TECHNIQUES FOR SUPPORTING INTER-PUBLIC LAND MOBILE NETWORK (PLMN) POSITIONING

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

[0001] Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

[0003] A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, is designed to provide higher data rates as compared to previous standards, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements. These enhancements, as well as the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technology, and high-density deployments for 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning.

SUMMARY

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

[0005] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes transmitting, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); receiving assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and obtaining positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0006] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a location server includes receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and transmitting assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0007] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE) includes transmitting, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); transmitting, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and obtaining positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0008] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a second user equipment (UE) includes receiving, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtaining positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and transmitting, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources. [0009] In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); receive, via the at least one transceiver, assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and obtain positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0010] In an aspect, a location server includes a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver,, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0011] In an aspect, a first user equipment (UE) includes a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and obtain positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0012] In an aspect, a second user equipment (UE) includes a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver,, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtain positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources.

[0013] In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for transmitting, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); means for receiving assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and means for obtaining positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0014] In an aspect, a location server includes means for receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and means for transmitting assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0015] In an aspect, a first user equipment (UE) includes means for transmitting, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); means for transmitting, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and means for obtaining positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0016] In an aspect, a second user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); means for obtaining positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and means for transmitting, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources.

[0017] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: transmit, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); receive assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and obtain positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0018] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a location server, cause the location server to: receive, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and transmit assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0019] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to: transmit, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); transmit, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and obtain positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0020] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a second user equipment (UE), cause the second UE to: receive, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtain positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and transmit, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources.

[0021] Other obj ects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0024] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example wireless network structures, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0025] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR), according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates an example Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) call flow between a UE and a location server for performing positioning operations.

[0028] FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate various scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example sidelink ranging and positioning procedure, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 9 shows an example wireless communications system, which may include a visited network, a home network, and third-party networks, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 10 illustrates an example network architecture supporting NR vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) proximity service (ProSe) services, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0033] FIGS. 11 to 14 illustrate example methods of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

[0035] The words “exemplary” and/or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and/or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0036] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0037] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non- transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

[0038] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset locating device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (loT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected with external networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and/or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.) and so on.

[0039] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and/or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while in other systems it may provide additional control and/or network management functions. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0040] The term “base station” may refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may be the serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station are to be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0041] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station may not support wireless access by UEs (e.g., may not support data, voice, and/or signaling connections for UEs), but may instead transmit reference signals to UEs to be measured by the UEs, and/or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UEs. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals to UEs) and/or as a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from UEs).

[0042] An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transports information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where it is clear from the context that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0043] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100, according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labelled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and/or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base stations 102 may include eNBs and/or ng-eNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to a NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0044] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server(s) 172 may be part of core network 170 or may be external to core network 170. A location server 172 may be integrated with a base station 102. A UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, a UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently serving that UE 104. A UE 104 may also communicate with a location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), and so on. For signaling purposes, communication between a UE 104 and a location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with the intervening nodes (if any) omitted from a signaling diagram for clarity.

[0045] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions that relate to one or more of transferring user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) over backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0046] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by a base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, or the like), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for distinguishing cells operating via the same or a different carrier frequency. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband loT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” may refer to either or both the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area of abase station (e.g., a sector), insofar as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of geographic coverage areas 110.

[0047] While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas 110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labelled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macro cell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0048] The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated for downlink than for uplink).

[0049] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and/or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

[0050] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102', employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/or increase capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0051] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a mmW base station 180 that may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over a mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed to limit the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0052] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, a network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use an array of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antenna array”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions, without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

[0053] Transmit beams may be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless of whether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of a given type means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0054] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to- interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction.

[0055] Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0056] Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlink beam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0057] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band.

[0058] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5GNR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5GNR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0059] With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0060] In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104/182 and the cell in which the UE 104/182 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104/182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104/182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0061] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”) and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 and/or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). The simultaneous transmission and/or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104/182 to significantly increase its data transmission and/or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz), compared to that attained by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0062] In the example of FIG. 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In an aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that a UE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and/or other UEs 104. A UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geo-location information from the SVs 112.

[0063] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and/or regional navigation satellite systems. For example an SBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and/or the like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0064] In an aspect, SVs 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more nonterrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, an SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element would in turn provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In that way, a UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signals 124) from an SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communication signals from a terrestrial base station 102.

[0065] Leveraging the increased data rates and decreased latency of NR, among other things, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies are being implemented to support intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications, such as wireless communications between vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)), between vehicles and the roadside infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)), and between vehicles and pedestrians (vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P)). The goal is for vehicles to be able to sense the environment around them and communicate that information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobile devices. Such vehicle communication will enable safety, mobility, and environmental advancements that current technologies are unable to provide. Once fully implemented, the technology is expected to reduce unimpaired vehicle crashes by 80%.

[0066] Still referring to FIG. 1, the wireless communications system 100 may include multiple V-UEs 160 that may communicate with base stations 102 over communication links 120 using the Uu interface (i. e. , the air interface between a UE and a base station). V-UEs 160 may also communicate directly with each other over a wireless sidelink 162, with a roadside unit (RSU) 164 (a roadside access point) over a wireless sidelink 166, or with sidelink-capable UEs 104 over a wireless sidelink 168 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or just “sidelink”) is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the communication needing to go through a base station. Sidelink communication may be unicast or multicast, and may be used for device- to-device (D2D) media-sharing, V2V communication, V2X communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of V-UEs 160 utilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102 or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 102. In some cases, groups of V-UEs 160 communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each V-UE 160 transmits to every other V- UE 160 in the group. In some cases, a base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are carried out between V-UEs 160 without the involvement of a base station 102.

[0067] In an aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may operate over a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and/or infrastructure access points, as well as other RATs. A “medium” may be composed of one or more time, frequency, and/or space communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs.

[0068] In an aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be cV2X links. A first generation of cV2X has been standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also enables device-to-device communications. In the U.S. and Europe, cV2X is expected to operate in the licensed ITS band in sub-6GHz. Other bands may be allocated in other countries. Thus, as a particular example, the medium of interest utilized by sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS frequency band of sub-6GHz. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this frequency band or cellular technology.

