CSI ON PRE-CONFIGURED PUSCH IN INACTIVE STATE

Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63/053,212, filed July 17, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to reporting Channel State Information (CSI).

Background

In Release 15, Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) introduced a new radio access technology known as New Radio (NR). The technology was further enhanced in Release 16, and will continue to evolve in Release 17, and later. In NR, the device can be in Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle, in RRC connected, or in RRC inactive state.

Until Release 16, the data transmission is possible only in RRC connected. Therefore, User Equipment (UE) must be moved to a connected state from idle or inactive states every time there is data to be transferred between the UE and the New Radio Base Station (gNB). This leads to significant signaling overhead and power consumption, in particular for UEs that need infrequent transmission of small data packets. In inactive state, the UE has established RRC context and core network connection. Therefore, the transition from inactive to connected state is relatively fast and requires less signaling, compared to the transition from idle to connected state.

In order to enable efficient transmission of small infrequent data packets, 3GPP has approved a new Release 17 work item on NR small data transmissions in inactive state. One of the objectives of this study item (RP- 193252 'New Work Item on NR small data transmissions in INACTIVE state', referred to hereinafter as [1]) is the following:

- Transmission of uplink data on pre-configured PUSCH resources (i.e., reusing the configured grant type 1) - when Timing Advance (TA) is valid o General procedure for small data transmission over configured grant type 1 resources from inactive state o Configuration of the configured grant type 1 resources for small data transmission in uplink for inactive state

Pre-configuration of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resources in inactive state is particularly useful for transmission of periodic data traffic, such as periodic positioning information from wearables, periodic reporting from sensors, periodic readings from smart meters, etc. As stated in [1], this feature will partly be built on the configured grant type-1 that has already been specified in Release 15. In configured grant type-1, an uplink grant is provided by RRC configuration. The configuration contains the full set of information needed to make use of a periodically occurring PUSCH resource.

Different from pre-configured PUSCH resource, configured grant type-1 is applicable only in connected state. Also, the maximum periodicity of pre-configured PUSCH is expected to be much larger than that of configured grant, for which the maximum periodicity is only 640 ms.

Measurement reporting in NR.

In NR, the setting for measurement and reporting of Channel State Information (CSI) is described in CSI report configuration (referred to in 3GPP, TS 38.331, "Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification"; V15.7.0, September 2019 (referred to hereinafter as [2]) as CSI-ReportConfig). The CSI report configuration indicates to the UE the following:

• Report quantity

• Downlink reference signal resources to use for measurement; and

• Uplink resources to use for reporting.

The report quantity can be a combination of Rank Indicator (RI), Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), and Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI). These quantities are calculated by the UE by measuring on CSI reference signals (CSI-RS) and can have either wideband or sub-band granularities. NR also supports reporting of Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (Ll-RSRP) for beam management. Ll-RSRP reporting can be based on either CSI-RS {cri-RSRP[l\) or SSB {ssb-Index-RSRP [2]), where SSB stands for Synchronization Signal Block. The UE can be configured to report Ll-RSRP for up to four previously transmitted SSB or CSI-RS resources in a single time instance. These four resources correspond to four different beams. The report consists of Ll-RSRP of the strongest beam (seven bits) and the differential RSRP, i.e., difference in RSRP relative to the strongest beam, of up to three beams (four bits each). The report also includes the indices, i.e., CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) or SSB resource indicator (SSBRI), of all the reported beams. These indicators are of ceil(log2(A)) bits each, where ceil(-) is the ceiling function and A4s the number of configured SSB/CSI-RS resources in the corresponding resource set (see, e.g., 3GPP, TS 38.212, "Multiplexing and channel coding"; vl6.1.0, April 2020). It is noted that for receiver side beam management at the UE, the report quantity is set to 'none', as the measurement results are only used internally within the UE.

The CSI report configuration also refers to a CSI resource configuration (CSI- ResourceConfig [2]) which describes the downlink reference signals on which the measurements should be performed. The resource configuration contains one or more sets of CSI-RS ( NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet [2] ) or SSB ( CSI-SSB-ResourceSet [2]). Each of these resource sets can contain up to 64 CSI-RS/SSB resources. Typically, each of these resources are transmitting in different downlink beams from the network. For beam management, the CSI-RS resource set is configured with 'repetition' field, and consists of only one or two port CSI-RS resources. If the 'repetition' field is set to 'on', all the CSI-RS resources within the resource set are transmitted using the same downlink beam. If the 'repetition' field is not present, then the CSI-RS resource set is used for the acquisition of RI/CQI/PMI. The CSI-RS resource sets for measurement can be configured as periodic, semipersistent, or aperiodic. Periodic, aperiodic, and semipersistent CSI-RS are RRC-configured. The difference is in how these are activated/inactivated, which is using RRC for periodic CSI-RS, and using Medium Access Control- Control Element (MAC-CE) for semi-persistent CSI-RS. On the other hand, aperiodic CSI-RS is triggered using the CSI request field in Downlink Control Information (DCI) format 0-1.

In addition to the report quantity and the measurement resources, CSI-ReportConfig also indicates how the reporting is to be performed in the uplink. The reporting can be periodic on Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), semipersistent on PUCCH/PUSCH, or aperiodic on PUSCH. Certain combinations of CSI-RS resources and CSI reporting modes are not valid. For example, periodic reporting based on aperiodic CSI-RS is not supported. Flowever, for periodic reference signals (SSB/periodic CSI-RS), the reporting can be periodic, semipersistent or aperiodic. CSI reporting on PUSCFI can be carried out with or without multiplexing with uplink data from the UE (see, e.g., 3GPP, TS 38.214, "Physical layer procedures for data"; V16.1.0, March 2020). It is noted that RANI specifications seldom use the term "beam". Instead the term "spatial domain filter" is used to indicate filtering of spatial directions. In this document we use these terms interchangeably.

Rel-16 preconfigured uplink resources.

