METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR SHORT DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION (SDRX)

IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Related Applications

[0001 ] This application claims the benefit of PCT patent application serial number PCT/CN 2017/083445, filed May 8, 2017, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

[0002] The present description generally relates to wireless communications and wireless communication networks, and more particularly relates to

Discontinuous Reception (DRX) in wireless communication networks.

Background

[0003] In 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, data transmissions in both downlink (i.e. from a radio network node or eNB to a user equipment or UE) and uplink (from a user equipment or UE to a radio network node or eNB) are organized into radio frames of 10 ms, each radio frame consisting of ten equally-sized subframes of length T _SU bframe = 1 ms. An example of an LTE radio frame is shown in Figure 1 .

[0004] LTE uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) in the downlink and Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) in the uplink. The basic LTE downlink physical resource can thus be seen as a time-frequency grid as illustrated in Figure 2, where each resource element corresponds to one OFDM subcarrier during one OFDM symbol interval.

[0005] Furthermore, the resource allocation in LTE is typically described in terms of resource blocks (RBs), where a resource block corresponds to one slot (0.5 ms) in the time domain and 12 contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain. Resource blocks are numbered in the frequency domain, starting with 0 from one end of the system bandwidth.

[0006] Similarly, the LTE uplink resource grid is illustrated in Figure 3, where is the number of resource blocks (RBs) contained in the uplink system bandwidth, N* ^B is the number subcarriers in each RB, typically N ^B = 12 , N" _ymh is the number of SC-FDMA symbols in each slot. N _s ^u _ymb = 7for normal cyclic prefix (CP) and N _s ^u _ymb = 6 for extended CP. A subcarrier and a SC-FDMA symbol form an uplink resource element (RE).

[0007] Downlink data transmissions from a radio network node (generally referred to as an eNB in LTE) to a UE are dynamically scheduled, i.e., in each subframe the eNB transmits control information about to which UEs data is transmitted and upon which resource blocks the data is transmitted in the current downlink subframe. This control signaling is typically transmitted in the first 1 , 2, 3 or 4 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in each subframe. A downlink transmission with 3 OFDM symbols for control signaling is illustrated in Figure 4.

[0008] Transmissions in the uplink (from a UE to an eNB) are, as in the downlink, also dynamically scheduled through the downlink control channel. When a UE receives an uplink grant in subframe n, it transmits data in the uplink at subframe n+k, where k = 4 for FDD system and where O varies for TDD systems.

[0009] In LTE, a number of physical channels are supported for data transmissions. A downlink or an uplink physical channel corresponds to a set of resource elements carrying information originating from higher layers (e.g., MAC, RRC, etc.). While a downlink or an uplink physical signal is used by the physical layer but does not carry information originating from higher layers. Some of the downlink physical channels and signals supported in LTE are:

• Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH

· Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH

• Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel, EPDCCH

• Cell Specific Reference Signals (CRS)

• Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) for PDSCH

• Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) [0010] PDSCH is used mainly for carrying user traffic data and higher layer messages in the downlink and is transmitted in a downlink subframe outside of the control region as shown in Figure 4. Both PDCCH and EPDCCH are used to carry Downlink Control Information (DCI) such as PRB allocation, modulation level and coding scheme (MCS), precoder used at the transmitter, etc. PDCCH is transmitted in the first one to four OFDM symbols in a downlink subframe, i.e., in the control region, while EPDCCH is transmitted in the same region as PDSCH.

[0011] Some of the uplink physical channels and signals supported in LTE are:

• Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH

• Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH

• Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) for PUSCH

• DMRS for PUCCH

[0012] The PUSCH is used to carry uplink data and/or uplink control information from the UE to the eNB. The PUCCH is used to carry uplink control information from the UE to the eNB.

[0013] Regarding DCI Formats for 1 ms TTI Scheduling, the current control channels carry control information, referred to as DCI. There are several DCI formats which have different options depending on e.g., configured transmission mode. The DCI format has a CRC which is scrambled by a UE identifier, such as a C-RNTI, and when the CRC matches, after descrambling, a PDCCH with a certain DCI format has been detected. There are also identifiers that are shared by multiple UEs, such as the System Information Radio Network Temporary Identifier (SI-RNTI) which is used for transmission of system information.

[0014] Regarding DCI Formats for DL Scheduling Assignments, as described in 3GPP TS 36.212, there are currently a number of different DCI formats for downlink resource assignments including format 1 ,1 A,1 B,1 C, 1 D, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D. The downlink control information (DCI) for a downlink scheduling assignment contains information on downlink data resource allocation in the frequency domain (the resource allocation), modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and HARQ process information. In case of carrier aggregation, information related to which carrier the PDSCH is transmitted on may be included as well.

[0015] Regarding DCI Formats for UL Scheduling Grants, there are two main families of DCI formats for UL grants, DCI format 0 and DCI format 4. The latter was added in Release 10 for supporting uplink spatial multiplexing. Several DCI format variants exist for both DCI format 0 and format 4 for various purposes, e.g., scheduling in unlicensed spectrum.

