Devices and methods for frequency hopping for Prach repetition

Description

1 / 39 Devices and methods for frequency hopping for Prach repetition FIELD

[001] The modalities of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication and, in particular, to devices, methods and a non-transient computer-readable means for frequency hopping for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition. BACKGROUND

[002] In communication technology, there is a constant evolution to provide efficient and reliable solutions for the use of wireless communication networks. Currently, efforts have been made to develop 5th generation (5G) or advanced 5G wireless systems. The new wireless systems can support various types of service applications for terminal devices.

[003] In the 5G New Radio (NR) system, a random access (RA) procedure is used for various purposes. The random access procedure is used by the UE on initial access to find a cell to camp, or used by an IDLE / INACTIVE Radio Resource Control (RRC) UE to switch to Connected RRC to initiate data transmission / reception, or used by a Connected RRC UE to re-establish lost UL synchronization, etc. SUMMARY

[004] In general, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide devices, methods and a computer-readable means for frequency hopping for PRACH repetition.

[005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device comprises a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to receive, via the transceiver, a configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition; and to perform a frequency hopping operation from the PRACH repetition to Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 10 / 62 2 / 39 each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) mapping units to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device comprises a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to transmit, via the transceiver, to a terminal device, a configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition; and to perform a frequency hopping operation of receiving the PRACH repetition for each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion mapping units based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[007] In a third aspect, a method implemented by a terminal device is provided. The method comprises receiving, via a transceiver, a configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition; and performing a frequency hopping operation of the PRACH repetition for each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) mapping units to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[008] In a fourth aspect, a method implemented by a network device is provided. The method comprises transmitting, via a transceiver, to a terminal device, a Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 11 / 62 3 / 39 configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition; and perform a PRACH repeat reception frequency hopping operation for each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) mapping units to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus for communication is provided. The apparatus comprises means for carrying out the method according to the third aspect above.

[010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus for communication is provided. The apparatus comprises means for carrying out the method according to the fourth aspect above.

[011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transient computer-readable medium is provided. The non-transient computer-readable medium has program instructions stored in it. The program instructions, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect above.

[012] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product comprises instructions. The instructions, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third or fourth aspect above.

[013] It is important to emphasize that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the modalities of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become easily understandable through the description below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 12 / 62 4 / 39

[014] Some embodiments will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[015] Figure 1A illustrates an example of a network environment in which some modalities of the present disclosure can be implemented; Figure 1B illustrates an example procedure for a 4-step NR random access procedure; Figure 1C illustrates an example of the general random access channel (RACH) resource structure; Figure 1D illustrates example associations between ROs and SSBs; Figure 2 illustrates a graphic representation of an example process according to some of the modalities of this disclosure; Figure 3 illustrates an example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some modalities of this disclosure; Figure 4A illustrates another example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some modalities of the present disclosure; Figure 4B illustrates an additional example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 5A illustrates another example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some modalities of the present disclosure; Figure 5B further illustrates an example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some of the modalities of this disclosure; Figure 6 illustrates an example of SSB-RO association during an SSB-RO association period; Figure 7 illustrates an example of SSB to RO mapping patterns without altering the legacy SSB to RO association; Figure 8 illustrates an example of SSB to RO mapping patterns with changes to the legacy SSB to RO association. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, p. 13 / 62 5 / 39 in accordance with some of the terms of this disclosure; Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented on a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented on a network device according to some embodiments of this disclosure; and Figure 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of this disclosure.

[016] In all drawings, the same reference numbers or similar numbers represent the same elements or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[017] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to its scope. The disclosure described in this document can be implemented in a number of ways beyond those described below.

[018] In the description and claims that follow, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this document have the same meaning commonly understood by a person with common knowledge in the field to which this disclosure pertains.

[019] References in this disclosure to a modality, an example modality, a modality, some modalities, and the like indicate that the modality(ies) described may include a specific feature, structure, or resource, but it is not necessary that each modality includes the specific feature, structure, or resource. In addition Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 14 / 62 6 / 39 Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same modality(ies). In addition, when a specific characteristic, structure, or feature is described in connection with a modality, it is considered to be within the knowledge of a person skilled in the art to affect that specific characteristic, structure, or feature in connection with other modalities, whether explicitly described or not.

[020] It should be understood that, although the terms first and second or similar terms may be used in this document to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may also be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may also be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the modalities. As used in this document, the term and / or includes any and all combinations of one or more of the terms listed.

[021] The terminology used in this document is intended only for the description of specific modalities and is not intended to limit exemplary modalities. As used in this document, the singular forms a, an and the should also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms includes, comprising, has, having, includes and / or including, when used in this document, specify the presence of the declared resources, elements and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other resources, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[022] As used in this document, the term communication network refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standards, such as 5G NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, p. 15 / 62 7 / 39 Wideband (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and so on. Furthermore, communications between a terminal device and a network device on the communication network may be carried out in accordance with any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of this disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will also be future-type communication technologies and systems into which this disclosure may be incorporated. This should not be seen as a limitation of the scope of this disclosure only to the aforementioned systems.

[023] As used in this document, the term network device generally refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device can access the communication network and receive services from it. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a nodeB (NodeB or NB), a radio access network node (RAN), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), an infrastructure device for a V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication, a transmit and receive point (TRP), a receive point (RP), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul node (IAB), a low-power node such as a femto-BS, a pico-BS, and so on, depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[024] As used in this document, the term terminal device generally refers to any device for Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, p. 16 / 62 8 / 39 end that is capable of wireless communication. By way of example, rather than a limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), an end-user device, a subscriber station (SS), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a smartphone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station,Laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device (e.g., a remote surgery device), an industrial device (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated process chain contexts), a consumer electronic device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms: terminal device, communication device, terminal, user equipment, and UE may be used interchangeably.

