NETWORK NODE, WIRELESS DEVICE AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREBY FOR

HANDLING INTER-CELL MOBILITY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a network node, and methods performed thereby for handling mobility of a wireless device from a first cell to a second cell. The present disclosure also relates generally to a wireless device, and methods performed thereby for handling mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell.

BACKGROUND

Communication devices within a wireless communications network may be wireless devices such as e.g., User Equipments (UEs), stations (STAs), mobile terminals, wireless terminals, terminals, and/or Mobile Stations (MS). Wireless devices are enabled to

communicate wirelessly in a cellular communications network or wireless communication network, sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system, cellular system, or cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g., between two wireless devices, between a wireless device and a regular telephone, and/or between a wireless device and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN) , and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the wireless communications network. Wireless devices may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops, or tablets with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless devices in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as another terminal or a server.

Communication devices may also be network nodes, such as radio network nodes, e.g., Transmission Points (TP). The wireless communications network covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, each cell area being served by a network node such as a Base Station (BS), e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g., gNB, evolved Node B (“eNB”),“eNodeB”,“NodeB”,“B node”, or BTS (Base Transceiver Station), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g. Wide Area Base Stations, Medium Range Base Stations, Local Area Base Stations and Home Base Stations, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell is the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station at a base station site. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication

technologies. The wireless communications network may also be a non-cellular system, comprising network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as wireless devices, with serving beams. In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), base stations, which may be referred to as eNodeBs or even eNBs, may be directly connected to one or more core networks. In the context of this disclosure, the expression Downlink (DL) may be used for the transmission path from the base station to the wireless device. The expression Uplink (UL) may be used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e., from the wireless device to the base station.

NR

The so-called 5th Generation (5G) system, from a radio perspective, started to be standardized in 3GPP, and the so-called New Radio (NR) is the name for the radio interface. NR architecture is being discussed in 3GPP. In the current concept, gNB denotes NR BS, where one NR BS may correspond to one or more transmission/reception points.

One of the main goals of NR is to provide more capacity for operators to serve ever increasing traffic demands and variety of applications. Because of this, NR will be able to operate on high frequencies like frequencies over 6 GHz until 60 or even 100 GHz.

In comparison to the current frequency bands allocated to LTE, some of the new bands will have much more challenging propagation properties such as lower diffraction and higher outdoor/indoor penetration losses. As a consequence, signals will have less ability to propagate around corners and penetrate walls. In addition, in high frequency bands atmospheric/rain attenuation and higher body losses render the coverage of NR signals even more spotty.

Fortunately, the operation in higher frequencies makes it possible to use smaller antenna elements, which enables antenna arrays with many antenna elements. Such antenna arrays facilitate beamforming, where multiple antenna elements may be used to form narrow beams and thereby compensate for the challenging propagation properties.

Despite the link budget gains provided by beamforming solutions, reliability of a system purely relying on beamforming and operating in higher frequencies might be challenging, since the coverage might be more sensitive to both time and space variations. As a consequence of that, the Signal to Interference and noise ratio (SINR) of such a narrow link may drop much quicker than in the case of LTE.

In cellular telecommunications, the term handover may be understood to refer to the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one cell serviced by a network node connected to the core network, that is, from a source cell serviced by a source network node, to another cell serviced by the same network node or a another network node, that is, to a target cell serviced by a target network node. In a typical wireless communications network, one network node only covers one or more limited geographical area or cell; therefore, handover from a source cell to a target cell may be understood to be a relevant feature for the seamless mobility of wireless devices in the entire wireless communications network. The performance of handover also becomes an important factor that affects the user's experience.

The general handover process may be understood to comprise three sub-processes:

(1) When a wireless device detects a better cell which fulfills a certain requirement for handover, the wireless device sends a measurement report which comprises target cell information to inform the source network node, which may then be used by the network node to trigger handover preparation. Handover requirements may include an offset between source cell and target cell and a time delay to trigger the measurement report.

(2) When the source network node receives the measurement report, it may coordinate with the target network node which serves the target or neighboring cell, if there is available resource for the wireless device. The source network node may then send an

RRCReconfiguration message to the wireless device, which may comprise information on the target cell, so that the wireless device may access the target cell. This may be referred to as a Handover command.

(3) When the wireless device receives the RRCReconfiguration message from the source network node, it may start to access to the target cell, and it may then send handover complete to the target network node after radio link setup success in the new, that is the target, cell.

If the parameters offset and time to are not set properly, handover may happen too early or too late, which may probably result in a handover failure.

In a cell edge, if a target, also referred to as neighboring, cell is using the same frequency band as the source, also referred to as serving, cell, there may be strong intra-frequency interference. This interference may lead to low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) when a wireless device is on the cell edge during a handover process, and this may in turn lead to handover failure.

Handover failure is a problem which will degrade the user experience. In practice, various handover failures may occur, and these failures may be grouped into four categories:

(1) Too early handover;

(2) Too late handover;

(3) Handover that is not triggered properly; and

(4) Ping-ponging handover.

Already in LTE, the 3GPP specification group RAN2 observed that the serving cell may not be able to convey a handover command timely. When applying Time-To-Trigger (TTT), the handover may only be initiated if the triggering requirement is fulfilled for a time interval. Lowering the TTT and the measurement hysteresis allowed to reduce the handover failure rate, but also resulted in higher ping-pong probability. It is expected that in NR, these effects will be even more pronounced when operating at higher frequency bands. Because of these aspects, attention to mobility robustness in NR systems may be needed. In LTE and NR, different solutions to increase mobility robustness have been discussed.

Recently, in NR Release 15, 3GPP standards, in particular, TS 38.321 , v. 15.4.0, introduced the possibility of having lower Layer 2 mobility, besides the Radio Resource Control (RRC) based mobility, which may be also referred to as Layer 3 mobility, which may be typically used in traditional Radio Access Technologies (RATs), and which has been described above.