[0016] Regarding Latency Reduction with Short TTI, packet data latency is one of the performance metrics that vendors, operators, and end-users (via speed test applications) regularly measure. Latency measurements are done in all phases of a radio access network system lifetime, when verifying a new software release or system component, when deploying a system and when the system is in commercial operation.

[0017] Shorter latency than previous generations of 3GPP RATs was one performance metric that guided the design of LTE. The end-users also now recognize LTE to be a system that provides faster access to Internet and lower data latencies than previous generations of mobile radio technologies.

[0018] Packet data latency is important not only for the perceived

responsiveness of the system; it is also a parameter that indirectly influences the throughput of the system. HTTP/TCP is the dominating application and transport layer protocol suite used on the internet today. According to HTTP Archive (http://httparchive.org/trends.php) the typical size of HTTP based transactions over the internet are in the range of a few tens of Kbytes up to one Mbyte. In this size range, the TCP slow start period is a significant part of the total transport period of the packet stream. During TCP slow start, the performance is latency limited. Hence, improved latency can rather easily be showed to improve the average throughput, for this type of TCP based data transactions.

[0019] Latency reductions could positively impact radio resource efficiency. Lower packet data latency could increase the number of transmissions possible within a certain delay bound; hence higher Block Error Rate (BLER) targets could be used for the data transmissions freeing up radio resources potentially improving the capacity of the system.

[0020] One approach to latency reduction is the reduction of transport time of data and control signaling, by addressing the length of a transmission time interval (TTI). By reducing the length of a TTI and maintaining the bandwidth, the processing time at the transmitter and the receiver nodes is also expected to be reduced, due to less data to process within the TTI. As described above, in LTE Release 8, a TTI corresponds to one subframe of length 1 millisecond. One such 1 ms TTI is constructed by using 14 OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols in the case of normal cyclic prefix and 12 OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols in the case of extended cyclic prefix. In LTE Release 14 in 3GPP, a study item on latency reduction has been conducted, with the goal of specifying transmissions with shorter TTIs, such as a slot or a few symbols. A work item with the goal of specifying short TTI (sTTI) has started in August 2016.

[0021] An sTTI can be decided to have any duration in time and comprises resources on any number of OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols, and starts at symbol position within the overall frame. For the work in LTE, the focus of the work is currently to only allow the sTTIs to start at fixed positions with durations of either 2, 3, 4 or 7 symbols. Furthermore, the sTTI is not allowed to cross neither slot nor subframe boundaries.

[0022] One example shown in Figure 5, where the duration of the uplink short TTI is 0.5 ms, i.e. seven SC-FDMA symbols for the case with normal cyclic prefix. Also a combined length of 2 or 3 symbols are shown for the sTTI. Here, the "R" in the figure indicates the DMRS symbols, and "D" indicates the data symbols. Other configurations are not excluded, and the figure is only an attempt to illustrate differences in sTTI lengths.

[0023] Although a shorter TTI has merits when it comes to latency, it can also have some negative impact to the uplink coverage since less energy is transmitted by the UE, specifically considering the UL control channel performance, which includes both HARQ bits, Channel Quality Information, CQI, and Scheduling Request.

[0024] Due to the limited UL coverage when transmitting a shortened TTI, it is possible to configure a longer TTI length on the UL than in the DL to combat these problems, with the standard supporting sTTI length combination in the {DL,UL} of {2,7}. There is also the possibility of the network to schedule the UE with 1 ms TTI duration dynamically on a subframe-by-subframe basis.

[0025] Regarding DL and UL sTTI scheduling, to schedule an uplink or a downlink sTTI transmission, it is possible for the eNB to transmit the

corresponding control information by using a new DCI format, referred to as short DCI (sDCI), in each DL sTTI. The control channel carrying this sDCI can be either PDCCH or short PDCCH (sPDCCH). Since sPDCCH is included in each sTTI and there can be up to 6 sTTIs per LTE subframe, a UE would need to monitor sDCI in PDCCH and in up to 6 instances of sPDCCH per subframe.

[0026] It is currently possible to configure the UE with Discontinuous

Reception (DRX). A DRX cycle is a periodic repetition of an on-duration period when the UE monitors PDCCH for data reception followed by an inactivity period when the UE can sleep in order to save UE battery. The UE is always configured with a long DRX cycle, but can also optionally be configured with a short DRX cycle. In case a short DRX cycle is configured, the UE will first enter short DRX for a period of time and then enter long DRX cycle.

[0027] The Active time is the time when the UE monitors PDCCH. It can be when any of the timers onDurationTimer, drx-lnactivityTimer, drx- RetransmissionTimer or drx-ULRetransmissionTimer are running. During the Active time the UE monitors the PDCCH. If the UE finds a grant for it in PDCCH it stays active during the rest of the subframe. Otherwise, it skips monitoring the remaining subframe. When the onDurationTimer expires the UE can sleep based on short or long DRX cycle length, if any of the other timers above are not running.

[0028] The drx-lnactivityTimer restarts every time data is scheduled in

PDCCH (starts running in the next subframe) in order to keep the UE active for a longer time when data is transmitted. The drx-RetransmissionTimer and drx- ULRetransmissionTimer are for the UE to wake up again and monitor a possible retransmission in case the first transmission failed.

[0029] An example of a DRX configuration is shown in the Figure 6.

[0030] In 3GPP TS 36.321 , MAC Control Elements (MAC CE) are defined. The MAC CEs are a number of bits included in the MAC PDU for transferring of pre-defined information. There are e.g. MAC CEs defined for Buffer Status Reports, DRX Command for start or restart of DRX cycle and Power Headroom Reports. Figure 7 illustrates an example of a MAC packet data unit carrying different MAC CEs.

[0031] Additional systems and methods for using both DRX and sTTI are needed to improve performance.

Summary

[0032] Systems and methods for Discontinuous Reception (DRX) in wireless communications networks are provided. The current DRX controls monitoring of PDCCH for a legacy DCI but does not state any behavior for the monitoring of sDCI which can be transmitted on either sPDCCH or PDCCH. When configured with sTTI, the UE is required to monitor both PDCCH and sPDCCH the whole time which may consume a lot of UE battery. Even if the UE is only scheduled on PDCCH for a long period of time, it is still required to monitor sPDCCH. There is no RRC reconfiguration between scheduling on PDCCH and sPDCCH which means that the DRX cannot be reconfigured in-between.

[0033] In accordance with some embodiments, a DRX procedure adapted for sTTI, referred to as sDRX, is introduced. The sDRX controls the monitoring of sDCI on sPDCCH and PDCCH. The sDRX can be activated and deactivated with MAC Control Elements. The sDRX can be configured together with legacy DRX.

[0034] According to one aspect, some embodiments include a method in a User Equipment, UE. The method comprises monitoring at least one of a first downlink control channel and a second downlink control channel during an awake period of a sDRX cycle for at least one short downlink control information, sDCI.

[0035] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprises, receiving at least one sDCI on one of the first downlink control channel and the second control channel during the awake period of the sDRX cycle. In such embodiments, the method may further comprise decoding the received sDCI and then performing at least one operational task in accordance with the decoded sDCI.

[0036] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprises, receiving, from a radio network node, sDRX parameters, the sDRX parameters defining at least the sDRX cycle, the sDRX parameters being DRX parameters related to short Transmission Time Interval, sTTI. In such

embodiments, the method may comprise receiving a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message from the radio network node comprising the sDRX parameters.

[0037] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprise, receiving, from the radio network node, a sDRX activation message to activate sDRX. In such embodiments, the sDRX activation message may be carried by a CE of a MAC message or may be a sDCI.

[0038] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprise, receiving, from the radio network node, a sDRX deactivation message to deactivate sDRX. In such embodiments, the sDRX deactivation message may be carried by a CE of a MAC message. In some embodiments, the sDRX deactivation message includes an indication for how long the sDRX should be deactivated.

[0039] In some embodiments, the first downlink control channel may be a short Physical Downlink Control Channel, sPDCCH, and the second downlink control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH.

[0040] According to another aspect, some embodiments include a UE configured, or operable, to perform one or more UE functionalities (e.g. steps, actions, etc.) as described herein. [0041] In some embodiments, the UE may comprise a communication interface configured to communicate with one or more radio network nodes and/or with one or more network nodes, and processing circuitry operatively connected to the communication interface, the processing circuitry being configured to perform one or more UE functionalities as described herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, upon being executed by the processor, configure the processor to perform one or more UE functionalities as described herein.

[0042] In some embodiments, the UE may comprise one or more functional modules configured to perform one or more UE functionalities as described herein.

[0043] According to another aspect, some embodiments include a non- transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program product comprising instructions which, upon being executed by processing circuitry (e.g., a processor) of the UE, configure the processing circuitry to perform one or more UE functionalities as described herein.

[0044] According to another aspect, some embodiments include a method in a radio network node. The method comprises, during an awake period of a sDRX cycle of a User Equipment, UE, transmitting a short DCI, sDCI, to the UE on one of a first downlink control channel and a second downlink control channel.

[0045] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprise, determining on which of the first downlink control channel and the second downlink control channel to transmit the sDCI to the UE.

[0046] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprise, transmitting, to the UE, sDRX parameters, the sDRX parameters defining at least the sDRX cycle, the sDRX parameters being DRX parameters related to short Transmission Time Interval, sTTI. In such embodiments, the method may comprise transmitting a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message to the UE comprising the sDRX parameters. [0047] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprise, transmitting, to the UE, a sDRX activation message to activate sDRX. In such embodiments, the sDRX activation message may be carried by a CE of a MAC message or may be a sDCI.

[0048] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, or further comprise, transmitting, to the UE, a sDRX deactivation message to deactivate sDRX. In such embodiments, the sDRX deactivation message may be carried by a CE of a MAC message. In some embodiments, the sDRX deactivation message includes an indication for how long the sDRX should be deactivated.

[0049] In some embodiments, the first downlink control channel may be a short Physical Downlink Control Channel, sPDCCH, and the second downlink control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH.

[0050] According to another aspect, some embodiments include a radio network node configured, or operable, to perform one or more radio network node functionalities (e.g. steps, actions, etc.) as described herein.

[0051] In some embodiments, the radio network node may comprise a communication interface configured to communicate with one or more UEs, with one or more other radio network nodes and/or with one or more network nodes (e.g., core network nodes), and processing circuitry operatively connected to the communication interface, the processing circuitry being configured to perform one or more radio network node functionalities as described herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, upon being executed by the processor, configure the processor to perform one or more radio network node functionalities as described herein.

[0052] In some embodiments, the radio network node may comprise one or more functional modules configured to perform one or more radio network node functionalities as described herein.

[0053] According to another aspect, some embodiments include a non- transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program product comprising instructions which, upon being executed by processing circuitry (e.g., a processor) of the radio network node, configure the processing circuitry to perform one or more radio network node functionalities as described herein.

[0054] Some embodiments may enable the UE to have awake or active time and sleep or inactive time related to sPDCCH in order to save UE battery. In some embodiments, the sDRX may be activated by a MAC CE with a subframe delay. The sDRX may also be deactivated by another MAC CE in order to save more battery if the UE is scheduled with legacy TTI for a period of time.

[0055] Other aspects and features will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0056] 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.

[0057] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an LTE time-domain structure;

[0058] Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the LTE downlink resource grid;

[0059] Figure 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of the LTE uplink resource grid;

[0060] Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary LTE downlink subframe;

[0061] Figure 5 illustrates schematic diagrams of exemplary 2/3-symbol sTTI configurations within an LTE uplink subframe;

[0062] Figure 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary

Discontinuous Reception (DRX);

[0063] Figure 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary MAC PDU comprising a MAC header, MAC control elements, MAC SDUs and padding;

[0064] Figure 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network in accordance with some embodiments; [0065] Figure 9 illustrates timelines of exemplary DRX and sDRX according to some embodiments;

[0066] Figure 10 illustrates a signaling diagram in accordance with some embodiments;

[0067] Figure 1 1 illustrates a flow chart of operations of a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

[0068] Figure 12 illustrates a flow chart of operations of a radio network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0069] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0070] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node of Figure 13 according to some

embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0071] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node of Figure 13 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0072] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of a User Equipment device

(UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0073] Figure 17 is a schematic block diagram of the UE of Figure 16 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0074] Figure 18 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0075] Figure 19 is a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0076] Figure 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0077] Figure 21 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; [0078] Figure 22 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment on the present disclosure; and

[0079] Figure 23 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

[0080] 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.

[0081] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the

understanding of the description. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with the included description, will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

[0082] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an

embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0083] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and/or "including" when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0084] Radio Node: As used herein, a "radio node" is either a radio access node or a wireless device.

[0085] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a "radio access node" or "radio network node" is any node in a radio access network 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), and a relay node.

[0086] Core Network Node: As used herein, a "core network node" is any type of node in a core network. 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), or the like.

[0087] Wireless Device: As used herein, a "wireless device" is any type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular communications network by wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving signals to a radio access node(s). Some examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device. [0088] Network Node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node that is either part of the radio access network or the core network of a cellular communications network/system.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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.

[0091] Several embodiments will be described in the context of 3GPP LTE standards. Still, references to 3GPP LTE standards and to their terminology should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present description to such standards. In that regard, various embodiments may also be applicable in the context of other standards, for instance, 3GPP UMTS and 3GPP NR (or 5G).

[0092] Figure 8 illustrates an example of a wireless network 100 that may be used for wireless communications. Wireless network 100 includes UEs 1 10A- H OB (collectively referred to as UE or UEs 1 10) and a plurality of radio network nodes 120A-120B (e.g., NBs, RNCs, eNBs, gNBs, etc.) (collectively referred to as radio network node or radio network nodes 120) directly or indirectly connected to a core network 130 which may comprise various core network nodes. The network 100 may use any suitable radio access network (RAN) deployment scenarios, including UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, UTRAN, and Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, EUTRAN. UEs 1 10 within coverage areas 1 15 may each be capable of communicating directly with radio network nodes 120 over a wireless interface. In certain embodiments, UEs may also be capable of communicating with each other via device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0093] As an example, UE 1 10A may communicate with radio network node 120A over a wireless interface. That is, UE 1 10A may transmit wireless signals to and/or receive wireless signals from radio network node 120A. The wireless signals may contain voice traffic, data traffic, control signals, and/or any other suitable information. In some embodiments, an area of wireless signal coverage associated with a radio network node 120 may be referred to as a cell.

[0094] An sTTI can be decided to have any duration in time and comprises resources on any number of OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols, and starts at symbol position within the overall frame. For the work in LTE, the focus of the work is currently to only allow the sTTIs to start at fixed positions with durations of either 2, 3, 4 or 7 symbols. Furthermore, the sTTI is not allowed to cross neither slot nor subframe boundaries.

[0095] One example shown in Figure 5, where the duration of the uplink short TTI is 0.5 ms, i.e. seven SC-FDMA symbols for the case with normal cyclic prefix. Also a combined length of 2 or 3 symbols are shown for the sTTI. Here, the "R" in the figure indicates the DMRS symbols, and "D" indicates the data symbols. Other configurations are not excluded, and the figure is only an attempt to illustrate differences in sTTI lengths. In some embodiments, in sTTI, the TTI length is based on a slot or a subslot. For example, for FDD, 10 subframes, 20 slots, or up to 60 subslots are available for downlink transmission and 10 subframes, 20 slots, or up to 60 subslots are available for uplink transmissions in each 10 ms interval.

[0096] As indicated above, the existing DRX controls the PDCCH monitoring for possible DCI. The present description defines a new, separate sDRX in addition to the existing DRX. As used herein, sDRX refers to a DRX cycle that is defined relative to sTTIs instead of legacy (subframe) TTIs. The sDRX controls the monitoring for possible sDCI, which may be sent on either sPDCCH or

PDCCH. In some embodiments, the current timers for DRX are all duplicated for sDRX. The new timers can have different granularity than the current DRX timers as the cycle for sDRX may be shorter than for current DRX. If all the timers are duplicated, the same handling can be used for sDRX as for DRX but with the option of different values and granularity of the timers. [0097] If the UE is configured with both DRX and sDRX, it will follow two DRX patterns and wake up according to the rules for each pattern. It is up to the radio network node to make a good configuration. The sDRX will most likely have a shorter cycle and the UE will wake up more often to check for sDCI on sPDCCH or PDCCH than it will to check for DCI on PDCCH for 1 ms TTI. An example of such a patterns is illustrated in Figure 9.

[0098] It is also possible to duplicate only a subset of the existing DRX timers for sDRX. In such embodiments, either only a short sDRX cycle could be created or only a long sDRX cycle. If only a short sDRX cycle is defined, the current behavior that the UE should not enter long DRX cycle after a number of short DRX cycles would probably not be reused. Instead it could be stated that the short sDRX is infinite.

[0099] With a very short DRX cycle for sDRX, there is very little opportunity for sleep. If the UE is configured with sTTI, but is scheduled with 1 ms TTI for a long period of time, it might be unnecessary to keep on monitoring sDCI on PDCCH and sPDCCH. A mechanism for deactivating sDRX may be required.

[0100] In some embodiments, a new MAC CE is defined for deactivation of sDRX. It can be used to deactivate sDRX when the UE is scheduled with 1 ms TTI DCI on PDCCH for a long time. The UE then only needs to monitor PDCCH according to the legacy DRX pattern.

[0101] In some embodiments, the sDRX deactivation message includes an indication for how long the sDRX should be deactivated. For example, in the MAC CE for sDRX deactivation command, a time for how long the sDRX should be deactivated could be included. The time could e.g., be a number indicating the number of sDRX cycles that sDRX is deactivated and during which period the UE only follows the DRX cycle. A certain value of the time indication, e.g. 000 could mean that sDRX is deactivated until a MAC CE activation command is received, i.e., no time is indicated.

[0102] As the UE monitors PDCCH during legacy DRX, a fast way to activate sDRX again is to send an sDCI on PDCCH. The UE will know then that it is being scheduled with sTTI and can activate sDRX for monitoring of sPDCCH. Alternatively, another MAC CE could be defined to activate sDRX. That can be used when the network wants to schedule the UE with sTTI and if the sDRX is currently deactivated. The UE will then start monitoring sPDCCH/PDCCH for sDCI again. The MAC CEs are sent on PDSCH and the delay is one subframe, which is a reasonable delay for reaching the UE with an sTTI after having been scheduled on legacy TTI for a period of time.

[0103] In some embodiments, a dependency between DRX and sDRX may be defined. For instance, sDRX also has sleep periods when DRX has sleep periods. The sDRX cycle is then valid during the onDuration of DRX.

[0104] In some embodiments, as an enhancement to legacy DRX, a DCI sent during active time of sDRX (and inactive time of DRX) could be used to trigger active time of DRX. That would mean reduced latency also for 1 ms TTI with DRX.

[0105] Referring now to Figure 10, as exemplary signaling diagram in accordance with some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the radio network node 120 transmits sDRX parameters, that is DRX parameters related to short TTI transmission, sTTI, to the UE 1 10 (action S102). The transmission of these sDRX parameters may be made via a RRC message (e.g. as part of the MAC- MainConfig information element of a RRC message).

[0106] At some point in time, the radio network node 120 transmits an sDRX activation message to the UE 1 10 to instruct the UE 1 10 to start operating according to the sDRX parameters (action S104). The sDRX activation message may be carried by a Control Element, CE, of a MAC message, or may be a sDCI transmitted on the PDCCH. As indicated above, when the UE 1 10 operates according to the sDRX parameters, the UE starts alternating between an awake or active period during which the UE monitors at least one of sPDCCH and the PDCCH for possible sDCI transmissions, and a sleep or inactive period during which the UE refrains from monitoring at least the sPDCCH for possible sDCI transmissions. Hence, upon receiving the sDRX activation message from the radio network node 120, the UE 1 10 starts monitoring at least one of the sPDCCH and the PDCCH for possible sDCI transmissions during the awake period of the sDRX cycle.

[0107] For its part, upon activation of sDRX at the UE 1 10, the radio network node 120 determines, when it needs to transmit a sDCI to the UE 1 10, on which of a first downlink control channel (e.g., a sPDCCH) and a second downlink control channel (e.g., a PDCCH) to transmit the sDCI to the UE 1 10 (action S106). Then, during an awake period of the sDRX cycle (or of the DRX cycle) of the UE, the radio network node 120 transmits the sDCI on the determined one of the first downlink control channel and second downlink control channel (action S108).

[0108] As indicated above, while in sDRX, the UE 1 10 monitors at least one of the first downlink control channel and the second downlink control channel during the awake period of the sDRX cycle (action S1 10). If the UE so happen to receives a sDCI transmission while monitoring at least one of the first downlink control channel and the second downlink control channel, the UE 1 10 decodes the received sDCI transmission (action S1 12) and possibly performs at least one operational task (e.g., retrieves the downlink data) in accordance with the decoded sDCI transmission (action S1 14).

[0109] As some later time, the UE 1 10 may receive a sDRX deactivation message from the radio network node 120 to stop operating according to the sDRX parameters (action S1 16). As for the sDRX activation message, the sDRX deactivation message may be carried by a Control Element, CE, of a MAC message.

[0110] Understandably, one or more of the above operations may be performed in a different order and/or may be optional.

[0111] Figure 1 1 is a flow chart that illustrates operations of the UE in accordance with some embodiments. As illustrated, the UE receives, from a radio network node, DRX parameters related to short Transmission Time

Interval, sTTI, that is sDRX parameters, the sDRX parameters defining at least a sDRX cycle (action S202). The sDRX parameters may be received as part of an information element of an RRC message. The UE subsequently monitors at least one of a first downlink control channel and a second downlink control channel during an awake period of the sDRX cycle for at least one sDCI transmission (action S204). In some embodiments, the first downlink control channel may be a sPDCCH while the second downlink control channel may be a PDCCH. While monitoring at least one of the first downlink control channel and the second downlink control channel during the awake period of the sDRX cycle, the UE may receive a sDCI transmission. When the UE does receive a sDCI transmission during the awake period of the sDRX cycle, the UE decodes the sDCI transmission received either on the first downlink control channel or on the second downlink control channel (action S206). After having decoded the received sDCI, the UE performs at least one operational task in accordance with the decoded sDCI transmission (action S208).

[0112] Figure 12 is a flow chart that illustrates operations of the radio network node in accordance with some embodiments. As illustrated, the radio network node transmits, to a UE, DRX parameters related to short Transmission Time Interval, sTTI, that is sDRX parameters, the sDRX parameters defining at least a sDRX cycle (action S302). The sDRX parameters may be transmitted as part of an information element of an RRC message. At a later time, upon determining the need to transmit a sDCI to the UE, the radio network node determines on which of a first downlink control channel and a second downlink control channel to transmit the sDCI to the UE (action S304). In some embodiments, the first downlink control channel may be a sPDCCH while the second downlink control channel may be a PDCCH. Then, during an awake period of the sDRX cycle (or of the DRX cycle) of the UE, the radio network node transmits the sDCI on the determined first downlink control channel or second downlink control channel to the UE (action S306).

[0113] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 1300 may be, for example, a radio network node 120. As illustrated, the radio access node 1300 includes a control system 1302 that includes one or more processors 1304 (e.g., Central Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and/or the like), memory 1306, and a network interface 1308. The one or more processors 1304 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. In addition, the radio access node 1300 includes one or more radio units 1310 that each includes one or more transmitters 1312 and one or more receivers 1314 coupled to one or more antennas 1316. The radio units 1310 may be referred to or be part of radio interface circuitry. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1310 is external to the control system 1302 and connected to the control system 1302 via, e.g., a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1310 and potentially the antenna(s) 1316 are integrated together with the control system 1302. The one or more processors 1304 operate to provide one or more functions of a radio access node 1300 as described herein. In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software that is stored, e.g., in the memory 1306 and executed by the one or more processors 1304.

[0114] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node 1300 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.

[0115] As used herein, a "virtualized" radio access node is an implementation of the radio access node 1300 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node 1300 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 1300 includes the control system 1302 that includes the one or more processors 1304 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), the memory 1306, and the network interface 1308 and the one or more radio units 1310 that each includes the one or more transmitters 1312 and the one or more receivers 1314 coupled to the one or more antennas 1316, as described above. The control system 1302 is connected to the radio unit(s) 1310 via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The control system 1302 is connected to one or more processing nodes 1400 coupled to or included as part of a network(s) 1402 via the network interface 1308. Each processing node 1400 includes one or more processors 1404 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory 1406, and a network interface 1408.

[0116] In this example, functions 1410 of the radio access node 1300 described herein are implemented at the one or more processing nodes 1400 or distributed across the control system 1302 and the one or more processing nodes 1400 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 1410 of the radio access node 1300 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) 1400. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 1400 and the control system 1302 is used in order to carry out at least some of the desired functions 1410. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system 1302 may not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 1310 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 1400 via an appropriate network interface(s).

[0117] 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 1300 or a node (e.g., a processing node 1400) implementing one or more of the functions 1410 of the radio access node 1300 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).

[0118] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node 1300 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 1300 includes one or more modules such as transmitting module 1500, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) provide the functionality of the radio access node 1300 described herein. For instance, transmitting module 1500 is configured to, during an awake period of a sDRX cycle of a UE, transmit a short DCI, sDCI, to the UE on one of a first downlink control channel and a second downlink control channel.

[0119] This discussion is equally applicable to the processing node 1400 of Figure 14 where the modules 1500 may be implemented at one of the processing nodes 1400 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 1400 and/or distributed across the processing node(s) 1400 and the control system 1302.

[0120] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of a UE 1600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. UE 1600 could be a UE 1 10, for example. As illustrated, the UE 1600 includes one or more processors 1602 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and/or the like), memory 1604, and one or more transceivers 1606 each including one or more transmitters 1608 and one or more receivers 1610 coupled to one or more antennas 1612. The processors 1602 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceivers 1606 are also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the UE 1600 described above may be fully or partially implemented in software that is, e.g., stored in the memory 1604 and executed by the processor(s) 1602. Note that the UE 1600 may include additional components not illustrated in Figure 16 such as, e.g., one or more user interface components (e.g., a display, buttons, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker(s), and/or the like), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

[0121] 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 UE 1600 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). [0122] Figure 17 is a schematic block diagram of the UE 1600 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The UE 1600 includes one or more modules such as monitoring module 1700, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) provide the functionality of the UE 1600 described herein. For instance, monitoring module 1700 is configured to monitor at least one of a first downlink control channel and a second downlink control channel during an awake period of a sDRX cycle for at least one short downlink control information, sDCI.

[0123] Some embodiments may be represented as a non-transitory software product stored in a machine-readable medium (also referred to as a computer- readable medium, a processor-readable medium, or a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein). The machine- readable medium may be any suitable tangible medium including a magnetic, optical, or electrical storage medium including a diskette, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc read only memory (DVD-ROM) memory device (volatile or non-volatile), or similar storage mechanism. The machine- readable medium may contain various sets of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps in a method according to one or more of the described embodiments. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other instructions and operations necessary to implement the described embodiments may also be stored on the machine-readable medium. Software running from the machine-readable medium may interface with circuitry to perform the described tasks.

[0124] With reference to Figure 18, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 1800, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network 1802, such as a RAN, and a core network 1804. The access network 1802 comprises a plurality of base stations 1806A, 1806B, 1806C, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless Access Points (APs), each defining a corresponding coverage area 1808A, 1808B, 1808C. Each base station 1806A, 1806B, 1806C is connectable to the core network 1804 over a wired or wireless connection 1810. A first UE 1812 located in coverage area 1808C is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1806C. A second UE 1814 in coverage area 1808A is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1806A. While a plurality of UEs 1812, 1814 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 1806.

[0125] The telecommunication network 1800 is itself connected to a host computer 1816, 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 1816 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 1818 and 1820 between the telecommunication network 1800 and the host computer 1816 may extend directly from the core network 1804 to the host computer 1816 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1822. The intermediate network 1822 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private, or hosted network; the intermediate network 1822, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 1822 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0126] The communication system of Figure 18 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1812, 1814 and the host computer 1816. The connectivity may be described as an Over-the-Top (OTT) connection 1824. The host computer 1816 and the connected UEs 1812, 1814 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection 1824, using the access network 1802, the core network 1804, any intermediate network 1822, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1824 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1824 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1806 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from the host computer 1816 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 1812. Similarly, the base station 1806 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 1812 towards the host computer 1816.

[0127] 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 19. In a communication system 1900, a host computer 1902 comprises hardware 1904 including a communication interface 1906 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1900. The host computer 1902 further comprises processing circuitry 1908, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 1908 may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 1902 further comprises software 1910, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 1902 and executable by the processing circuitry 1908. The software 1910 includes a host application 1912. The host application 1912 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 1914 connecting via an OTT connection 1916 terminating at the UE 1914 and the host computer 1902. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 1912 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1916.

[0128] The communication system 1900 further includes a base station 1918provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1920 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1902 and with the UE 1914. The hardware 1920 may include a communication interface 1922 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1900, as well as a radio interface 1924 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1926 with the UE 1914 located in a coverage area (not shown in Figure 19) served by the base station 1918. The communication interface 1922 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1928 to the host computer 1902. The connection 1928 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Figure 19) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware 1920 of the base station 1918 further includes processing circuitry 1930, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 1918 further has software 1932 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0129] The communication system 1900 further includes the UE 1914 already referred to. The UE's 1914 hardware 1934 may include a radio interface 1936 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 1926 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 1914 is currently located. The hardware 1934 of the UE 1914 further includes processing circuitry 1938, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 1914 further comprises software 1940, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1914 and executable by the processing circuitry 1938. The software 1940 includes a client application 1942. The client application 1942 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1914, with the support of the host computer 1902. In the host computer 1902, the executing host application 1912 may communicate with the executing client application 1942 via the OTT connection 1916 terminating at the UE 1914 and the host computer 1902. In providing the service to the user, the client application 1942 may receive request data from the host application 1912 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1916 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 1942 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

[0130] It is noted that the host computer 1902, the base station 1918, and the UE 1914 illustrated in Figure 19 may be similar or identical to the host computer 1816, one of the base stations 1806A, 1806B, 1806C, and one of the UEs 1812, 1814 of Figure 18, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 19 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 18.

[0131 ] In Figure 19, the OTT connection 1916 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 1902 and the UE 1914 via the base station 1918 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 1914 or from the service provider operating the host computer 1902, or both. While the OTT connection 1916 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).

[0132] The wireless connection 1926 between the UE 1914 and the base station 1918 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 1914 using the OTT connection 1916, in which the wireless connection 1926 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the latency and power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time and extended battery lifetime.

[0133] 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 1916 between the host computer 1902 and the UE 1914, in response to variations in the measurement results. The

measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1916 may be implemented in the software 1910 and the hardware 1904 of the host computer 1902 or in the software 1940 and the hardware 1934 of the UE 1914, or both. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 1916 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 1910, 1940 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1916 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 1914, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1914. 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 1902's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like. The measurements may be

implemented in that the software 1910 and 1940 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or 'dummy' messages, using the OTT connection 1916 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

[0134] Figure 20 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 18 and 19. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 20 will be included in this section. In step 2000, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 2002 (which may be optional) of step 2000, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 2004, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 2006 (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 2008 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0135] Figure 21 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 18 and 19. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 21 will be included in this section. In step 2100 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 2102, 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 2104 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0136] Figure 22 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 18 and 19. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 22 will be included in this section. In step 2200 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 2202, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 2204 (which may be optional) of step 2200, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 2206 (which may be optional) of step 2202, 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 2208 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 2210 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.

[0137] Figure 23 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 18 and 19. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 23 will be included in this section. In step 2300 (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 2302 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 2304 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0138] 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 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 ROM, 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.

[0139] 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.).

[0140] 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

• AP Access Point

• ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit

• BSC Base Station Controller

• BTS Base Transceiver Station

• CD Compact Disk

• CE Control Element

• COTS Commercial Off-the-Shelf

• CPE Customer Premise Equipment

• CPU Central Processing Unit

• C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier

• CRS Cell Specific Reference Signal

• CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal

• D2D Device-to-Device

• DAS Distributed Antenna System

• DCI Downlink Control Information

• DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

• DRX Discontinuous Reception

• DSP Digital Signal Processor

• EPDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

• eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B

• E-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

• FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access

• FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array

• GHz Gigahertz

• gNB New Radio Base Station

• GSM Global System for Mobile Communications • ΙοΤ Internet of Things

• IP Internet Protocol

• LEE Laptop Embedded Equipment

• LME Laptop Mounted Equipment

• LTE Long Term Evolution

• M2M Machine-to-Machine

• MAC Medium Access Control

• MANO Management and Orchestration

• MCE Multi-Cell/Multicast Coordination Entity

• MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

• MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

• MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output

• MME Mobility Management Entity

• MSC Mobile Switching Center

• MSR Multi-Standard Radio

• MTC Machine Type Communication

• NB-loT Narrowband Internet of Things

• NFV Network Function Virtualization

• NIC Network Interface Controller

• NR New Radio

• OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

• OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

• OSS Operations Support System

• OTT Over-the-Top

• PDA Personal Digital Assistant

• PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

• PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

• P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway

• RAM Random Access Memory

• RAN Radio Access Network RAT Radio Access Technology

RB Resource Block

RF Radio Frequency

RNC Radio Network Controller

ROM Read Only Memory

RRC Radio Resource Control

RRH Remote Radio Head

RRU Remote Radio Unit

SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function

SC-FDMA Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access sDCI short Downlink Control Information

sDRX short Discontinuous Reception

SI-RNTI System Information Radio Network Temporary

Identifier

SOC System on a Chip

SON Self-Organizing Network

sPDCCH short Physical Downlink Control Channel sTTI short Transmit Time Interval

TTI Transmit Time Interval

UE User Equipment

USB Universal Serial Bus

V2I Vehicle-to-lnfrastructure

V2V Vehicle-to-Vehicle

V2X Vehicle-to-Everything

VMM Virtual Machine Monitor

VNE Virtual Network Element

VNF Virtual Network Function

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol

WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access [0141] 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.