Another feature that is related to the NR Release 17 pre-configured PUSCH feature is the Release 16 Pre-configured Uplink Resources (PUR), which has been introduced for Long Term Evolution for Machine Type Communication (MTC) (LTE-M) and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). In PUR, the UE is pre-configured with PUSCH resources in the connected state via RRC signaling. Then later in idle state, the UE can transmit over PUSCH if the PUR validation methods determine the TA is still valid. The TA validation methods can be based on, for example, RSRP, TA timer, etc. It is likely that the Rel-17 NR feature will inherit some of the characteristics of PUR. However, unlike NR which provides support for analog beamforming via the beam management framework, LTE-M and NB-IoT do not provide such support as they are not designed for millimeter wave spectrum.

There currently exist certain challenges. When the UE is in connected state, the network can configure (or trigger) the UE to measure on downlink reference signals, and report one or more CSI quantities on PUCCH/PUSCH, as described in Section 2.1.1. Depending on the reference signal used for the measurements and the quantities reported, the network can use these for setting various physical layer parameters. For instance, link adaptation and precoding are based on CSI-RS measurements and the report quantities are a combination of RI/CQI/PMI. Beam management, i.e., adjusting the transmit and receive beams at the network and the UE, is based on either CSI-RS or SSB measurements, and the report quantity is Ll-RSRP. As such, improved systems and methods for reporting CSI are needed.

Summary

Systems and methods for the configuration and/or the corresponding reporting of Channel State Information (CSI) in an inactive state are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for reporting CSI in an inactive state includes receiving, while in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state, a CSI configuration to use when the wireless device is in the inactive state; determining, while in the inactive state, CSI information based on the received CSI configuration; and reporting, while in the inactive state, the determined CSI information. In some embodiments, the inactive state is: an Idle state or a RRC Connected Inactive state. Some embodiments of the present disclosure enable the network to adapt/reconfigure the beamforming parameters in inactive state, used for the reception of pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission from the User Equipment (UE), as well as for the subsequent downlink transmission of the network response in Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). This leads to higher beamforming gain, i.e., higher received signal power and higher Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), at the network and the UE. Some embodiments of the present disclosure also enable the network to reconfigure other physical layer parameters that were provided to the UE in the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH. This leads to better performance at the UE and the network in terms of block error rate and/or throughout.

In some embodiments, a wireless device is configured with the Release 17 pre- configured PUSCH feature for New Radio (NR). Based on this report from the wireless device, the network may choose to adapt/reconfigure transmit and receive beam pair between the wireless device and the network. The network may also choose to reconfigure other physical layer parameters, such as Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), Transport Block Size (TBS), repetition of the Transport Block (TB), power control parameters, time and frequency resource allocation, etc., that were provided to the wireless device in the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH.

In some embodiments, a method performed by a base station for obtaining CSI from a wireless device in an inactive state includes: transmitting, to the wireless device, a CSI configuration to use in the inactive state, wherein the CSI configuration is transmitted to the wireless device while the wireless device is in a RRC connected state; and receiving, from the wireless device, a report of CSI information while the wireless device is in the inactive state.

In some embodiments, a wireless device for reporting CSI in an inactive state includes one or more transmitters; one or more receivers; and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the wireless device to: receive, while in a RRC connected state, a CSI configuration to use when the wireless device is in the inactive state; determine, while in the inactive state, CSI information based on the received CSI configuration; and report, while in the inactive state, the determined CSI information.

In some embodiments, a base station for obtaining CSI from a wireless device in an inactive state includes: one or more transmitters; one or more receivers; and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the base station to: transmit, to the wireless device, a CSI configuration to use in the inactive state while the wireless device is in a RRC connected state; and receive, from the wireless device, a report of CSI information while the wireless device is in an inactive state while the wireless device is in the inactive state.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Some embodiments of the present disclosure enable the network to adapt/reconfigure the beamforming parameters in inactive state, used for the reception of pre-configured PUSCH transmission from the UE, as well as for the subsequent downlink transmission of the network response in PDCCH/PDSCH. This leads to higher beamforming gain, i.e., higher received signal power and higher SNR, at the network and the UE. Some embodiments of the present disclosure also enable the network to reconfigure other physical layer parameters that were provided to the UE in the configuration of pre configured PUSCH. This leads to better performance at the UE and the network in terms of block error rate and/or throughout.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Figure 1 illustrates one example of a cellular communications system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

Figure 2 illustrates a method performed by a wireless device for reporting Channel State Information (CSI) in an inactive state, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 illustrates a method performed by a base station for obtaining CSI from a wireless device in an inactive state, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 4 illustrates a configuration and reporting of CSI on pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless communication device 1200 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 10 illustrates a communication system includes a telecommunication network, such as a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) type cellular network, which comprises an access network, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 11 illustrates a communication system including a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Figures 12-15 are flowcharts illustrating methods implemented in a communication system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

Radio Node: As used herein, a "radio node" is either a radio access node or a wireless communication device. Radio Access Node: As used herein, a "radio access node" or "radio network node" or "radio access network node" is any node in a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), a relay node, a network node that implements part of the functionality of a base station (e.g., a network node that implements a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) or a network node that implements a gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU)) or a network node that implements part of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.

Core Network Node: As used herein, a "core network node" is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements a core network function. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), a Flome Subscriber Server (FISS), or the like. Some other examples of a core network node include a node implementing an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a Network Function (NF) Repository Function (NRF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), or the like.

Communication Device: As used herein, a "communication device" is any type of device that has access to an access network. Some examples of a communication device include, but are not limited to: mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or Personal Computer (PC). The communication device may be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data via a wireless or wireline connection. Wireless Communication Device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which may be any type of wireless device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network). Some examples of a wireless communication device include, but are not limited to: a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, and an Internet of Things (IoT) device. Such wireless communication devices may be, or may be integrated into, a mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or PC. The wireless communication device may be a portable, hand held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data via a wireless connection.

Network Node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node that is either part of the RAN or the core network of a cellular communications network/system.

Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system.

Note that, in the description herein, reference may be made to the term "cell"; however, particularly with respect to 5G NR concepts, beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, it is important to note that the concepts described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

Figure 1 illustrates one example of a cellular communications system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communications system 100 is a 5G system (5GS) including a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5G Core (5GC). In this example, the RAN includes base stations 102-1 and 102-2, which in the 5GS include NR base stations (gNBs) and optionally next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (e.g., LTE RAN nodes connected to the 5GC), controlling corresponding (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2. The base stations 102-1 and 102-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 102 and individually as base station 102. Likewise, the (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells 104 and individually as (macro) cell 104. The RAN may also include a number of low power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 controlling corresponding small cells 108-1 through 108-4. The low power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 can be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations) or Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), or the like. Notably, while not illustrated, one or more of the small cells 108-1 through 108-4 may alternatively be provided by the base stations 102. The low power nodes 106-1 through 106-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as low power nodes 106 and individually as low power node 106. Likewise, the small cells 108-1 through 108-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells 108 and individually as small cell 108. The cellular communications system 100 also includes a core network 110, which in the 5G System (5GS) is referred to as the 5GC. The base stations 102 (and optionally the low power nodes 106) are connected to the core network 110.

The base stations 102 and the low power nodes 106 provide service to wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 in the corresponding cells 104 and 108. The wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 112 and individually as wireless communication device 112. In the following description, the wireless communication devices 112 are oftentimes User Equipments (UEs), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

There currently exist certain challenges. When the UE is in connected state, the network can configure (or trigger) the UE to measure on downlink reference signals, and report one or more Channel State Information (CSI) quantities on Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), as described in Section 2.1.1. Depending on the reference signal used for the measurements and the quantities reported, the network can use these for setting various physical layer parameters. For instance, link adaptation and precoding are based on CSI Reference Signal (CSI-RS) measurements and the report quantities are a combination of Rank Indicator (RI)/ Channel Quality Indication (CQI)/ Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI). Beam management, i.e., adjusting the transmit and receive beams at the network and the UE, is based on either CSI-RS or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) measurements, and the report quantity is Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power (Ll-RSRP). As such, improved systems and methods for reporting CSI are needed.

In the Release 17 pre-configured PUSCH feature for NR, it is expected that the UE will be configured with pre-configured PUSCH and associated uplink grant(s) in connected state. The configuration may include all the parameters necessary to transmit on a periodically occurring PUSCH resource, such as the time-frequency resource and the periodicity of the uplink grant, link quality parameters (Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), Transport Block Size (TBS) and repetition of the Transport Block (TB)), power control parameters, and beamforming parameters (e.g., beam pair between the UE and the network). After receiving the configuration, the UE moves to inactive state where it can transmit periodically on the configured PUSCH resources, provided that Time Advance (TA) is valid, which in practice means that the UE is stationary, and in some cases non-rotating. The periodicity of the grant is expected to be in the order of several minutes or hours.

When the UE is in inactive state, there is no possibility for the network to trigger a CSI report from the UE, if the network is relying on existing NR procedures. Therefore, if the UE is configured with pre-configured PUSCH, the same beamforming parameters and/or link quality parameters may have to be applied for all the pre-configured PUSCH transmission occasions. This may, however, be problematic even for stationary UEs.

For instance, due to the movements of nearby objects in the environment, the best/suitable beams at the network may have changed, and the network may not be aware of this change.

It is noted that the gNB can alternatively rely on uplink PUSCH transmissions (including Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRSs)) to adapt the physical layer parameters, without relying on CSI reports from the UE. However, these uplink transmissions do not fully reflect the reception quality at the UE. This is typically the case even for Time Division Duplexing (TDD) operation, where the propagation channel reciprocity may hold. The reason is that the interference is different in the downlink at the UE and in the uplink at the network.

There are ongoing discussions in 3GPP in the context of Release 17 coverage enhancement study item on including CSI report in Message 3 (PUSCH) of the four-step random access procedure. However, unlike pre-configured PUSCH, where UE-specific configuration is possible and the UE capabilities are fully known to the network, this is not the case during the transmission of Message 3. It is also noted that in Release 16 NR, the UE cannot be configured to measure and report on CSI-RS in inactive state. Therefore, reporting of other CSI quantities in inactive state, such as RI, PMI, and CQI is not possible in Release 16.

Systems and methods for the configuration and/or the corresponding reporting of CSI in an inactive state are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for reporting CSI in an inactive state includes receiving, while in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state, a CSI configuration to use when the wireless device is in the inactive state; determining, while in the inactive state, CSI information based on the received CSI configuration; and reporting, while in the inactive state, the determined CSI information. In some embodiments, the inactive state is: an Idle state or a RRC Connected Inactive state. Some embodiments of the present disclosure enable the network to adapt/reconfigure the beamforming parameters in inactive state, used for the reception of pre-configured PUSCH transmission from the UE, as well as for the subsequent downlink transmission of the network response in Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). This leads to higher beamforming gain, i.e., higher received signal power and higher Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), at the network and the UE. Some embodiments of the present disclosure also enable the network to reconfigure other physical layer parameters that were provided to the UE in the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH. This leads to better performance at the UE and the network in terms of block error rate and/or throughout. In some embodiments, the UE is configured with the Release 17 pre-configured PUSCH feature for NR. Based on this report from the UE, the network may choose to adapt/reconfigure transmit and receive beam pair between the UE and the network.

The network may also choose to reconfigure other physical layer parameters, such as MCS, TBS, repetition of the TB, power control parameters, time and frequency resource allocation, etc., that were provided to the UE in the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH.

Figure 2 illustrates a method performed by a wireless device for reporting CSI in an inactive state, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the wireless device performs one or more of: receiving a CSI configuration to use in an inactive state (step 200); determining CSI information while in an inactive state (step 202); reporting the CSI information while in an inactive state (step 204); receiving adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while in an inactive state (step 206).

