g., a first PCI. This first SSB 16-1 may be distinguished for instance from a second SSB 16-2 transmitted for a second (non-uniquely identified) cell 18-2, e.g., which includes one or more synchronization signals that indicate a second (non-unique) cell identity (e.g., a second PCI identifying the second cell 18-2). That is, the second SSB 16-2 may include one or more synchronization signals that indicate a second cell identity, e.g., a second PCI. The first SSB 16-1 and second SSB 16-2 in some embodiments are transmitted at different frequency locations F1 and F2, respectively, e.g., within the same frequency carrier. Alternatively or additionally, the first cell 18-1 and the second cell 18-2 may be identified with different (non-unique) cell identities, e.g., different PCIs. However, even if the first and second (non-unique) cell identities are different, and even if the first SSB 16-1 and the second SSB 16-2 are transmitted in different frequency locations F1 and F2, the first SSB 16-1 and the second SSB 16- 2 may nonetheless be transmitted in association with the same unique cell global identifier (CGI), e.g., such that multiple SSBs are transmitted for the same uniquely identified cell.

The first SSB 16-1 may also convey a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) on which is broadcast a Master information Block (MIB), where this MIB indicates system information (SI) required by the wireless device 14 for initial access to the system 10 (e.g., a System Frame Number, an index of the first SSB 16-1 among multiple SSBs, whether the first cell 18-1 is barred, whether the wireless device 14 is allowed to perform intra-frequency reselection on the first cell 18-1 , or the like). The PBCH may further convey other SI outside of the MIB itself (e.g., within the PBCH payload). No matter how conveyed (e.g., within an MIB or not), though, the first SSB 16-1 conveys (at least) a first set 16-1A of one or more bits, a second set 16-1 B of one or more bits, and a third set 16-1C of one or more bits. These first, second, and third sets of bits are different and distinct sets of bits.

The first set 16-1A of bit(s) indicates whether the first cell 18-1 provides a system information block of a first type (SIB1) 20-1. Note in this regard that if an SIB1 20-1 is provided, the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive the SIB1 20-1 , e.g., where the parameters may indicate a control resource set and search space for SIB1 20-1. The first set 16-1 A of bit(s) may thereby also be said to indicate whether the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters (e.g., indicating a control resource set and search space) for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1. In any event, such an SIB1 20-1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks (not shown). For example, the SIB1 20-1 may include information regarding the availability and scheduling (e.g., mapping of system information blocks to SI message(s), periodicity, SI window size, etc.) of other system information blocks. In New Radio (NR) embodiments, SIB1 20-1 may also be referred to as Remaining Minimum SI (RMSI), since it conveys what remains of the basic (minimum) information required for initial access beyond that conveyed by the MIB. In these and other embodiments, then, the first set 16-1A of bit(s) may also be said to indicate whether the first SSB 16-1 is associated with RMSI, i.e., by indicating whether the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20-1 that conveys such RMSI. Regardless, in one or more embodiments, if the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20- 1 , the first SSB 16-1 for that first cell 18-1 may be referred to as a cell-defining (CD) SSB, since in this case the first SSB 16-1 corresponds to an individual cell which has a unique cell global identity (CGI). On the other hand, if the first SSB 16-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 , the first SSB 16-1 may be referred to as a non-CD-SSB.

In this sense, then, the first set of bits 16-1A may indicate whether the first SSB 16-1 is a CD-SSB or a non-CD-SSB.

In some embodiments, such as those based on NR, the first set 16-1A of bit(s) may correspond to all or part of an ssb-SubcarrierOffset field of an MIB conveyed by the first SSB 16-1 , e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.4.0. In this case, the first set 16-1A of bit(s) may generally indicate a frequency domain offset between the first SSB 16-1 and an overall resource block grid in a number of subcarriers. But the value of the first set 16-1A of bit(s) may in some cases indicate whether the cell provides an SIB1 20-1.

If the first set 16-1A of bit(s) indicates that the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 (i.e., that the first SSB 16-1 does not provide parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1), the second set 16-1 B of bit(s) may indicate one or more frequency positions of a second SSB 16-2 for a second cell 18- 2 that provides an SIB1 20-2 (i.e., one or more frequency positions of a second SSB 16-2 that does provide parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20- 2). As shown in Figure 1 , for instance, the second set 16-1 B of bit(s) indicates a frequency position F2 of such a second SSB 16-2. In this way, then, the second set 16-1 B of bit(s) may point the wireless device 14 to the frequency location of another SSB that provides an SIB1 (i.e., that provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1). Alternatively, the second set 16-1 B of bit(s) may indicate a frequency range where there is not any SSB for a cell that provides an SIB1 , i.e., a frequency range where the network does not provide an SSB with SIB1.

In some embodiments, such as those based on NR, the second set 16-1 B of bit(s) may correspond to all or part of a pdcch-ConfigSIB1 field of an MIB conveyed by the first SSB 16-1 , e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.4.0. In this case, if the first set 16-1A of bit(s) indicates that the first cell 18-1 does provide an SIB1 20-1 (i.e., that the first SSB 16-1 does provide parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1), the second set 16-1 B of bit(s) may indicate or otherwise determine a common Control Resource Set (CORESET) for a common search space and necessary Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) parameters; that is, the parameters needed for the wireless device 14 to receive the SIB1 20-1. On the other hand, if the first set 16-1 A of bit(s) indicates that the first cell 18-1 does not provide such an SIB1 20-1 (i.e., that the first SSB 16-1 does not provide parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1), the second 16-1 B of bit(s) may instead indicate the frequency positions where the wireless device 14 may find a second SSB 16-1 with SIB1 20-2 or the frequency range where the network does not provide any SSB block with SIB1.

Continuing this example with respect to the second SSB 16-2, the second SSB 16-2 as shown may also convey a corresponding first set 16-2A of bit(s) and a corresponding second set 16-2B of bit(s). With the second cell 18-2 providing an SIB1 20-2 in this example, the first set 16-2A of bits conveyed by the second SSB 16-2 may indicate that the second cell 18-2 does provide an SIB1 20-2 (i.e., that the second SSB 16-2 does provide parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-2). And the second set 16-2B of bits conveyed by the second SSB 16-2 may indicate or otherwise determine a common Control Resource Set (CORESET) for a common search space and necessary Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) parameters, e.g., for receiving SIB1 20-2.

Notably, according to embodiments herein, the first SSB 16-1 also conveys a third set 16-1C of bit(s) whose interpretation or presence depends on whether the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20-1 (as indicated by the first set 16-1 A of bit(s)). That is, the interpretation or presence of the third set 16-1C of bit(s) depends on whether the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1). In some embodiments, then, the interpretation or presence of the third set 16-1C of bit(s) depends on whether the first SSB 16-1 is a CD-SSB or a non-CD- SSB.