[025] As used in this document, the term resource, transmission resource, resource block, physical resource block, uplink resource or resource of Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 17 / 62 9 / 39 Downlink can refer to any resource, for example, a time-domain resource, a frequency-domain resource, a space-domain resource, a code-domain resource, or any other resource that enables communication, and the like, used to perform communication between a terminal device and a network device or between terminal devices. Hereafter, a resource in both the frequency and time domains will be used as an example of a transmission resource to describe some embodiments of this disclosure. Note that the embodiments of this disclosure apply equally to other resources in other domains.

[026] Figure 1A illustrates an example of a network environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The environment 100, which may be part of a communication network, comprises terminal devices and network devices.

[027] As illustrated in Figure 1A, the communication network 100 may comprise a terminal device 110 (hereinafter also referred to as user equipment 110 or UE 110). The communication network 100 may further comprise a network device 120. The network device 120 may manage a cell 101. The terminal device 110 and the network device 120 may communicate data and control information with each other within the cell's coverage area. A link from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is called a downlink (DL), while a link from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is called an uplink (UL).

[028] It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is for illustrative purposes only, without suggesting any limitations. System 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices adapted to implement embodiments of the present Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 18 / 62 10 / 39 disclosure. Although not shown, it would be understandable that one or more terminal devices might be located in environment 100.

[029] Communications on the 100 communication network may conform to any suitable standards, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), LTE, LTE Evolution, LTE Enhanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), and the like. In addition, communications may be carried out in accordance with communication protocols of any generation, currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include but are not limited to first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols.

[030] As discussed above, the random access procedure can be used for various purposes in the 5G NR system. For illustrative purposes only, reference will be made to Figure 1B, which illustrates an example procedure for the 4-step NR random access procedure.

[031] As illustrated in Figure 1B, in the NR 4-step random access procedure, the UE (e.g., terminal device 110) first transmits a preamble Msg1 to the gNB (e.g., network device 120) and then receives a Random Access Response (RAR) in Msg2, which may indicate preamble reception or provide information necessary for the transmission of Msg3. Msg3 and Msg4 are transmitted to resolve potential collisions due to simultaneous transmissions of the same preamble from different UEs.

[032] The transmission of PRACH Msg1 occurs on Channel occasions Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 19 / 62 11 / 39 Random Access (RACH) (ROs), each of which occupies one or more consecutive resource blocks. In the time domain, ROs are configured in each PRACH setup period, which contains a set of radio frames. Within a PRACH setup period, a subset of subframes is designated to contain a set of PRACH slots, and within each PRACH slot, there may be a set of RACH occasions available for PRACH Msg1 transmission.

[033] In addition, in the frequency domain, BS can configure frequency-domain multiplexed (FDMed) ROs, which are multiplexed in the frequency domain. The msg1-FDM signaling parameter is used to indicate the number of FDMed ROs in a time unit (or a time instance, for example, a slot or a sub-slot). The position of each PRACH occasion in the frequency domain is determined based on another signaling parameter, msg1-FrequencyStart, which indicates the offset of the lowest RO in the frequency domain relative to the Physical Resource Block (PRB) 0 of the UL Bandwidth Part (BWP).

[034] Figure 1C illustrates an example of the general structure of the RACH feature. In this document, a PRACH configuration period can contain 10 subframes, among which subframe #0 and subframe #6 contain PRACH slots. Each PRACH slot is configured with 2 ROs in the time domain and 4 ROs (msg1-FDM = 4) in the frequency domain.

[035] ROs may be associated with SSBs which may be associated with or transmitted with different beams. SSBs comprise the primary synchronization signal / secondary synchronization signal (PSS / SSS) and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) so that the UE synchronizes with the downlink (DL), obtains the cell identification (ID) and acquires system information. The UE will measure the channel status of each SSB, select one among them with good channel quality and transmit a Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 20 / 62 12 / 39 preamble in a RO associated with the SSB. The available SSB indices can be obtained from the system information.

[036] Figure 1D illustrates examples of associations between ROs and SSBs. The association of SSBs (beams) and ROs can be 1 to 1, i.e., one SSB is associated with one RO and one RO is associated with one SSB, for example, as illustrated in (a) of Figure 1D. The association of SSBs (beams) and ROs can be N to 1, i.e., more than one SSB is associated with one RO, for example, 2 to 1, as illustrated in (b) of Figure 1D. The association of SSBs (beams) and ROs can be 1 to N, i.e., a single SSB is associated with more than one RO. For example, in (c) of Figure 1D, one SSB could be associated with two FDMed ROs, and thus this is a 1 to 2 association. Furthermore, one SSB could be associated with two ROs in two different time units or instances.

[037] The association of SSBs (beams) and ROs may depend on the network configuration. This is determined by an SSB-PerRACH-Occasion signaling parameter, which indicates the number of SSBs mapped to a PRACH occasion. In the examples for each association type, as illustrated in Figure 1D, if 8 SSBs are assumed (0 to 7), the SSB-PerRACH-Occasion parameter = 1, 2, 1 / 2 in (a) / (b) / (c) of Figure 1D, respectively.

[038] The SSB-RO association is performed periodically in each SSB-RO association period. An association period is X times the PRACH setup period and contains one or more SSB-RO mapping cycles, where X denotes an integer equal to or greater than one. The SSB-RO association period consists of a sequence of ROs to which all available SSBs are mapped and may include one or more SSB-RO mapping cycles. The association period may refer to a period of repetition of the SSB-RO associations. The duration of the association period may be the minimum period such that, within the association period, each SSB is associated with Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, p. 21 / 62 13 / 39 at least one RO.

[039] Within a period of association, there may be some ROs that are not associated with any SSB. These ROS are unused ROs, i.e., ROs not used for any PRACH transmission.