[0069] In an aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) links. DSRC is a one-way or two-way short-range to medium-range wireless communication protocol that uses the wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE) protocol, also known as IEEE 802. l ip, for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.1 Ip is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard and operates in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz (5.85-5.925 GHz) in the U.S. In Europe, IEEE 802.1 Ip operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875 - 5.905 MHz). Other bands may be allocated in other countries. The V2V communications briefly described above occur on the Safety Channel, which in the U.S. is typically a 10 MHz channel that is dedicated to the purpose of safety. The remainder of the DSRC band (the total bandwidth is 75 MHz) is intended for other services of interest to drivers, such as road rules, tolling, parking automation, etc. Thus, as a particular example, the mediums of interest utilized by sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS frequency band of 5.9 GHz.

[0070] Alternatively, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, in particular those employing small cell access points, have recently extended operation into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notably IEEE 802.1 lx WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and so on.

[0071] Communications between the V-UEs 160 are referred to as V2V communications, communications between the V-UEs 160 and the one or more RSUs 164 are referred to as V2I communications, and communications between the V-UEs 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where the UEs 104 are P-UEs) are referred to as V2P communications. The V2V communications between V-UEs 160 may include, for example, information about the position, speed, acceleration, heading, and other vehicle data of the V-UEs 160. The V2I information received at a V-UE 160 from the one or more RSUs 164 may include, for example, road rules, parking automation information, etc. The V2P communications between a V-UE 160 and a UE 104 may include information about, for example, the position, speed, acceleration, and heading of the V-UE 160 and the position, speed (e.g., where the UE 104 is carried by a user on a bicycle), and heading of the UE 104.

[0072] Note that although FIG. 1 only illustrates two of the UEs as V-UEs (V-UEs 160), any of the illustrated UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190) may be V-UEs. In addition, while only the V-UEs 160 and a single UE 104 have been illustrated as being connected over a sidelink, any of the UEs illustrated in FIG. 1, whether V-UEs, P-UEs, etc., may be capable of sidelink communication. Further, although only UE 182 was described as being capable of beam forming, any of the illustrated UEs, including V-UEs 160, may be capable of beam forming. Where V-UEs 160 are capable of beam forming, they may beam form towards each other (i.e., towards other V-UEs 160), towards RSUs 164, towards other UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190), etc. Thus, in some cases, V-UEs 160 may utilize beamforming over sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0073] The wireless communications system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that connects indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In the example of FIG. 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on. As another example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be sidelinks, as described above with reference to sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0074] FIG. 2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212, (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) which operate cooperatively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210 and specifically to the user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Further, ng-eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0075] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for UE(s) 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server). [0076] FIG. 2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 250. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions, provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions, provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location services management for regulatory services, transport for location services messages between the UE 204 and a location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transport for location services messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionalities for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0077] Functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra-/inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink/ downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers” to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support transfer of location services messages over a user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as an SLP 272.

[0078] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF 262 to route traffic to the proper destination, control of part of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface over which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the Ni l interface.

[0079] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages and not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with UEs 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) over a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and/or data like the transmission control protocol (TCP) and/or IP).

[0080] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and/or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and/or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. As such, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client. The third- party server 274 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. [0081] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the “N2” interface, and the interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. The gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via backhaul connections 223, referred to as the “Xn-C” interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referred to as the “Uu” interface.

[0082] The functionality of a gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. A gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes the base station functions of transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like, except for those functions allocated exclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally host the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. A gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layer of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “Fl” interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of a gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission/reception. The interface between a gNB-DU 228 and a gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the “Fx” interface. Thus, a UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with a gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with a gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0083] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent from the NG-RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses in a system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. For example, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicate via different technologies.

[0084] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, and/or the like. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., some set of time/frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0085] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each also include, at least in some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and/or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0086] The UE 302 and the base station 304 also include, at least in some cases, satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and/or measuring satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), QuasiZenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and/or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations of the UE 302 and the base station 304, respectively, using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm. [0087] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ the one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ the one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base station 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0088] A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at the same time. A wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements. [0089] As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may generally be characterized as “a transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers will generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereas wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will generally relate to signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0090] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. The processors 332, 384, and 394 may therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0091] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on). The memories 340, 386, and 396 may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include positioning component 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The positioning component 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the positioning component 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning component 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locations of the positioning component 342, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, the one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations of the positioning component 388, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the memory 386, the one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations of the positioning component 398, which may be, for example, part of the one or more network transceivers 390, the memory 396, the one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0092] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and/or the satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and/or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0093] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 providing means for providing indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to a user and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces. [0094] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0095] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement Layer-1 (LI) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0096] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Layer- 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the one or more processors 332, which implements Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

[0097] In the uplink, the one or more processors 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0098] Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0099] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s) 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0100] The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 384.

[0101] In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0102] For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and/or the network entity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, various components in FIGS. 3A to 3C are optional in alternative configurations and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, costs, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in case of FIG. 3 A, a particular implementation of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth capability without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor(s) 344, and so on. In another example, in case of FIG. 3B, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite receiver 370, and so on. For brevity, illustration of the various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but would be readily understandable to one skilled in the art.

[0103] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other over data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may form, or be part of, a communication interface of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may provide communication between them.

[0104] The components of FIGS. 3 A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3 A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and/or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and/or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and/or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a network entity,” etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and/or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as the processors 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memories 340, 386, and 396, the positioning component 342, 388, and 398, etc. [0105] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be distinct from a network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently from the base station 304 (e.g., over a non-cellular communication link, such as WiFi).

[0106] NR supports a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. FIG. 4 illustrates examples of various positioning methods, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, illustrated by scenario 410, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives the identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity (e.g., the UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the UE’s location.

[0107] For DL-AoD positioning, illustrated by scenario 420, the positioning entity uses a measurement report from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

[0108] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, a UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals that are measured by a reference base station and a plurality of non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time (referred to as the relative time of arrival (RTOA)) of the reference signal(s) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the locations and relative timing of the involved base stations. Based on the reception-to-reception (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE using TDOA.