Figure 3 illustrates a method performed by a base station for obtaining CSI from a wireless device in an inactive state, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the base station performs one or more of: transmitting, to the wireless device, a CSI configuration to use in an inactive state (step 300); receiving, from the wireless device, a report of CSI information while the wireless device is in an inactive state (step 302); transmitting, to the wireless device, adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while the wireless device is in an inactive state (step 304).

In a first embodiment, the configuration of Release 17 pre-configured PUSCH that the UE receives from the network in RRC connected state also indicates to the UE whether to report CSI, while transmitting uplink data on pre-configured PUSCH. The indication to report CSI can be explicit or implicit. An example of explicit indication is including a field in the configuration that indicates CSI reporting is set to 'on'. An example of implicit indication is presence/absence of some other field in the configuration, for instance, the field for reference signals to use measurement and corresponding reporting. Another example of an implicit indication is to have CSI reporting automatically enabled for pre-configured PUSCH, i.e., hard-coded in the 3GPP specifications, and not dynamic. If the UE is required by the network to report CSI, then the PUSCH grant will also take into account the amount of resources to use for the CSI report (e.g., the number of bits that the report will require). The configuration also includes indicators of one or more SSB beams, i.e., SSB Resource Indicator (SSBRI), on which the UE should perform the measurements to calculate the report quantity. The report quantity can be Ll-RSRP. The UE can be configured to perform measurements on XI SSBs, and report Ll-RSRP corresponding to X2 SSB beams, where X2 < XI.

After the configuration is received, the UE enters the RRC inactive state. At some time instance in inactive state, before the transmission of PUSCH, the UE performs measurements on XI configured SSBs and prepares the CSI report. Similar to legacy NR, the contents of the CSI report can, for example, consist of Ll-RSRP value of the strongest SSB beam, differential values (relative to the strongest beam) of the remaining beams, and SSBRI of all the X2 reported beams. SSBRI may be included in the report only when X2>1. The CSI report is multiplexed with uplink data payload, and then transmitted simultaneously over the pre-configured PUSCH resource. This is illustrated in Figure 4 which illustrates a configuration and reporting of CSI on pre- configured PUSCH, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

When the network receives this transmission, it demultiplexes the data part and the CSI report. Based on the CSI report, the network may adapt its transmit and/or receive beams (or spatial domain filters) for future transmission/reception. The network can also decide to update/reconfigure the beamforming parameters of the UE. As one example, the network can decide to update a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource indicator of the UE. As another example, the network can reconfigure the set of spatial relations provided to the UE during the configuration. Based on the report, the network can also decide to send a fallback indication to the UE. The network can provide the reconfiguration/indication message to the UE by sending a downlink response to the uplink pre-configured PUSCH transmission. Depending on the outcome in 3GPP, the response message can be sent in PDCCH and/or PDSCH (similar to Release 16 PUR for LTE-M and NB-IoT). Note that although the network can adjust its transmit beam already in the network response, the changes to receive beam at the network and transmit beam at the UE will not apply until the subsequent PUSCH transmission, which is one period later. Due to the relatively long periodicity of the uplink transmissions using for pre-configured PUSCH, beam adjustment takes place on a longer time scale compared to legacy operation. Due to this, the network may want to apply some filtering to the CSI-reports (e.g., averaging filtering).

In a second embodiment, Ll-RSRP values contained in the CSI report (as described in the first embodiment) are encoded relative to the Ll-RSRP values measured by the UE in connected state, before it has been transitioned to inactive state. This embodiment can be illustrated using the following example. Let Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) (A, TO) be the measured Ll-RSRP value on SSB beam A at a time instance TO in connected state. Let RSRP(A, Tl) be the measured Ll-RSRP value on the same beam at a second time instance Tl in inactive state. Then the value contained in the CSI report is given by the difference dRSRP(A) = RSRP(A, Tl) - RSRP(A, TO). In another example, the value contained in the CSI report is given by the absolute difference, i.e., daRSRP(A) = |RSRP(A, Tl) - RSRP(A, T0)|, where |-| denotes the absolute function.

This kind of encoding is applied to all the reported X2 beams. In some embodiments, this is an optimization to reduce the number of bits that need to be reported.

The first and the second embodiments above are described based on SSB measurements, but the presented methods can also be based on measurements of other types of downlink reference signals and resources, e.g., Non-Zero-Power (NZP) CSI-RS, CSI Interference Measurement (CSI-IM), etc. In these cases, unlike for legacy NR UEs, the UE in RRC inactive state is enabled to be configured with CSI-RS/CSI-IM based on which the UE can perform measurements. The CSI-RS/CSI-IM resource set(s) to use for performing the measurements in inactive state is indicated to the UE in the pre-configured PUSCH configuration. Each of these resource set consists of M>1 of the corresponding resources. The report quantity in the CSI report can also be different to those described in the first and the second embodiments, where the quantity is Ll- RSRP. For instance, the channel measurements can be based on CSI-RS, and the report quantity can be Ll-RSRP, or a combination of RI, CQI, and PMI. The interference measurements can be based on either CSI-RS or CSI-IM, and the UE can report a quantity that is reflective of the downlink interference condition, for example, Layer 1 Signal-to-Noise and Interference Ratio (Ll-SINR).

In a third embodiment, related to the first embodiment, the measurement and the corresponding reporting of CSI can be skipped for certain transmissions of pre configured PUSCH. In order to enable this, the network may configure the UE with a parameter 'n' which denotes the number of consecutive skips of the CSI report. For instance, if n = 0, then no skips are allowed, if n = 1, then the UE can skip every other transmission, and so on. The network can configure the value of n based on, for example, the periodicity of the pre-configured PUSCH. The UE may still transmit uplink data in transmission occasions where the UE has skipped CSI reporting.

In a fourth embodiment, related to the first embodiment, the UE can be configured to switch between CSI reporting based on SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements, i.e., the UE can do reporting based on SSBs on some pre-configured PUSCH, and based on CSI-RS resources on the others. This solution is useful in avoiding outdated measurements.