[040] Figure 1E illustrates example associations between ROs and SSBs. As illustrated in Figure 1E, there are two periods of SSB-RO association, each comprising two SSB mapping cycles. There are two unused ROs in each association period.

[041] For example, a first SSB-RO association period (e.g., the one on the left in Figure 1E) comprises a cycle comprising the first RO associated with SSB 0, the third RO associated with SSB 1, the fifth RO associated with SSB 2, and the seventh RO associated with SSB 3. The first SSB-RO association period further comprises another cycle comprising the second RO associated with SSB 0, the fourth RO associated with SSB 1, the sixth RO associated with SSB 2, and the eighth RO associated with SSB 3. In the first SSB-RO association period, the ninth and tenth ROs are not used.

[042] Current 5G NR supports a non-repeatable preamble transmission. However, the inventor realized that the PRACH can be the bottleneck channel if a short PRACH format is used. Therefore, studies are being conducted on how to improve PRACH coverage. One efficient way is to support PRACH repetition, for example, having repeated PRACH transmissions with the same beam (i.e., on ROs associated with the same SSB) in each repetition.

[043] PRACH repetition cannot be transmitted on FDMed ROs in the same time instance, or should be avoided as much as possible. Otherwise, there will be little or no improvement in PRACH detection performance due to transmission power division on FDMed ROs in the same time instance.

[044] Furthermore, the invention notes that the frequency hopping Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 22 / 62 14 / 39 is an efficient method for improving the detection performance of a signal that is transmitted repeatedly due to the additional frequency diversity gain provided by frequency hopping. Frequency hopping can be considered in PRACH repetition, and the ROs for PRACH repetition can be configured at different frequency positions. In this disclosure, this can also be called RO hopping for PRACH repetition.

[045] In view of the above discussions, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide frequency hopping solutions for PRACH repetition. In one aspect of the solution of the present disclosure, a terminal device receives, via a transceiver, a configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition. The terminal device performs a frequency hopping operation of the PRACH repetition for each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) mapping units to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[046] In this way, the ROs for PRACH repeat can be configured in different frequency positions, thus improving the detection performance of a transmitted signal with PRACH repeat.

[047] The principles and implementations of the embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 2-11. It should be noted that the solutions proposed in this disclosure are described with reference to example methods and devices for illustrative purposes only; however, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to this and may be applied to other applications or scenarios with problems similar to XR applications. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, p. 23 / 62 15 / 39 EXAMPLE METHOD

[048] Figure 2 illustrates an example diagram that illustrates an example process 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, example 200 will be described with reference to Figure 1A.

[049] In example process 200, a network device 120 transmits 205 a configuration 202 for PRACH repetition to a terminal device 110. The configuration may indicate frequency hopping parameters for PRACH repetition. Correspondingly, terminal device 110 receives 210 the configuration 202 for PRACH repetition. Then, terminal device 110 performs 215 a frequency hopping operation of PRACH repetition for each of the SSB-to-RO mapping units based on the configuration. Each of the SSB-to-RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB-to-RO mapping cycle, including a set of ROs associated with SSBs. In addition, network device 120 performs 220 a frequency hopping operation of PRACH repetition for each of the SSB-to-RO mapping units based on the configuration.Each of the SSB-to-RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB-to-RO mapping cycle, including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[050] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 can determine a set of ROs for PRACH repetition, where each RO in the set of ROs is mapped to the same SSB. Terminal device 110 can determine the SSB-to-RO mapping unit for each RO in the set of ROs for PRACH repetition.

[051] For example, ROs configured for PRACH repetition are grouped into a plurality of sets, where each RO in a plurality of sets is mapped to the same SSB. For example, for a specific SSB 0, a first set of ROs might include RO#0 to RO#1, a second set of ROs might include Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 24 / 62 16 / 39 RO#2 and RO#3, and so on.

[052] Next, one or more sets of ROs are determined for PRACH repetition. Terminal device 110 can further determine which SSB-to-RO mapping unit each RO in such set(s) is associated with, where an RO can only be associated with one SSB-to-RO mapping unit. For example, for each of the first sets of ROs associated with SSB 0, the terminal device can determine an SSB-to-RO mapping unit with which the RO is associated.

[053] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine a frequency position of an RO in an SSB to RO mapping unit based on an index of the SSB to RO mapping unit.

[054] It is proposed that if frequency hopping is enabled for PRACH repetition, frequency hopping can be performed for every K SSB to RO mapping cycles. The value of K is either predefined, or configured (in the system information), or implicitly determined, where K >= 1. In addition, at least one frequency offset will be configured for the UEs for frequency hopping, based on which the UE can decide RO positions in each of the K SSB to RO mapping cycles in the frequency domain.

[055] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine the frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit from an initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit and a frequency offset based on the index of the SSB to RO mapping unit.

[056] In some modes, the initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit can be determined by at least one initial frequency position for the PRACH repeat. For example, the initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit can be Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 25 / 62 17 / 39 determined by at least msgl-FrequencyStart, which indicates the starting frequency position of the lowest RO in the frequency domain relative to the UL BWP PRB 0.

[057] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can be configured with a single frequency offset. Furthermore, when the index of the SSB to RO mapping unit is even, the terminal device 110 can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit. When the index of the SSB to RO mapping unit is odd, the terminal device 110 can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit and the single frequency offset. Note that, in, the operations can be performed in the opposite way. For example, when the index of the SSB to RO mapping unit is odd, the terminal device 110 can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit.When the SSB to RO mapping unit index is even, the 110 terminal device can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit and the single frequency offset.