[0109] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from a UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angle(s) of the receive beam(s) to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the base station(s), the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0110] Downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round-trip-time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as “multi-cell RTT” and “multi-RTT”). In an RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) transmits a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or base station), which transmits a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is referred to as a reception-to-transmission (Rx- Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement may be made, or may be adjusted, to include only a time difference between nearest slot boundaries for the received and transmitted signals. Both entities may then send their Rx-Tx time difference measurement to a location server (e.g., an LMF 270), which calculates the round trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined from the RTT and the known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For multi- RTT positioning, illustrated by scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs an RTT positioning procedure with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on distances to, and the known locations of, the second entities. RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy, as illustrated by scenario 440.

[0111] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, the timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighbor base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base station(s).

[0112] To assist positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include identifiers of the base stations (or the cells/TRPs of the base stations) from which to measure reference signals, the reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive slots including PRS, periodicity of the consecutive slots including PRS, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and/or other parameters applicable to the particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base stations themselves (e.g., in periodically broadcasted overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighbor network nodes itself without the use of assistance data.

[0113] In the case of an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty, or search window, around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be +/- 500 microseconds (ps). In some cases, when any of the resources used for the positioning measurement are in FR1, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be +/- 32 ps. In other cases, when all of the resources used for the positioning measurement(s) are in FR2, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be +/- 8 ps.

[0114] A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, or the like. A location estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may be civic and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of a location. A location estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location or defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with some specified or default level of confidence).

[0115] FIG. 5 illustrates an example Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) procedure 500 between a UE 504 and a location server (illustrated as a location management function (LMF) 570) for performing positioning operations. As illustrated in FIG. 5, positioning of the UE 504 is supported via an exchange of LPP messages between the UE 504 and the LMF 570. The LPP messages may be exchanged between UE 504 and the LMF 570 via the UE’s 504 serving base station (illustrated as a serving gNB 502) and a core network (not shown). The LPP procedure 500 may be used to position the UE 504 in order to support various location-related services, such as navigation for UE 504 (or for the user of UE 504), or for routing, or for provision of an accurate location to a public safety answering point (PSAP) in association with an emergency call from UE 504 to a PSAP, or for some other reason. The LPP procedure 500 may also be referred to as a positioning session, and there may be multiple positioning sessions for different types of positioning methods (e.g., downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), round-trip-time (RTT), enhanced cell identity (E-CID), etc.).

[0116] Initially, the UE 504 may receive a request for its positioning capabilities from the LMF 570 at stage 510 (e.g., an LPP Request Capabilities message). At stage 520, the UE 504 provides its positioning capabilities to the LMF 570 relative to the LPP protocol by sending an LPP Provide Capabilities message to LMF 570 indicating the position methods and features of these position methods that are supported by the UE 504 using LPP. The capabilities indicated in the LPP Provide Capabilities message may, in some aspects, indicate the type of positioning the UE 504 supports (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E- CID, etc.) and may indicate the capabilities of the UE 504 to support those types of positioning.

[0117] Upon reception of the LPP Provide Capabilities message, at stage 520, the LMF 570 determines to use a particular type of positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based on the indicated type(s) of positioning the UE 504 supports and determines a set of one or more transmission-reception points (TRPs) from which the UE 504 is to measure downlink positioning reference signals or towards which the UE 504 is to transmit uplink positioning reference signals. At stage 530, the LMF 570 sends an LPP Provide Assistance Data message to the UE 504 identifying the set of TRPs. [0118] In some implementations, the LPP Provide Assistance Data message at stage 530 may be sent by the LMF 570 to the UE 504 in response to an LPP Request Assistance Data message sent by the UE 504 to the LMF 570 (not shown in FIG. 5). An LPP Request Assistance Data message may include an identifier of the UE’s 504 serving TRP and a request for the positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration of neighboring TRPs.

[0119] At stage 540, the LMF 570 sends a request for location information to the UE 504. The request may be an LPP Request Location Information message. This message usually includes information elements defining the location information type, desired accuracy of the location estimate, and response time (i. e. , desired latency). Note that a low latency requirement allows for a longer response time while a high latency requirement requires a shorter response time. However, a long response time is referred to as high latency and a short response time is referred to as low latency.

[0120] Note that in some implementations, the LPP Provide Assistance Data message sent at stage 530 may be sent after the LPP Request Location Information message at 540 if, for example, the UE 504 sends a request for assistance data to LMF 570 (e.g., in an LPP Request Assistance Data message, not shown in FIG. 5) after receiving the request for location information at stage 540.

[0121] At stage 550, the UE 504 utilizes the assistance information received at stage 530 and any additional data (e.g., a desired location accuracy or a maximum response time) received at stage 540 to perform positioning operations (e.g., measurements of DL-PRS, transmission of UL-PRS, etc.) for the selected positioning method.

[0122] At stage 560, the UE 504 may send an LPP Provide Location Information message to the LMF 570 conveying the results of any measurements that were obtained at stage 550 (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx), etc.) and before or when any maximum response time has expired (e.g., a maximum response time provided by the LMF 570 at stage 540). The LPP Provide Location Information message at stage 560 may also include the time (or times) at which the positioning measurements were obtained and the identity of the TRP(s) from which the positioning measurements were obtained. Note that the time between the request for location information at 540 and the response at 560 is the “response time” and indicates the latency of the positioning session. [0123] The LMF 570 computes an estimated location of the UE 504 using the appropriate positioning techniques (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based, at least in part, on measurements received in the LPP Provide Location Information message at stage 560.

[0124] NR supports, or enables, various sidelink positioning techniques. FIG. 6A illustrates various scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. In scenario 610, at least one peer UE with a known location can improve the Uu-based positioning (e.g., multi-cell round-trip-time (RTT), downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), etc.) of a target UE by providing an additional anchor (e.g., using sidelink RTT (SL-RTT)). In scenario 620, a low-end (e.g., reduced capacity, or “RedCap”) target UE may obtain the assistance of premium UEs to determine its location using, e.g., sidelink positioning and ranging procedures with the premium UEs. Compared to the low-end UE, the premium UEs may have more capabilities, such as more sensors, a faster processor, more memory, more antenna elements, higher transmit power capability, access to additional frequency bands, or any combination thereof. In scenario 630, a relay UE (e.g., with a known location) participates in the positioning estimation of a remote UE without performing uplink positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission over the Uu interface. Scenario 640 illustrates the joint positioning of multiple UEs. Specifically, in scenario 640, two UEs with unknown positions can be jointly located in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions by utilizing constraints from nearby UEs.