Consider for instance embodiments where the interpretation of the third set 16-1 C of bits depends on whether the first cell 18-1 provides an SIBI 20-1 , i.e. , whether the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1. According to some of these embodiments, if/when the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 , the third set 16-1C of bit(s) conveys a type of information that is different from the type of information that the third set 16-1C of bit(s) would have conveyed had the first cell 18-1 provided an SIB1 20-1. Accordingly, if/when the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 , the third set 16-1C of bit(s) conveys a type of information that is different than the type of information conveyed by a corresponding third set 16-2C of bit(s) in the second SSB 16-2 (which provides an SIB1 20-2). That is, the third set 16-1C of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 conveys a different type of information than that already conveyed by the corresponding third set 16-2C of bit(s) in the second SSB 16-2. In fact, absent these embodiments, the third set 16-1C of bit(s) conveyed by the first SSB 16-1 would have redundantly conveyed information already conveyed by the corresponding third set 16-2C of bit(s) in the second SSB 16-2. Some embodiments herein may therefore

advantageously“re-use” or“re-purpose” the third set 16-1C of bit(s) for conveying information that the wireless device 14 cannot already obtain from the third set 16- 2C of bit(s) in the second SSB 16-2. These and other embodiments may thereby exploit redundancies between the non-CD-SSB 16-1 and the CD-SSB 16-2 in order convey more information than otherwise possible, without increasing the signaling overhead required to do so.

Consider an example. In this example, the third set 16-1 C of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 includes (i) one or more bits defining a System Frame Number field of a Master Information Block (MIB) in the first SSB 16-1 ; and/or (ii) one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload (e.g., Physical Broadcast Channel,

PBCH, payload) included in the first SSB 16-1. If/when the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1 A of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 , this third set 16-1C of bit(s) indicates all or a portion of a System Frame Number (SFN). For example, the one or more bits defining the SFN field of an MIB in the first SSB 16-1 may indicate the 6 most significant bits of a 10-bit SFN, whereas the one or more bits conveyed by the broadcast channel payload may indicate the 4 least significant bits of the 10-bit SFN, e.g., as part of channel coding (outside of the MIB encoding).

In some embodiments, if/when the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1 A of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 , the third set 16- 1C of bit(s) may instead indicate at least a portion of a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) of the second cell 18-2. Accordingly, the third set 16-1C of bit(s) may indicate either a SNF or at least a portion of a PCI of the second cell 18-2, depending respectively on whether or not the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1 A of bit(s). For instance, in some embodiments the 10 bits may be used to convey a 10-bit PCI of the second cell 18-1 rather than the 10-bit SFN, e.g., since the 10-bit SFN is already conveyed by the corresponding third set 16-2C of bits in the second SSB 16-2. These and other embodiments may therefore advantageously facilitate success of an Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) procedure even when the first cell 18-1 for the first SSB 16-1 (as a non-CD-SSB) is identified by a PCI that is different than the PCI with which the second cell 18-2 for the second SSB 16-2 (as a CD-SSB) is identified.

In other embodiments, if/when the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1 A of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 , the third set 16- 1C of bit(s) may instead indicate at least a portion of an identifier of a public land mobile network (PLMN) to which the second cell 18-2 belongs. For instance, in some embodiments the 10 bits included in the third set 16-1C may be used to convey a 10-bit mobile network code (MNC) of the second cell’s PLMN or a 10-bit mobile country code (MCC) of the second cell’s PLMN, rather than the 10-bit SFN, e.g., since the 10-bit SFN is already conveyed by the corresponding third set 16-2C of bits in the second SSB 16-2. These and other embodiments may therefore advantageously provide useful PLMN-related information to the wireless device 14 that the wireless device 14 would otherwise have to acquire from SIB1 20-2.

Consider another example. In this example, the third set 16-1 C of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 alternatively or additionally includes one or more bits defining a subcarrier spacing common field of the MIB in the first SSB 16-1. If/when the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1A of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 , this third set 16-1C of bit(s) indicates a subcarrier spacing for the SIB1 20-1 provided by the first cell 18-1. The third set 16-1 C of bit(s) may alternatively or additionally indicate a subcarrier spacing for Message 2/4 for initial access and/or paging and broadcast SI messages. In some embodiments, if/when the first cell 18- 1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1A of bit(s) in the first SSB 16-1 , the third set 16-1 C of bit(s) may instead indicate a subcarrier spacing of the second SSB 16-2 and/or of the SIB1 20-2 provided by the second cell 18-2.

Generally, then, as these examples demonstrate the third set 16-1 C of bit(s) in some embodiments may be interpreted to indicate information about the first SSB 16-1 or the first cell 18-1 if/when the first cell 18-1 provides an SSB1 20-1. But the third set 16-1 C of bit(s) may instead be interpreted to indicate information about the second SSB 16-2 or the second cell 18-2 if/when the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SSB1 20-2.

Note that an SSB as used herein may be referred to as a synchronization signal and broadcast channel block, or more simply as a synchronization signal block.

In view of the above modifications and variations, Figure 2 depicts a method performed by a wireless device 14 configured for use in a wireless communication system 10 in accordance with particular embodiments. The method includes receiving a first SSB 16-1 for a first cell 18-1 (Block 200). In some embodiments, the first SSB 16-1 conveys (at least) a first set 16-1 A of one or more bits, a second set 16-1 B of one or more bits, and a third set 16-1 C of one or more bits. The first set 16- 1 A indicates whether the first cell provides a system information block of a first type, SIB1 , 20-1 , i.e. , whether the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1. This SIB1 20-1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks. The second set 16-1 B, if the first set 16-1 A indicates the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 , indicates one or more frequency positions of a second SSB 16-2 for a second cell 18-2 that provides an SIB1 20-2 (or a frequency range where there is not any SSB for a cell that provides an SIB1). The third set 16-1 C is a set of bit(s) whose interpretation or presence in the first SSB 16-1 depends on whether the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1 A of one or more bits.

That is, the second set 16-1 B, if the first SSB 16-1 does not provide parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1 , indicates one or more frequency positions of a second SSB 16-2 that does provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 202. And the interpretation or presence of the third set 16-1 C of bit(s) depends on whether the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1. Such parameters may include for instance a control resource set and search space for SIB1.

In some embodiments, the method may further include interpreting the third set 16-1 C of one or more bits in the first SSB 16-1 in dependence on whether the first cell 18-1 provides an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1A of one or more bits (Block 210). Alternatively or additionally, the method may include performing one or more actions based on the first SSB (Block 220). For example, in these and other embodiments, the method may include performing an automatic neighbor relation procedure, cell identification procedure, and/or measurement reporting procedure, for the second cell 20-2 based on information conveyed by the third set 16-1 C of one or more bits.

Figure 3 depicts a method performed by a radio network node 12 configured for use in a wireless communication system 10 in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method includes transmitting a first SSB 16-1 for a first cell 18-1 (Block 310). In some embodiments, the first SSB 16-1 conveys (at least) a first set 16-1A of one or more bits, a second set 16-1 B of one or more bits, and a third set 16-1 C of one or more bits. The first set 16-1A indicates whether the first cell provides a system information block of a first type, SIB1 , 20-1 , i.e. , whether the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1. This SIB1 20-1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks. The second set 16-1 B, if the first set 16-1A indicates the first cell 18-1 does not provide an SIB1 20-1 , indicates one or more frequency positions of a second SSB 16-2 for a second cell 18-2 that provides an SIB1 20-2 (or a frequency range where there is not any SSB for a cell that provides an SIB1). The third set 16-1 C is a set of bit(s) whose interpretation or presence in the first SSB 16-1 depends on whether the first cell 18- 1 provides an SIB1 20-1 as indicated by the first set 16-1 A of one or more bits.