Layer 2 mobility may be also referred to as mobility without Radio Resource Control (RRC) involvement. The fundamentals of Layer 2 mobility may be understood to be that the network may order, using Downlink Control Information (DCI), a UE to measure and report specific Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) transmissions. This may be done, for example, by signalling a change of channel reference. Traditionally, the network may use the measurement reports that may have been received for link adaptation, but in Layer 2 mobility, the measurement reports may also be used to decide for a change of used beam and Transmission/ Reception Point (TRP), e.g., a different antenna within the same radio network node. A decision to change use of beam/TRP may be executed using DCI, user plane, and Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (control plane). The advantages of a lower layer 2-based mobility may be understood to be reduced transmission interruption time, and improved handover reliability, as additional RRC signalling may not be needed when moving to a different coverage area in the same cell.

Lately, proposals have appeared to extend the layer 2-based mobility solutions to also cover mobility between cells, see“Lower-layer mobility enhancements”, R1 -1902528, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG1 Meeting #96. In some cases, the mobility may even be applied between different gNBs. However, existing methods for performing layer 2-based mobility may lead to usage of resources in the new cell in a suboptimal way, as well as poor performance of the moving wireless device, and other problems that may hinder the mobility of a wireless device in a network.

SUMMARY

It is an object of embodiments herein to provide a method for handling mobility of a wireless device from a first cell to a second cell.

According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by a network node. The method is for handling mobility of a wireless device from a first cell to a second cell. The mobility is layer 2 mobility. The network node and the wireless device operate in a wireless communications network. The network node sends a message to the wireless device. The message initiates an update of one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell. According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by the wireless device. The method is for handling mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell. The mobility is layer 2 mobility. The wireless device operates in the wireless communications network. The wireless device receives the message from the network node operating in the wireless communications network. The message initiates the update of one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell.

According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the network node, for handling mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell. The mobility is configured to be layer 2 mobility. The network node and the wireless device are configured to operate in the wireless communications network. The network node is further configured to send the message to the wireless device. The message is configured to initiate the update of the one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the wireless device. The wireless device is for handling mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell. The mobility is configured to be layer 2 mobility. The wireless device is configured to operate in the wireless communications network. The wireless device is further configured to receive the message from the network node configured to operate in the wireless communications network. The message is configured to initiate the update of the one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device from the first cell to the second cell.

By the network node sending the message initiating the update of the one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device, the RRC parameter updates are enabled to be sent separately from the actual mobility signalling. This in turn enables to use layer 2 mobility, which may be understood as mobility without, that is, devoid of, RRC signalling, for inter cell mobility. Hence, on the one hand, the advantages afforded by layer 2 mobility, such as simplicity of signalling, and short latency, are enabled in inter-cell mobility. On the other hand, the drawbacks of not performing update of RRC parameters in the new cell are avoided. This is because updates of the RRC parameters may be needed by the wireless device after changing cell, in order to continue to operate normally. Furthermore, RRC parameters are enabled to be sent when the radio conditions may be better in the target cell or when it may be settled that the targeted cell is stable to be the best cell, so that ping-pong of RRC updates may be avoided. By sending the message with the update of the one or more RRC parameters, the mobility is enabled to take place between cells, with the advantages of layer 2 mobility, and with less interruption of data and reduced call drop risk. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and according to the following description.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 2 is a flowchart depicting an example of a method in a network node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting an example of a method in a wireless device, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of methods according to embodiments herein.

Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating two non-limiting examples, a) and b), of a network node, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating two non-limiting examples, a) and b), of a wireless device, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 8 is a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment (UE) over a partially wireless connection, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 9 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a communications system

including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 10 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a communications system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 11 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a communications system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, according to embodiments herein.

Figure 12 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a communications system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment, according to embodiments herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As part of the development of embodiments herein, one or more challenges with the existing technology will first be identified and discussed. There is a problem associated to the proposed extension to inter-cell mobility of the layer 2-based solution. The UE will not understand that it is now under the coverage area of a new cell, since no RRC reconfiguration has been performed. Under some circumstances, this may be an issue, since the RRC configuration may need to be updated in the new cell. One example is that the UE may need to be configured with the cell identity to be able to receive parts of the system information, e.g., the Earthquake & Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) information that may be broadcasted in all cells. It may be understood that when changing to another cell, then the UE is in the coverage area of the new cell. The other cell may also use another channel for System Information (SI) and paging that the source cell. The UE may be understood to need to be able to decode these if an emergency paging is sent for tsunamis etc.

Additionally, the wireless device may in the long-run need to be updated with cell specific information to be able to utilize resources in the new cell in the most optimal way.

The new cell may use another reference signal to monitor channel supervision, which the UE may measure to see that the quality of the system is good. If the UE is monitoring the old source cell channel, then the quality of that channel may be poor, and the UE may then erroneously identify radio link failure and drop the connection, even if the user-data channel is good.

Another example may be considered to be the PUCCH channel configuration. If the configuration is based on the old cell, and the configuration is the same as another user in the target cell, there will be risk for conflict, as the radio network node will not know who is performing a scheduling request.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to this challenge or other challenges. There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein.

Embodiments herein may therefore be understood to be related to RRC configuration updates for L2 based inter-cell mobility.

Some of the embodiments contemplated will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, the embodiments herein will be illustrated in more detail by a number of exemplary embodiments. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

Note that although terminology from LTE/5G has been used in this disclosure to exemplify the embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems with similar features, may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

Figure 1 depicts two non-limiting examples, in panels a) and b), respectively, of a

wireless communications network 100, which may be a wireless communications network, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communications system, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which embodiments herein may be implemented. The wireless

communications network 100 may typically be a 5G system, 5G network, NR-U or Next Gen System or network, LAA, MulteFire. The wireless communications network 100 may alternatively be a younger system than a 5G system. The wireless communications network 100 may support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE- Advanced / LTE-Advanced Pro, e.g. LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, NarrowBand Internet of Things (NB-loT), etc.... Thus, although terminology from 5G/NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned systems.