[0125] FIG. 6B illustrates additional scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. In scenario 650, UEs used for public safety (e.g., by police, firefighters, and/or the like) may perform peer-to-peer (P2P) positioning and ranging for public safety and other uses. For example, in scenario 650, the public safety UEs may be out of coverage of a network and determine a location or a relative distance and a relative position among the public safety UEs using sidelink positioning techniques. Similarly, scenario 660 shows multiple UEs that are out of coverage and determine a location or a relative distance and a relative position using sidelink positioning techniques, such as SL-RTT.

[0126] NR is capable of supporting various sidelink ranging and positioning techniques. Sidelink-based ranging enables the determination of the relative distance(s) between UEs and optionally their absolute position(s), where the absolute position of at least one involved UE is known. This technique is valuable in situations where global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning is degraded or unavailable (e.g., tunnels, urban canyons, etc.) and can also enhance range and positioning accuracy when GNSS is available. Sidelink-based ranging can be accomplished using a three-way handshake for session establishment, followed by the exchange of positioning reference signals (PRS), and concluded by messaging to exchange measurements based on PRS transmission and receipt from peer UEs.

[0127] Sidelink ranging is based on calculating an inter-UE round-trip-time (RTT) measurement, as determined from the transmit and receive times of PRS (a wideband positioning signal defined in LTE and NR). Each UE reports an RTT measurement to all other participating UEs, along with its location (if known). For UEs having zero or inaccurate knowledge of their location, the RTT procedure yields an inter-UE range between the involved UEs. For UEs having accurate knowledge of their location, the range yields an absolute position. UE participation, PRS transmission, and subsequent RTT calculation is coordinated by an initial three-way messaging handshake (a PRS request, a PRS response, and a PRS confirmation), and a message exchange after PRS transmission (post PRS messages) to share measurements after receiving a peer UE’s PRS.

[0128] FIG. 7 illustrates an example sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 700, according to aspects of the disclosure. The sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 700 may also be referred to as a sidelink RTT positioning procedure. Sidelink ranging is based on calculating an inter-UE RTT measurement, as determined from the transmit and receive times of PRS (a wideband reference signal defined in LTE and NR for positioning). Each UE reports an RTT measurement to all other participating UEs, along with its location (if known). For UEs having zero or inaccurate knowledge of their location, the RTT procedure yields an inter-UE range between the involved UEs. For UEs having accurate knowledge of their location, the range yields an absolute location. UE participation, PRS transmission, and subsequent RTT calculation is coordinated by an initial three-way messaging handshake (a PRS request, a PRS response, and a PRS confirmation), and a message exchange after PRS transmission (post PRS messages) to share measurements after receiving a peer UE’s PRS.

[0129] The sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 700 (or session) begins with the broadcast of capability information by the involved peer UEs at stage 705. As shown in FIG. 7, one of the peer UEs, UE 204-1 (e.g., any of the sidelink-capable UEs described herein), is capable of being an anchor UE for the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 700, meaning it has a known location. As such, the anchor UE 204-1 includes an indication in its capability message(s) that it is capable of being an anchor UE for the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 700. The capability message(s) may also include the location of the anchor UE 204-1, or this may be provided later. The other UE, UE 204-2 (e.g., any other of the sidelink-capable UEs described herein), is a target UE, meaning it has an unknown or inaccurate location and is attempting to be located. Based on the capability information received from the anchor UE 204-1, indicating that the anchor UE 204-1 is an anchor UE, the target UE 204-2 knows that it will be able to determine its location based on performing the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 700 with the anchor UE 204-1.

[0130] After the initial capability exchange, the involved UEs 204 perform a three-way messaging handshake. At stage 710, the anchor UE 204-1 transmits a PRS request (labeled “PRSrequest”) to the target UE 204-2. At stage 715, the target UE 204-2 transmits aPRS response (labeled “PRSresponse”) to the anchor UE 204-1. At stage 720, the anchor UE 204-1 transmits a PRS confirmation to the target UE 204-2. At this point, the three-way messaging handshake is complete. Note that although FIG. 7 illustrates the anchor UE 204-1 initiating the three-way message handshake, it may instead be initiated by the target UE 204-2.

[0131] At stages 725 and 730, the involved peer UEs 204 transmit PRS to each other. The resources on which the PRS are transmitted may be configured / allocated by the network (e.g., one of the UE’s 204 serving base station) or negotiated by the UEs 204 during the three-way messaging handshake. The anchor UE 204-1 measures the transmission-to- reception (Tx-Rx) time difference between the transmission time of PRS at stage 725 and the reception time of PRS at stage 730. The target UE 204-2 measures the reception-to- transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference between the reception time of PRS at stage 725 and the transmission time of PRS at stage 730.

[0132] At stages 735 and 740, the peer UEs 204 exchange their respective time difference measurements in post PRS messages (labeled “postPRS”). If the anchor UE 204-1 has not yet provided its location to the target UE 204-2, it does so at this point. Each UE 204 is then able to determine the RTT between each UE 204 based on the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time difference measurements (specifically, the difference between the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Based on the RTT measurement and the speed of light, each UE 204 can then estimate the distance (or range) between the two UEs 204 (specifically, half the RTT measurement multiplied by the speed of light). Since the target UE 204-2 also has the absolute location (e.g., geographic coordinates) of the anchor UE 204-1, the target UE 204-2 can use that location and the distance to the anchor UE 204-1 to determine its own absolute location.

[0133] Note that while FIG. 7 illustrates two UEs 204, a UE may perform, or attempt to perform, the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 700 with multiple UEs.

[0134] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating an example frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communications technologies may have different frame structures and/or different channels.