For instance, there may be cases where there is no SSB transmissions in the radio frame where the UE is configured to transmit on pre-configured PUSCH, and the UE may have to rely on old SSB measurements in previous radio frames. These measurements may, however, be outdated, i.e., no longer valid due to the change in channel conditions. Therefore, if the UE is configured to measure and report based on relatively fresh CSI-RS in such cases, then the CSI report will reflect the most recent channel conditions experienced by the UE.

Additionally, the present disclosure focuses on using SSB for measurements because it might not be possible to use CSI-RS. However, in the future, there might be a change to provide CSI-RS for use while in an inactive state. Therefore, any of the embodiments discussed herein related to SSB could also be used for CSI-RS or any other suitable signal to measure.

The present disclosure focuses on the inactive state being an RRC Connected Inactive state. However, any of the embodiments discussed herein related to Connected Inactive state could also be used for an Idle state or any other suitable inactive state.

In another embodiment, related to the first embodiment, the UE performs CSI reporting on pre-configured PUSCH only if one or more predefined conditions have been satisfied. These conditions can be included in the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH. One example of such conditional reporting is when the UE reports CSI on pre-configured PUSCH only if daRSRP(A) (as described in the second embodiment) is greater than some configured threshold dRSRPTHxi, which can be provided to the during the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH.

In another embodiment, related to the first embodiment, the contents of the CSI report can consist of other variants with respect to the contents of legacy NR, in order to reduce the size of the report. For instance, the Ll-RSRP value corresponding to each reported beam A in the CSI report can be a single bit, where, for example, bit 0 corresponds to daRSRP(A) < dRSRP _TH x2 , and bit 1 corresponds to daRSRP(A) > dRSRPTHx2, with dRSRP-mx2 being some configured threshold which can be provided to the during the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH, and daRSRP(A) is defined in the second embodiment. These bits are only for examples; the bits could be encoded in any other relevant way.

In another embodiment the UE is provided with a separate pre-configured uplink resource (PUCCH or PUSCH) for providing a downlink measurement report. The reporting can be just as in RRC Connected state be configured as periodic, semipersistent, or aperiodic. It can also be configured to follow the configuration used for the pre-configured PUSCH resource for data transmission, but with a configured time offset so that the measurement report is always provided before the pre-configured PUSCH for data transmission. This provides the network the ability to reconfigure the pre-configured PUSCH for data in case the report indicates that the current configuration is outdated.

In another embodiment, the network can request a CSI report from a UE in RRC inactive state configured with pre-configured PUSCH in the 'Network response'. If the UE receives this trigger it will multiplex a CSI report, as configured according in the previously stored pre-configured PUSCH configuration, in the subsequent PUSCH transmission.

In another embodiment, the network can trigger a CSI report from a UE in RRC inactive state configured with pre-configured PUSCH via RAN paging. If the UE receives this trigger it will multiplex a CSI report, as configured according in the previously stored pre-configured PUSCH configuration, in the subsequent PUSCH transmission.

In another embodiment, the network can trigger a CSI report from a UE in RRC inactive state configured with pre-configured PUSCH in the uplink grant for a dynamic Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) retransmission, i.e., as an indication in Downlink Control Information (DCI). If the UE receives this trigger, it will multiplex a CSI report, as configured according in the previously stored pre-configured PUSCH configuration, in the PUSCH retransmission.

In another embodiment, the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH that the UE receives from the network in RRC connected state also indicates to the UE whether to transmit SRS prior to the transmission of pre-configured PUSCH in an inactive state. The configuration also indicates the time and frequency resources and the spatial relation to use for the transmission of SRS. If the UE is required to transmit SRS, then the UE may not have to report CSI on pre-configured PUSCH.

In another embodiment, related to the embodiment above and the fourth embodiment, the UE can be configured to switch between SRS transmissions and CSI reporting based on downlink reference signal (i.e., SSB/CSI-RS) measurements. The advantage of this solution is similar to that described for the fourth embodiment, i.e., avoiding outdated measurements.

Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio access node 500 may be, for example, a base station 102 or 106 or a network node that implements all or part of the functionality of the base station 102 or gNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio access node 500 includes a control system 502 that includes one or more processors 504 (e.g., Central Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and/or the like), memory 506, and a network interface 508. The one or more processors 504 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. In addition, the radio access node 500 may include one or more radio units 510 that each includes one or more transmiters 512 and one or more receivers 514 coupled to one or more antennas 516. The radio units 510 may be referred to or be part of radio interface circuitry. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s) 510 is external to the control system 502 and connected to the control system 502 via, e.g., a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s) 510 and potentially the antenna(s) 516 are integrated together with the control system 502. The one or more processors 504 operate to provide one or more functions of a radio access node 500 as described herein. In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software that is stored, e.g., in the memory 506 and executed by the one or more processors 504.

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is equally applicable to other types of network nodes. Further, other types of network nodes may have similar virtualized architectures. Again, optional features are represented by dashed boxes.

As used herein, a "virtualized" radio access node is an implementation of the radio access node 500 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node 500 is implemented as a virtual component(s) (e.g., via a virtual machine(s) executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As illustrated, in this example, the radio access node 500 may include the control system 502 and/or the one or more radio units 510, as described above. The control system 502 may be connected to the radio unit(s) 510 via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The radio access node 500 includes one or more processing nodes 600 coupled to or included as part of a network(s) 602. If present, the control system 502 or the radio unit(s) 510 are connected to the processing node(s) 600 via the network 602. Each processing node 600 includes one or more processors 604 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory 606, and a network interface 608.

In this example, functions 610 of the radio access node 500 described herein are implemented at the one or more processing nodes 600 or distributed across the one or more processing nodes 600 and the control system 502 and/or the radio unit(s) 510 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 610 of the radio access node 500 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 600. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 600 and the control system 502 is used in order to carry out at least some of the desired functions 610. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system 502 may not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 510 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 600 via an appropriate network interface(s).