The wireless communications network 100 may comprise a plurality of network nodes, whereof a first network node 111 and a second network node 112 are depicted in the non limiting example of Figure 1 a). Any of the first network node 111 , and the second network node 112 may be a radio network node, such as a radio base station, or any other network node, e.g., an entity controlling a UE-specific context for a wireless device such as the wireless device 130, with similar features, capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the wireless communications network 100.

In some embodiments, the first network node 111 is an eNB, that is, a RAN node (RBS) supporting LTE radio access technology, and the second network node 112 is a gNB, that is, a RAN node (RBS) supporting NR radio access technology. In other embodiments, the first network node 111 is a first gNB, and the second network node 112 is a second gNB. This particular example is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 1. In yet other

embodiments, the first network node 111 may be a MeNB and the second network node 112 may be a gNB. In some examples, any of the first network node 111 , and the second network node 112 may be co-localized, or be part of the same network node, as depicted in Figure 1 b). In embodiments herein, the first network node 111 may be referred to as a source node or source network node, whereas the second network node 112 may be referred to as a target node or target network node. Any reference herein to a network node 111, 112, may be understood to refer to any of the first network node 111 or the second network node 112, whereas any reference herein to another network node 111, 112 may be understood to refer to the other network node of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112. In typical examples, the network node 112 is the second network node 112, and the another network node 111 is the first network node 111. In some particular examples, such as when the source network node and the target network node are the same node, that is, such as when the first cell 121 and the second cell 122 are served by the same network node, as depicted in Figure 1 b), the network node 111 , 112 may be the same as the another network node 111 , 112.

The wireless communications network 100 covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a network node, although, one network node may serve one or several cells. In the non-limiting example of Figure 1 , the wireless communications network 100 comprises a first cell 121 and a second cell 122. In Figure 1 , first network node 111 serves the first cell 121 , and the second network node 112 serves the second cell 122. Any of the first network node 111 , and the second network node 112 may be of different classes, such as, e.g., macro base station (BS), home BS or pico BS, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. Any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be directly connected to one or more core networks, which are not depicted in Figure 1 to simplify the Figure. In some examples, any of the first network node 111 , and the second network node 112 may be a distributed node, such as a virtual node in the cloud, and it may perform its functions entirely on the cloud, or partially, in collaboration with a radio network node. In embodiments herein, the first cell 121 may be referred to as a source cell, whereas the second cell 122 may be referred to as a target cell.

A plurality of wireless devices are located in the wireless communication network 100, whereof a wireless device 130, which may also be referred to simply as a device, is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 1. The wireless device 130, e.g., a 5G UE, may be a wireless communication device which may also be known as e.g., a UE, a mobile terminal, wireless terminal and/or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless device 130 may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or a vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in a communications system. The wireless device 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 is enabled to communicate wirelessly in the wireless communications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g., via a RAN, and possibly the one or more core networks, which may be comprised within the wireless communications network 100.

The first network node 111 may be configured to communicate in the wireless

communications network 100 with the wireless device 130 over a first link 141 , e.g., a radio link. The second network node 112 may be configured to communicate in the wireless

communications network 100 with the wireless device 130 over a second link 142, e.g., a radio link. The first network node 111 may be configured to communicate in the wireless

communications network 100 with the second network node 112 over a third link 143, e.g., a radio link or a wired link, although communication over more links may be possible.

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

In general, the usage of“first” and/or“second” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities, and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify, unless otherwise noted, based on context.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

More specifically, the following are embodiments related to a network node, such as the second network node 112 or the first network node 111 , e.g., a gNB, and embodiments related to a wireless device, such as the wireless device 130, e.g., a 5G UE.

In the following description, any reference to a/the UE may be understood to equally refer the wireless device 130; any reference to a/the network (NW) may be understood to equally refer to any of the network node 111 , 112, and/or the another node 111 , 112; any reference to a/the target cell or a/the new cell may be understood to equally refer the second cell 122. Embodiments of method performed by a network node, such as the network node 111 , 112, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 2, which depicts a non-limiting example of the method performed by the network node 111 , 112. The method may be understood to be for handling inter-cell mobility, e.g., mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122, wherein the mobility is layer 2 mobility. Layer 2 mobility may be also referred to as mobility without Radio Resource Control (RRC) involvement, and/or mobility with delayed RRC involvement. Delayed RRC involvement may be understood to mean that the RRC signalling may take place, although it be sent from the target cell and not the source cell. That is, that the handover may be understood to have happened before the RRC reconfiguration is sent.

The network node 111 , 112, and the wireless device 130, operate in the wireless communications network 100.

In particular examples, the network node 112 may be the second network node 112, or a target node. That is, a network node serving the second cell 122.

The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. Several embodiments are comprised herein. In some embodiments, some of the actions may be performed. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. In Figure 2, optional actions are indicated with dashed boxes. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Some actions may be performed in a different order than that shown in Figure 2.

It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other examples.

Action 201

During the course of operations of the wireless communications network 100, the network node 111 , 112 may, in this Action 201 , receive, from the wireless device 130, one or more measurement results of the second cell 122.

Receiving may be understood as e.g., obtaining, e.g., via the first link 141 , or the second link 142.

The one or more measurements may be on reference signals transmitted by the second cell 122, for example, SSB measurements and/or CSI-RS measurements.

The one or more measurement results may be received as a measurement report.