[0135] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. Unlike LTE, however, NR has an option to use OFDM on the uplink as well. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kilohertz (kHz) and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal FFT size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0136] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (p), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (p=0), 30 kHz (p=l ), 60 kHz (p=2), 120 kHz (p=3), and 240 kHz (p=4) or greater may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS (p=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (ps), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (p=l), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 ps, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (p=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 ps, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120 kHz SCS (p=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 ps, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (p=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 ps, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0137] In the example of FIG. 8, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, and each subframe includes one time slot. In FIG. 8, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0138] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slot including one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 8, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0139] Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. FIG. 8 illustrates example locations of REs carrying a reference signal (labeled “R”). [0140] A collection of resource elements (REs) that are used for transmission of PRS is referred to as a “PRS resource.” The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and ‘N’ (such as 1 or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0141] The transmission of a PRS resource within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as the “comb density”). A comb size ‘N’ represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency/tone spacing) within each symbol of a PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size ‘N,’ PRS are transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of a PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb- 12 are supported for DL-PRS. FIG. 8 illustrates an example PRS resource configuration for comb-4 (which spans four symbols). That is, the locations of the shaded REs (labeled “R”) indicate a comb-4 PRS resource configuration.

[0142] Currently, a DL-PRS resource may span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a fully frequency -domain staggered pattern. A DL-PRS resource can be configured in any higher layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbol of a slot. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are the frequency offsets from symbol to symbol for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 over 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1 }; 12-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of FIG. 8); 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb-12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4, 10, 2, 8, 5, H }.

[0143] A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS- ResourceRepetitionF actor”) across slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of a first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from 2 ^A p*{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, with p = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0144] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” also can be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.

[0145] A “PRS instance” or “PRS occasion” is one instance of a periodically repeated time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive slots) where PRS are expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion also may be referred to as a “PRS positioning occasion,” a “PRS positioning instance, a “positioning occasion,” “a positioning instance,” a “positioning repetition,” or simply an “occasion,” an “instance,” or a “repetition.”

[0146] A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer” or “PFL”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb-size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter “ARFCN-ValueNR” (where “ARFCN” stands for “absolute radiofrequency channel number”) and is an identifier/code that specifies a pair of physical radio channel used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets may be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0147] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat like the concept of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but different in that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or a macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it sends the network its positioning capabilities, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, a UE may indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0148] Note that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” generally refer to specific reference signals that are used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to, PRS as defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. In addition, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may refer to downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If needed to further distinguish the type of PRS, a downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as a “DL-PRS,” an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., an SRS-for-positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as an “UL-PRS,” and a sidelink positioning reference signal may be referred to as an “SL-PRS.” In addition, for signals that may be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and/or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), the signals may be prepended with “DL,” “UL,” or “SL” to distinguish the direction. For example, “UL-DMRS” is different from “DL-DMRS.”

[0149] FIG. 9 shows an example wireless communications system 900, which may include a visited (or neighbor) network 902, a home network 904, and third-party networks 906, according to aspects of the disclosure. The visited network 902 may be referred to as a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN). The home network 904 may be referred to as a home PLMN (HPLMN). Visited network 902 may be a serving network for a UE 204, which may be roaming from its home network 904.

[0150] A PLMN is a combination of wireless communication services offered by a specific operator (e.g., Verizon®, AT&T®, T-Mobile®, etc.) in a specific country. A PLMN typically consists of several cellular technologies, such as GSM/2G, UMTS/3G, LTE/4G, and/or NR/5G, offered by a single operator within a given country, often referred to as a cellular network. A PLMN typically offers the following services to a mobile subscriber: (1) emergency calls to local fire, ambulance, and/or police stations, (2) voice calls to/from any other PLMN or public switched telephone network (PSTN), (3) SMS services to/from any other PLMN or session initiation protocol (SIP) service, (4) multimedia messaging service (MMS) services to/from any other PLMN or SIP service, (5) unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) for operator specific interactions, and (6) Internet data connectivity for arbitrary services.

[0151] Network operators operating in different geographic locations may use different HPLMN identifiers in these different geographic areas. Thus, when a UE 204 attaches to a PLMN other than its HPLMN or equivalent HPLMN (EHPLMN) or equivalent PLMN (EPLMN) for a particular HPLMN, the UE 204 may be considered as latched to a “roaming” PLMN, regardless of whether the roaming PLMN is a PLMN of a different operator or of the same operator. A “roaming” network is referred to as a visited PLMN. A visited PLMN allows the user to move outside of the home PLMN and use the resources of another operator's network. Visited network 902 and home network 904 may be the same network if the UE 204 is not roaming.

[0152] Visited network 902 may include a RAN 920, a mobile switching center (MSC) / visitor location register (VLR) 930 (which is also referred to herein as MSC 930), and other network entities not shown in FIG. 9 for simplicity. Visited network 902 may comprise one or more of a GSM network, an LTE network, a 5G network, etc. The RAN 920 may correspond to, for example, NG-RAN 220. The MSC 930 may perform switching functions for circuit-switched calls and may also route SMS messages. The VLR 930 may store registration information for UEs 204 that have registered with visited network 902.

[0153] Home network 904 may include a home location register (HLR) / authentication center (AC) 940 and other network entities not shown in FIG. 9 for simplicity. The HLR 940 may store subscription information for UEs, such as UE 204, that have service subscription with home network 904. The AC 940 may perform authentication for UEs having service subscription with home network 904.

[0154] Third-party networks 906 may include a PSTN 960 and possibly other network entities not shown in FIG. 9. The MSC 930 may route calls to the PSTN 960, which may provide telephone services for conventional wireline telephones, such as a telephone 980.

[0155] FIG. 9 shows only some of the network entities that may be present in visited network 902 and home network 904. For example, visited network 902 may include network entities supporting packet-switched calls and other services as well a location server to assist in obtaining UE location, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. That is, visited network 902 and home network 904 may be examples of the wireless network structure 250. [0156] UE 204 may have a service subscription with home network 904 and may be roaming in visited network 902, as shown in FIG. 9. UE 204 may receive signals from RAN 920 in visited network 902 or may communicate with the RAN 920 to obtain communication services. UE 204 may also communicate with home network 904 for communication services when not roaming (not shown in FIG. 9).