In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of radio access node 500 or a node (e.g., a processing node 600) implementing one or more of the functions 610 of the radio access node 500 in a virtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node 500 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 500 includes one or more modules 700, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 700 provide the functionality of the radio access node 500 described herein. This discussion is equally applicable to the processing node 600 of Figure 6 where the modules 700 may be implemented at one of the processing nodes 600 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 600 and/or distributed across the processing node(s) 600 and the control system 502.

Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 800 includes one or more processors 802 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory 804, and one or more transceivers 806 each including one or more transmitters 808 and one or more receivers 810 coupled to one or more antennas 812. The transceiver(s) 806 includes radio-front end circuitry connected to the antenna(s) 812 that is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna(s) 812 and the processor(s) 802, as will be appreciated by on of ordinary skill in the art. The processors 802 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceivers 806 are also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 800 described above may be fully or partially implemented in software that is, e.g., stored in the memory 804 and executed by the processor(s) 802. Note that the wireless communication device 800 may include additional components not illustrated in Figure 8 such as, e.g., one or more user interface components (e.g., an input/output interface including a display, buttons, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker(s), and/or the like and/or any other components for allowing input of information into the wireless communication device 800 and/or allowing output of information from the wireless communication device 800), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of the wireless communication device 800 according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless communication device 800 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 800 includes one or more modules 900, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 900 provide the functionality of the wireless communication device 800 described herein.

With reference to Figure 10, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 1000, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network 1002, such as a RAN, and a core network 1004. The access network 1002 comprises a plurality of base stations 1006A, 1006B, 1006C, such as Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless Access Points (APs), each defining a corresponding coverage area 1008A, 1008B, 1008C. Each base station 1006A, 1006B, 1006C is connectable to the core network 1004 over a wired or wireless connection 1010. A first UE 1012 located in coverage area 1008C is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1006C. A second UE 1014 in coverage area 1008A is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1006A. While a plurality of UEs 1012, 1014 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 1006. The telecommunication network 1000 is itself connected to a host computer 1016, 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. The host computer 1016 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 1018 and 1020 between the telecommunication network 1000 and the host computer 1016 may extend directly from the core network 1004 to the host computer 1016 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1022. The intermediate network 1022 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private, or hosted network; the intermediate network 1022, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 1022 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of Figure 10 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1012, 1014 and the host computer 1016. The connectivity may be described as an Over-the-Top (OTT) connection 1024. The host computer 1016 and the connected UEs 1012, 1014 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection 1024, using the access network 1002, the core network 1004, any intermediate network 1022, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1024 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1024 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1006 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from the host computer 1016 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 1012. Similarly, the base station 1006 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 1012 towards the host computer 1016.

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 11. In a communication system 1100, a host computer 1102 comprises hardware 1104 including a communication interface 1106 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1100. The host computer 1102 further comprises processing circuitry 1108, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 1108 may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 1102 further comprises software 1110, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 1102 and executable by the processing circuitry 1108. The software 1110 includes a host application 1112. The host application 1112 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 1114 connecting via an OTT connection 1116 terminating at the UE 1114 and the host computer 1102. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 1112 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1116.

The communication system 1100 further includes a base station 1118 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1120 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1102 and with the UE 1114. The hardware 1120 may include a communication interface 1122 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1100, as well as a radio interface 1124 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1126 with the UE 1114 located in a coverage area (not shown in Figure 11) served by the base station 1118. The communication interface 1122 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1128 to the host computer 1102. The connection 1128 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Figure 11) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware 1120 of the base station 1118 further includes processing circuitry 1130, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 1118 further has software 1132 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

The communication system 1100 further includes the UE 1114 already referred to. The UE's 1114 hardware 1134 may include a radio interface 1136 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 1126 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 1114 is currently located. The hardware 1134 of the UE 1114 further includes processing circuitry 1138, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 1114 further comprises software 1140, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1114 and executable by the processing circuitry 1138. The software 1140 includes a client application 1142. The client application 1142 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1114, with the support of the host computer 1102. In the host computer 1102, the executing host application 1112 may communicate with the executing client application 1142 via the OTT connection 1116 terminating at the UE 1114 and the host computer 1102. In providing the service to the user, the client application 1142 may receive request data from the host application 1112 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1116 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 1142 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that the host computer 1102, the base station 1118, and the UE 1114 illustrated in Figure 11 may be similar or identical to the host computer 1016, one of the base stations 1006A, 1006B, 1006C, and one of the UEs 1012, 1014 of Figure 10, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 11 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 10.

In Figure 11, the OTT connection 1116 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 1102 and the UE 1114 via the base station 1118 without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to hide from the UE 1114 or from the service provider operating the host computer 1102, or both. While the OTT connection 1116 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).

The wireless connection 1126 between the UE 1114 and the base station 1118 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 the UE 1114 using the OTT connection 1116, in which the wireless connection 1126 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the e.g., data rate, latency, power consumption, etc. and thereby provide benefits such as e.g., reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.

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 the OTT connection 1116 between the host computer 1102 and the UE 1114, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1116 may be implemented in the software 1110 and the hardware 1104 of the host computer 1102 or in the software 1140 and the hardware 1134 of the UE 1114, or both. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 1116 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 the software 1110, 1140 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1116 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 1118, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1118. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer 1102's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 1110 and 1140 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or 'dummy' messages, using the OTT connection 1116 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 12 will be included in this section. In step 1200, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 1202 (which may be optional) of step 1200, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1204, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 1206 (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 1208 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 13 will be included in this section. In step 1300 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1302, 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 1304 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

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 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 14 will be included in this section. In step 1400 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1402, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1404 (which may be optional) of step 1400, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1406 (which may be optional) of step 1402, 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 sub-step 1408 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 1410 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 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 15 will be included in this section. In step 1500 (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 1502 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1504 (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 Processor (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.