The receiving in this Action 201 may have been triggered by DCI signalling from the network node 111 , 112. By receiving the one or more measurements in this Action 201 , the network node 111 ,

112 may be enabled to then determine whether or not the wireless device 130 may need to change from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 in the next Action 202.

In this optional Action 201 , the network node 111 , 112 may be understood to be for example, the source node or e.g., an entity controlling a UE-specific context for the wireless device 130.

Action 202

In this Action 202, the network node 111 , 112 may determine that the wireless device 130 is to change from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. The determining may be based on the received one or more measurement results from Action 201.

Determining may be understood as, e.g., calculating or deciding.

That is, the one or more measurement results may indicate to the network node 111 , 112, that the second cell 122 fulfills a certain requirement for handover, e.g., a quality and/or strength of the signal from the second cell 122 may exceed a certain threshold for a certain amount of time, which is better than the quality and/or strength of the signal from the first cell 121.

In 3GPP Release 15, as in other standard technologies, a change to a new cell may require RRC signalling. The RRC signalling may comprise updated information that may be required by a UE, such as the wireless device 130, for selected functionality in the new cell, for example, change of Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), update of the UE neighboring list for the new cell and modifying UE measurements.

By determining that the wireless device 130 is to change from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 in this Action 202, the network node 111 , 112 may be enabled to then decide when it may be necessary to send an update of Radio Resource Control (RRC) parameters to the wireless device 130 in the next Action 203.

In this optional Action 202, the network node 111 , 112 may be may be understood to be for example, the source node or e.g., an entity controlling a UE-specific context for the wireless device 130.

Action 203

In this Action 203, the network node 111 , 112 sends a message to the wireless device 130. The message initiates an update of one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122.

Sending may be understood as transmitting, or providing, and in some examples, broadcasting, e.g., via the first link 141 , or the second link 142.

To initiate may be understood as e.g., to trigger. In this Action 203, the network node 111 , 112 may be the target node, e.g., as directed by the entity controlling the UE-specific context for the wireless device 130, or it may be the entity controlling the UE-specific context for the wireless device 130 triggering the target node to send the message via its radio path.

RRC parameters may be understood to refer to parameters which may be changed during or due to change of cell, as described in, e.g., 38.331 v15.4.0. RRC parameters may comprise, e.g., the cell specific Physical Downlink Control CHannel (PDCCH) resource allocation, and/or the cell specific scrambling sequence.

“Based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122” may be understood to mean that the sending of the message in this Action 203 is executed as a consequence of, that is after, or in relation with the wireless device 130 having been handed over from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 using a layer 2 mobility procedure, that is, without RRC involvement.

The sending in this Action 203 may be further based on a result of the determining in Action 202. That is, the network node 111 , 112, as source node or as the entity controlling the UE-specific context for the wireless device 130, deciding that the wireless device 130 is to change from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122, may trigger the network node 111 , 112 as target node to send the message to the wireless device 130 in this Action 203, that is, the RRC reconfiguration may be signalled via the existing radio path, which is now provided by the target node.

That the sending in this Action 203 may be further based on a result of the determining in Action 202 may also mean, in some examples, that the network node 111 , 112., as target node, may only send the message in Action 203 if the network node 111 , 112, as source node or as the entity controlling the UE-specific context for the wireless device 130, has been decided that the wireless device 130 is to change cell, that is, from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122, and not otherwise, e.g., if the change only happens between beams within the same cell.

Accordingly, in some embodiments wherein Action 201 may have been performed, the sending in this Action 203 may be based on the received one or more measurement results, since the network node 111 , 112, e.g., the entity controlling the UE-specific context for the wireless device 130, may base its determination in Action 202 on such results.

As long as any changes that may be immediately required may not be needed, for example master key update at change of gNB, the information update to the wireless device 130 may be delayed with minimal performance impact and, instead, performed according to any of the alternatives below, according to embodiments herein.

In some embodiments, the message may be one of: a) an RRC reconfiguration message, b) a paging message, c) System information, and d) an RRC parameter update, in response to a poll by the wireless device 130. These options are described below. In one group of examples, according to option a), the network (NW), e.g., the entity controlling a UE-specific context for the wireless device 130, may initiate the update of RRC parameters that may be related to the cell-change by having the network node 111 , 112, as target node, send, according to Action 203, an RRC reconfiguration message in the new cell, that is, the second cell 112. The RRC reconfiguration message may be triggered when the change of cell may be triggered, or may be confirmed, or whenever considered appropriate by the NW.

In another group of examples, according to option b), the NW may initiate the update of RRC parameters by sending, according to Action 203, a paging message to the wireless device 130. The paging message may be triggered when the change of cell may be triggered, or may be confirmed, or whenever considered appropriate by the NW.

In another group of examples, according to option c), the wireless device 130 may interpret the layer 2 mobility update as it may have changed cell, e.g., from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122, and may read, according to Action 302, as described later, system information for the new cell that may be sent according to Action 203. This group of examples may require that UE specific information like C-RNTI are maintained in the new cell. Option c) may be understood to provide the advantage that no signalling, that is, dedicated signalling, may be required at all for the RRC parameter update. This may require that all information is broadcasted.

In yet another group of examples, according to option d), the wireless device 130 may interpret the layer 2 mobility update as it may have changed cell, and it may poll the NW for an RRC configuration update which the network node 111 , 112 may send according to this Action 203, and which the wireless device 130 may receive according to Action 302, as described later. Option d) may be understood to address a case when the wireless device 130 may detect the change of cell, e.g., from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122.

Options a), b), c) and d) are referred to as“4 alternatives” in Figure 4.

In some embodiments, the message may be sent based on the mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 being one of: a) triggered by the network node 111 , 112, e.g., the second network node 112, or a another network node 111 ,

112, e.g., the first network node 111 , operating in the wireless communications network 100, b) confirmed by the wireless device 130, and c) fulfilling a condition.