[058] For example, only one frequency shift is configured for the UE, and the frequency hopping is performed at each SSB to RO mapping cycle, i.e., K is predefined or determined as 1. The SSB to RO mapping cycles are indexed. Indexing begins in the first SSB to RO mapping cycle, starting at frame #0. The frequency position of the ROs in each SSB to RO mapping cycle can be determined as follows: - For an even-indexed SSB to RO mapping cycle, i.e., mod(I_cycle, 2) = 0, the ROs in the mapping cycle start at the RO's initial frequency position (F_start). Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 26 / 62 18 / 39 is determined based on the configured msgl-FrequencyStart. I_cycle is the index of the SSB to RO mapping cycle. - For an odd-indexed SSB to RO mapping cycle, i.e., mod(I_cycle, 2) = 1, the ROs in the mapping cycle start F_start + offset or mod(F_start + offset, BWP_size), where offset is the frequency offset configured for RO hopping, and BWP_size is the number of ROs included in the active UL BWP.

[059] For illustrative purposes only, reference will be made to Figure 3 to describe an example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example, only one hopping offset is configured for the UE. The frequency hopping is performed at each mapping cycle K = 1. In the example in Figure 3, for an SSB to RO mapping cycle #n (n is an even number), the frequency position of the ROs starts at the configured msg1-FrequencyStart. For an SSB to RO mapping cycle #n+1, the frequency position of the ROs starts from the configured msg1-FrequencyStart + offset or mod (msg1-FrequencyStart + offset, BWP_size).

[060] For example, in Figure 3, an SSB to RO mapping cycle can be considered an SSB to RO mapping unit. If the UE selects SSB#1, the two ROs mapped to SSB#1 (i.e., the second ROs in each SSB to RO mapping cycle) are used for PRACH repetition, as shown in Figure 3. The two ROs can be in the same RO set for PRACH repetition.

[061] Figure 4A illustrates an example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example, only one hopping shift is configured for the UE. The RO hopping is performed at each K=1 mapping cycle, as shown in Figure 4A. In this example, Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 27 / 62 19 / 39 a mapping cycle from SSB to RO can be considered the unit of mapping from SSB to RO.

[062] In the example in Figure 4A, for the SSB to RO mapping cycle #n (n is an even number), the frequency position of the ROs starts at the configured msg1-FrequencyStart. For the SSB to RO mapping cycle #n+1, the frequency position of the ROs starts from the configured msg1-FrequencyStart + offset or mod (msg1-FrequencyStart + offset, BWP_size). For example, if the UE selects SSB#1, the two ROs mapped to SSB#1 are used for PRACH repetition, as shown in Figure 4A.

[063] In another example, only one frequency shift is set for the UE, but the frequency hopping is performed every more than one SSB to RO mapping cycle, i.e., K>1. In this example, the K SSB to RO mapping cycles can be taken as a mapping unit.

[064] The SSB to RO mapping units can be indexed and the frequency position of the ROs in each SSB to RO mapping unit can be determined based on the indices of the SSB to RO mapping units as follows: - For an even-indexed SSB to RO mapping unit, i.e., mod(I_unit, 2) = 0, the ROs in the mapping cycle start at F_start, which is determined based on the configured msg1FrequencyStart. - For an SSB to RO mapping unit with an odd index, i.e., mod(I_unit, 2) = 1, the ROs in the mapping cycle start at F_start + offset or mod(F_start + offset, BWP_size).

[065] Figure 4B illustrates a further example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example, only one hopping shift is configured for UE. The RO hopping is Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 28 / 62 20 / 39 performed every K=2 mapping cycles, as shown in Figure 4B. For example, if the UE selects SSB#1, the four ROs mapped to SSB#1 are used for PRACH repetition, as shown in Figure 4B.

[066] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can be configured with at least two offsets. In addition, the terminal device 110 can further determine the frequency position from a result of modifying the SSB to RO mapping unit index by a number of at least two offsets and the initial frequency position for PRACH repetition.

[067] From the UE's point of view, the UE needs to determine the frequency position of the ROs involved in the PRACH repetition. For the examples described above, from the configuration, the initial RO is always included in an SSB-to-RO mapping cycle or mapping unit with an even index, for example, unit n, where n = 0, 2, .... Therefore, the UE determines the frequency position of the initial RO based on the configured msg1-FrequencyStart. If there are ROs included in the next SSB-to-RO mapping cycle or mapping unit with an odd index, for example, unit #n+1, the UE determines the frequency position of the ROs based on the configured msg1-FrequencyStart + offset or mod (msg1-FrequencyStart + offset, BWP_size).

[068] For example, suppose more than one frequency shift is configured for the UE, the frequency hopping is performed every K SSB to RO mapping cycles, K>1 and the K SSB to RO mapping cycles can be taken as a mapping unit. The BS configures L frequency shifts, where L >= 2. The frequency position of the ROs in each SSB to RO mapping unit can be determined as follows: For a mapping unit that satisfies mod (I_unit, L) Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 29 / 62 21 / 39 = 0, as the mapping unit's ROs initiate F_start, which is determined from the configured msg1-FrequencyStart. For a mapping unit that satisfies mod (I_unit, L) = 1, the mapping unit's ROs start at F_start + offset_1, or mod (F_start + offset_1, size_BWP). For a mapping unit that satisfies mod (I_unit, L) = N_offset-1, the mapping unit's ROs start at F_start + offset_L-1, or mod (F_start+offset_L-1, size_BWP).

[069] In some modes, if RO hopping is configured, indexing of SSB mapping cycles to RO or mapping units will start from the first mapping cycle or mapping of frame 0. In some other modes, indexing of SSB mapping cycles to RO or mapping units is started or restarted in each SSB-RO association period. For example, PRACH repetition occurs between SSB-RO mapping cycles within each SSB-RO association period.

[070] In some modes, the frequency hopping operation is performed based on a number of SSB to RO mapping cycles in the SSB to RO mapping unit and a configured number of PRACH repetitions.