While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

Embodiments Group A Embodiments

Embodiment 1: A method performed by a wireless device for reporting Channel State Information, CSI, in an inactive state, the method comprising one or more of: receiving (200) a CSI configuration to use in an inactive state; determining (202) CSI information while in an inactive state; reporting (204) the CSI information while in an inactive state; receiving (206) adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while in an inactive state.

Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1 wherein the wireless device is configured with pre-configured resources to use while in an inactive state.

Embodiment 3: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 2 wherein the wireless device is configured with pre-configured resources to transmit Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH, data while in an inactive state.

Embodiment 4: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 3 wherein the CSI configuration to use in an inactive state are received with pre-configured resources to use while in an inactive state.

Embodiment 5: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 4 wherein the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH that the wireless device receives in RRC connected state also indicates whether to report CSI.

Embodiment 6: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 5 wherein the CSI information reported while in an inactive state is reported while transmitting on the pre-configured uplink resources.

Embodiment 7: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 6 wherein an indication to report CSI can be explicit or implicit.

Embodiment 8: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 7 wherein the indication to report CSI comprises a field in the configuration that indicates CSI reporting is set to 'on'.

Embodiment 9: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 8 wherein the indication to report CSI comprises a presence/absence of some other field in the configuration. Embodiment 10: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 9 wherein CSI reporting is automatically enabled for pre-configured PUSCH.

Embodiment 11: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 10 wherein the configuration also includes indicators of one or more SSB beams, e.g., SSBRI, on which the wireless device should perform the measurements to calculate the report quantity.

Embodiment 12: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 11 wherein the report quantity can be Ll-RSRP.

Embodiment 13: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 12 wherein the wireless device is configured to perform measurements on XI SSBs, and report Ll-RSRP corresponding to X2 SSB beams, where X2 < XI. Embodiment 14: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 13 wherein the inactive state is one of: an Idle state and a RRC Connected Inactive state.

Embodiment 15: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 14 wherein before the transmission of PUSCH, the wireless device performs measurements on XI configured SSBs and prepares the CSI report.

Embodiment 16: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 15 wherein the wireless device can skip certain transmissions of CSI.

Embodiment 17: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 16 wherein the configuration comprises a parameter 'n' which denotes the number of consecutive skips of the CSI report.

Embodiment 18: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 17 wherein the wireless device switches between CSI reporting based on first measurements and second measurements, e.g., between SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements. Embodiment 19: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 18 wherein receiving adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while in an inactive state comprises receiving adaptations/reconfigurations of a transmit and receive beam pair between the wireless device and the network.

Embodiment 20: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 19 wherein receiving adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while in an inactive state comprises receiving physical layer parameters, such as: MCS, TBS, repetition of the TB, power control parameters, time and frequency resource allocation.

Embodiment 21: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 20 wherein the wireless device performs CSI reporting on pre-configured PUSCH only if one or more predefined conditions have been satisfied.

Embodiment 22: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 21 wherein the contents of the CSI report can consist of other variants with respect to the contents of legacy NR, in order to reduce the size of the report.

Embodiment 23: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 22 wherein the wireless device is provided with a separate pre-configured uplink resource (e.g., PUCCH or PUSCH) for providing the downlink measurement report.

Embodiment 24: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 23 wherein the network can request a CSI report from a wireless device in RRC inactive state configured with pre- configured PUSCH in the 'Network response'. Embodiment 25: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 24 wherein the network can trigger a CSI report from a wireless device in RRC inactive state configured with pre configured PUSCH via RAN paging.

Embodiment 26: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 25 wherein the network can trigger a CSI report from a wireless device in RRC inactive state configured with pre configured PUSCH in the uplink grant for a dynamic HARQ retransmission, e.g., as an indication in DCI.

Embodiment 27: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 26 wherein the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH that the wireless device receives from the network in RRC connected state also indicates to the wireless device whether to transmit SRS prior to the transmission of pre-configured PUSCH in inactive state.

Embodiment 28: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 27 wherein the wireless device can be configured to switch between SRS transmissions and CSI reporting based on downlink reference signal (e.g., SSB/CSI-RS) measurements.

Embodiment 29: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 28 wherein the wireless device is an NR UE.

Embodiment 30: 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

Embodiment 31: A method performed by a base station for obtaining Channel State Information, CSI, from a wireless device in an inactive state, the method comprising: transmitting (300), to the wireless device, a CSI configuration to use in an inactive state; receiving (302), from the wireless device, a report of CSI information while the wireless device is in an inactive state; transmitting (304), to the wireless device, adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while in an inactive state. Embodiment 32: The method of embodiment 31 wherein the wireless device is configured with pre-configured resources to use while in an inactive state.

Embodiment 33: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 32 wherein the wireless device is configured with pre-configured resources to transmit Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH, data while in an inactive state. Embodiment 34: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 33 wherein the CSI configuration to use in an inactive state are transmitted with pre-configured resources to use while in an inactive state.

Embodiment 35: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 34 wherein the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH that the wireless device receives in RRC connected state also indicates whether to report CSI.

Embodiment 36: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 35 wherein the CSI information is received while receiving data on the pre-configured uplink resources. Embodiment 37: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 36 wherein an indication to report CSI can be explicit or implicit.

Embodiment 38: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 37 wherein the indication to report CSI comprises a field in the configuration that indicates CSI reporting is set to 'on'.

Embodiment 39: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 38 wherein the indication to report CSI comprises a presence/absence of some other field in the configuration.

Embodiment 40: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 39 wherein CSI reporting is automatically enabled for pre-configured PUSCH.

Embodiment 41: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 40 wherein the configuration also includes indicators of one or more SSB beams, e.g., SSBRI, on which the wireless device should perform the measurements to calculate the report quantity.

Embodiment 42: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 41 wherein the report quantity can be Ll-RSRP.

Embodiment 43: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 42 wherein the wireless device is configured to perform measurements on XI SSBs, and report Ll-RSRP corresponding to X2 SSB beams, where X2 < XI.