In option a),“triggered” may be understood as instructed, or ordered.

Option b) may correspond to the case where the wireless device 130 may confirm a mobility and let this trigger reconfiguration.

With regards to condition c), the condition may be, for example, a quality and/or strength of the second link 142 exceeding a threshold, that is, good and/or good enough radio conditions according to a criterion, absence of user data transmission, time since L2 mobility, position in relation to transmission point, used transmission point, etc... Changing between some TPs may be understood to allow using the same RRC parameters, while others may require a more urgent change.

Traditional RRC mobility between cells may be understood to combine mobility signalling and an RRC parameter update into one procedure, while the embodiments herein may be understood to separate them into one mobility event, and one RRC parameter update.

Embodiments herein may be understood to relate to triggering this RRC parameter update.

The advantage afforded by performing Action 203 may be understood to be that the RRC parameter updates may be sent separately from the actual mobility signalling. Instead, the RRC parameter updates may be may be sent after. This may be understood to mean that in the layer 2 mobility, which may be also understood as mobility without RRC signalling, mobility signalling may be enabled to become much faster, with less interruption of data, and the call drop risk may be enabled to be reduced, as the lower layer mobility and the“later” RRC signalling may be understood to be introducing a lower risk for call drops.

For example, to further understand the benefits of embodiments herein, it may understood that layer 2 mobility may be performed by using DCI, user plane, and a MAC CE (control plane), e.g., by indicating an index of a new beam to the wireless device 130. Sending an index may be understood to simplify the amount of information that may otherwise need to be exchanged in order to execute a change of cells according to existing methods, e.g., using layer 3 mobility, which in turn allows the change of beam to take place faster. According to embodiments herein, a change of e.g., beam in the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 may still be executed with such simplified, layer 2 signalling. The additional information the wireless device 130 may need to operate normally in the new, second cell 122, may then be provided by the network node 111 , 112, by sending the message in Action 203. Hence, the benefits of simplified signalling of layer 2 mobility may also be used for inter-cell mobility, without negatively impacting the

communications of the wireless device 130 in the second cell 122.

Embodiments of a method, performed by the wireless device 130, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 3. The method may be understood to be for handling the inter-cell mobility, e.g., for handling the mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. The mobility is layer 2 mobility. The wireless device 130 operates in the wireless communications network 100.

The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. Several embodiments are comprised herein. In some embodiments all the actions may be performed. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other examples. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the wireless device 130 is depicted in Figure 3. Some actions may be performed in a different order than that shown in Figure 3. In Figure 3, optional actions are indicated with dashed boxes.

The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the network node 111 , 112, and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, Layer 2 mobility may be also referred to as mobility without RRC involvement, and/or mobility with delayed RRC involvement.

Action 301

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130, may, in this Action 301 , send, to the network node 111 , 112, the one or more measurement results of the second cell 122.

The sending in this Action 301 may be performed via the first link 141 , or the second link

142.

By sending the one or more measurement results, e.g., the measurement report, the wireless device 130 may then enable the network node 111 , 112 to determine whether or not the wireless device 130 may need to change from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 in Action 202.

In this optional Action 301 , the network node 111 , 112 may be understood to be for example, the source node or e.g., the entity controlling a UE-specific context for the wireless device 130.

Action 302

In this Action 302, the wireless device 130 receives the message from the network node 111 , 112 operating in the wireless communications network 100. The message initiates the update of the one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122.

The receiving in this Action 302 may be based on the sent one or more measurement results in Action 301 , as was explained earlier.

The message may be received in this Action 302 via the first link 141 , or the second link

142.

In some embodiments, the message may be one of: a) the RRC reconfiguration message, b) the paging message, c) the System information, and d) the RRC parameter update, obtained in response to the poll by the wireless device 130.

As described earlier, the message may be received based on the mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 being one of: a) triggered by the network node 111 , 112 or the another network node 111 , 112 operating in the wireless communications network 100, b) confirmed by the wireless device 130, and c) fulfilling the condition.

By receiving the message in this Action 302, the wireless device 130 may be enabled to perform mobility between different cells, with the simplicity and shortened latency of layer 2 mobility, e.g., by receiving an index, and without being negatively affected by a lack of update of RRC parameters, as may be necessary in the new cell, here the second cell 122.

In this Action 303, the network node 111 , 112 may be understood to be the target node, e.g., as directed by the entity controlling the UE-specific context for the wireless device 130.

Some embodiments herein will now be further described with some non-limiting examples.

Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the interactions between the network node 111 , 112 and the wireless device 130, according to embodiments of the methods described herein. In this Figure 4, the network node 111 , 112 may be understood to be for example, the source node or e.g., an entity controlling a UE-specific context for the wireless device 130. Note that in Figure 4, it is further indicated that after an RRC connection is established at 401 , the network node 111 , 112, indicated in Figure 4 as the“Network”, may use DCI to trigger the one or more measurements by the wireless device 130 at 402. The wireless device 130, indicated in Figure 4 as the“UE”, performs the one or more measurements, e.g., measurements of SSB and/or CSI-RS, as exemplified in Figure 4, and, according with Action 301 , sends the one or more measurement results of the second cell 122 to the network node 111 , 112, as a measurement report. The network node 111 , 112 receives the report according to Action 201 , and decides to change TRP, according to Action 202. The network node 111 ,

112 may determine also, in this Action 202, if the new TRP is in a new cell, in examples herein, the second cell 122. If the answer is yes, the new TRP is in the second cell 122, the network node 111 , 112 , in accordance with examples of Action 203, triggers the update of cell information for the wireless device 130 according to one of the four options described earlier. If the answer of Action 202 is no, the method may return to Action 402, by having the network node 111 , 112 trigger the performance of a new set of one or more measurements by the wireless device 130.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s), which may be summarized as follows. Embodiments herein enable the update of RRC parameters related to a cell-change, which may be a requirement for inter cell layer 2 mobility to work properly. Hence, inter cell mobility may be enabled with the advantages afforded by layer 2 mobility, such as simplicity and short latency, while avoiding the drawbacks of not performing update of RRC parameters in the new cell, to ensure its proper functioning in the new cell.