[071] In some embodiments, the 110 terminal device may perform the frequency hopping operation when the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is less than or equal to the configured number of PRACH repetitions. Alternatively, the 110 terminal device may cancel the frequency hopping operation when the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is greater than the configured number of PRACH repetitions.

[072] In some modes, the K value depends on the configured number of PRACH repetitions. If the determined K is greater Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 30 / 62 22 / 39 which is the configured number of PRACH repetitions, the frequency jump will not be performed in this case.

[073] In some embodiments, a number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in an SSB-to-RO mapping unit is predefined or configured. Or, additionally or commutatively, it may be determined by at least one of the following: a number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs, a number of frequency-domain multiplexed ROs, and a number of SSBs mapped to a single RO.

[074] For cases where K is implicitly determined, it is proposed that K be determined by at least one of the parameters N_SSB, msg1-FDM and SSB-perRach-Occasion, where N_SSB is the number of SSBs configured for RO mapping, msg-FDM is the number of FDMed ROs in the frequency domain and SSB-perRach-Occasion configures the number of SSBs that are mapped to a RACH occasion.

[075] This proposal is based on the principle that PRACH repetition cannot be performed on FDMed ROs, or PRACH repetition should be avoided for transmission on FDMed ROs as much as possible. As a result, frequency hopping should not be performed between FDMed ROs in the same time instance that are associated with the same SSB.

[076] Based on this, the value of K is determined based on whether the number of ROs per mapping cycle (which can be calculated by N_SSB / SSB-perRach-Occasion, as below) is greater than the number of FDMed ROs or not.

[077] In some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be less than or equal to the number of ROs in the frequency domain. The terminal device 110 may further determine the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as a ratio between the number of multiplexed ROs in the frequency domain and the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 31 / 62 23 / 39

[078] If the number of ROs per mapping cycle (hereinafter also referred to as M) is less than the number of FDMed ROs, there will be FDMed ROs mapped to the same SSB, for example, as shown in Figure 5A. Frequency hopping cannot be performed between these FDMed ROs (or between the two mapping cycles that include these ROs). Therefore, mapping cycles containing FDMed ROs in the same time instance that are mapped to the same SSB must be grouped to form a mapping unit for the hopping operation.

[079] If M <= msg1-FDM, which means that the number of ROs involved in a mapping cycle is less than the number of FDMed ROs, K = ceil (msg1-FDM / M).

[080] In some modes, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be equal to the number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs. As shown in Figures 3 and 4A, N = 4 and message 1-FDM = 1 and in this case the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle is equal to 4.

[081] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB to RO mapping unit may be equal to the ratio between the number of SSBs configured for RO mapping and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO. As shown in Figure 4B, for example, N = 4 and message 1-FDM = 1 and in this case the number of ROs per SSB to RO mapping cycle is equal to 4.

[082] In some modes, M = N_SSB / SSB-perRACH-Occasion, that is, M is the number of ROs that are included in an SSB to RO mapping cycle.

[083] If the number of ROs per mapping cycle M is greater than the number of FDMed ROs, there may or may not be FDMed ROs mapped to the same SSB in the same time instance. This depends on the msg1-FDM and SSB-perRach-Occasion configuration.

[084] In some modalities, the number of ROs per cycle of Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, p. 32 / 62 24 / 39 SSB to RO mapping can be greater than the number of FDMed ROs in the frequency domain. Furthermore, terminal device 110 can also determine the number of SSB to RO mapping cycles in the SSB to RO mapping unit as a ratio of 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO, when the number of FDMed ROs in the frequency domain is greater than 1. Terminal device 110 can also determine the number of SSB to RO mapping cycles in the SSB to RO mapping unit as 1, when the number of FDMed ROs in the frequency domain is equal to 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO is greater than 1.

[085] For msg1-FDM > 1, (no matter if SSB-perRach-Occasion < 1 or >= 1), if two or more mapping cycles containing FDMed ROs in the same time instance that are mapped to the same SSB, they must be grouped to be a mapping unit for the jump operation.

[086] For msg1-FDM >1, if there are no mapping cycles containing FDMed ROs in the same time instance that are mapped to the same SSB, or msg1-FDM= 1, the jump can be performed on each SSB mapping cycle. Alternatively, for msg1-FDM = 1, if SSB-perRach-Occasion <1, K could be 1 / SSB-perRach-Occasion.

[087] If M > msg1-FDM, which means that the number of ROs involved in a mapping cycle is greater than the number of FDMed ROs, K = 1 / SSB-perRACH-Occasion, if 1 / SSB-perRACHOccasion >1, K=1 otherwise.

[088] Figure 5B further illustrates an example of frequency hopping for PRACH repetition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example, only one hopping shift is configured for the UE. According to the proposal, the frequency hopping is performed every K = 1 / SSBperRACH-Occasion = 2 mapping cycles. That is, one SSB to RO mapping unit contains two mapping cycles. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 33 / 62 25 / 39 SSB to RO. For the SSB to RO mapping unit #n (n is an even number), the RO frequency position starts at F_start, which is determined based on the msg1FrequencyStart setting. For the SSB to RO mapping unit #n+1, the RO frequency position starts at F_start +offset, or mod (F_start +offset, BWP_size). For example, if the UE selects SSB#1, the two ROs mapped to SSB#1 are used for PRACH repetition, as shown in the figure.

[089] With the solution proposed in this document, PRACH repetition can be performed at different frequency positions, and additional frequency diversity gain can be obtained and, therefore, the transmission performance of a PRACH transmission can be improved.

[090] In some modalities, each of the SSB to RO mapping units may have the same SSB to RO mapping pattern. The same mapping pattern may indicate the same number of ROs and the same SSB to RO association for each RO.

[091] In some cases, for example, when M (= N_SSB / SSBperRach-Occasion) is not an integer times msg1-FDM, the SSB to RO mapping pattern for each of the mapping cycles may not be aligned. As a result, when the RO hopping is performed between these two mapping cycles, the frequency offset between two ROs mapped to one SSB may be different from two other ROs mapped to a different SSB. This can cause the frequency hopping operation to become misaligned between different ROs.

[092] To address this problem, it is proposed to revise the SSB-RO association so that the SSB-RO mapping pattern is the same for the time period with each of the K mapping cycles (instead of the same mapping pattern for each SSB-RO association period as in the legacy). For example, the SSB-RO mapping pattern for the period Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 34 / 62 The 26 / 39 timing pattern with the first K mapping cycles (starting at frame 0) is defined first, and this pattern is used by other mapping cycles. In this way, RO hopping can be performed for each of the K mapping cycles (or for each mapping unit), and hopping operations between any two ROs mapped to the same SSB are aligned.

[093] For the association of SSB to RO for each mapping cycle, for example, a definition of RO hopping period is proposed, which contains K SSB to RO mapping cycles. The SSB to RO mapping pattern is the same in each RO hopping period. The ROs in the period that are not mapped to any SSB are unused ROs and are not used for PRACH transmission. In this way, RO hopping can be performed in all RO hopping periods.

[094] In this document, when the number of ROs in a mapping unit is not an integer multiplex of msg-FDM, misaligned hop offset can result in legacy SSB-RO association and a new SSB-RO association will be determined to avoid the problem that will be illustrated.

[095] For illustrative purposes only, Figure 6 illustrates an example of SSB to RO association in an SSB to RO association period. In the example, N_SSB = 7, msg1-FDM = 4, SSB-perRACHOccasion = 1 / 2. M = (N_SSB / SSB-perRACH-Occasion) = 14, and in this case, M / msg1-FDM = 14 / 4 is not an integer value. The legacy SSB to RO is shown in Figure 6, from which it is clear that there are 4 unused ROs in the association period.

[096] Figure 7 illustrates an example of an SSB to RO mapping pattern without altering the legacy SSB to RO association. The result was a misaligned RO hop shift between two groups of ROs that are mapped to different SSBs. The two ROs in group #1 are mapped to SSB#0, and the PRACH repetition on these two ROs uses frequency shift 1, while for the two ROs in group #2, mapped to SSB#1, and the Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 35 / 62 27 / 39 repetition of PRACH in these two ROs uses a frequency shift of 2.

[097] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can perform SSB to RO mapping in a frequency hopping period corresponding to one SSB to RO mapping unit. ROs in the frequency hopping period that are not mapped to any SSB may be unused ROs.

[098] Figure 8 illustrates an example of an SSB to RO mapping pattern with a change in the legacy SSB to RO association according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The SSB to RO mapping pattern is the same for the hop period containing one SSB to RO mapping unit (corresponding to K=2 mapping cycles). The SSB to RO mapping units have the same mapping pattern, and two ROs in the hop period that are not mapped to any SSB are not used and are located in the same position in the pattern. With the new mapping scheme, the hop offset between any two ROs mapped to the same SSB will be well aligned.

[099] In this way, misaligned RO hop displacement can be avoided and PRACH repetition can be performed using frequency hopping in a more efficient way.

[100] Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented on a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, method 900 can be implemented on a communication device, such as terminal device 110, as shown in Figure 1A. In some other embodiments, method 900 can be implemented on devices not shown in Figure 1A. Furthermore, it should be understood that method 900 may include blocks not shown and / or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. For the purposes of discussion, method 900 will be described from the perspective of terminal device 110 with reference to Figure 1A. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 36 / 62 28 / 39

[101] In block 910, terminal device 110 receives, via a transceiver, a configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition. In block 920, terminal device 110 performs a frequency hopping operation of the PRACH repetition for each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) mapping units to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion, based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle, including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[102] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 can determine a set of ROs for PRACH repetition, where each RO in the set of ROs is mapped to the same SSB. Terminal device 110 can determine the SSB-to-RO mapping unit for each RO in the set of ROs for PRACH repetition.

[103] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine a frequency position of an RO in an SSB to RO mapping unit based on an index of the SSB to RO mapping unit.

[104] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine the frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit from an initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit and a frequency offset based on the index of the SSB to RO mapping unit.

[105] In some modes, the initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit can be determined by at least one initial frequency position for the PRACH repeat.

[106] In some modes, the terminal device 110 can be configured with a single frequency offset. Furthermore, when the SSB mapping unit index is changed to RO Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 37 / 62 If 29 / 39 is even, terminal device 110 can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit. When the index of the SSB mapping unit to RO is odd, terminal device 110 can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit and the single frequency offset.

[107] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can be configured with at least two offsets. In addition, the terminal device 110 can further determine the frequency position from a mod result of the SSB to RO mapping unit index by a number of at least two offsets and the initial frequency position for PRACH repetition.

[108] In some embodiments, the frequency hopping operation can be performed based on a number of SSB to RO mapping cycles in the SSB to RO mapping unit and a configured number of PRACH repetitions.

[109] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may perform frequency hopping when the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is less than or equal to the configured number of PRACH repetitions. Alternatively, terminal device 110 may cancel frequency hopping when the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is greater than the configured number of PRACH repetitions.

[110] In some embodiments, a number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in an SSB-to-RO mapping unit may be predefined, configured, or determined by at least one of the following: a number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs, a number of frequency-domain multiplexed ROs, and a number of SSBs mapped to a Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 38 / 62 30 / 39 RO unique.

[111] In some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be less than or equal to the number of ROs in the frequency domain, the terminal device 110 may determine the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as a ratio between the number of multiplexed ROs in the frequency domain and the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle.

[112] In some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be equal to the number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs. Alternatively, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be equal to the ratio between the number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO.

[113] In some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be greater than the number of ROs in the frequency domain. Furthermore, terminal device 110 may further determine the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as a ratio of 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO, when the number of ROs in the frequency domain is greater than 1. Terminal device 110 may further determine the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as 1, when the number of ROs in the frequency domain is equal to 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO is greater than 1.

[114] In some forms, each of the SSB to RO mapping units may have the same SSB to RO mapping pattern. The same mapping pattern may indicate the same number of ROs and the same SSB to RO association for each RO.

[115] In some modes, SSB mapping to RO Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 39 / 62 31 / 39 can be performed in a frequency hopping period corresponding to one SSB to RO mapping unit. ROs in the frequency hopping period that are not mapped to any SSB may be unused ROs.

[116] Figure 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented on a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, method 1000 can be implemented on a communication device, such as network device 120, as shown in Figure 1A. In some other embodiments, method 1000 can be implemented on devices not shown in Figure 1A. Furthermore, it should be understood that method 1000 may include blocks not shown and / or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. For the purposes of discussion, method 1000 will be described from the perspective of network device 120 with reference to Figure 1A.

[117] In block 1010, network device 120 transmits, via a transceiver, to a terminal device, a configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition. In block 1020, network device 120 performs a frequency hopping operation of receiving the PRACH repetition for each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion mapping units based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle, including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

[118] In some embodiments, the network device 120 can determine a set of ROs for PRACH repetition, where each RO in the set of ROs is mapped to the same SSB. The network device 120 can determine the SSB-to-RO mapping unit for each RO in the set of ROs for PRACH repetition. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 40 / 62 32 / 39 PRACH.

[119] In some embodiments, the network device 120 can determine a frequency position of an RO in an SSB to RO mapping unit based on an index of the SSB to RO mapping unit.

[120] In some embodiments, the network device 120 can determine the frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit from an initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit and a frequency offset based on the index of the SSB to RO mapping unit.

[121] In some modes, the initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit can be determined by at least one initial frequency position for the PRACH repeat.

[122] In some embodiments, the 120 network device can be configured with a single frequency offset. Furthermore, when the SSB to RO mapping unit index is even, the 120 network device can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit. When the SSB to RO mapping unit index is odd, the 120 network device can still determine the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit and the single frequency offset.

[123] In some embodiments, the 120 network device can be configured with at least two offsets. In addition, the 120 network device can further determine the frequency position from a mod result of the SSB mapping unit index to RO by a number of at least two offsets and the initial frequency position for PRACH repetition.

[124] In some modalities, the jumping operation of Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 41 / 62 Frequency 33 / 39 can be achieved based on a number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit and a configured number of PRACH repetitions.

[125] In some embodiments, the 120 network device may perform the frequency hopping operation when the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is less than or equal to the configured number of PRACH repetitions. Alternatively, the 120 network device may cancel the frequency hopping operation when the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is greater than the configured number of PRACH repetitions.

[126] In some embodiments, a number of SSB to RO mapping cycles in the SSB to RO mapping unit may be predefined, or configured, or determined by at least one of the following: a number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs, a number of frequency-domain multiplexed ROs, and a number of SSBs mapped to a single RO.

[127] In some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be less than or equal to the number of ROs in the frequency domain. The network device 120 may determine the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as a ratio between the number of multiplexed ROs in the frequency domain and the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle.

[128] In some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be equal to the number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs. Alternatively, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be equal to the ratio between the number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pages 42 / 62 34 / 39

[129] In some embodiments, the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be greater than the number of ROs in the frequency domain. Furthermore, the network device 120 may further determine the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as a ratio of 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO, when the number of ROs in the frequency domain is greater than 1. The network device 120 may further determine the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as 1, when the number of ROs in the frequency domain is equal to 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO is greater than 1.

[130] In some forms, each of the SSB to RO mapping units may have the same SSB to RO mapping pattern. The same mapping pattern may indicate the same number of ROs and the same SSB to RO association for each RO.

[131] In some embodiments, SSB to RO mapping can be performed in a frequency hopping period corresponding to one SSB to RO mapping unit. ROs in the frequency hopping period that are not mapped to any SSB may be unused ROs. EXAMPLE APPARATUS

[132] Figure 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1100 can be considered as a further example of an implementation of the terminal device 110 and the network device 120, as shown in Figure 1A. Consequently, the device 1100 can be implemented in, or at least as part of, the network device 120.

[133] As shown, the device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1140 coupled Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 43 / 62 35 / 39 to processor 1110, and a communication interface coupled to TX / RX 1140. Memory 1110 stores at least part of a program 1130. TX / RX 1140 is for bidirectional communications. TX / RX 1140 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice, an access node mentioned in this disclosure may have several. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements, such as the X2 interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs or gNBs, the S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Service Gateway (S-GW) and the eNB or gNB, the Un interface for communication between the eNB or gNB and a relay node (RN), or the Uu interface for communication between the eNB or gNB and a terminal device.

[134] Program 1130 includes program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1110, enable the device 1100 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of this disclosure, as discussed in this document with reference to Figures 1 to 11. The embodiments described in this document may be implemented by software executable by the processor 1110 of the device 1100, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1110 may be configured to implement various embodiments of this disclosure. In addition, a combination of the processor 1110 and memory 1120 may form processing media 1150 adapted to implement various embodiments of this disclosure.

[135] 1120 memory can be of any type suitable for the local technical network and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a computer-readable non-transient storage medium, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. Although only one 1120 memory is shown in Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 44 / 62 36 / 39 device 1100, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1100. The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable for the local technical network and may include one or more general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as an application-specific integrated circuit chip that is time-slave to a clock that synchronizes with the main processor.

[136] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 900 (for example, terminal device 110) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or software module. In some embodiments, the means comprise at least one processor and at least one memory, including computer program code, wherein at least one memory and one computer program code are configured to, with at least one processor, ensure the performance of method 900.

[137] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 1000 (for example, network device 120) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of method 1000. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or software module. In some embodiments, the means comprise at least one processor and at least one memory, including computer program code, wherein at least one memory and one computer program code are configured to, with at least one processor, ensure the performance of method 1000.

[138] Generally, various forms of this disclosure Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 45 / 62 37 / 39 can be implemented in hardware or special-purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special-purpose circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controller, or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[139] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product stored tangibly on a non-transient, computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, executed on a device on a target real or virtual processor, to perform the process or method as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functionality of program modules may be combined or divided among program modules as desired in various ways. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed on a local or distributed device.In a distributed device, program modules can be located on both local and remote storage media.

[140] Program code to perform the methods of the present Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 46 / 62 38 / 39 Disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be supplied to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, so that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on one machine, partially on the machine as a standalone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[141] The above program code may be incorporated into a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction-executing system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium may include, among others, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof.More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a laptop floppy disk, a hard disk drive, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc (CD-ROM) read-only memory, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[142] Furthermore, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be understood as a requirement. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 47 / 62 39 / 39 that such operations be performed in the specific order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve the desired results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are contained in the discussions above, these should not be interpreted as limitations to the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular modalities. Certain features that are described in the context of separate modalities may also be implemented in combination in a single modality. Conversely, several features that are described in the context of a single modality may also be implemented in multiple modalities separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[143] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as exemplary ways of implementing the claims. Petition 870250091113, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, pp. 48 / 62

Claims

1 / 5 CLAIMS 1. Terminal device characterized in that it comprises: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: receive, through the transceiver, a configuration for repetition of Physical Random Access Channel, PRACH, and perform a frequency hopping operation of the PRACH repetition for each of the synchronization signal block and physical broadcast channel, SSB, mapping units for random access channel, RO, occasion, based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

2. Terminal device, according to claim 1, characterized in that the processor is further configured to: determine a set of ROs for PRACH repetition, wherein each RO in the set of ROs is mapped to the same SSB; and determine the SSB-to-RO mapping unit for each RO in the set of ROs for PRACH repetition.

3. Terminal device, according to claim 2, characterized in that the processor is further configured to: determine a frequency position of an RO in an SSB-to-RO mapping unit based on an index of the SSB-to-RO mapping unit.

4. Terminal device, according to claim 3, characterized in that the determination of the RO frequency position in the SSB to RO mapping unit further comprises: determining the RO frequency position in the SSB to RO mapping unit from an initial RO frequency position in the SSB to RO mapping unit and a frequency offset based on the index of the SSB to RO mapping unit.

5. Terminal device, according to claim 4, characterized in that the initial frequency position of the RO in the SSB to RO mapping unit is determined by at least one initial frequency position for the PRACH repeat.

6. Terminal device, according to claim 4, characterized in that the terminal device is configured with a single frequency offset and wherein the determination of the frequency position of the RO in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit comprises: when the index of the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is even, determining the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit; and when the index of the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is odd, determining the frequency position based on the initial frequency position of the RO in the mapping unit and the single frequency offset.

7. Terminal device, according to claim 4, characterized in that the terminal device is configured with at least two offsets, and wherein the determination of the RO frequency position in the SSB to RO mapping unit further comprises: determining the frequency position of a mod result of the SSB to RO mapping unit index by a number of at least two offsets and the initial frequency position for the PRACH repetition.

8. Terminal device, according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in a Petition 870250091113 unit, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 50 / 62 3 / 5, is predefined, configured or determined by at least one of the following: a number of SSBs configured for mapping to configured ROs, a number of frequency-domain multiplexed ROs, and a number of SSBs mapped to a single RO.

9. Terminal device, according to claim 8, characterized in that the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle is less than or equal to the number of ROs in the frequency domain, and wherein the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is determined by: determining the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as a ratio between the number of multiplexed ROs in the frequency domain and the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle.

10. Terminal device, according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle is equal to the number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs, or is equal to a ratio of the number of SSBs configured for mapping configured ROs and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO.

11. Terminal device, according to claim 8, characterized in that the number of ROs per SSB-to-RO mapping cycle is greater than the number of ROs in the frequency domain, and wherein the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit is determined by: determining the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as a ratio of 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO, when the number of ROs in the frequency domain is greater than 1; and determining the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles in the SSB-to-RO mapping unit as 1, when the number of ROs in the frequency domain is equal to 1 and the number of SSBs mapped to a single RO is greater than 1.

12. Terminal device, according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that each of the SSB-to-RO mapping units has the same SSB-to-RO mapping pattern, and in that the same mapping pattern indicates the same number of ROs and the same SSB-to-RO association for each RO.

13. Terminal device, according to claim 11, characterized in that the SSB to RO mapping is performed in a frequency hopping period corresponding to one SSB to RO mapping unit, and in which the ROs in the frequency hopping period that are not mapped to any SSB are unused ROs.

14. Network device characterized in that it comprises: a processor; and a transceiver coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: transmit, through the transceiver, to a terminal device, a configuration for repetition of Physical Random Access Channel, PRACH; and perform a frequency hopping operation of receiving the PRACH repetition for each of the synchronization signal block and physical broadcast channel, SSB, mapping units to Random Access Channel, RO, based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

15. A method implemented by a terminal device, characterized in that it comprises: receiving, via a transceiver, a configuration for Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) repetition; and performing a frequency hopping operation of the PRACH repetition for each of the Synchronization Signal Block and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB) mapping units to Random Access Channel (RO) Occasion, based on the configuration, wherein each of the SSB to RO mapping units comprises at least one SSB to RO mapping cycle including a set of ROs associated with SSBs.

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