That is, the second set 16-1 B, if the first SSB 16-1 does not provide parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1 , indicates one or more frequency positions of a second SSB 16-2 that does provide parameters for the wireless device to receive an SIB1 202. And the interpretation or presence of the third set 16-1 C of bit(s) depends on whether the first SSB 16-1 provides parameters for the wireless device 14 to receive an SIB1 20-1. Such parameters may include for instance a control resource set and search space for SIB1.

In some embodiments, the method also include generating the first SSB 16-1 (Block 300).

Note that the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. The circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and/or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory. For instance, the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random- access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In embodiments that employ memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein.

Figure 4 for example illustrates a wireless device 400 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the wireless device 400 includes processing circuitry 410 and communication circuitry 420. The

communication circuitry 420 (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any

communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas that are either internal or external to the wireless device 400. The processing circuitry 410 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 2, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 430. The processing circuitry 410 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

Figure 5 illustrates a network node 500 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the network node 500 includes processing circuitry 510 and communication circuitry 520. The communication circuitry 520 is configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry 510 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 3, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 530. The processing circuitry 510 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

A computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above. A computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.

Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

In this regard, embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above.

Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium.

Additional embodiments will now be described. At least some of these embodiments may be described as applicable in certain contexts and/or wireless network types for illustrative purposes, but the embodiments are similarly applicable in other contexts and/or wireless network types not explicitly described.

System Information (SI) in New Radio (NR) consists of a Master Information Block (MIB) and a number of System Information Blocks (SIBs). The SI may be divided logically into so-called Minimum SI and Other SI. Minimum SI comprises the basic information required for initial access and information for acquiring any other SI. Minimum SI for example may consist of the MIB and an SIB of Type 1 (SIB1).

The MIB is periodically broadcast on the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The MIB contains cell barred status information and essential physical layer information of the cell required to receive further system information. In particular, the MIB provides the UE with parameters (e.g., a Control Resource Set (CORESET) configuration) for monitoring of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for scheduling the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) that carried SIB1. The MIB may also provide information related to the System Frame Number (SFN), time index (or beam index), whether the user equipment (UE) is allowed to perform intra frequency reselection on this cell or not, etc.

SIB1 defines the scheduling of other system information blocks. SIB1 may also contain information required for initial access, in addition to that already conveyed by MIB. SIB1 may therefore be referred to as Remaining Minimum SI (RMSI). Other SI encompasses all SIBs not included in the Minimum SI.

In New Radio (NR), the PBCH (and therefore MIB) is transmitted as part of a so-called Synchronization Signal and Broadcast channel Block (SSB). The SSB in this regard consists of the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and the PBCH. Figure 6 shows one example of an SSB in NR.

Two types of SSBs can be transmitted in NR, e.g., even within the frequency span of the same carrier. The SSB that has an associated SIB1 (i.e. , RMSI) being transmitted is referred to as a Cell-Defining SSB (CD-SSB). And the SSB that do not have an associated SIB1/RMSI being transmitted is referred to as non-CD-SSB. For example, one scenario where SIB1 is not associated with an SSB is where a single cell has multiple SSBs (without SIB1) that are associated to a single CD-SSB.

Figure 7 shows one example of this. As another example, in an E-UTRAN NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) architecture, only Non-Standalone Architecture (NSA) cells may be deployed (without any associated CD-SSB). Regardless of the scenario, though, the Physical Cell Identity (PCI) of different SSBs do not have to be unique. However, when an SSB is associated with an SI B1 /RMSI, the SSB corresponds to an individual cell which has a unique cell global identity (CGI); thus, a CD-SSB is associated with a unique CGI.

The PBCH (MIB) of a non-CD-SSB indicates that there is no associated SI B1 /RMSI and may point the UE to another frequency location in which to search for an SSB that is associated with an SIB1 (and/or indicate a frequency range where the UE may assume no SSB associated with SIB1 is present). Accordingly, it is possible that the non-CD-SSBs that are present on the sync raster location point to the frequency location of the CD-SSB.

The MIB in this regard is detailed in the 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.331 V15.4.0.

The MIB includes the system information transmitted on BCH. Signalling radio bearer: N/A

RLC-SAP: TM

Logical channel: BCCH

Direction: Network to UE

MIB

ASN1 START

TAG-MI 8-START

MIB ::= SEQUENCE {

systemFrameNumber BIT STRING (SIZE (6)),

subCarrierSpacingCommon ENUMERATED {scs15or60, scs30or120}, ssb-SubcarrierOffset INTEGER (0..15),

dmrs-TypeA-Position ENUMERATED {pos2, pos3},

pdcch-ConfigSIB1 PDCCH-ConfigSIBI ,

cellBarred ENUMERATED {barred, notBarred},

intraFreqReselection ENUMERATED {allowed, notAllowed}, spare BIT STRING (SIZE (1))

}

TAG- M! 8-STOP

ASN 1 STOP cellBarred

Barred means the cell is barred

dmrs- Type A -Position

Position of (first) DM-RS for downlink and uplink

intraFreqReselection

Controls cell selection/reselection to intra-frequency cells when the highest ranked cell is barred, or treated as barred by the UE

pdcch-ConfigSIB1

Determines a common ControlResourceSet (CORESET) a common search space and necessary PDCCH parameters. If the field ssb-SubcarrierOffset indicates that SIB 1 is not present, the field pdcch-ConfigSIB1 indicate the frequency positions where the UE may find SS/PBCH block with SIB 1 or the frequency range where the network does not provide SS/PBCH block with SIB1 ssb-SubcarrierOffset

Corresponds to kss _B which is the frequency domain offset between SSB and the overall resource block grid in number of subcarriers.

The value range of this field may be extended by an additional most significant bit encoded within PBCH

This field may indicate that this cell does not provide SIB 1 and that there is hence no CORESET#0 configured in Ml B. In this case, the field pdcch-ConfigSIB1 may indicate the frequency positions where the UE may (not) find a SS/PBCH with a control resource set and search space for SIB1.

subCamerSpacingCommon

Subcarrier spacing for SIB1 , Msg.2/4 for initial access, paging and broadcast Si-messages. If the UE acquires this MIB on a carrier frequency <6GHz, the value scs15or60 corresponds to 15 Khz and the value scs30or120 corresponds to 30 kHz. If the UE acquires this MIB on a carrier frequency >6GHz, the value scs15or60 corresponds to 60 Khz and the value scs30or120 corresponds to 120 kHz.

systemFrameNumber

The 6 most significant bit (MSB) of the 10-bit System Frame Number. The 4 LSB of the SFN are conveyed in the PBCH transport block as part of channel coding (i.e. outside the MIB encoding).

via the SubcarrierOffset and pdcch-ConfigSIB1 parameters in the MIB.