Figure 5 depicts two different examples in panels a) and b), respectively, of the arrangement that the network node 111 , 112 may comprise.

The network node 111 , 112 is for handling mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. That is, the network node 111 , 112 may be understood to be configured to handle mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. The mobility is configured to be layer 2 mobility. The network node 111 , 112 and the wireless device 130 are configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100.

In some embodiments, the network node 111 , 112 may comprise the following

arrangement depicted in Figure 5a. Several embodiments are comprised herein.

Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments In Figure 5, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the network node 111 , 112, and will thus not be repeated here. For example, Layer 2 mobility may be also referred to as mobility without RRC involvement, and/or mobility with delayed RRC involvement.

The network node 111 , 112 is configured to perform the sending of Action 203, e.g. by means of a sending unit 501 within the network node 111 , 112, configured to, send the message to the wireless device 130. The message is configured to initiate the update of the one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122.

The sending unit 501 may be a processor 505 of the network node 111 , 112, or an application running on such processor.

In some embodiments, the message may be configured to be one of: a) the RRC reconfiguration message, b) the paging message, c) the System information, and d) the RRC parameter update, in response to the poll by the wireless device 130.

The message may be configured to be sent based on the mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 is configured to be one of: a) triggered by the network node 111 , 112 or the another network node 111 , 112 operating in the wireless communications network 100; b) confirmed by the wireless device 130; and c) fulfilling the condition. The network node 111 , 112 may be configured to perform the receiving of Action 201 , e.g. by means of a receiving unit 502, configured to, receive, from the wireless device 130, the one or more measurement results of the second cell 122. The sending of the message may be configured to be based on the one or more measurement results configured to be received.

The receiving unit 502 may be a processor 505 of the network node 111 , 112, or an application running on such processor.

The network node 111 , 112 may be configured to perform the determining of Action 202, e.g., by means of a determining unit 503 within the network node 111 , 112, configured to, determine that the wireless device 130 is to change from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. The determining may be configured to be based on the one or more measurement results configured to be received. The sending may be further configured to be based on a result of the determining.

The determining unit 503 may be the processor 505 of the network node 111 , 112, or an application running on such processor.

Other units 504 may be comprised in the network node 111 , 112.

The embodiments herein in the network node 111 , 112 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processor 505 in the network node 111 , 112 depicted in Figure 5a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for

performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the network node 111 , 112. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the network node 111 , 112.

The network node 111 , 112 may further comprise a memory 506 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 506 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the network node 111 , 112.

In some embodiments, the network node 111 , 112 may receive information from, e.g., the another network node 111 , 112, or the wireless device 130, through a receiving port 507. In some embodiments, the receiving port 507 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in network node 111 , 112. In other embodiments, the network node 111 , 112 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 507. Since the receiving port 507 may be in communication with the processor 505, the receiving port 507 may then send the received information to the processor 505. The receiving port 507 may also be configured to receive other information. The processor 505 in the network node 111 , 112 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the another network node 111 , 112, or the wireless device 130, or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 508, which may be in communication with the processor 505, and the memory 506.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the sending unit 501 , the receiving unit 502, the determining unit 503, and the other units 504 described above may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processor 505, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application- Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the different units 501-504 described above may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processor 505.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the network node 111 , 112 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 509 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor 505, cause the at least one processor 505 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 111 , 112. The computer program 509 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 510. The computer-readable storage medium 510, having stored thereon the computer program 509, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processor 505, cause the at least one processor 505 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 111 , 112. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 510 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 509 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 509 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 510, as described above.

The network node 111 , 112 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the network node 111 , 112 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the another network node 111 , 112, the wireless device 130, or another structure. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In other embodiments, the network node 111 , 112 may comprise the following

arrangement depicted in Figure 5b. The network node 111 , 112 may comprise a processing circuitry 505, e.g., one or more processors such as the processor 505, in the network node 111 , 112 and the memory 506. The network node 111 , 112 may also comprise a radio circuitry 511 , which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 507 and the sending port 508. The processing circuitry 505 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 2 and/or Figures 8-12, in a similar manner as that described in relation to Figure 5a. The radio circuitry 511 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the another network node 111 , 112, the wireless device 130, or another structure. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the network node 111 , 112 operative to operate in the wireless communications network 100. The network node 111 , 112 may comprise the processing circuitry 505 and the memory 506, said memory 506 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 505, whereby the network node 111 , 112 is further operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the network node 111 , 112, e.g., in Figure 2, and/or Figures 8-12.

Figure 6 depicts two different examples in panels a) and b), respectively, of the

arrangement that the wireless device 130 may comprise.

The wireless device 130 is for handling mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. That is, the wireless device 130 may be understood to be configured to handle mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. The mobility is configured to be layer 2 mobility. The wireless device 130 is configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in Figure 6a.

Several embodiments are comprised herein. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. In Figure 6, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the wireless device 130, and will thus not be repeated here. For example, Layer 2 mobility may be also referred to as mobility without RRC involvement, and/or mobility with delayed RRC involvement.

The wireless device 130 is configured to perform the receiving of Action 302, e.g., by means of a receiving unit 601 within the wireless device 130, configured to, receive the message from the network node 111 , 112 configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100. The message is configured to initiate the update of the one or more RRC parameters based on the layer 2 mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122. The receiving unit 601 may be the processor 604 of the wireless device 130, or an application running on such processor.