[0157] Inter-PLMN operation, as described above with reference to FIG. 9, is used in various radio resource management (RRM) protocols, such as roaming scenarios. Traditionally, inter-PLMN operation is only used for voice calls and data calls on the Uu link. However, there are discussions to extend inter-PLMN operation to sidelink use cases. This will provide both increased coverage and better system performance (e.g., throughput). In addition, with inter-PLMN sidelink peer UE selection, an anchor UE will have more options to select and establish sidelinks. Inter-PLMN operation is not free, however, and a UE needs to be subscribed to such a service.

[0158] FIG. 10 illustrates an example network architecture 1000 supporting NR V2X and LTE proximity service (ProSe) services, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown, various network functions illustrated in FIG. 10 correspond to network functions illustrated in FIG. 2B. In addition, FIG. 10 illustrates a policy control feature (PCF) 1066, which provisions the UE ProSe policy, and a direct discovery name management function (DDNMF) 1068, which provides discovery codes. The PCF 1066 also communicates with a ProSe application server 1070 (e.g., over an N6 interface). The links between various network functions are illustrated as dotted lines and labeled with the name of the interface used by the respective network functions to communicate over those links.

[0159] As noted above, inter-PLMN operations (including discovery procedures) are being discussed for sidelink use cases. This will necessitate changes to the PCF 1066 and DDNMF 1068, as the former would manage the monetary features and the latter would manage the associated discovery procedures.

[0160] An inter-PLMN positioning search capability is also being discussed as anew feature for UEs in future versions of 5G NR. A UE and network operator could also opt for this feature whenever needed. As would be appreciated, this feature may have a separate price control function.

[0161] The present disclosure provides various techniques for enabling inter-PLMN operations for positioning purposes. In an aspect, a location server may request, and a UE may provide, a set of parameters indicating the UE’s capability and/or subscription level to support inter-PLMN positioning over the Uu and sidelink interfaces. The parameters may include (1) the maximum number of PFLs the UE can measure across all PLMNs, (2) the maximum number of PFLs the UE can measure for a given PLMN (or per PLMN), (3) the maximum number of TRPs the UE can measure across all PLMNs, (4) the maximum number of TRPs the UE can measure for a given PLMN (or per PLMN), (5) the maximum number of PRS resource sets the UE can measure across all PLMNs, (6) the maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE can measure for a given PLMN (or per PLMN), (7) the maximum number of PRS resources the UE can measure across all PLMNs, and/or (8) the maximum number of PRS resources the UE can measure for a given PLMN (or per PLMN). These parameters may be requested and reported in, for example, LPP Request Capabilities and LPP Provide Capabilities messages, as at stages 510 and 520.

[0162] In an aspect, the location server may provide parameters to the UE related to the priority of the PLMN search for positioning purposes (e.g., to determine which nearby cells are available for measuring for positioning purposes). For example, the location server may provide a list of PFLs for each PLMN. The location server may then provide the priority of the PFL search (e.g., a priority associated with each listed PFL). For example, the location server may indicate that the PFLs associated with a given PLMN have a higher priority than the PFLs associated with other PLMNs (e.g., based on the UE only having a subscription to the given PLMN). Alternatively, the location server may indicate a priority of PLMNs available to the UE at its location. This information may be provided in, for example, an LPP Provide Assistance Data message, as at stage 530, or an LPP Request Location Information message, as at stage 540. Within the PLMN(s) selected based on the priority(ies) of the PFLs/PLMNs, the UE should prioritize measurements of PFLs, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources within each PLMN according to the legacy behavior.

[0163] In an aspect, a UE may report the potential PLMN candidates (other than the serving PLMN) at its location (and optionally to which it has subscriptions) in order to enable the location server to provide the appropriate assistance data (e.g., in an LPP Provide Assistance Data message, as at stage 530). For example, the location server may provide assistance data to the UE for only the PFLs, TRPs, etc. in its serving PLMN if the UE does not have a subscription service to permit it to use other PLMNs (at least for positioning purposes). Alternatively, if the UE has a subscription service to use other PLMNs (at least for positioning purposes), then the location server can provide assistance data for PFLs, TRPs, etc. in those other PLMNs. The UE will have the information regarding the available PLMNs at its location from performing RRM procedures at its current location. The UE may report this information to the location server in an LPP Provide Capabilities message, as at stage 520, or an LPP Request Assistance Data message (not shown in FIG. 5). The base stations within each PLMN can also provide (e.g., via NR positioning protocol type A (NRPPa)) the information about the potential PLMNs, PFLs, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and/or PRS resources to the location server to be included in the assistance data.

[0164] In an aspect, a UE may report additional information (parameters) to the location server related to performing inter-PLMN positioning operations (e.g., measurements of DL-PRS from TRPs in different PLMNs). For example, the UE may report (1) the number of PRS resources it needs to measure in order to report each PLMN, PFL, TRP, and/or PRS resource set, (2) whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for the serving PLMN and neighboring PLMN(s), (3) whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and neighboring PLMN(s), and/or (4) whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and neighboring PLMN(s). The UE may report this information to the location server in an LPP Provide Capabilities message, as at stage 520.

[0165] In an aspect, there may be an independent PCF policy for inter-PLMN positioning operation. For example, like voice and data services, a user and/or operator can subscribe to the inter-PLMN Uu and/or sidelink positioning service.

[0166] In an aspect, a UE can broadcast its inter-PLMN positioning capabilities to other UEs. For example, a sidelink or ProSe capable UE may broadcast whether or not it is capable of assisting other UEs with inter-PLMN positioning operations. Alternatively, the UE may indicate the set of PLMNs that it supports. In that way, UEs in different PLMNs may be able to engage in sidelink or ProSe positioning sessions with each other, rather than only UEs within the same PLMN being able to do so. The capability exchange (e.g., as at stage 705) and positioning operations (e.g., as at stages 710-735) may otherwise be the same.

