System and method for supporting evolution band regulation

Abstract

The invention is entitled "Systems and methods for supporting evolved band regulation." A base station can transmit an indication of a frequency sub-range supported by the base station to a user equipment, which can respond with an indication of a frequency sub-range also supported by the user equipment. Additionally, a spectrum access system (SAS) controller can determine, using an environmental sensing capability sensor, whether a non-federal network is disposed in a coverage area and a neighboring coverage area of a base station. If so, the SAS can instruct the base station to transmit an indication to a user equipment in the coverage area to operate using a default power mode. Otherwise, the SAS can instruct the base station to transmit an indication to the user equipment to operate using a lower power mode. Furthermore, a base station can indicate a regulatory requirement to a user equipment using a network signaling value of a plurality of network signaling values corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for a plurality of geographic regions.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 185,115, entitled “Systems and Methods for Supporting Evolving Band Regulations,” filed May 6, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Background Technology

[0003] This disclosure relates in general to wireless communications, and more specifically to the regulation of the evolution and expansion of radio frequency bands.

[0004] In cellular communications, user equipment (e.g., mobile phones) can communicate (e.g., with base stations) under guidelines or rules that can be set and strengthened by regulatory and / or standards bodies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the 3GPP, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), etc. However, when these guidelines or rules are updated, user equipment configured to operate according to the guidelines or rules prior to the update may not be able to operate properly or effectively under the updated guidelines or rules. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following outlines some of the embodiments disclosed herein. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a concise overview of these particular embodiments, and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. In fact, this disclosure may cover many aspects not set forth below.

[0006] In one embodiment, a method for operating user equipment (UE) may include: detecting a base station via the UE, synchronizing the UE with the base station, and receiving system information from the base station at the UE. The system information may include one or more network signaling tags indicating frequency ranges supported by the base station. The method may further include: receiving by the UE one or more frequency ranges supported by the UE corresponding to the one or more network signaling tags. The method may further include: transmitting an indication of the one or more frequency ranges supported by the UE from the UE to the base station.

[0007] In another embodiment, a system may include: a base station that supports an unfederated network within a coverage area; user equipment located within the coverage area and communicatively coupled to the base station; environmental sensing capability sensors that determine whether an additional unfederated network is deployed in an adjacent coverage area relative to the coverage area; and a spectrum access system communicatively coupled to the base station and the environmental sensing capability sensors. The spectrum access system may receive indications from the environmental sensing capability sensors regarding whether an additional unfederated network is deployed in an adjacent coverage area. The spectrum access system may further send an indication to the base station, based on the received indication that an additional unfederated network is deployed in an adjacent coverage area, allowing the user equipment to operate using a default power mode.

[0008] In another embodiment, a method for operating user equipment may include: receiving a system information block from a base station at a receiver of the user equipment. The system information block may include one of a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for a plurality of geographic regions. The method may further include: receiving, using processing circuitry of the user equipment, one of a plurality of regulatory requirements for a geographic region corresponding to the network signaling value. The method may further include: configuring a transmitter or receiver of the user equipment to comply with the regulatory requirements using the processing circuitry of the user equipment.

[0009] In another embodiment, a method for operating user equipment (UE) in a geographic area includes: receiving a system information block from a base station at a receiver of the UE. The system information block includes one of a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to a plurality of regulatory requirements for the geographic area. The method further includes: receiving the geographic area where the UE is located using processing circuitry of the UE, and receiving one of a plurality of regulatory requirements corresponding to the network signaling value and based on the geographic area using the processing circuitry of the UE. The method further includes: configuring a transmitter or receiver of the UE to comply with the regulatory requirements using the processing circuitry of the UE.

[0010] Various modifications to the above-described features may exist with respect to various aspects of the invention. Other features may also be incorporated into these aspects. These modifications and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For example, various features discussed below relating to one or more illustrated embodiments may be incorporated individually or in any combination into any of the above aspects of the invention. The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with specific aspects and context of the embodiments disclosed herein and does not limit the claimed subject matter. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Various aspects of this disclosure can be better understood by reading the following detailed description and referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein similar figures refer to similar parts.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 2 It is based on the implementation scheme of this disclosure. Figure 1 Functional block diagram of an electronic device;

[0014] Figure 3 A frequency chart illustrating frequency bands and sub-ranges of frequency bands according to embodiments of this disclosure;

[0015] Figure 4 This is a diagram of a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0016] Figure 5 The embodiments of this disclosure are for configuring a transceiver of user equipment to use one or more frequency sub-ranges with Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for wireless communication network communication;

[0017] Figure 6 It is a diagram of network coverage provided by a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0018] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a method for determining whether user equipment can operate without being constrained by a restricted frequency band, according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 8 It is a frequency map depicting regulatory requirements for different countries based on the implementation scheme of this disclosure;

[0020] Figure 9 It is an embodiment of the present disclosure for receiving or determining based on having more than eight network signaling values. Figure 8 A flowchart outlining the methods for regulating the frequency of descriptions for different countries; and

[0021] Figure 10 It is based on the implementation scheme of this disclosure for determining network signaling values ​​based on region correlation. Figure 8 A flowchart of a method for regulating the frequency of descriptions of a country. Detailed Implementation

[0022] One or more specific implementations will be described below. To provide a brief description of these implementations, not all characteristics of the actual implementations are described in this specification. It should be understood that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, decisions must be made specific to many implementations to achieve the developer's specific objectives, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints that may vary from one implementation to another. Furthermore, it should be understood that such development work can be complex and time-consuming, but will still be routine work of design, fabrication, and manufacturing for those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure.

[0023] When describing elements of various embodiments of this disclosure, the articles “an” and “the” are intended to refer to one or more of the elements present. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be included and to indicate the presence of additional elements besides those listed. Additionally, it should be understood that reference to “an embodiment” or “an embodiment” of this disclosure is not intended to be construed as excluding the existence of additional embodiments also incorporating the cited features. Furthermore, specific features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. The use of the terms “generally,” “nearly,” “about,” and / or “substantially” should be understood to mean including close to the target (e.g., design, value, quantity), such as within limits of any suitable or conceivable error (e.g., within 0.1% of the target, within 1% of the target, within 5% of the target, within 10% of the target, within 25% of the target, etc.).

[0024] In wireless (e.g., cellular) communications, user equipment (e.g., cellular phones, smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, laptops, etc.) can communicate with a network (e.g., a wireless communication network) via one or more communication nodes (e.g., base stations) on channels in a frequency band (e.g., the n77 or 3.7 MHz band). Specifically, according to current 3GPP standards, when establishing communication with a network via a base station, the user equipment can detect network coverage (e.g., at a cell supported by the base station) and receive system information from the base station including the frequency of the channel. If the user equipment supports the frequency, it indicates this to the base station, and the network can allocate the channel to the user equipment, thereby notifying the user equipment that it supports the frequency band (e.g., the n77 band) including the channel frequency. When performing a handover event (e.g., transferring network coverage of the user equipment from one base station to another) or requesting carrier aggregation in a secondary cell, the base station can indicate that the user equipment supports a frequency band based on the user equipment indicating that it supports the channel frequency (e.g., to another base station or the network).

[0025] However, if the frequency band is updated (e.g., to include or remove an additional frequency subrange), and the user equipment (UE) is not updated in the same manner, communication with the UE may become less efficient or fail entirely. For example, 3GPP currently restricts US operation of the n77 band to the 3.7 GHz–3.98 GHz range. Therefore, if a UE complies with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules governing the 3.7 GHz–3.98 GHz range, it can communicate using the n77 band. Specifically, the UE can be tested to confirm compliance with the FCC rules relating to operation in the 3.7 GHz–3.98 GHz range. However, if 3GPP updates the n77 band to allow additional US frequency ranges such as a 3.5 GHz subrange (e.g., 3.45 GHz–3.55 GHz), then at least at the time of the update, currently operating UEs may not comply with the newly added 3.5 GHz band because the UE may not have been tested and therefore does not comply with the 3.5 GHz subrange.

[0026] While this may not cause problems when the user equipment initially connects to the network, as the base station can (e.g., to another base station or the network) instruct the user equipment to support the n77 band—rather than a subrange of the n77 band that the user equipment conforms to (e.g., 3.7 GHz–3.98 GHz)—to perform a handover event or request a secondary cell for carrier aggregation, another base station can allocate a channel, or the base station can allocate a secondary cell in a 3.5 GHz band that the user equipment does not conform to. Therefore, the handover event may fail, in which case the user equipment may disconnect from the network, or the user equipment may not use the secondary cell, in which case the user equipment may be unable to communicate using the full bandwidth allocated to it.

[0027] The currently disclosed implementation enables the User Equipment (UE) to indicate supported frequency ranges to the base station. Specifically, when the base station sends system information to the UE based on network coverage detected by the UE, the system information may include one or more network signaling values ​​indicating one or more frequency ranges supported by the base station. For example, one or more network signaling values ​​may include the initial 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz frequency subrange of the n77 band and the newly added 3.45 GHz-3.55 GHz frequency subrange of the n77 band. The UE may respond to the base station by using one or more modified Maximum Power Reduction (MPR) behavior bits to indicate which of the one or more frequency ranges it supports. For example, the UE may indicate that it supports the 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz frequency subrange but not the 3.45 GHz-3.55 GHz frequency subrange. Therefore, when a handover event is performed or a secondary cell is requested to perform carrier aggregation, another base station may allocate a channel or the base station may allocate a secondary cell within the frequency range supported by the UE. That is, in the above example, another base station can allocate a channel or the base station can allocate a secondary cell in the 3.7GHz-3.98GHz frequency sub-range.

[0028] Additionally, frequency bands can be updated (e.g., via 3GPP), allowing for changes to transmit and / or receive specifications or requirements. For example, the n77 band includes a 3.45 GHz–3.55 GHz frequency subrange (“3.5 GHz subrange”), which was originally used by current federal users and is protected by the FCC by preventing any non-federal communication from occurring on that frequency subrange. If non-federal communication occurs in the same coverage area as those of federal users, the FCC further protects the 3.5 GHz subrange, thereby preventing any non-federal communication from occurring on adjacent subranges of the 3.55 GHz–3.7 GHz frequency subrange (also known as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band). Furthermore, if non-federal communication occurs in a different coverage area than those of federal users, the FCC forces user equipment to undergo power backoff on the CBRS band (referred to herein as “CBRS power backoff”), which is larger or “more stringent” than the power backoff performed when the CBRS band is not used. This is achieved by setting the network signaling values ​​from the base station to the user equipment in the system information block according to the 3GPP standard.

[0029] However, the FCC recently permitted non-federal networks and users to use the 3.5 GHz subrange in coverage areas where federal users do not utilize it. That is, non-federal networks can be deployed in coverage areas where no federal users utilize the 3.5 GHz subrange, thus using the 3.5 GHz subrange. Therefore, if user equipment uses the CBRS band and is not located in or near a coverage area where a federal user is using the 3.5 GHz subrange, the user equipment may not operate at its full communication potential or efficiency because FCC regulation could force it to operate at higher power (e.g., assuming only federal users are present in the 3.5 GHz subrange).

[0030] The embodiments of this disclosure enable a mass spectrometry access system (SAS) controller allocating spectrum resources in a CBRS band to use environmental sensing capability (ESC) sensors to determine the presence of a non-federated network in the coverage area. For a coverage area with a non-federated network (and therefore may not have federated users) and adjacent to a coverage area with a non-federated network, the SAS controller can instruct a base station in the coverage area to instruct a user equipment (e.g., disable network signaling values ​​corresponding to CBRS power backoff) that the user equipment can operate using a CBRS band with a default power backoff (e.g., less than the CBRS power backoff). In this way, user equipment using a CBRS band can operate at the full communication potential or efficiency of that user equipment.

[0031] Furthermore, frequency bands may have different regional regulatory specifications or requirements for the same or overlapping frequency sub-ranges within a frequency band. For example, in the newly allocated 6 GHz band, South Korea has low-power indoor (LPI) regulatory specifications for the 6.425 GHz-7.125 GHz sub-range, while Brazil has LPI and very low port (VLP) regulatory specifications for the overlapping 5.925 GHz-7.125 GHz sub-range. The network may indicate the regulatory specification to the user equipment in system information sent by the base station (e.g., via network signaling values). Upon receiving this indication, the user equipment may configure its transceiver to operate using the regulatory specification. However, 3GPP has only allocated eight network signaling values, and the arrangement of geographical areas and the number of their regulatory specifications can be much greater than eight. Therefore, eight network signaling values ​​may not be sufficient to provide the user equipment with the appropriate regional regulatory specifications.

[0032] Some embodiments of this disclosure are capable of extending the number of network signaling values ​​to more than eight to accommodate the full number of possible regulatory specifications for each geographic region. In additional or alternative embodiments, the eight network signaling values ​​may correspond to the regional regulatory specifications of the area where the user equipment and / or base station is located. Therefore, the user equipment can determine its location (e.g., as determined using the user equipment's location sensors) or the location of the base station (e.g., as received from the base station, etc.) and determine the regulatory specifications based on the network signaling values ​​and the user equipment's location. In this way, the user equipment can be configured to operate its transceiver using the appropriate regulatory specifications.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of electronic device 10. Among other things, electronic device 10 may include one or more processors 12 (for convenience, they are collectively referred to herein as a single processor, which may be implemented in any suitable form of processing circuitry), memory 14, non-volatile storage device 16, display 18, input structure 22, input / output (I / O) interface 24, network interface 26, and power supply 29. Figure 1 The various functional blocks shown may include hardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (including computer code stored on a computer-readable medium), or a combination of both. Processor 12, memory 14, non-volatile storage device 16, display 18, input structure 22, input / output (I / O) interface 24, network interface 26, and / or power supply 29 may each be directly or indirectly communicatively coupled to each other (e.g., via or through another component, communication bus, network) to transmit and / or receive data between them. It should be noted that... Figure 1 This is merely one example of a specific implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may exist in electronic device 10.

[0034] For example, electronic device 10 can represent a block diagram of any suitable computing device, including desktop computers or laptops (e.g., those available from Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California). Pro, MacBook mini or Mac (in the form of) portable electronic devices or handheld electronic devices such as wireless electronic devices or smartphones (e.g., available from Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California). (Model form), tablet computers (for example, those available from Apple in Cupertino, California) (in the form of a model), wearable electronic devices (e.g., Apple products available from Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California) (in the form of) and other similar devices. It should be noted that, Figure 1 The processor 12 and other related items herein may be generally referred to as "data processing circuitry". This data processing circuitry may be implemented wholly or partially as software, hardware, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the processor 12 and... Figure 1 Other related items may be a single, independent processing module, or may be incorporated, wholly or partially, into any of the other elements within the electronic device 10. Processor 12 may be implemented using a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machine, or any other suitable entity capable of performing computations or other manipulations of information. Processor 12 may perform the various functions described herein and below.

[0035] exist Figure 1 In the electronic device 10, a processor 12 may be operatively coupled to a memory 14 and a non-volatile storage device 16 to execute various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor 12 may be stored in any suitable article of writing comprising one or more tangible computer-readable media. The tangible computer-readable media may include the memory 14 and / or the non-volatile storage device 16, individually or jointly, to store instructions or routines. The memory 14 and the non-volatile storage device 16 may include any suitable article of writing for storing data and executable instructions, such as random access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard disk drive, and optical disk. Furthermore, programs (e.g., operating systems) encoded on such computer program products may also include instructions executable by the processor 12 to enable the electronic device 10 to provide various functions.

[0036] In some embodiments, display 18 may facilitate a user's viewing of images generated on electronic device 10. In some embodiments, display 18 may include a touchscreen that facilitates user interaction with the user interface of electronic device 10. Furthermore, it should be understood that in some embodiments, display 18 may include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light-emitting diode (LED) displays, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, or some combination of these and / or other display technologies.

[0037] The input structure 22 of electronic device 10 allows a user to interact with electronic device 10 (e.g., press a button to increase or decrease the volume level). Like network interface 26, I / O interface 24 enables electronic device 10 to interact with a variety of other electronic devices. In some embodiments, I / O interface 24 may include I / O ports for hardwired connections for charging and / or content manipulation using standard connectors and protocols such as the Lightning connector supplied by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, Universal Serial Bus (USB), or other similar connectors and protocols. Network interface 26 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for personal area networks (PANs) such as... Networks, local area networks (LANs), or wireless local area networks (WLANs) such as those employing a protocol from the IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g., Networks and / or wide area networks (WANs) such as any standards related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including, for example, third-generation (3G) cellular networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), fourth-generation (4G) cellular networks, Long Term Evolution (LTE) Cellular networks, Long Term Evolution License Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) cellular networks, fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks and / or new radio (NR) cellular networks, satellite networks, etc. Specifically, network interface 26 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for using Release-15 cellular communication standards that include millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequency ranges (e.g., 24.25-300 GHz). Network interface 26 of electronic device 10 may allow communication via the aforementioned networks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, etc.).

[0038] Network interface 26 may also include one or more interfaces for, for example, a broadband fixed wireless access network (e.g., Mobile broadband wireless network (mobile) Asynchronous digital subscriber lines (e.g., ADSL, VDSL) and digital video terrestrial broadcasting Network and its extensions DVB handheld Networks, ultra-wideband (UWB) networks, AC power lines, etc.

[0039] As shown in the figure, network interface 26 may include transceiver 30. In some embodiments, all or part of transceiver 30 may be located within processor 12. Transceiver 30 may support the transmission and reception of various wireless signals via one or more antennas.

[0040] The power source 29 of the electronic device 10 may include any suitable power source, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and / or an alternating current (AC) power converter. In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 may take the form of a computer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, or other types of electronic devices.

[0041] Figure 2 This is a functional block diagram of electronic device 10, which can realize... Figure 1 The components shown and / or the circuits and / or components described in the figures below. As shown, processor 12, memory 14, transceiver 30, transmitter 40, receiver 44 and / or antenna 45 (shown as 45a-45n) may be directly or indirectly communicatively coupled to each other (e.g., via or through another component, communication bus, network) to transmit and / or receive data between each other.

[0042] Electronic device 10 may include a transmitter 40 and / or a receiver 44, which respectively enable the transmission and reception of data between electronic device 10 and a remote location via, for example, a network or direct connection associated with electronic device 10 and an external transceiver (e.g., in the form of a cell, eNB (E-UTRAN Node B or Evolved Node B), base station, etc.). As shown, transmitter 40 and receiver 44 may be combined into transceiver 30. Electronic device 10 may also have one or more antennas 45a to 45n electrically coupled to transceiver 30. Antennas 45a-45n may be configured in omnidirectional or directional configurations, single-beam, dual-beam, or multi-beam arrangements, etc. Each antenna 45 may be associated with one or more beams and various configurations. In some embodiments, when implemented as a multi-beam antenna, each beam may correspond to a corresponding transceiver 30. Applicable to various communication standards, electronic device 10 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and / or multiple antennas.

[0043] Transmitter 40 can wirelessly transmit packets with different packet types or functions. For example, transmitter 40 can transmit different types of packets generated by processor 12. Receiver 44 can wirelessly receive packets with different packet types. In some examples, receiver 44 can detect the type of packet used and process the packet accordingly. In some embodiments, transmitter 40 and receiver 44 can transmit and receive information via other wired or wired systems or devices.

[0044] As shown in the figure, various components of electronic device 10 can be coupled together via bus system 46. Bus system 46 may include, for example, a data bus, as well as power buses, control signal buses, and status signal buses in addition to the data bus. Components of electronic device 10 can be coupled together or use some other mechanism to accept or provide input to each other.

[0045] As previously noted, 3GPP can update frequency bands by expanding the frequency range covered by the band, the ways in which the band can be used, and so on. Figure 3 This is a frequency chart of frequency band 50 (e.g., band n77) and sub-ranges of the frequency band according to embodiments of this disclosure. Specifically, band n77 includes sub-range 52 (also known as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band) between 3.55 GHz and 3.65 GHz, sub-range 54 (also known as the 3.5 GHz sub-range) between 3.45 GHz and 3.55 GHz, and sub-range 56 (also known as the C band) between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz, etc.

[0046] In the United States (US), the FCC recently issued new rules for the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 within the n77 band to allow its use in network communications, whereas current radio frequency requirements from 3GPP restrict the use of subrange 54 and limit the US to C-band 56. Therefore, while currently used user equipment (UE) may have been tested for compliance with the FCC rules relative to C-band 56, these UEs may not have been tested for compliance with the new FCC rules for the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 and are therefore not permitted to use it. This potential change in the 3GPP specification allowing the use of the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 for US operations could result in two different types of UEs supporting the n77 band in the US: those UEs that also support the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 (e.g., because such UEs have been tested for compliance with the new FCC rules for the 3.5 GHz subrange 54) and those UEs that do not support the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. Since a network enabling communication on the n77 band can only assume that user equipment can operate on the entire frequency band (e.g., the n77 band) rather than the corresponding sub-ranges of the frequency band (e.g., C-band 56 and 3.5 GHz sub-range 54), the network cannot distinguish between the two types of user equipment and will only recognize that the user equipment does not support the 3.5 GHz sub-range 54 when performing a handover event (e.g., transferring the network coverage of the user equipment from one base station to another base station) or when a request for carrier aggregation by a secondary cell fails.

[0047] Considering the foregoing, Figure 4This is a diagram of network 60 (e.g., a wireless communication network) according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Specifically, network 60 may provide network coverage to user equipment 62 via one or more base stations 64A, 64B (collectively referred to as 64) within a coverage area 66 through channels within a supported frequency range or band (e.g., band n77). Figure 3 As shown, the frequency band may include one or more frequency sub-ranges (e.g., CBRS band 52, 3.5GHz sub-range 54, C-band 56, etc.).

[0048] Specifically, base station 64 may broadcast messages on one or more supported frequency ranges or channels (e.g., in band n77) that can be used to establish a connection with user equipment 62 in coverage area or cell 66. If user equipment 62 also supports one or more supported frequency ranges or channels (e.g., in C-band 56 of band n77), user equipment 62 may respond, and base station 64 may establish a connection with user equipment 62 using one or more of the supported frequency ranges or channels. As shown, base station 64 may use channels in C-band 56 to establish a connection with user equipment 62. However, if base station 64 is unaware of the subranges supported by user equipment 62 and only associates the channels on which user equipment 62 operates with the entire frequency band (e.g., band n77), base station 64 may perform a handover event or request carrier aggregation for secondary cells based on the entire frequency band rather than the subranges supported by user equipment 62. If user equipment 62 only supports a sub-range of a frequency band (e.g., band n77) and not another sub-range of the band (e.g., 3.5 GHz sub-range 54), then the handover event or implementation of a secondary cell may fail when using other ranges not supported by user equipment 62. In such cases, user equipment 62 may be disconnected from network 60, or user equipment 62 may not use the secondary cell, in which case user equipment 62 may be unable to communicate using the full bandwidth allocated to that user equipment.

[0049] Implementations of this disclosure include enabling base station 64 to send system information blocks with one or more network signaling (NS) tags / values ​​to user equipment 62 to convey frequency subranges supported by base station 64. According to 3GPP specifications, the system information blocks are sent to all user equipment 62 in coverage area 66, and the NS tags (which include eight integer values ​​per frequency band) indicate to user equipment 62 that area regulatory requirements apply to user equipment 62 in coverage area 66. User equipment 62 specifications may define additional requirements that become applicable based on the NS tags. If user equipment 62 supports the frequency band and has applicable NS tags, user equipment 62 can establish communication with base station 64. Therefore, in some implementations, NS tags can be used to indicate to user equipment 62 the available frequency subranges supported by base station 64 (e.g., C-band 56, 3.5 GHz band 54, etc.). Figure 4 In the exemplary network 60, base station 64A may support both C-band 56 and 3.5GHz band 54. Therefore, base station 64A may send system information blocks with NS tags to user equipment 62 in the coverage area 66 of the base station, which indicate that the base station supports both C-band 56 and 3.5GHz band 54.

[0050] Embodiments of this disclosure also include enabling User Equipment 62 to indicate to Base Station 64 the frequency subranges subsequently supported by User Equipment 62, as indicated by the NS flag of the Receive System Information Block. Specifically, User Equipment 62 may utilize one or more modified Maximum Power Reduction (MPR) behavior bits to indicate the frequency subranges supported by User Equipment 62. The 3GPP specification provides MPR bits that can specify a permissible reduction in the maximum power transmitted by User Equipment 62 to enable User Equipment 62 to meet regional regulatory requirements (e.g., transmitter proximity channel leakage ratio requirements). The 3GPP specification also provides modified MPR behavior bits that can differentiate the applicability of different A-MPR (Additional MPR) requirements for different types of User Equipment 62 in a specific frequency band (e.g., n257, n260, and n261). In embodiments of this disclosure, User Equipment 62 may set modified MPR behavior bits corresponding to the frequency subranges supported by User Equipment 62 (e.g., C-band 56, 3.5 GHz band 54, etc.) to indicate to Base Station 64 the frequency subranges supported by User Equipment 62. In this way, base station 64 can learn and / or store the frequency subranges supported by user equipment 62, and perform handover events or allocate secondary cells based on the supported frequency subranges rather than the entire frequency band that may not be supported by user equipment 62 as a whole (e.g., n77 band), thereby preventing disconnection from network 60 or a decrease in bandwidth usage.

[0051] exist Figure 4In the exemplary network 60, user equipment 62 may receive a system information block from base station 64A indicating that base station 64A supports both C-band 56 and 3.5GHz band 54. However, user equipment 62 may only support C-band 56. Therefore, user equipment 62 may set modified MPR behavior bits corresponding to C-band 56 but not to 3.5GHz band 54, and send the modified MPR behavior bits (e.g., in a message) to base station 64A. Upon receiving the modified MPR behavior bits, base station 64A may establish a primary cell 68 with user equipment 62 on the supported C-band 56. If network 60 expects to perform carrier aggregation by establishing a secondary cell, base station 64A may not use 3.5GHz band 54 to establish a secondary cell 70 because user equipment 62 has indicated that the user equipment does not support 3.5GHz band 54. Instead, base station 64A may use C-band 56 to establish a secondary cell 72. Similarly, if User Equipment 62 moves to another coverage area 74, Base Station 64A can perform a handover event 76 with Base Station 64B, which provides support to the other coverage area 74. Specifically, Base Station 64A can send an indication to Base Station 64B of the frequency subrange supported by User Equipment 62 (e.g., C-band 56). Therefore, Base Station 64B may be unable to establish a connection 78 with User Equipment 62 using 3.5GHz band 54 because User Equipment 62 has indicated that it does not support 3.5GHz band 54. Instead, Base Station 64B can establish a connection 80 with User Equipment 62 using C-band 56. In the absence of this indication of a frequency subrange supported by User Equipment, Network 60 and Base Station 64 can attempt to establish a secondary cell 70 using the unsupported 3.5GHz band 54 or perform a handover event 76 by establishing a connection 78 with User Equipment 62 using that band 54, resulting in reduced bandwidth usage or disconnection from Network 60.

[0052] Figure 5This is a flowchart of a method 90 for configuring a transceiver 30 of user equipment 62 to communicate with a wireless communication network 60 (e.g., including base stations 64A and / or 64B) using one or more frequency sub-ranges, according to embodiments of this disclosure. Method 90 can be executed by any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that controls components of user equipment 62, base stations 64A and / or 64B, and the terrestrial network (such as processor 12 of each of these devices or systems). In some embodiments, method 90 can be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 14 or storage device 16. For example, method 90 can be executed at least in part by one or more software components (such as the operating system of user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.), base stations 64A and / or 64B, and the terrestrial network. Although method 90 is described using a specific order of steps, it should be understood that this disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in a different order than shown, and that some described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0053] At box 92, user equipment 62 detects base station 64. Specifically, when user equipment 62 enters the coverage area 66 of base station 64, user equipment 62 can detect the base station by receiving radio frequency (RF) signals. The RF signals may include timing alignment information and other information. At box 94, user equipment 62 synchronizes with base station 64 by aligning the timing of user equipment with the timing alignment information of base station 64.

[0054] At box 96, base station 64 broadcasts system information indicating the frequency subranges supported by base station 64. Specifically, base station 64 may indicate the frequency subranges in the NS tag used to indicate the capabilities of base station 64. For example, as... Figure 4 As shown, base station 64 can indicate one or more NS tags in the broadcast system information, including C band 56 and 3.5 GHz band 54.

[0055] At box 98, user equipment 62 reads system information, including NS tags, received from base station 64. The system information may additionally include timing specifications, power specifications, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, and / or any other available information. In some embodiments, user equipment 62 may store the system information in memory 14 for future use.

[0056] At block 100, user equipment 62 determines or receives frequency subranges supported by base station 64 based on system information blocks. By way of example, one or more NS tags may include C-band 56 and 3.5 GHz band 54 of the n77 band. At block 102, user equipment 62 indicates frequency subranges supported by base station 64 and also by user equipment 62. Specifically, user equipment 62 may set one or more indicator bits corresponding to one or more frequency subranges supported by user equipment 62. In some embodiments, the indicator bits may include modified MPR behavior bits.

[0057] In one implementation, the NS mark for the n77 band may include a new NS mark (“NS_X”) corresponding to the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. For the new NS mark, the A-MPR value may be set to 0 dB (therefore, the NS mark is irrelevant for MPR operation purposes). Modified MPR behavior bits corresponding to the new NS mark may be defined such that setting the modified MPR behavior bits indicates that user equipment 62 supports the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. If user equipment 62 does not set the modified MPR behavior bits, user equipment 62 indicates that it does not support the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. In some implementations, the modified MPR behavior bits may directly correspond to the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. That is, 3GPP may define modified MPR behavior bits to directly correspond to the n77 band such that if user equipment 62 sets the modified MPR behavior bits, it means that user equipment 62 supports the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. If user equipment 62 does not set the modified MPR behavior bit, this means that user equipment 62 does not support the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 (e.g., user equipment 62 only supports the 3.7 GHz–3.98 GHz subrange). In such embodiments, user equipment 62 may not receive the corresponding NS flag and / or set A-MPR to 0 dB to indicate that support for the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 can be avoided. Although this embodiment refers to the 3.5 GHz subrange 54, it should be understood that any suitable frequency subrange of the band is envisioned, and specifically, any subrange newly introduced into the existing band.

[0058] At box 104, base station 64 configures its resources to user equipment 62 within a frequency subrange supported by user equipment 62 and base station 64. Once the resources are configured and a connection is established between user equipment 62 and base station 64, user equipment 62 and base station 64 can transmit and receive user data 106 over the frequency subrange. In this way, method 90 enables user equipment to configure transceiver 30 to conform to one or more available frequency subranges and communicate with a terrestrial network (e.g., including base station 64 and / or base station 64B).

[0059] As discussed above, modifications and / or updates to standards or regulations regarding non-federated networks and frequency bands can lead to inefficiencies. Initially, current federal users utilize the 3.5 GHz band 54. The 3.5 GHz band 54 is located adjacent to the CBRS band 52 (3.55–3.7 GHz). To avoid interference with federal users, the FCC has introduced stricter requirements for the CBRS band 52. Specifically, the FCC currently forces user equipment 62 to perform power backoff (“CBRS power backoff”) using the CBRS band 52, which is larger or “more stringent” than the power backoff of user equipment 62 when the CBRS band 52 is not used (“default power backoff”). 3GPP has defined power backoff as the maximum power that user equipment 62 must backoff (e.g., to meet out-of-band radiation levels when approaching power thresholds, etc.), while the actual power backoff value can be smaller and / or may depend on the specific implementation of user equipment 62. CBRS power backoff may be referred to as a lower power mode, while default power backoff may be referred to as a default power mode. Furthermore, while a lower power mode refers to a greater power backoff than the default power backoff, it should be understood that in other applications, a lower power mode can refer to any suitable power characteristic that enables user equipment 62 to operate at a lower power than the default power mode, including reduced transmit power, reduced receive power, lower maximum transmit power, lower maximum receive power, etc.

[0060] Table 1 below, provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.101-1, shows the different CBRS power backoff values ​​that can be applied by User Equipment 62 (e.g., depending on the presence of different conditions A1-A8). The following figures, in decibels (dB), describe the amount of power that User Equipment 62 can backoff to meet regulatory requirements. Table 1 is specific to CBRS band requirements.

[0061]

[0062] Table 1

[0063] By comparison, Table 2 below, also provided by 3GPP TS 38.101-1, shows the different default power backoff values ​​that can be applied by User Equipment 62. Specifically, the default power backoff values ​​in Table 2 are available when there are no conditions for operation under CBRS band requirements and have lower power backoff values ​​than the CBRS power backoff values. That is, User Equipment 62 can still back off its power, but not to the same extent as the CBRS power backoff value, and in some cases, it will not back off its power at all. Therefore, the lower default power backoff value allows User Equipment 62 to operate at higher transmit and / or receive powers and thus with better performance compared to operating with a higher CBRS power backoff value.

[0064]

[0065] Table 2

[0066] As discussed above, the FCC recently permitted non-federal networks and users to use the 3.5 GHz subrange 54 in coverage areas where federal users do not utilize the subrange. That is, non-federal networks can be deployed in coverage areas where no federal users utilize the 3.5 GHz subrange 54, thereby using the 3.5 GHz subrange 54. Therefore, if user equipment 62 uses CBRS band 52 and is not located in or near a coverage area where a federal user is using the 3.5 GHz subrange 54, user equipment 62 may not operate at its full communication potential or efficiency because FCC regulation could force it to operate at higher power (e.g., assuming only federal users exist in the 3.5 GHz subrange 54).

[0067] Considering the foregoing, Figure 6 This is a diagram of network coverage provided by wireless communication network 110 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Coverage area A 112 may include federal users 114 using the 3.5 GHz band 54. Thus, within coverage area A 112, non-federal networks 116 not operating on the 3.5 GHz band and / or CBRS band 52 may exist (e.g., cellular networks provided by network operators to users other than federal users 114 via one or more base stations). Federal users 114 may be those federal users as defined by the FCC and / or 47 CFR §96.15 as “current federal users”. Coverage areas B 118 and C 120 may include non-federal users connected to non-federal networks 116 operating on the 3.5 GHz band and / or CBRS band 52. For operation on CBRS band 52 in coverage areas B118 and C120, since both coverage areas are adjacent to coverage area A112, user equipment 62 can operate in a lower or CBRS power mode (e.g., with CBRS power backoff). Coverage area D122 may also include non-federated users connected to non-federated network 116 operating on the 3.5 GHz band and / or CBRS band 52.

[0068] Since coverage area D 122 is adjacent to only two coverage areas (e.g., coverage area B 118 and coverage area C 120), and each adjacent coverage area has a non-federated network 116 operating in 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52, there is no need for user equipment 62 to operate in a lower or CBRS power mode (e.g., with CBRS power backoff) on CBRS band 52, because it can be safely assumed that coverage area D 122 is not adjacent to a coverage area with federated user 114. Therefore, to determine whether user equipment 62 in a coverage area can operate in the default power mode (e.g., with default power backoff) on CBRS band 52, the Spectrum Access System (SAS) controller 124 may utilize one or more environmental sensing capability sensors (ESC) 126 to identify the presence and coverage area of ​​the non-federated network (e.g., non-federated network deployment) 116 operating in 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 to determine the presence and coverage area of ​​the federated user 114 operating in 3.5 GHz band 54. SAS controller 124 may include an automated frequency coordinator that manages radio frequency waves shared across multiple access tiers (e.g., current federated users, priority access license users, and generally authorized access users) on a dynamic, as-needed basis. Environmental sensing capability sensor 126 may include a sensor network used to detect non-federated or federated frequency usage in a specific frequency subrange (e.g., 3.5 GHz to 3.65 GHz).

[0069] Specifically, if the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 does not detect a non-federated network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 within a coverage area (e.g., coverage area A 114), the SAS controller 124 may assume the presence of a federated user 114 within that coverage area. Therefore, the SAS controller 124 may prevent or block the non-federated network 116 and user equipment 62 attempting to use the non-federated network 116 from operating on the 3.5 GHz band 54 and CBRS band 52 within the coverage area. On the other hand, if the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 detects a non-federated network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 within a coverage area (e.g., coverage area B 118), the SAS controller 124 may determine that no federated user 114 exists within that coverage area. Furthermore, if the environmental sensing capability sensor 126 detects the absence of a non-federated network 116 using the 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 in an adjacent coverage area (e.g., coverage area A 114), the SAS controller 124 may assume the presence of a federated user 114 in that adjacent coverage area. Therefore, the SAS controller 124 may communicate with the non-federated network 116 within the coverage area to indicate to the user equipment 62 that manipulation on the CBRS band 52 is permissible when using CBRS power backoff. The 3.5 GHz band 54 is currently not subject to such constraints by standards and / or regulatory bodies.

[0070] Additionally, if a coverage area (e.g., coverage area D 122) has a non-federated network 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52, and is adjacent only to coverage areas (e.g., coverage area B 118 and coverage area C 120) that also have non-federated networks 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52, the SAS controller 124 may communicate with the non-federated network 116 within that coverage area to indicate to user equipment 62 that operation on CBRS band 52 using the default power mode is permissible (e.g., user equipment 62 may use default power backoff and is not required to operate in CBRS power mode and use CBRS power backoff). It should be understood that default power mode can refer to the application of default power backoff as specified by a regulatory or standards body when operating outside of CBRS band 52, such as the default power backoff shown in Table 2 above. Similarly, 3.5 GHz band 54 is not currently subject to such constraints by standards and / or regulatory bodies. In this way, user equipment 62 using CBRS 52 can operate to the full communication potential or efficiency of that user equipment.

[0071] Considering the foregoing, Figure 7This is a flowchart of a method 140 for determining whether user equipment 62 can operate without being constrained by a restricted frequency band (e.g., CBRS band 52) (e.g., operating with default power backoff in default power mode). Method 140 can be executed by any suitable means (e.g., a controller) of components (such as processor 12 of each of these devices or systems) that can control user equipment 62, base station 64, non-federated network 116, SAS controller 124, and / or environmental sensing capability sensor 126. In some embodiments, method 140 can be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 14 or storage device 16. For example, method 140 can be executed at least in part by one or more software components (such as the operating system of user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.), base station 64, non-federated network 116, SAS controller 124, and / or environmental sensing capability sensor 126. Although method 140 is described using steps in a specific order, it should be understood that this disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in a different order than that shown, and that some described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0072] At box 142, the SAS controller 124 determines whether a non-federated network 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 exists in the coverage area of ​​base station 64 and in each adjacent coverage area adjacent to that coverage area. Specifically, the SAS controller 124 may utilize the ambient sensing capability sensor 126 to detect whether a non-federated network 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 exists in the coverage area and adjacent coverage areas. If the ambient sensing capability sensor 126 detects a non-federated network 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 in the coverage area, the SAS controller 124 may determine that no federated user 114 exists in the coverage area. On the other hand, if the ambient sensing capability sensor 126 does not detect any non-federated network 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 in the coverage area, the SAS controller 124 may determine that a federated user 114 exists in the coverage area. As stated above, when federal user 114 is present within the coverage area, there may be no non-federal network 116 on the 3.5GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52.

[0073] If the SAS controller 124 determines that a non-federated network 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 exists in the coverage area of ​​base station 64 and in adjacent coverage areas adjacent to that coverage area, then at box 144, the SAS controller 124 sends an indication to base station 64 that user equipment 62 connected to base station 64 can use the default power mode. For example, in Figure 6In coverage area D 122 and its adjacent coverage areas (e.g., coverage area B 118 and coverage area C 120), there is a non-federated network 116. Therefore, the SAS controller 124 can send an indication to the non-federated network 116 in coverage area D that user equipment 62 connected to the non-federated network 116 can use the default power mode.

[0074] After the SAS controller 124 sends an indication to the base station 64 in block 144 that the user equipment 62 connected to the base station 64 can use the default power mode, or if the SAS controller 124 determines in block 142 that there is a non-federated network 116 using 3.5 GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 in the coverage area of ​​the base station 64 or in a neighboring coverage area adjacent to that coverage area, the base station determines in block 146 whether it has received the indication that the user equipment 62 can use the default power mode. For example, the SAS controller 124 may determine that in Figure 6 There is no non-federated network 116 using 3.5GHz band 54 or CBRS band 52 in coverage area A 112.

[0075] At block 148, if base station 64 has not yet received an indication from user equipment 62 that it can use the default power mode, base station 64 sends an indication to user equipment 62 to transmit using a lower or CBRS power mode when using CBRS band 52. For example, the base station may set a network signaling value corresponding to operating in a lower or CBRS power mode (e.g., network signaling value 27 or NS27 according to the 3GPP standard) to be sent to user equipment 62 in the system information block. At block 150, user equipment 62 transmits data on CBRS band 52 using the CBRS power mode. That is, when transmitting data on CBRS band 52, user equipment 62 may configure its transmitter 40 to use CBRS power backoff.

[0076] At block 152, if base station 64 receives an indication that user equipment 62 can use the default power, base station 64 sends an indication to user equipment 62 to transmit in the default power mode on CBRS band 52. In some embodiments, this indication may include a setting missing a network signaling value (e.g., an NS27 value) corresponding to operation in the CBRS power mode that is sent to user equipment 62 in the system information block. The setting of missing constraint marker network signaling value removal can lead to improved network performance by allowing less power backoff, as provided by the default power mode when operating on CBRS band 52. At block 154, user equipment 62 transmits data on CBRS band 52 using the default power mode. That is, when transmitting data on CBRS band 52, user equipment 62 may configure its transmitter 40 to use the default power mode.

[0077] Additionally, the new 6GHz band has recently been allocated for network operations by various countries. Almost all countries have allocated the new 6GHz band (or portions thereof) for unlicensed network operations. Therefore, most countries have slightly different regulatory requirements for the new 6GHz band, which may need to be addressed when initializing network communications.

[0078] Considering the foregoing, Figure 8 This is a frequency map depicting regulatory requirements for frequencies in different countries according to embodiments of this disclosure. As shown, different countries may have different regulatory requirements for different sub-ranges of frequency band 160 (e.g., the 6 GHz band). In some cases, these sub-ranges corresponding to different regulatory requirements in different countries may overlap. By way of example, South Korea (KR) has a first regulatory requirement 162 for the frequency range between 5.925 GHz and 6.425 GHz, operating in either Low Power Indoor (LPI) or Very Low Power (VLP) mode, and a second regulatory requirement 164 for the frequency range between 6.425 GHz and 7.125 GHz, operating in LPI mode. However, Brazil (BR) has a regulatory requirement 166 for the entire frequency range between 5.925 GHz and 7.125 GHz, operating in either LPI or VLP mode. Furthermore, the regulatory requirements of one country may differ from the same regulatory requirements of another country. That is, South Korea's LPI mode may limit the maximum transmit power to a power value different from that of Brazil's LPI mode.

[0079] To enable User Equipment 62 to operate under appropriate regulatory requirements, Base Station 64 may send network signaling values ​​corresponding to the appropriate regulatory requirements to User Equipment 62. User Equipment 62 can then receive or determine the regulatory requirements based on the network signaling values ​​and operate under them. However, even if the network signaling values ​​are specific to each frequency band (e.g., 160), each frequency band 160 typically only assigns eight network signaling values. Since each country has different regulatory requirements, and even the same regulatory requirements may differ between countries, eight network signaling values ​​may be insufficient to cover all the different possible regulatory requirements.

[0080] Considering the foregoing, Figure 9 It is an embodiment of the present disclosure for receiving or determining based on having more than eight network signaling values. Figure 8A flowchart of method 170 for describing the regulatory requirements of frequency for a country. Method 170 can be executed by any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control components of user equipment 62 (such as processor 12 of each of these devices or systems). In some embodiments, method 170 can be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 14 or storage device 16. For example, method 170 can be executed at least in part by one or more software components (such as the operating system of user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.). Although method 170 is described using steps in a specific order, it should be understood that this disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in a different order than shown, and that some described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0081] In some implementations, the number of network signaling values ​​is increased to more than eight. Specifically, the number of network signaling values ​​may be at least the number of different regulatory requirements for different countries. With this in mind, at box 172, user equipment 62 receives or determines one of a plurality of network signaling values ​​corresponding to regulatory requirements for a specific geographic region. As described above, at least more than eight network signaling values ​​may exist for the frequency band on which user equipment 62 can operate (e.g., 6 GHz band 160). At box 174, user equipment 62 receives or determines regulatory requirements based on the network signaling values. User equipment 62 may store tables of different regulatory requirements and associated network signaling values ​​corresponding to each regulatory requirement. In some implementations, each network signaling value may correspond to a regulatory requirement for a sub-range of a specified frequency band (e.g., VLP / LPI for 5.945 GHz to 6.425 GHz in South Korea). At box 176, user equipment 62 applies the regulatory requirement determined based on the network signaling values. In this way, method 170 enables user equipment 62 to determine regulatory requirements for the depiction frequency of a country based on having more than eight network signaling values.

[0082] Additional or alternative locations may be subject to regulatory requirements based on network signaling values ​​and geographic regions (e.g., countries). Figure 10 It is based on the implementation scheme of this disclosure for determining network signaling values ​​based on region correlation. Figure 8A flowchart of method 180 for addressing regulatory requirements regarding the frequency of depiction in relation to a national context. Method 180 can be executed by any suitable device (e.g., a controller) capable of controlling components of user equipment 62 (such as processor 12 of each of these devices or systems). In some embodiments, method 170 can be implemented by using processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 14 or storage device 16. For example, method 180 can be executed at least in part by one or more software components (such as the operating system of user equipment 62, one or more software applications, etc.). Although method 180 is described using a specific order of steps, it should be understood that this disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in a different order than shown, and that some described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0083] At box 182, user equipment 62 receives (e.g., one of eight possible network signaling values) a network signaling value. At box 184, user equipment 62 receives or determines the geographic area of ​​user equipment 62. In some embodiments, user equipment 62 may use a location sensor (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensor such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor) to receive or determine the geographic area. In additional or alternative embodiments, user equipment 62 may utilize a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) value from a network operator to receive or determine the geographic area. That is, the PLMN may be a combination of mobile communication services provided by a network operator in a specific country. User equipment 62 may store a table that associates geographic areas with PLMN values. When user equipment 62 is connected to base station 64, user equipment 62 may receive the PLMN value associated with the network operator. By using the PLMN value reference table, user equipment 62 may identify the geographic area where base station 64 (and therefore user equipment 62) is located.

[0084] At box 186, user equipment 62 receives or determines regulatory requirements based on network signaling values ​​and geographic regions. User equipment 62 can store tables of different regulatory requirements for each geographic region and associated network signaling values ​​corresponding to each regulatory requirement in the respective geographic region. Specifically, the same network signaling value can be used to correspond to different regulatory requirements in different regions. At box 188, user equipment 62 applies the regulatory requirements determined based on network signaling values ​​and geographic regions. In this way, method 180 enables user equipment 62 to determine regulatory requirements for national delineation frequencies based on region-related network signaling values.

[0085] The specific embodiments described above have been illustrated by way of example, and it should be understood that various modifications and alternatives are permissible. It should also be understood that the claims are not intended to limit us to the specific forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of this disclosure.

[0086] The techniques described herein and protected by the claims are referenced and applied to specific examples of physical and practical nature that significantly improve the technical field and are therefore not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. Furthermore, if any claim appended to the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing] [function]..." or "steps for [performing] [function]...", those elements shall be interpreted in accordance with 35U.SC112(f). However, for any claim containing elements designated in any other manner, those elements shall not be interpreted in accordance with 35U.SC112(f).

[0087] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

Claims

1. A method of operating a user equipment, the method comprising: detecting, via the user equipment, a base station; synchronizing the user equipment with the base station; receiving, at the user equipment, system information from the base station, the system information comprising one or more network signaling flags indicating a plurality of frequency ranges supported by the base station; receiving, by the user equipment, one or more frequency ranges of the plurality of frequency ranges corresponding to the one or more network signaling flags supported by the user equipment; and sending, from the user equipment to the base station, one or more modified maximum power reduction behavior bits associated with the one or more frequency ranges supported by the user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more maximum power reduction behavior bits specify an allowed reduction in maximum power transmitted by the user equipment. setting the one or more modified maximum power reduction behavior bits corresponding to the one or more frequency ranges supported by the user equipment.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein transmitting the one or more modified maximum power reduction behavior bits associated with the one or more frequency ranges comprises:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station is configured to establish communication with the user equipment over a channel within the one or more frequency ranges indicated by the user equipment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station is configured to allocate a secondary cell to the user equipment over a channel within the one or more frequency ranges indicated by the user equipment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station is configured to perform a handover event of the user equipment with an additional base station by sending the one or more maximum power reduction behavior bits associated with the one or more frequency ranges indicated by the user equipment to the additional base station.

7. An electronic device, comprising: a transceiver; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled with the transceiver, the processing circuitry configured to: send, using the transceiver, an indication of a plurality of frequency ranges within a frequency band available in a coverage area; receive, from a user equipment based on the indication, one or more maximum power reduction behavior bits associated with one or more frequency ranges of the plurality of frequency ranges supported by the user equipment; and establish, using the transceiver, communication with the user equipment over a channel within the one or more frequency ranges.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to broadcast, using the transceiver, system information indicating that a base station supports the plurality of frequency ranges included in the frequency band.

9. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to send, using the transceiver, a second indication of the one or more frequency ranges supported by the user equipment to an additional base station in a different coverage area during a handover event.

10. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause a base station to configure resources of the base station for the user equipment within the one or more frequency ranges supported by the user equipment. ​ ​ ​ 11. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuit is configured to receive user data from additional user equipment using the transceiver on frequencies within the frequency band that do not include the one or more frequency ranges supported by the user equipment.

12. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the one or more frequency ranges include a first frequency range and a second frequency range, and the processing circuit is configured to cause a base station to configure resources of the base station for an additional user equipment in the first frequency range based on a second indication transmitted by the additional user equipment indicating that the additional user equipment does not support the second frequency range.

13. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuit is configured to perform a handover event with an additional base station in a different coverage area that supports less than the plurality of frequency ranges.

14. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of frequency ranges include a first frequency range and a second frequency range, and the one or more frequency ranges do not include the first frequency range.

15. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuit is configured to allocate a secondary cell to the user equipment over another channel within the one or more frequency ranges.

16. A user equipment comprising: a transceiver; and a processing circuit communicatively coupled with the transceiver, the processing circuit configured to: receive an indication of a plurality of frequency ranges available in a coverage area within a frequency band based on system information broadcast by a base station; and transmit one or more modified maximum power reduction behavior bits associated with one or more frequency ranges of the plurality of frequency ranges supported by the user equipment using the transceiver.

17. The user equipment of claim 16, wherein the processing circuit is configured to establish communication with the base station over a channel within the one or more frequency ranges using the transceiver based on the indication and the one or more modified maximum power reduction behavior bits.

18. The user equipment of claim 16, wherein the system information broadcast by the base station includes one or more network signaling flags indicating the plurality of frequency ranges supported by the base station.

19. A method of operating a base station comprising: transmitting an indication of a plurality of frequency ranges available in a coverage area within a frequency band to a user equipment; receiving one or more modified maximum power reduction behavior bits associated with one or more frequency ranges of the plurality of frequency ranges supported by the user equipment from the user equipment based on the indication; and establishing communication with the user equipment over a channel within the one or more frequency ranges.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising causing the base station to configure resources of the base station for the user equipment in the one or more frequency ranges.

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