In some embodiments, the message may be configured to be one of: a) the RRC reconfiguration message, b) the paging message, c) the System information, and d) the RRC parameter update, configured to be obtained in response to the poll by the wireless device 130.

The message may be configured to be received based on the mobility of the wireless device 130 from the first cell 121 to the second cell 122 is configured to be one of: a) triggered by the network node 111 , 112 or the another network node 111 , 112 operating in the wireless communications network 100; b) confirmed by the wireless device 130; and c) fulfilling the condition.

The wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the sending of Action 301 , e.g., by means of a sending unit 602 within the wireless device 130, configured to, send, to the network node 111 , 112, the one or more measurement results of the second cell 122. The receiving may be configured to be based on the one or more measurement results configured to be sent. The sending unit 602 may be a processor 604 of the wireless device 130, or an application running on such processor.

Other units 603 may be comprised in the wireless device 130.

The embodiments herein in the wireless device 130 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processor 604 in the wireless device 130 depicted in Figure 6a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the

embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for

performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the wireless device 130. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the wireless device 130.

The wireless device 130 may further comprise a memory 605 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 605 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the wireless device 130.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may receive information from, e.g., the network node 111 , 112, and/or the another network node 111 , 112, through a receiving port 606. In some embodiments, the receiving port 606 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in wireless device 130. In other embodiments, the wireless device 130 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 606. Since the receiving port 606 may be in communication with the processor 604, the receiving port 606 may then send the received information to the processor 604. The receiving port 606 may also be configured to receive other information.

The processor 604 in the wireless device 130 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the network node 111 , 112, the another network node 111 , 112, or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 607, which may be in communication with the processor 604, and the memory 605.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the receiving unit 601 , the sending unit 602 and the other units 603 described above may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and/or one or more processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processor 604, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate

components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

Also, in some embodiments, the different units 601-603 described above may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processor 604.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the wireless device 130 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 608 product, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor 604, cause the at least one processor 604 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. The computer program 608 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 609. The computer-readable storage medium 609, having stored thereon the computer program 608, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processor 604, cause the at least one processor 604 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 609 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 608 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 608 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 609, as described above.

The wireless device 130 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the wireless device 130 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the network node 111 , 112, the another network node 111 , 112, or another structure. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

In other embodiments, the wireless device 130 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in Figure 6b. The wireless device 130 may comprise a processing circuitry 604, e.g., one or more processors such as the processor 604, in the wireless device 130 and the memory 605. The wireless device 130 may also comprise a radio circuitry 610, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 606 and the sending port 607. The processing circuitry 604 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 3, and/or Figures 8-12, in a similar manner as that described in relation to Figure 6a. The radio circuitry 610 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the wireless device 130. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the wireless device 130 operative to operate in the wireless communications network 100. The wireless device 130 may comprise the processing circuitry 604 and the memory 605, said memory 605 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 604, whereby the wireless device 130 is further operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the wireless device 130, e.g., in Figure 3, and/or Figures 8-12.

As used herein, the expression“at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the“and” term, may be understood to mean that only one of the list of alternatives may apply, more than one of the list of alternatives may apply or all of the list of alternatives may apply. This expression may be understood to be equivalent to the expression“at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the“or” term.

When using the word "comprise" or“comprising” it shall be interpreted as non- limiting, i.e. meaning "consist at least of".

A processor may be understood herein as a hardware component.

The embodiments herein are not limited to the above described preferred embodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention.

Further Extensions And Variations

Figure 7: Telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments

With reference to Figure 7, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes telecommunication network 710 such as the wireless communications network 100, for example, a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network 711 , such as a radio access network, and core network 714. Access network 711 comprises a plurality of network nodes such as any, or both, of the network node 111 , 112 and the another network node 111 , 112. For example, base stations 712a, 712b, 712c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 713a, 713b, 713c. Each base station 712a, 712b, 712c is connectable to core network 714 over a wired or wireless connection 715. A plurality of user equipments, such as the wireless device 130 may be comprised in the wireless communications network 100. In Figure 7, a first UE 791 located in coverage area 713c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 712c. A second UE 792 in coverage area 713a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 712a. While a plurality of UEs 791 , 792 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 712. Any of the UEs 791 , 792 may be considered examples of the wireless device 130.

Telecommunication network 710 is itself connected to host computer 730, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 730 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 721 and 722 between telecommunication network 710 and host computer 730 may extend directly from core network 714 to host computer 730 or may go via an optional intermediate network 720. Intermediate network 720 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 720, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 720 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of Figure 7 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 791 , 792 and host computer 730. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 750. Host computer 730 and the connected UEs 791 , 792 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 750, using access network 711 , core network 714, any intermediate network 720 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTT connection 750 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which OTT connection 750 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, base station 712 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from host computer 730 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 791. Similarly, base station 712 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 791 towards the host computer 730.

In relation to Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 , and 12, which are described next, it may be understood that a UE is an example of the wireless device 130, and that any description provided for the UE equally applies to the wireless device 130. It may be also understood that the base station may be considered an example of any, or both, of the network node 111 , 112 and the another network node 111 , 112, and that any description provided for the base station equally applies to any, or both, of the network node 111 , 112 and the another network node 111 , 112.

Figure 8: Host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the wireless device 130, e.g., a UE, and any, or both, of the network node 111 , 112 and the another network node 111 , 112, e.g., a base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 8. In communication system 800, such as the wireless communications network 100, host computer 810 comprises hardware 815 including communication interface 816 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 800. Host computer 810 further comprises processing circuitry 818, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 818 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 810 further comprises software 811 , which is stored in or accessible by host computer 810 and executable by processing circuitry 818. Software 811 includes host application 812. Host application 812 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as UE 830 connecting via OTT connection 850 terminating at UE 830 and host computer 810. In providing the service to the remote user, host application 812 may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 850.