[0167] FIG. 11 illustrates an example method 1100 of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method 1100 may be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein). [0168] At 1110, the UE transmits, to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE (e.g., in an LPP Provide Capabilities message, as at stage 520) to support positioning operations across a plurality of PLMNs (e.g., home network 904 and visited network 902). In an aspect, operation 1110 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0169] At 1120, the UE receives assistance data from the location server (e.g., in an LPP Provide Assistance Data message, as at stage 530), the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs (e.g., home network 904 and/or visited network 902) of the plurality of PLMNs. In an aspect, operation 1120 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0170] At 1130, the UE obtains positioning measurements (e.g., as at stage 550) of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE. In an aspect, operation 1130 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0171] FIG. 12 illustrates an example method 1200 of communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method 1200 may be performed by a location server (e.g., LMF 270).

[0172] At 1210, the location server receives, from a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE (e.g., in an LPP Provide Capabilities message, as at stage 520) to support positioning operations across a plurality of PLMNs (e.g., home network 904 and visited network 902). In an aspect, operation 1210 may be performed by the one or more network transceivers 390, the one or more processors 394, memory 396, and/or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0173] At 1220, the location server transmits assistance data to the UE (e.g., in an LPP Provide Assistance Data message, as at stage 530), the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs (e.g., home network 904 and/or visited network 902) of the plurality of PLMNs. In an aspect, operation 1220 may be performed by the one or more network transceivers 390, the one or more processors 394, memory 396, and/or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0174] FIG. 13 illustrates an example method 1300 of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method 1300 may be performed by a first UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0175] At 1310, the first UE transmits, to a second UE (e.g., any other of the UEs described herein), one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE (e.g., as at stage 705) to support positioning operations across a plurality of PLMNs. In an aspect, operation 1310 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0176] At 1320, the first UE transmits, to the second UE, one or more first PRS resources (e.g., as at stage 725 or 730). In an aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0177] At 1330, the first UE obtains positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE. In an aspect, operation 1330 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0178] FIG. 14 illustrates an example method 1400 of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method 1100 may be performed by a second UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0179] At 1410, the second UE receives, from a first UE (e.g., any other of the UEs described herein), one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE (e.g., as at stage 705) to support positioning operations across a plurality of PLMNs. In an aspect, operation 1410 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation. [0180] At 1420, the second UE obtains positioning measurements of one or more first PRS resources transmitted by the first UE. In an aspect, operation 1420 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0181] At 1430, the second UE transmits, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources (e.g., as at stage 725 or 730). In an aspect, operation 1430 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, memory 340, and/or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0182] As will be appreciated, technical advantages of the methods 1100 to 1400 include utilization of the positioning infrastructure across multiple PLMNs and enabling prioritization of different PLMN positioning infrastructures for the purpose of location determination.

[0183] In the detailed description above it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features of an individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, wherein each clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although each dependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clause aspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be readily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of a clause can be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0184] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses: [0185] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); receiving assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and obtaining positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0186] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmission-reception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0187] Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0188] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0189] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0190] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0191] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter- PLMN positioning operation service.

[0192] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0193] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0194] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, further comprising: transmitting, to the location server, the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE; or calculating the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources.

[0195] Clause I L A method of communication performed by a location server, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and transmitting assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0196] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmissionreception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0197] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 11 to 12, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0198] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 11 to 13, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0199] Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 11 to 14, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 11 to 15, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0201] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 11 to 16, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0202] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 11 to 17, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof. [0203] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 11 to 18, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources; and calculating the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources.

[0204] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 11 to 19, further comprising: receiving, from one or more base stations, information identifying PLMNs, PFLs, TRPs, PRS resource sets, PRS resources, or any combination thereof available to be included in the assistance data.

[0205] Clause 21. A method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); transmitting, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and obtaining positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0206] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0207] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 21 to 22, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE.

[0208] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 21 to 23, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0209] Clause 25. The method of clause 24, wherein the first UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0210] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 21 to 25, further comprising: transmitting, to the second UE, the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources to enable the second UE to determine a location of the second UE; calculating a location of the first UE based, at least in part, on the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources; or any combination thereof.

[0211] Clause 27. A method of wireless communication performed by a second user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtaining positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and transmitting, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources. [0212] Clause 28. The method of clause 27, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0213] Clause 29. The method of any of clauses 27 to 28, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE.

[0214] Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 27 to 29, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0215] Clause 31. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); receive, via the at least one transceiver, assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and obtain positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0216] Clause 32. The UE of clause 31, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmission-reception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0217] Clause 33. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 32, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof. [0218] Clause 34. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 33, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0219] Clause 35. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 34, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0220] Clause 36. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 35, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0221] Clause 37. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 36, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter- PLMN positioning operation service.

[0222] Clause 38. The UE of clause 37, wherein the UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0223] Clause 39. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 38, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0224] Clause 40. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the location server, the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE; or calculate the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources.

[0225] Clause 41. A location server, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver,, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0226] Clause 42. The location server of clause 41, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmissionreception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0227] Clause 43. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 42, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0228] Clause 44. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 43, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0229] Clause 45. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 44, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof. [0230] Clause 46. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 45, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0231] Clause 47. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 46, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0232] Clause 48. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 47, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0233] Clause 49. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 48, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver,, from the UE, positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources; and calculate the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources.

[0234] Clause 50. The location server of any of clauses 41 to 49, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver,, from one or more base stations, information identifying PLMNs, PFLs, TRPs, PRS resource sets, PRS resources, or any combination thereof available to be included in the assistance data.

[0235] Clause 51. A first user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and obtain positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0236] Clause 52. The first UE of clause 51, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs. [0237] Clause 53. The first UE of any of clauses 51 to 52, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE.

[0238] Clause 54. The first UE of any of clauses 51 to 53, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0239] Clause 55. The first UE of clause 54, wherein the first UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0240] Clause 56. The first UE of any of clauses 51 to 55, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the second UE, the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources to enable the second UE to determine a location of the second UE; calculate a location of the first UE based, at least in part, on the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources; or any combination thereof.

[0241] Clause 57. A second user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver,, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtain positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources.

[0242] Clause 58. The second UE of clause 57, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0243] Clause 59. The second UE of any of clauses 57 to 58, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE.