Embodiment 44: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 43 wherein the inactive state is one of: an Idle state and a RRC Connected Inactive state.

Embodiment 45: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 44 wherein before the reception of PUSCH, the wireless device performs measurements on XI configured SSBs and prepares the CSI report.

Embodiment 46: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 45 wherein the wireless device can skip certain transmissions of CSI. Embodiment 47: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 46 wherein the configuration comprises a parameter 'n' which denotes the number of consecutive skips of the CSI report.

Embodiment 48: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 47 wherein the wireless device switches between CSI reporting based on first measurements and second measurements, e.g., between SSB measurements and CSI-RS measurements. Embodiment 49: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 48 wherein transmitting adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while in an inactive state comprises transmitting adaptations/reconfigurations of a transmit and receive beam pair between the wireless device and the network.

Embodiment 50: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 49 wherein transmitting adaptations/reconfigurations of parameters to use while in an inactive state comprises transmitting physical layer parameters, such as: MCS, TBS, repetition of the TB, power control parameters, time and frequency resource allocation.

Embodiment 51: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 50 wherein the wireless device performs CSI reporting on pre-configured PUSCH only if one or more predefined conditions have been satisfied.

Embodiment 52: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 51 wherein the contents of the CSI report can consist of other variants with respect to the contents of legacy NR, in order to reduce the size of the report.

Embodiment 53: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 52 wherein the wireless device is provided with a separate pre-configured uplink resource (e.g., PUCCH or PUSCH) for providing the downlink measurement report.

Embodiment 54: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 53 further comprising: requesting a CSI report from a wireless device in RRC inactive state configured with pre-configured PUSCH in the 'Network response'.

Embodiment 55: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 54 further comprising: triggering a CSI report from a wireless device in RRC inactive state configured with pre- configured PUSCH via RAN paging.

Embodiment 56: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 55 further comprising: triggering a CSI report from a wireless device in RRC inactive state configured with pre- configured PUSCH in the uplink grant for a dynamic HARQ retransmission, e.g., as an indication in DCI. Embodiment 57: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 56 wherein the configuration of pre-configured PUSCH that the wireless device receives from the network in RRC connected state also indicates to the wireless device whether to transmit SRS prior to the transmission of pre-configured PUSCH in inactive state.

Embodiment 58: The method of any of embodiments 31 to 57 wherein the wireless device can be configured to switch between SRS transmissions and CSI reporting based on downlink reference signal (e.g., SSB/CSI-RS) measurements.

Embodiment 59: 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

Embodiment 60: A wireless device for reporting Channel State Information, CSI, in an inactive state, the 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.

Embodiment 61: A base station for obtaining Channel State Information, CSI, from a wireless device in an inactive state, the base station comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the base station.

Embodiment 62: A User Equipment, UE, for reporting Channel State Information, CSI, in an inactive state, the 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.

Embodiment 63: 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.

Embodiment 64: The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

Embodiment 65: The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station. Embodiment 66: 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.

Embodiment 67: 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. Embodiment 68: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

Embodiment 69: 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.

Embodiment 70: A User Equipment, UE, configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the previous 3 embodiments.

Embodiment 71: 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.

Embodiment 72: The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE. Embodiment 73: 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.

Embodiment 74: 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. Embodiment 75: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

Embodiment 76: 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.

Embodiment 77: The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including the UE.

Embodiment 78: 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.

Embodiment 79: 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. Embodiment 80: 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. Embodiment 81: 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.

Embodiment 82: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

Embodiment 83: 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.

Embodiment 84: 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. Embodiment 85: 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.

Embodiment 86: The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

Embodiment 87: The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station. Embodiment 88: 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 is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer. Embodiment 89: 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. Embodiment 90: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

Embodiment 91: 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.

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).

• 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

• 5G Fifth Generation

• 5GC Fifth Generation Core

• 5GS Fifth Generation System

• AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

• AN Access Network

• AP Access Point

• ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit

• AUSF Authentication Server Function

• CPU Central Processing Unit

• CQI Channel Quality Indication

• CRI Channel Resource Indicator

• CSI Channel State Information

• CSI-IM Channel State Information Interference Measurement

• CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal

• DCI Downlink Control Information

• DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

• DSP Digital Signal Processor

• eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B

• FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array . gNB New Radio Base Station

• gNB-CU New Radio Base Station Central Until

• gNB-DU New Radio Base Station Distributed Unit

• HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

• HSS Flome Subscriber Server

• IoT Internet of Things

• Ll-RSRP Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power

• Ll-SINR Layer 1 Signal-to-Noise and Interference Ratio • LTE Long Term Evolution

• LTE-M Long Term Evolution for MTC

• MAC Medium Access Control

• MAC-CE Medium Access Control-Control Element

• MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

• MME Mobility Management Entity

• MTC Machine Type Communication

• NB-IoT Narrowband Internet of Things

• NEF Network Exposure Function

• NF Network Function

• Ng-eNB Next Generation Enhanced or Evolved Node B

• NG-RAN Next Generation Radio Access Network

• NR New Radio

• NRF Network Function Repository Function

• NSSF Network Slice Selection Function

• NZP Non-Zero-Power

• OTT Over-the-Top

• PC Personal Computer

• PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

• PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

• PCF Policy Control Function

• P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway

• PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator

• PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

• PUR Pre-configured Uplink Resources

• PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

• RAM Random Access Memory

• RAN Radio Access Network

• RI Rank Indicator

• ROM Read Only Memory

• RRC Radio Resource Control

• RRH Remote Radio Flead

• RS Reference Signal • RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

• SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function

• SMF Session Management Function

• SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

• SRS Sounding Reference Signal

• SSB Synchronization Signal Block

• SSBRI Synchronization Signal Block Resource Indicator

• TA Time Advance

• TB Transport Block

• TBS Transport Block Size

• TDD Time Division Duplexing

• UDM Unified Data Management

• UE User Equipment

• UPF User Plane Function

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.