The parameters ssb-SubcarrierOffset and pdcch-ConfigSIB1 are of special interest when it comes to defining the CD-SSB and non-CD-SSBs. The 4 bits of the ssb-SubcarrierOffset is given in the higher layer payload and 1 additional MSB bit in FR1 is provided as part of the transport block payload. If the value indicated by ssb- SubcarrierOffset is larger than 23 (1 1) for FR1 (FR2), then the UE realizes that the SSB so transmitted do not have associated CORESET (i.e., the UE realizes that the measured SSB is a non-CD-SSB).

How to find the frequency location of CD-SSB from a non-CD-SSB is provided in TS 38.213 section 13:

If a UE detects a first SS/PBCH block and determines that a control resource set for TypeO-PDCCH common search space is not present, and for ^{24 £ k} SSB £ ²⁹ _for

FR1 or for ^{12 £ k} SSB ^{£ 13} for FR2, the UE may determine the nearest (in the corresponding frequency direction) global synchronization channel number (GSCN) of a second SS/PBCH block having a control resource set for an associated TypeO- PDCCH common search space as iS the GSCN of the first

SS/PBCH block and is a GSCN offset provided by Table 13-16 for FR1 and

Table 13-17 for FR2. If the UE detects the second SS/PBCH block and the second SS/PBCH block does not provide a control resource set for TypeO-PDCCH common search space, the UE may ignore the information related to GSCN of SS/PBCH block locations for performing cell search.

If a UE detects a SS/PBCH block and determines that a control resource set for TypeO-PDCCH common search space is not present, and for ^k SSB ^{= 31} for FR1 or for ^k SSB = ¹⁵ f _or FR2, the UE determines that there is no SS/PBCH block having an associated TypeO-PDCCH common search space within a GSCN range

are respectively determined by the

four most significant bits and the four least significant bits of RMSI-PDCCH-Config.

If a UE does not detect any SS/PBCH block providing a control resource set for TypeO-PDCCH common search space, within a time period determined by the UE, the UE may ignore the information related to GSCN of SS/PBCH locations in performing cell search.

Table 13-16: Mapping between the combination of ^k SSB and RMSI-PDCCH-

In NR, like Long Term Evolution (LTE), the UE can be configured to perform CGI reporting to aid the neighbor relation establishment procedure. The procedure agreed to be used for the purpose of ANR includes the source network node configuring the UE to perform CGI reporting for a specific NR cell and the UE trying to access the SIB1 of the target cell and if present (the SSB is a CD-SSB), reporting the contents of CellAccessControllnfo IE to the source cell. If the SIB1 is not present (the SSB is a non-CD-SSB), the UE shall report the contents of ssb-SubcarrierOffset and pdcch-ConfigSIB1 parameters in the MIB.

3> if the cell indicated by cellForWhichToReportCGI is an NR cell:

4> if plmn-ldentitylnfoList of the cgi-lnfo for the concerned cell has been obtained:

5> include the plmn-ldentitylnfoList including plmn-ldentityList, trackingAreaCode (if available), ranac (if available) and cellldentity for each entry of the plmn-ldentitylnfoList;

5> include frequencyBandList if available;

4> else if MIB indicates the SIB1 is not broadcast:

5> include the noSIBI including the ssb-SubcarrierOffset and pdcch- ConfigSIBI obtained from MIB of the concerned cell;

3> if the cell indicated by cellForWhichToReportCGI is an E-UTRA cell:

4> if all mandatory fields of the cgi-lnfo-EPC for the concerned cell have been obtained:

5> include in the cgi-lnfo-EPC the fields broadcasted in E-UTRA

SystemlnformationBlockTypel associated to EPC;

4> if UE is E-UTRA/5GC capable and all mandatory fields of the cgi-lnfo- 5GC for the concerned cell have been obtained:

5> include in the cgi-lnfo-5GC the fields broadcasted in E-UTRA

SystemlnformationBlockTypel associated to 5GC;

4> include the freqBandlndicator, 4> if the cell broadcasts the multiBandlnfoList , include the

multiBandlnfoList ;

4> if the cell broadcasts the freqBandlndicatorPriority, include the

freqBandlndicatorPriority,

As part of the Xn setup procedure and gNB node configuration update procedure, the network nodes exchange the information related to the location of non-CD-SSBs and the PCIs used in these non-CD-SSBs. Therefore, at the time of establishment of Xn setup the neighbor cell gets to know all the CD-SSB and non- CD-SSBs locations in frequency and the associated PCIs for each of these SSBs.

The MeasurementTimingConfiguration message is used to convey assistance information for measurement timing.

Direction: en-gNB to eNB, eNB to en-gNB, gNB to gNB, gNB DU to gNB CU, and gNB CU to gNB DU.

MeasurementTimingConfiguration message

- ASN1 START

-· TAG - MEASURED E NT-TI M I N G-CO N FI G U RAT N -ST A RT

MeasurementTimingConfiguration ::= SEQUENCE {

criticalExtensions CHOICE {

c1 CHO!CE{

measTimingConf MeasurementTimingConfiguration-IEs, spare3 NULL, spare2 NULL, sparel NULL

},

criticalExtensionsFuture SEQUENCE {}

}

}

MeasurementTimingConfiguration-IEs ::= SEQUENCE {

measTiming MeasTimingList OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension SEQUENCE O OPTIONAL

}

MeasTimingList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.maxMeasFreqsMN)) OF MeasTiming MeasTiming ::= SEQUENCE {

frequencyAndTiming SEQUENCE {

carrierFreq ARFCN-ValueNR,

ssbSubcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing,

ssb-MeasurementTimingConfiguration SSB-MTC,

ss-RSSI-Measurement SS-RSSI-Measurement OPTIONAL

} OPTIONAL,

[[

ssb-T oMeasure-v1540 SSB-ToMeasure OPTIONAL, physCellld PhysCellld OPTIONAL

]]

} TAG-MEASUREMENT-TIMiNG-CONF!GURATiON-STOP

ASM 1 STOP

There currently exist certain challenge(s). The contents of the MIB in the non-CD-SSB are heretofore the same as that of the CD-SSB but for ssb- SubcarrierOffset and pdcch-ConfigSIB1 parameters. These parameters are used by the network to indicate where the CD-SSB can be found for this non-CD-SSB. The rest of the parameters are heretofore the same in CD-SSB and non-CD-SSB, resulting in increased signaling overhead attributable to the transmission of redundant information.

Additionally, there will be cells that do not support initial access but support connected mode mobility only. In those cells that do not support initial access, when the SSB is transmitted with a periodicity of more than;

• 20 ms, then the last LSB bit of the SFN in the MIB is always the same (0 or 1).

• 40 ms, then the last two LSB bit of the SFN in the MIB are always the same.

• 80 ms, then the last three LSB bit of the SFN in the MIB are always the same.

• 160 ms, then the last four LSB bit of the SFN in the MIB are always the same. Despite knowing this, the network heretofore must transmit these Ό’ or "1" bits.

Further, when the non-CD-SSB is used with a different PCI than the

CD-SSB, the ANR procedure fails to find the neighbor cell that is transmitting the non-CD-SSBs in a given frequency. The associated problem is illustrated using Figure 8. In this scenario, the UE is connected to the serving cell that broadcasts its CD-SSB in F1 and its non-CD-SSB in F3. There is another unknown neighbor cell that broadcasts its CD-SSB in F2 and non-CD-SSB in F3. The neighbor cell is broadcasting PCI-8 in its non-CD-SSB and PCI-87 in CD-SSB location. In this scenario, the UE is configured with the measurement objects associated to F1 and F3 and hence the UE would have never discovered any neighbor cell in F2. Based on the measurement object configured in F3, the UE reports PCI-8 to be having a good coverage in F3. When this measurement report is received by the serving cell, the serving cell identifies that PCI-8 in F3 is an unknown neighbor cell and thus asks the UE for CGI reporting for PCI-8. When the UE performs CGI reporting related measurements, it identifies that the associated CD-SSB is transmitted in F2. This information is reported to the serving cell. However, the serving cell does not know which PCI is used by the neighbor cell in F2 location and thus the network fails to identify the neighbor cell, leading to no X2/Xn setup.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. According to some embodiments, one or more bits conveyed by an SSB (e.g., within the MIB broadcasted in the PBCH of the SSB) are adapted (e.g., in terms of their interpretation or presence) according to the SSB’s periodicity and/or whether the SSB is CD-SSB or non-CD- SSB. In some embodiments, the bits in the MIB are re-used for other purposes (for example, to indicate whether the PBCH indexes represent the time index or the beam index so that the UE can get to know whether to perform soft combining based on SSBs).

In a generic solution, the bits of PBCH are reused for other purposes specifically for non-CD-SSB related purposes.

In one embodiment, when the SSBs are transmitted as non-CD-SSBs, there is no need to fill the MIB with SFN related information as they are obtained from the CD-SSB location (6 bits as part of systemFrameNumber of MIB and 4 more bits coming from the SFN related info in the PBCH payload). Therefore, all of the 6+4 bits of SFN can be reused for other purposes like indicating the PCI of the CD-SSB (PCI is of length 10 bits in NR).

In another embodiment, when the SSBs are transmitted as non-CD-SSBs, there is no need to include the subCarrierSpacingCommon as there is no associated SIB1 for which the SCS is provided. In this embodiment, this bit can be used to indicate the SCS of the CD-SSB location.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Further information can be conveyed to the UE using the existing number of bits in the MIB by reducing the redundant information sent to the UE in certain scenarios as explained herein. Some embodiments provide only relevant information in SSBs depending on whether it is a CD-SSB or a non-CD-SSB without increasing the number of bits conveyed in PBCH already.

In some embodiments, the MIB+PBCH payload contents will be:

1) SubcarrierOffset and pdcch-ConfigSIB1 points to the frequency location of CD-SSB as already captured in the specification (38.213 section 13) i.e. , difference between F3 and F2 in terms of multiple of sync raster locations.

2) subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates the subcarrier spacing of the CD-SSB i.e., the SCS of the SSBs in F2.

3) 6 bits as part of systemFrameNumber of MIB and 4 more bits coming from the SFN related info in the PBCH payload are used for indicating the PCI of the CD-SSB i.e., the PCI=87 is indicated using these 10 bits.

In another embodiment, the PBCH bits constituting the parameters that are of no (or little) use for a UE reading/receiving a non-CD SSB are reused to provide PLMN related information. In a typical case, the UE would know which PLMN the cell belongs to, as there is only one PLMN (or one set of sharing PLMNs) per carrier frequency. But this is not the case in NR Unlicensed (NR operated in unlicensed spectrum, NR-U), where cells of multiple PLMNs may be mixed on the same carrier frequency. Hence, in NR-U scenarios, it would be possible to reuse these bits to provide useful PLMN related information that a UE would otherwise have to acquire from SIB1. Such information could have the form of the MNC of the PLMN the NR-U cell belongs to. The MCC is omitted due to size restrictions and the UE can assume that the MCC is the same as in neighbor cells (in some rare cases this assumption will not hold, when the cells are on different sides of a country border). In a variation of this embodiment, the full PLMN ID or a compressed version of it is provided. An additional bit could be used to indicate if more PLMNs are supported by the cell (i.e. sharing the cell), which would then have to be found in SIB1. In another embodiment, it is considered not important to convey the SSB index (beam index) for a non-CD SSB. When this can be assumed, more PBCH payload bits could be reused. Out of PBCH payload bits , at least the two latter are reused in some embodiments (see section 7.1.1 in 3GPP TS 38.212).

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in Figure 9. For simplicity, the wireless network of Figure 9 only depicts network 906, network nodes 960 and 960b, and WDs 910, 910b, and 910c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 960 and wireless device (WD) 910 are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.

The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile

Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-loT), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 906 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node 960 and WD 910 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network. In Figure 9, network node 960 includes processing circuitry 970, device readable medium 980, interface 990, auxiliary equipment 984, power source 986, power circuitry 987, and antenna 962. Although network node 960 illustrated in the example wireless network of Figure 9 may represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 960 are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 980 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 960 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 960 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB’s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 960 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 980 for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 962 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 960 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 960, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 960.

Processing circuitry 970 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 970 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 970 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.

Processing circuitry 970 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 960 components, such as device readable medium 980, network node 960 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 970 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 980 or in memory within processing circuitry 970. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 970 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 970 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 972 and baseband processing circuitry 974. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 972 and baseband processing circuitry 974 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 972 and baseband processing circuitry 974 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 970 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 980 or memory within processing circuitry 970. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 970 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 970 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 970 alone or to other components of network node 960, but are enjoyed by network node 960 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 980 may comprise any form of volatile or non volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 970. Device readable medium 980 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 970 and, utilized by network node 960. Device readable medium 980 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 970 and/or any data received via interface 990. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 970 and device readable medium 980 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 990 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signalling and/or data between network node 960, network 906, and/or WDs 910. As illustrated, interface 990 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 994 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 906 over a wired connection. Interface 990 also includes radio front end circuitry 992 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 962. Radio front end circuitry 992 comprises filters 998 and amplifiers 996. Radio front end circuitry 992 may be connected to antenna 962 and processing circuitry 970. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 962 and processing circuitry 970. Radio front end circuitry 992 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 992 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 998 and/or amplifiers 996. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 962. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 962 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 992. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 970. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain alternative embodiments, network node 960 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 992, instead, processing circuitry 970 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 962 without separate radio front end circuitry 992. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 972 may be considered a part of interface 990. In still other embodiments, interface 990 may include one or more ports or terminals 994, radio front end circuitry 992, and RF transceiver circuitry 972, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 990 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 974, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 962 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 962 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 990 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 962 may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni- directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 962 may be separate from network node 960 and may be connectable to network node 960 through an interface or port.

Antenna 962, interface 990, and/or processing circuitry 970 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 962, interface 990, and/or processing circuitry 970 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

Power circuitry 987 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 960 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 987 may receive power from power source 986. Power source 986 and/or power circuitry 987 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 960 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 986 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 987 and/or network node 960. For example, network node 960 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 987. As a further example, power source 986 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 987. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node 960 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 960 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 960 and to allow output of information from network node 960. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 960.

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

As illustrated, wireless device 910 includes antenna 911 , interface 914, processing circuitry 920, device readable medium 930, user interface equipment 932, auxiliary equipment 934, power source 936 and power circuitry 937. WD 910 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 910, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, NB-loT, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 910.

Antenna 911 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 914. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 911 may be separate from WD 910 and be connectable to WD 910 through an interface or port. Antenna 911 , interface 914, and/or processing circuitry 920 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 911 may be considered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 914 comprises radio front end circuitry 912 and antenna 911. Radio front end circuitry 912 comprise one or more filters 918 and amplifiers 916. Radio front end circuitry 914 is connected to antenna 911 and processing circuitry 920, and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 911 and processing circuitry 920. Radio front end circuitry 912 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 911. In some embodiments, WD 910 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 912; rather, processing circuitry 920 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 911.

Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 922 may be considered a part of interface 914. Radio front end circuitry 912 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 912 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 918 and/or amplifiers 916. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 911. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 911 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 912. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 920. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 920 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 910 components, such as device readable medium 930, WD 910 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 920 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 930 or in memory within processing circuitry 920 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 920 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 922, baseband processing circuitry 924, and application processing circuitry 926. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry 920 of WD 910 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 922, baseband processing circuitry 924, and application processing circuitry 926 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 924 and application processing circuitry 926 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 922 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 922 and baseband processing circuitry 924 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 926 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 922, baseband processing circuitry 924, and application processing circuitry 926 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 922 may be a part of interface 914. RF transceiver circuitry 922 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 920.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry 920 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 930, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 920 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 920 can be configured to perform the described functionality.

The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 920 alone or to other components of WD 910, but are enjoyed by WD 910 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 920 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 920, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 920 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 910, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Device readable medium 930 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 920. Device readable medium 930 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 920. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 920 and device readable medium 930 may be considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 932 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 910. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 932 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 910. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 932 installed in WD 910. For example, if WD 910 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD 910 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment 932 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 932 is configured to allow input of information into WD 910, and is connected to processing circuitry 920 to allow processing circuitry 920 to process the input information. User interface equipment 932 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 932 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 910, and to allow processing circuitry 920 to output information from WD 910. User interface equipment 932 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 932, WD 910 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 934 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 934 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 936 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD 910 may further comprise power circuitry 937 for delivering power from power source 936 to the various parts of WD 910 which need power from power source

936 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 937 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry

937 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 910 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry 937 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 936. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 936. Power circuitry 937 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 936 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 910 to which power is supplied.

Figure 10 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).

Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 10200 may be any UE identified by the 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-loT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE 1000, as illustrated in Figure 10, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although Figure 10 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa.

In Figure 10, UE 1000 includes processing circuitry 1001 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 1005, radio frequency (RF) interface 1009, network connection interface 1011 , memory 1015 including random access memory (RAM) 1017, read-only memory (ROM) 1019, and storage medium 1021 or the like, communication subsystem 1031 , power source 1033, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1021 includes operating system 1023, application program 1025, and data 1027. In other embodiments, storage medium 1021 may include other similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in Figure 10, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE.

Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

In Figure 10, processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1001 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 1005 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE 1000 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 1005. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 1000. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE 1000 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 1005 to allow a user to capture information into UE 1000. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

In Figure 10, RF interface 1009 may be configured to provide a

communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface 1011 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 1043a. Network 1043a may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 1043a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 1011 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more

communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface 1011 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM 1017 may be configured to interface via bus 1002 to processing circuitry 1001 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 1019 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 1001. For example, ROM 1019 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 1021 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium 1021 may be configured to include operating system 1023, application program 1025 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 1027. Storage medium 1021 may store, for use by UE 1000, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

Storage medium 1021 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1021 may allow UE 1000 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1021 , which may comprise a device readable medium.

In Figure 10, processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to communicate with network 1043b using communication subsystem 1031. Network 1043a and network 1043b may be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem 1031 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 1043b. For example, communication subsystem 1031 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.10, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver may include transmitter 1033 and/or receiver 1035 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 1033 and receiver 1035 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem 1031 may include data communication, voice

communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 1031 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network 1043b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a

telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 1043b may be a cellular network, a W-Fi network, and/or a near field network. Power source 1013 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 1000.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be

implemented in one of the components of UE 1000 or partitioned across multiple components of UE 1000. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware.

In one example, communication subsystem 1031 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 1002. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 1001 perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 1001 and communication subsystem 1031. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

Figure 1 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization

environment 1 100 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1100 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 1130. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 1120 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 1120 are run in virtualization environment 1100 which provides hardware 1130 comprising processing circuitry 1160 and memory 1190. Memory 1190 contains instructions 1195 executable by processing circuitry 1160 whereby application 1120 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 1100, comprises general-purpose or special- purpose network hardware devices 1130 comprising a set of one or more

processors or processing circuitry 1160, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware

components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 1190-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 1195 or software executed by processing circuitry 1160. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 1170, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 1180. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine- readable storage media 1190-2 having stored therein software 1195 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 1160. Software 1195 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 1150 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 1140 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 1140, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1150 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 1120 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 1140, and the implementations may be made in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 1160 executes software 1195 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 1150, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 1150 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 1140.

As shown in Figure 11 , hardware 1130 may be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1130 may comprise antenna 11225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1130 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 11100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1120.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, virtual machine 1140 may be a software

implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines 1140, and that part of hardware 1130 that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 1140, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines 1140 on top of hardware networking infrastructure 1130 and corresponds to application 1120 in Figure 11.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 11200 that each include one or more transmitters 11220 and one or more receivers 11210 may be coupled to one or more antennas 11225. Radio units 11200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 1130 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use of control system 11230 which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 1130 and radio units 11200.

Figure 12 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments. In particular, with reference to FIGURE 12, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network 1210, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network 1211 , such as a radio access network, and core network 1214. Access network 1211 comprises a plurality of base stations 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 1213a, 1213b, 1213c. Each base station 1212a, 1212b, 1212c is connectable to core network 1214 over a wired or wireless connection 1215. A first UE 1291 located in coverage area 1213c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1212c. A second UE 1292 in coverage area 1213a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1212a. While a plurality of UEs 1291 , 1292 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 1212.

Telecommunication network 1210 is itself connected to host computer 1230, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 1230 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1221 and 1222 between telecommunication network 1210 and host computer 1230 may extend directly from core network 1214 to host computer 1230 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1220. Intermediate network 1220 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 1220, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 1220 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown). The communication system of Figure 12 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1291 , 1292 and host computer 1230. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1250. Host computer 1230 and the connected UEs 1291 , 1292 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 1250, using access network 1211 , core network 1214, any intermediate network 1220 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection 1250 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection 1250 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station 1212 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 1230 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 1291. Similarly, base station 1212 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 1291 towards the host computer 1230.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 13. Figure 13 illustrates host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments In communication system 1300, host computer 1310 comprises hardware 1315 including communication interface 1316 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 1300. Host computer 1310 further comprises processing circuitry 1318, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 1318 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 1310 further comprises software 1311 , which is stored in or accessible by host computer 1310 and executable by processing circuitry 1318. Software 1311 includes host application 1312. Host application 1312 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE 1330 connecting via OTT connection 1350 terminating at UE 1330 and host computer 1310. In providing the service to the remote user, host application 1312 may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 1350.

Communication system 1300 further includes base station 1320 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1325 enabling it to communicate with host computer 1310 and with UE 1330. Hardware 1325 may include communication interface 1326 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 1300, as well as radio interface 1327 for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection 1370 with UE 1330 located in a coverage area (not shown in Figure 13) served by base station 1320. Communication interface 1326 may be configured to facilitate connection 1360 to host computer 1310. Connection 1360 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Figure 13) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware 1325 of base station 1320 further includes processing circuitry 1328, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application- specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 1320 further has software 1321 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system 1300 further includes UE 1330 already referred to.

Its hardware 1335 may include radio interface 1337 configured to set up and maintain wireless connection 1370 with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE 1330 is currently located. Hardware 1335 of UE 1330 further includes processing circuitry 1338, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 1330 further comprises software 1331 , which is stored in or accessible by UE 1330 and executable by processing circuitry 1338. Software 1331 includes client application 1332. Client application 1332 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1330, with the support of host computer 1310. In host computer 1310, an executing host application 1312 may communicate with the executing client application 1332 via OTT connection 1350 terminating at UE 1330 and host computer 1310. In providing the service to the user, client application 1332 may receive request data from host application 1312 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application 1332 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer 1310, base station 1320 and UE 1330 illustrated in Figure 13 may be similar or identical to host computer 1230, one of base stations 1212a, 1212b, 1212c and one of UEs 1291 , 1292 of Figure 12, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 13 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 12.

In Figure 13, OTT connection 1350 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer 1310 and UE 1330 via base station 1320, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE 1330 or from the service provider operating host computer 1310, or both. While OTT connection 1350 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection 1370 between UE 1330 and base station 1320 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1330 using OTT connection 1350, in which wireless connection 1370 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate and/or data transmission efficiency and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time and/or relaxed restriction of file size.

A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 1350 between host computer 1310 and UE 1330, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 1350 may be implemented in software 1311 and hardware 1315 of host computer 1310 or in software 1331 and hardware 1335 of UE 1330, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection 1350 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 1311 , 1331 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection 1350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station 1320, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 1320. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer 1310’s measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software 1311 and 1331 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 1350 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a

communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 12 and 13. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 14 will be included in this section. In step 1410, the host computer provides user data. In substep 1411 (which may be optional) of step 1410, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1420, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 1430 (which may be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1440 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a

communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 12 and 13. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 15 will be included in this section. In step 1510 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1520, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1530 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

Figure 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 12 and 13. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 16 will be included in this section. In step 1610 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1620, the UE provides user data. In substep 1621 (which may be optional) of step 1620, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep 1611 (which may be optional) of step 1610, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in substep 1630 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 1640 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a

communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 12 and 13. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 17 will be included in this section. In step 1710 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 1720 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1730 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the

transmission initiated by the base station.

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

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

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

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

Example embodiments of the techniques and apparatus described herein include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples: Group A Embodiments

A1. A method performed by a wireless device configured for use in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving a first synchronization signal and broadcast channel block, SSB, for a first cell, wherein the first SSB conveys:

a first set of one or more bits indicating whether the first cell provides a system information block of a first type, SIB1 , wherein an SIB1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks; a second set of one or more bits that, if the first set of one or more bits indicates the first cell does not provide an SIB1 , indicates one or more frequency positions of a second SSB for a second cell that provides an SIB1 or a frequency range where there is not any SSB for a cell that provides an SIB1 ; and a third set of one or more bits whose interpretation or presence in the first SSB depends on whether the first cell provides an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

A2. The method of embodiment A1 , wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates information about the second SSB or about the second cell.

A3. The method of any of embodiments A1-A2, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of a physical cell identity, PCI, of the second cell.

A4. The method of any of embodiments A1-A3, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates a subcarrier spacing of the second SSB or of an SIB provided by the second cell.

A5. The method of any of embodiments A1-A4, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates how one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB are to be interpreted. A6. The method of embodiment A5, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates whether the one or more bits conveyed by the broadcast channel payload represent a time index or a beam index.

A7. The method of any of embodiments A1-A6, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of an identifier of a public land mobile network, PLMN, to which the second cell belongs.

A8. The method of embodiment A7, wherein said at least a portion of the identifier includes a mobile network code, MNC, of the PLMN.

A9. The method of any of embodiments A7-A8, wherein the third set of one or more bits also indicates whether more than one PLMN is supported by the second cell.

A10. The method of any of embodiments A1-A9, wherein, when the first cell does provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates one or more of:

at least a portion of a system frame number, SFN;

a subcarrier spacing for an SIB1 provided by the first cell; and

an SSB index for the first SSB.

A11. The method of any of embodiments A1-A10, wherein the third set of one or more bits includes one or more of:

one or more bits defining a system frame number field of a master

information block, MIB, in the first SSB;

one or more bits defining a subcarrier spacing common field of the MIB in the first SSB; and

one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB. A12. The method of any of embodiments A1-A11 , wherein the third set of one or more bits includes:

one or more bits defining a field of a master information block, MIB, in the first SSB; and

one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB.

A13. The method of embodiment A12, wherein the field of the MIB is a system frame number field.

A14. The method of any of embodiments A1-A13, wherein the third set of one or more bits indicates either a system frame number or at least a portion of a PCI of the second cell, depending respectively on whether or not the first cell provides an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

A15. The method of any of embodiments A1-A14, wherein the wireless communication system is a New Radio, NR, Unlicensed (NR-U) system.

A16. The method of any of embodiments A1-A15, wherein the first and second cells have different physical cell identities.

A17. The method of any of embodiments A1-A16, further comprising receiving the second SSB for the second cell based on information indicated by the third set of one or more bits.

A18. The method of any of embodiments A1-A17, further comprising interpreting the third set of one or more bits in the first SSB in dependence on whether the first cell provides an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

A19. The method of any of embodiments A1-A18, further comprising performing one or more actions based on the first SSB.

A20. The method of any of embodiments A1-A19, further comprising performing an automatic neighbor relation procedure, cell identification procedure, and/or measurement reporting procedure, for the second cell based on information conveyed by the third set of one or more bits.

AA. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

providing user data; and

forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the base station.

Group B Embodiments

B1. A method performed by a radio network node configured for use in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

transmitting a first synchronization signal and broadcast channel block, SSB, for a first cell, wherein the first SSB conveys:

a first set of one or more bits indicating whether the first cell provides a system information block of a first type, SIB1 , wherein an SIB1 defines scheduling of other system information blocks; a second set of one or more bits that, if the first set of one or more bits indicates the first cell does not provide an SIB1 , indicates one or more frequency positions of a second SSB for a second cell that provides an SIB1 or a an SIB1 range where there is not any SSB for a cell that provides SIB1 ; and a third set of one or more bits whose interpretation or presence in the first SSB depends on whether the first cell provides an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

B2. The method of embodiment B1 , wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates information about the second SSB or about the second cell.

B3. The method of any of embodiments B1-B2, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of a physical cell identity, PCI, of the second cell. B4. The method of any of embodiments B1-B3, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates a subcarrier spacing of the second SSB or of an SIB provided by the second cell.

B5. The method of any of embodiments B1-B4, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates how one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB are to be interpreted.

B6. The method of embodiment B5, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates whether the one or more bits conveyed by the broadcast channel payload represent a time index or a beam index.

B7. The method of any of embodiments B1-B6, wherein, when the first cell does not provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates at least a portion of an identifier of a public land mobile network, PLMN, to which the second cell belongs.

B8. The method of embodiment B7, wherein said at least a portion of the identifier includes a mobile network code, MNC, of the PLMN.

B9. The method of any of embodiments B7-B8, wherein the third set of one or more bits also indicates whether more than one PLMN is supported by the second cell.

B10. The method of any of embodiments B1-B9, wherein, when the first cell does provide an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits, the third set of one or more bits indicates one or more of:

at least a portion of a system frame number, SFN;

a subcarrier spacing for an SIB1 provided by the first cell; and

an SSB index for the first SSB. B11. The method of any of embodiments B1-B10, wherein the third set of one or more bits includes one or more of:

a system frame number field of a master information block, MIB, in the first SSB;

a subcarrier spacing common field of the MIB in the first SSB; and one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB.

B12. The method of any of embodiments B1-B11 , wherein the third set of one or more bits includes:

one or more bits defining a field of a master information block, MIB, in the first SSB; and

one or more bits conveyed by a broadcast channel payload included in the first SSB.

B13. The method of embodiment B12, wherein the field of the MIB is a system frame number field.

B14. The method of any of embodiments B1-B13, wherein the third set of one or more bits indicates either a system frame number or at least a portion of a PCI of the second cell, depending respectively on whether or not the first cell provides an SIB1 as indicated by the first set of one or more bits.

B15. The method of any of embodiments B1-B14, wherein the wireless communication system is a New Radio, NR, Unlicensed (NR-U) system.

B16. The method of any of embodiments B1-B15, wherein the first and second cells have different physical cell identities.

BB. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

obtaining user data; and

forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

Group C Embodiments

C1. A wireless device configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C2. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C3. A wireless device comprising:

communication circuitry; and

processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the

Group A embodiments.

C4. A wireless device comprising:

processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the

Group A embodiments; and

power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless device.

C5. A wireless device comprising:

processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions

executable by the processing circuitry whereby the wireless device is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C6. A user equipment (UE) comprising:

an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;

radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;

the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments;

an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;

an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and

a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

C7. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a wireless device, causes the wireless device to carry out the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

C8. A carrier containing the computer program of embodiment C7, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

C9. A radio network node configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C10. A radio network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C11. A radio network node comprising:

communication circuitry; and

processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C12. A radio network node comprising:

processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments;

power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the radio network node.

C13. A radio network node comprising:

processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions

executable by the processing circuitry whereby the radio network node is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C14. The radio network node of any of embodiments C9-C13, wherein the radio network node is a base station. C15. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a radio network node, causes the radio network node to carry out the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

C16. The computer program of embodiment C14, wherein the radio network node is a base station.

C17. A carrier containing the computer program of any of embodiments C15-C16, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

Group D Embodiments

D1 . A communication system including a host computer comprising:

processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

D2. The communication system of the pervious embodiment further including the base station.

D3. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

D4. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application. D5. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and

at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

D6. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

D7. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

D8. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the previous 3 embodiments.

D9. A communication system including a host computer comprising:

processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s components configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D10. The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE. D1 1 . The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client

application associated with the host application.

D12. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and

at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D13. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

D14. A communication system including a host computer comprising:

communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station,

wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D15. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including the UE.

D16. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station. D17. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and

the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client

application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data.

D18. The communication system of the previous 4 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client

application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

D19. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base

station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

D20. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the

UE, providing the user data to the base station.

D21. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising:

at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and

at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

D22. The method of the previous 3 embodiments, further comprising:

at the UE, executing a client application; and

at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application, wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client

application in response to the input data.

D23. A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

D24. The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

D25. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

D26. The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application;

the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer.

D27. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data

originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments. D28. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

D29. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

ABBREVIATIONS

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

ANR Automatic Neighbor Relation

CD-SSB Cell Defining SSB

CU Central Unit

DU Distributed Unit

EN-DC E-UTRAN-NR Dual Connectivity

FR Frequency Range

GSNC Global Synchronization Channel Number

ID Identity/Identifier

LSB Least Significant Bit

MCC Mobile Country Code

MIB Master Information Base

MNC Mobile Network Code

NR New Radio (5G)

NR-U NR Unlicensed

PCI Physical Cell Identity

RMSI Remaining Minimum System Information

SCS Subcarrier Spacing

SON Self-Organizing Network

SSB Synchronization Signal Block

TS Technical Specification

Xn The interface between two gNBs.

1x RTT CDMA2000 1x Radio Transmission Technology

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

5G 5th Generation

ABS Almost Blank Subframe

ARC Automatic Repeat Request

AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

BCH Broadcast Channel

CA Carrier Aggregation

CC Carrier Component

CCCH SDUCommon Control Channel SDU

CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access

CGI Cell Global Identifier CIR Channel Impulse Response

CP Cyclic Prefix

CPICH Common Pilot Channel

CPICH Ec/No CPICH Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band

CQI Channel Quality information

C-RNTI Cell RNTI

CSI Channel State Information

DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

DL Downlink

DM Demodulation

DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

DRX Discontinuous Reception

DTX Discontinuous Transmission

DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel

DUT Device Under Test

E-CID Enhanced Cell-1 D (positioning method)

E-SMLC Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre

ECGI Evolved CGI

eNB E-UTRAN NodeB

ePDCCH enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

E-SMLC evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

E-UTRA Evolved UTRA

E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN

FDD Frequency Division Duplex

FFS For Further Study

GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network

gNB Base station in NR

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

GSM Global System for Mobile communication

HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

HO Handover

HSPA High Speed Packet Access

HRPD High Rate Packet Data

LOS Line of Sight

LPP LTE Positioning Protocol

LTE Long-Term Evolution

MAC Medium Access Control

MBMS Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services

MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network

MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe

MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

MIB Master Information Block

MME Mobility Management Entity

MSC Mobile Switching Center

NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel

NR New Radio

OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator

OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

OSS Operations Support System

OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival

O&M Operation and Maintenance PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel

PCell Primary Cell

PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PDP Profile Delay Profile

PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

PGW Packet Gateway

PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel

PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

PMI Precoder Matrix Indicator

PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

PRS Positioning Reference Signal

PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

RACH Random Access Channel

QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

RAN Radio Access Network

RAT Radio Access Technology

RLM Radio Link Management

RNC Radio Network Controller

RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

RRC Radio Resource Control

RRM Radio Resource Management

RS Reference Signal

RSCP Received Signal Code Power

RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR

Reference Signal Received Power

RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR

Reference Symbol Received Quality RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

SCH Synchronization Channel

SCell Secondary Cell

SDU Service Data Unit

SFN System Frame Number

SGW Serving Gateway

SI System Information

SIB System Information Block

SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

SON Self Optimized Network

SS Synchronization Signal

SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

TDD Time Division Duplex

TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

TOA Time of Arrival

TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

TTI Transmission Time Interval

UE User Equipment

UL Uplink

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System

USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival

UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

WCDMA Wide CDMA

WLAN Wde Local Area Network