[0244] Clause 60. The second UE of any of clauses 57 to 59, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0245] Clause 61. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for transmitting, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); means for receiving assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and means for obtaining positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0246] Clause 62. The UE of clause 61, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmission-reception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0247] Clause 63. The UE of any of clauses 61 to 62, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0248] Clause 64. The UE of any of clauses 61 to 63, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0249] Clause 65. The UE of any of clauses 61 to 64, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0250] Clause 66. The UE of any of clauses 61 to 65, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0251] Clause 67. The UE of any of clauses 61 to 66, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter- PLMN positioning operation service.

[0252] Clause 68. The UE of clause 67, wherein the UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0253] Clause 69. The UE of any of clauses 61 to 68, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0254] Clause 70. The UE of any of clauses 61 to 69, further comprising: means for transmitting, to the location server, the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE; or means for calculating the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources.

[0255] Clause 71. A location server, comprising: means for receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and means for transmitting assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0256] Clause 72. The location server of clause 71, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmissionreception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof. [0257] Clause 73. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 72, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0258] Clause 74. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 73, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0259] Clause 75. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 74, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0260] Clause 76. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 75, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0261] Clause 77. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 76, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0262] Clause 78. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 77, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0263] Clause 79. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 78, further comprising: means for receiving, from the UE, positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources; and means for calculating the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources. [0264] Clause 80. The location server of any of clauses 71 to 79, further comprising: means for receiving, from one or more base stations, information identifying PLMNs, PFLs, TRPs, PRS resource sets, PRS resources, or any combination thereof available to be included in the assistance data.

[0265] Clause 81. A first user equipment (UE), comprising: means for transmitting, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); means for transmitting, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and means for obtaining positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0266] Clause 82. The first UE of clause 81, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0267] Clause 83. The first UE of any of clauses 81 to 82, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE.

[0268] Clause 84. The first UE of any of clauses 81 to 83, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0269] Clause 85. The first UE of clause 84, wherein the first UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0270] Clause 86. The first UE of any of clauses 81 to 85, further comprising: means for transmitting, to the second UE, the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources to enable the second UE to determine a location of the second UE; means for calculating a location of the first UE based, at least in part, on the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources; or any combination thereof.

[0271] Clause 87. A second user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); means for obtaining positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and means for transmitting, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources.

[0272] Clause 88. The second UE of clause 87, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0273] Clause 89. The second UE of any of clauses 87 to 88, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE. [0274] Clause 90. The second UE of any of clauses 87 to 89, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0275] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: transmit, to a location server, a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); receive assistance data from the location server, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs; and obtain positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable a determination of a location of the UE.

[0276] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 91, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmission-reception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0277] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 91 to 92, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0278] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 91 to 93, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0279] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 91 to 94, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0280] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 91 to 95, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0281] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 91 to 96, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0282] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 97, wherein the UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0283] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 91 to 98, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0284] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 91 to 99, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: transmit, to the location server, the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE; or calculate the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources.

[0285] Clause 101. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a location server, cause the location server to: receive, from a user equipment (UE), a first set of parameters indicating capabilities of the UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and transmit assistance data to the UE, the assistance data including a second set of parameters configuring the UE to measure a set of positioning resources across one or more PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0286] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 101, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a maximum number of positioning frequency layers (PFLs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PFLs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of transmission-reception points (TRPs) the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of TRPs the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources sets the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring across the plurality of PLMNs, a maximum number of PRS resources the UE is capable of measuring per PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0287] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 102, wherein the second set of parameters includes: a list of PFLs used in each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a priority associated with each PFL of each list of PFLs, a priority associated with each PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0288] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 103, wherein the first set of parameters includes: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the UE.

[0289] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 104, wherein the first set of parameters includes: a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PLMN of the one or more PLMNs, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PFL indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each TRP indicated in the assistance data, a number of PRS resources the UE needs in order to measure and report a positioning measurement for each PRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0290] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 105, wherein the first set of parameters includes: an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement periods for a serving PLMN and neighboring PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different measurement occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, an indication of whether the UE needs or supports different reporting occasions for the serving PLMN and the neighboring PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0291] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 106, wherein the UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0292] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 107, wherein the set of positioning resources comprises: one or more PFLs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more TRPs across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resource sets across the one or more PLMNs, one or more PRS resources across the one or more PLMNs, or any combination thereof.

[0293] Clause 109. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 108, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the location server, cause the location server to: receive, from the UE, positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources; and calculate the location of the UE based on the positioning measurements of the set of positioning resources.

[0294] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 101 to 109, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the location server, cause the location server to: receive, from one or more base stations, information identifying PLMNs, PFLs, TRPs, PRS resource sets, PRS resources, or any combination thereof available to be included in the assistance data.

[0295] Clause 111. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first user equipment (UE), cause the first UE to: transmit, to a second UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); transmit, to the second UE, one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources; and obtain positioning measurements of one or more second PRS resources transmitted by the second UE.

[0296] Clause 112. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 111, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs. [0297] Clause 113. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 111 to 112, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE.

[0298] Clause 114. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 111 to 113, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0299] Clause 115. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 114, wherein the first UE is subscribed to the inter-PLMN positioning operation service via a policy control feature (PCF).

[0300] Clause 116. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 111 to 115, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the first UE, cause the first UE to: transmit, to the second UE, the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources to enable the second UE to determine a location of the second UE; calculate a location of the first UE based, at least in part, on the positioning measurements of the one or more second PRS resources; or any combination thereof.

[0301] Clause 117. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a second user equipment (UE), cause the second UE to: receive, from a first UE, one or more parameters indicating a capability of the first UE to support positioning operations across a plurality of public land mobile networks (PLMNs); obtain positioning measurements of one or more first positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by the first UE; and transmit, to the first UE, one or more second PRS resources.

[0302] Clause 118. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 117, wherein the first UE and the second UE are in different PLMNs of the plurality of PLMNs.

[0303] Clause 119. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 117 to 118, wherein the one or more parameters include: identifiers of the plurality of PLMNs other than a serving PLMN of the first UE.

[0304] Clause 120. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 117 to 119, wherein the first UE is subscribed to an inter-PLMN positioning operation service.

[0305] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0306] Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0307] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0308] The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0309] In one or more example aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0310] While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.