Communication system 800 further includes any, or both, of the network node 111 , 112 and the another network node 111 , 112, exemplified in Figure 8 as a base station 820 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 825 enabling it to communicate with host computer 810 and with UE 830. Hardware 825 may include communication interface 826 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 800, as well as radio interface 827 for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection 870 with the wireless device 130, exemplified in Figure 8 as a UE 830 located in a coverage area (not shown in Figure 8) served by base station 820. Communication interface 826 may be configured to facilitate connection 860 to host computer 810. Connection 860 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Figure 8) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, hardware 825 of base station 820 further includes processing circuitry 828, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 820 further has software 821 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system 800 further includes UE 830 already referred to. Its hardware 835 may include radio interface 837 configured to set up and maintain wireless connection 870 with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE 830 is currently located. Hardware 835 of UE 830 further includes processing circuitry 838, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 830 further comprises software 831 , which is stored in or accessible by UE 830 and executable by processing circuitry 838. Software 831 includes client application 832. Client application 832 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 830, with the support of host computer 810. In host computer 810, an executing host application 812 may communicate with the executing client application 832 via OTT connection 850 terminating at UE 830 and host computer 810. In providing the service to the user, client application 832 may receive request data from host application 812 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 850 may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application 832 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer 810, base station 820 and UE 830 illustrated in Figure 8 may be similar or identical to host computer 730, one of base stations 712a, 712b, 712c and one of UEs 791 , 792 of Figure 7, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 8 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 7.

In Figure 8, OTT connection 850 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host computer 810 and UE 830 via base station 820, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from UE 830 or from the service provider operating host computer 810, or both. While OTT connection 850 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection 870 between UE 830 and base station 820 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 830 using OTT connection 850, in which wireless connection 870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the latency, signalling overhead, and service interruption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness and extended battery lifetime. A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 850 between host computer 810 and UE 830, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 850 may be implemented in software 811 and hardware 815 of host computer 810 or in software 831 and hardware 835 of UE 830, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection 850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 811 , 831 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection 850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station 820, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 820. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer 810’s measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software 811 and 831 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 850 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.

The network node embodiments relate to Figure 2, Figure 4 and Figures 7-12.

The network node 111 , 112 may also be configured to communicate user data with a host application unit in a host computer 810, e.g., via another link such as 850.

The network node 111 , 112 may comprise an interface unit to facilitate communications between the network node 111 , 112 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the another network node 111 , 112, the wireless device 130, the host computer 810, or any of the other nodes. In some particular examples, the interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

The network node 111 , 112 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 5 or in Figure 8.

The wireless device 130 embodiments relate to Figure 3, Figure 4 and Figures 7-12.

The wireless device 130 may also be configured to communicate user data with a host application unit in a host computer 810, e.g., via another link such as 850.

The wireless device 130 may comprise an interface unit to facilitate communications between the wireless device 130 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the network node 111 , 112, the another network node 111 , 112, the host computer 810, or any of the other nodes. In some particular examples, the interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard. The wireless device 130 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 6 or in Figure

8.

Figure 9: Methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments Figure 9 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 7 and 8. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 9 will be included in this section. In step 910, the host computer provides user data. In substep 911 (which may be optional) of step 910, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 920, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 930 (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 940 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

Figure 10: Methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments Figure 10 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 7 and 8. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 10 will be included in this section. In step 1010 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1020, 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 1030 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

Figure 11 : Methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments Figure 11 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 7 and 8. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 11 will be included in this section. In step 1110 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1120, the UE provides user data. In substep 1121 (which may be optional) of step 1120, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep 1111 (which may be optional) of step 1110, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in substep 1130 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 1140 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 12: Methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments

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 7 and 8. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 12 will be included in this section. In step 1210 (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 1220 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1230 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

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

Further numbered embodiments

1. A base station configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE), the base station comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the network node 111 , 112.

5. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by any of the network node 111 , 112.

6. The communication system of embodiment 5, further including the base station.

7. The communication system of embodiment 6, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

8. The communication system of embodiment 7, 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.

11. A method implemented in a base station, comprising one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the network node 111 , 112.

15. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the network node 111 , 112.

16. The method of embodiment 15, further comprising:

at the base station, transmitting the user data.

17. The method of embodiment 16, 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.

21. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

25. A communication system including a host computer comprising:

processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),

wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s processing circuitry configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

26. The communication system of embodiment 25, further including the UE.

27. The communication system of embodiment 26, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

28. The communication system of embodiment 26 or 27, 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.

31. A method implemented in a user equipment (UE), comprising one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130. 35. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

36. The method of embodiment 35, further comprising:

at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

41. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

45. 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 UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s processing circuitry configured to: perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

46. The communication system of embodiment 45, further including the UE.

47. The communication system of embodiment 46, 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.

48. The communication system of embodiment 46 or 47, 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.

49. The communication system of embodiment 46 or 47, 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.

51. A method implemented in a user equipment (UE), comprising one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

52. The method of embodiment 51 , further comprising:

providing user data; and

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

55. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

56. The method of embodiment 55, further comprising:

at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

57. The method of embodiment 56, 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.

58. The method of embodiment 56, 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.

61. A base station configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE), the base station comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the network node 111 , 112. 65. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the network node 111 , 112.

66. The communication system of embodiment 65, further including the base station.

67. The communication system of embodiment 66, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

68. The communication system of embodiment 67, wherein:

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

71. A method implemented in a base station, comprising one or more of the actions described herein as performed by any of the network node 111 , 112.

75. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the wireless device 130.

76. The method of embodiment 75, further comprising:

at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

77. The method of embodiment 76, further comprising:

at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer.