Method and node for adjacent channel interference protection

Abstract

Provides is a method performed by a node operating an interfered network using a first mode. The interfered network is interfered by an interfering network using a second mode different from the first mode. The first mode and the second mode each provide a slot configuration for signal transmission. The method comprises the steps of obtaining a first adjacent channel interference (ACI) value for a first slot set, the first slot set comprising a first set of slots of the interfered network; obtaining a second ACI value for a second slot set, the second slot set comprising a second set of slots of the interfered network; and scheduling the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value.

Description

[0001] Method and node for adjacent channel interference protection

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of interference protection. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and node for scheduling signal transmission with respect to adjacent channel interference.

[0004] Background

[0005] Industries are currently looking at how to wirelessly connect industrial networks in the next industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0. Networks that aim to serve industrial applications have requirements and face challenges that are in part different from conventional wireless networks serving mobile broadband (MBB) applications, for example. Two major challenges stand out in networks tailored for industrial applications :

[0006] 1. Time-critical communications require a bounded latency in the order of 1ms to 10ms, and high reliability in the order of 99.99% to 99.999%, commonly referred to as four to five '9s' reliability target.

[0007] 2. Industrial applications often generate uplink heavy traffic, in the way that a user equipment (UE) produces similar or even substantially higher traffic volumes than what the UE receives over a network on the downlink. The traffic produced, e.g. by cameras or sensors, needs to be conveyed to a base station serving the network over the uplink. Unfortunately, on 5G networks, the radio access network (RAN) is configured for predominantly downlink heavy traffic, by a timedivision duplex (TDD) pattern that hosts, for example, 4 times more downlink transmission resources than that of the uplink.

[0008] To cater to the specific needs of the industrial applications, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardizes enhancements for fifth generation (5G) private networks, also known as non-public networks (NPN) . An NPN is typically a network that provides private 5G network services to a clearly defined user organization or group of organizations, e.g., a closed set of user terminals in a factory or industrial deployment. It is noted that the terms user terminal, UE, mobile terminal, and wireless terminal are used interchangeable here.

[0009] 5G industrial networks are still at an early phase. As more and more private 5G networks are deployed, managing coexistence issues between NPN and public networks (PN) will become increasingly important.

[0010] In order to increase the uplink capacity of the private network, an NPN may be allowed a different TDD pattern than PNs that serve MBB user terminals, for example. In this case downlink slots of the PN may be assigned to uplink slots of the NPN. For example, some measurements of the interference impacts were performed in J.B. Caro et al, "Empirical Study on 5G NR Cochannel Coexistence" Electronics 2022, 11, where the NPN uses a balanced Time Division Duplex (TDD) pattern and the PN uses a Downlink (DL) heavy TDD pattern in order to study cochannel coexistence issues. It is shown that the impacts of the PN user terminal, in terms of degrading NPN performance, can get stronger when the PN user terminal is getting closer to the NPN premises.

[0011] In practice, there may be a higher likelihood that NPN and PN use different bands, but the bands may be adjacent to each other. In this case, allowing different TDD patterns for PN and NPN may introduce specific coexistence issues, caused by out-of-band radiation, which may inhibit to achieve the high network reliability targets. A resulting adjacent channel interference (ACI) may be caused by non-ideal filters that cause the signal to leak into adjacent frequency bands. The following cases of ACI may occur in a NPN to PN coexistence scenario :

[0012] 1. Downlink to Downlink (DL-DL) ACI: the base stations of the PN and NPN cause ACI to mobile terminals of the other network. This type of ACI occurs even for synchronized TDD as well as Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) networks.

[0013] 2. Uplink to Uplink (UL-UL) ACI: mobile terminals interfere with base stations of the other network. This type of ACI also occurs for synchronized TDD as well as FDD networks .

[0014] 3. NPN UL to PN DL ACI: base stations of the PN, which are in DL, disturb receiving NPN base stations, which are in UL . Likewise, mobile terminals of the NPN cause ACI to the PN mobile terminals.

[0015] 4. NPN DL to PN UL ACI: base stations of the NPN, which are in DL, interfere with mobile terminals of the PN, the PN base station being in UL . Likewise, mobile terminals of the PN cause ACI to the receiver of the NPN base station .

[0016] This invention aims at reducing the detrimental effects of ACI on NPN transmissions, such as NPN UL transmission or NPN DL transmission, e.g. the PN and its mobile terminals causing ACI to the victim NPN base station or NPN mobile terminals.

[0017] The power of ACI depends on many factors, such as whether the frequency of the NPN and the PN are close or not. Other factors may be the filter performance of the transceivers in both NPN and PN, the transmission power of the PN transceivers, the radio propagation channel between the PN and NPN transceivers, and the like. Upper bounds for the leakage of the frequency filters are specified by 3GPP. The 3GPP ACI requirements are tailored for MBB scenarios and typically assume that TDD patterns of adjacent frequency bands are synchronized. However, issues with strong ACI may arise, e.g., when a PN transceiver enters the premises of the NPN and is close to the NPN transceivers. In this case, due to outdoor-to-indoor losses, the PN transceiver needs to transmit higher power, causing a high ACI to the NPN. This problem is known as near-far problem (see Y. Yang, K. Hiltunen and F. Chernogorov, "On the Performance of Co-existence between Public eMBB and Nonpublic URLLC Networks, " in IEEE 93rd Vehicular Technology Conference, 2021) . With large ACI, the signal-to- interf erence-and-noise ratio (SINR) in the NPN can degrade significantly and the radio link in the NPN may fail to meet the ultra-low latency and high reliability communications (URLLC) requirements.

[0018] Once presence of ACI is detected, the NPN should reduce the impact of ACI from the PN. The most straightforward approach is to avoid the transmission in NPN when ACI from the PN is detected. For example, US2020 / 0221464 Al proposes that the base station of the NPN schedules the UL transmission of the NPN where there is no DL signal transmitted for the adjacent channel, or where the NPN mobile terminal could not detect UL transmissions from other mobile terminals in the adjacent channel, with the purpose to protect DL of the PN. Alternatively, the approaches based on signal processing allows the transmissions in the NPN when the ACI exists. For example, US 7,822,385 B2 applies a precalculated low pass filter when ACI is detected, whereas bypass the filter if ACI is not detected. Besides, the NPN can adaptively change the symbol rate of the transmissions when ACI is detected, i.e., using a lower symbol rate with the presence of ACI and a higher symbol rate otherwise, see US 10,355,885 B2 for more details. US 9,820,250 B2 and WO 2022 / 043742 Al also discuss detection of ACI due to different TDD configurations in adjacent networks and approaches to mitigate the interference such as beamforming / null-forming .

[0019] None of the prior art considers protecting high priority URLLC service based upon the power levels of the adjacent channel interference coming from different sources. Moreover, the work in US 9, 820,250 B2 only focuses on the slots where the transmission of the first network and the second network is in opposite direction (i.e., NPN in DL and PN in UL, or NPN in UL and PN in DL) . The case when both networks are in UL is not considered.

[0020] The existing technologies to protect the radio network from ACI are not utilizing the time-frequency radio resources efficiently. Approaches that avoid transmission when ACI exists waste time resources, because even though ACI exists, the power of the ACI may be not high enough to degrade the performance of the NPN. Approaches using signal processing works depend on the design of a low pass filter, which might also lead to the distortion of wanted signals. Approaches to adaptive update the symbol rate could be efficient in terms of frequency resources. However, if the symbol rate is frequently updated, it requires the base station to notify the NPN mobile terminals frequently, which may introduce additional unwanted latency. This approach could be feasible for dynamic scheduling, but it is not the case for configured grant scheduling where the symbol rate does not change too frequently .

[0021] Approaches that work for the case where the transmission directions of the two networks are opposite (e.g., US 9, 820,250 B2) do not handle the case where both networks perform UL transmission at the same time. The idea to protect DL transmission (e.g., US 2020 / 0221464 Al) may not necessarily be valid to protect UL transmission.

[0022] In addition, the above-mentioned approaches are for general ACI. When a near-far problem, e.g. there is an outdoor network interfering an indoor network, and slot-dependent ACT power are considered, a better and more ef ficient solution is needed, and preferably compatible with the existing approaches . The existing technologies are not developed to speci fically protect high priority services , such as URLLC services , for which connectivity with high reliability levels is required .

[0023] Summary

[0024] It may be an obj ect of the invention to provide techniques and methods for improving signal transmission scheduling in view of adj acent channel interference (ACI ) .

[0025] According to an aspect , a method performed by a node operating an interfered network using a first mode is provided . The interfered network is interfered by an interfering network using a second mode di f ferent from the first mode . The first mode and the second mode each provide a slot configuration for signal transmission . The method comprises the steps of obtaining a first adj acent channel interference (ACT ) value for a first slot set , the first slot set comprising a first set of slots of the interfered network; obtaining a second ACT value for a second slot set , the second slot set comprising a second set of slots of the interfered network; and scheduling the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACT value and the second ACT value .

[0026] According to another aspect , a node for operating an interfered network using a first mode is provided . The interfered network is interfered by an interfering network using a second mode di f ferent from the first mode . The first mode and the second mode each provide a slot configuration for signal transmission . The node is configured to obtain a first ACI value for a first slot set ; obtain a second ACI value for a second slot set ; and schedule the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value .

[0027] According to another aspect , a node for operating an interfered network using a first mode is provided . The interfered network is interfered by an interfering network using a second mode di f ferent from the first mode . The first mode and the second mode each provide a slot configuration for signal transmission . The node comprises a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor . Said node is operative to obtain a first ACI value for a first slot set ; obtain a second ACI value for a second slot set ; and schedule the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value .

[0028] According to another aspect , a computer program comprising program code to be executed by a processor to operate a node for operating an interfered network using a first mode i s provided . The interfered network is interfered by an interfering network using a second mode di f ferent from the first mode . The first mode and the second mode each provide a slot configuration for signal transmission . Execution of the program code causes the node to perform operations comprising obtaining a first ACI value for a first slot set ; obtaining a second ACI value for a second slot set ; and scheduling the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value .

[0029] According to another aspect , a computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium including program code to be executed by a processor to operate a node for operating an interfered network using a first mode is provided . The interfered network is interfered by an interfering network using a second mode di f ferent from the first mode . The first mode and the second mode each provide a slot configuration for signal transmission . Execution of the program code causes the node to perform operations comprising obtaining a first ACI value for a first slot set ; obtaining a second ACI value for a second slot set ; and scheduling the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value .

[0030] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0031] FIG . 1 shows an example of a local spectrum including Adj acent Channel Interference (ACI ) .

[0032] FIG . 2 shows exemplary Time Divi sion Duplex ( TDD) patterns for a public network ( PN) and a non-public network (NPN) .

[0033] FIG . 3 shows an exemplary ACI scenario between a PN and an NPN .

[0034] FIG . 4 shows another exemplary ACI scenario between a PN and an NPN .

[0035] FIG . 5 shows a method performed by a node operating an interfered network according to an embodiment .

[0036] FIG . 6 shows a method performed by a node operating an interfered network according to another embodiment .

[0037] FIGs . 7A to 7C show examples for the first mode and the second mode .

[0038] FIG . 8 shows a method performed by a node operating an interfered network according to another embodiment .

[0039] FIG . 9 shows exemplary hardware of a node operating the interfered network . Detailed Description

[0040] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0041] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where a step must necessarily follow or precede another step due to some dependency. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features, and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description .

[0042] FIG. 1 shows an example of a local spectrum including Adjacent Channel Interference (ACI) . Here, the mobile network operator (MNO) spectrum is divided into sub-spectra for a first mobile network operator (MN01) , a second mobile network operator (MN02) , and a third mobile network operator (MNO3) .

[0043] ACI occurs for the local spectrum.

[0044] The MNO spectrum may be used for a public network (PN) , for example. The local spectrum may be used for a non-public network (NPN) , for example. However, the invention is not limited to a PN and an NPN. Any other networks can be used, wherein one network interferes the other network. A first network interfering a second network is also called interfering network, and the second network being interfered by the first network is called interfered network.

[0045] FIG. 2 shows exemplary Time Division Duplex (TDD) patterns for a PN and NPN. The PN typically uses a Downlink (DL) heavy TDD pattern, whereas the TDD pattern for the NPN is usually more balanced, due to balanced UL and DL traffic. Such a balanced TDD pattern is often used for smart manufacturing and industrial Internet of Things (loT) (IIoT) (see Y. Yang, K. Hiltunen and F. Chernogorov, "On the Performance of Coexistence between Public eMBB and Non-public URLLC Networks, " in IEEE 93rd Vehicular Technology Conference, 2021) . The DL and UL slots for the PN and NPN are illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0046] Due to the different TDD patterns, it is natural that when the NPN is in UL, i.e. a NPN wireless terminal transmits signals to the NPN node, such as a base station or gNB, the PN might be in DL, i.e. the PN node transmits signals to the PN wireless terminal, or in UL, i.e. the PN wireless terminal transmits signals to the PN node. The PN node may be a network node, such as a base station or gNB. This may result in different interferers, i.e. different sources of ACI to the NPN. For example, when the PN is in DL and the NPN is in UL, cross-link ACI may occur (see the dashed arrows in FIG.2) , and when both the PN and the NPN are in UL, same-link ACI may occur (see the solid arrows in FIG. 2) . Cross-link ACI also occurs when the NPN is in DL and the PN is in UL, and same-link ACI also occurs when both the NPN and PN are in DL.

[0047] In other words, when both networks are in UL, termed samelink slots which exhibit same-link interference, the ACI originates from the PN mobile terminals and is observed by the NPN node. When the NPN is in UL and the PN is in DL, termed cross-link slots which exhibit cross-link interference, the ACI observed at the NPN node originates from the PN node. When the NPN is in DL and the PN is in UL, also termed cross-link slots which exhibit cross-link interference, the ACI observed at the NPN node originates from the PN mobile terminal.

[0048] Since the aggressor sources, i.e. the interference sources, are different between same-link and cross-link slots, the radio link quality in the same-link slots and cross-link slots may be different. The proposed solution leverages the diversity of the sources of the ACI to serve different types of traffic with different radio link requirements.

[0049] In order to demonstrate the benefits of the invention, two cases with two different interference scenarios between NPN inside a factory, for example, and a PN located outdoors are considered, as exemplary shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

[0050] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary ACI scenario 300 between PN and NPN. The PN is served by a node 340. The node 340 may be a base station, a gNodeB, gNB, or any other network node according to 3GPP standards. The node 340 serves a wireless terminal 350 and may communicate with the wireless terminal 350 over DL 341.

[0051] The NPN is served by a node 320. The node 320 may be any network node or scheduler suitable for serving the NPN. Here, the node 320 serves a wireless terminal 330 which may be connected to a sensor, robot, or the like. The wireless terminal 330 communicates with the node 320 over UL 331 . It is noted that the wireless terminal may be also called user equipment (UE ) , user terminal , or terminal device .

[0052] The scenario 300 shows an interference scenario with high same-link ACI , where the PN wireless terminal 350 , i . e . the wireless terminal 350 served by the PN network node 340 , is located inside the area served by the node 320 , such as inside a factory 310 served by the node 320 . It is supposed that the factory 310 has thick walls that strongly attenuate signals penetrating through the walls . While the interference signal from the PN node 340 over link 342 is likely to be weak, due to the high building penetration losses , the PN wireless terminal 350 might transmit with high power, in order to reach its serving node 340 over UL 351 . Since the wireless terminal 350 transmits with high power towards its serving network node 340 over UL 351 , strong interference may be caused over link 352 to the NPN node 320 on uplink slots . Since the PN node 340 is assumed to be far away from the node 320 , signi ficantly lower levels of ACI are caused over link 342 to the NPN node 320 on uplink slots .

[0053] For this scenario 300 , it might be advisable to schedule time critical services on slots having lower levels of ACI in order to more likely meet requirements of time critical services .

[0054] FIG . 4 shows another exemplary ACI scenario 400 between PN and NPN . The PN is served by a node 440 . Similar to node 340 of FIG . 3 , the node 440 may be a base station, a gNodeB, gNB, or any other network node according to 3GPP standards . The node 440 serves a wireless terminal 450 and may communicate with the wireless terminal 450 over DL 441 . The wireless terminal 450 may communicate with the node 440 over UL 451 .

[0055] The NPN is served by a node 420 . Similar to node 320 of FIG . 3 , the node 420 may be any scheduler or network node suitable for serving the NPN . Here , the node 420 serves a wireless terminal 430 which may be connected to a sensor, robot , or the like . The wireless terminal 430 communicates with the node 420 over UL 431 .

[0056] The scenario 400 shows an interference scenario with high cross-link ACI , i . e . high levels of ACI on cross-link slots , where the PN node 440 causes strong interference over link 442 to the NPN node 420 on uplink slots . On the other hand, the PN wireless terminal 450 is assumed to be located outside the area served by the NPN node 420 , such as outside a factory 410 served by the node 420 . Therefore , the PN wireless terminal 450 is causing signi ficantly lower levels of ACI over link 452 to the NPN node 420 on uplink slots .

[0057] For this scenario 400 , the result may be comparably weak levels of ACI on same-link slots of the NPN . Thus , on average , the reliability of a success ful uplink transmission of the NPN on uplink slots having same-link ACI is larger than that of uplink slots having cross-link ACI . Hence , time critical services have a higher probability of meeting the bounded latency target when scheduled on uplink slots having same-link ACI .

[0058] It is noted that the location of network nodes may be static over long periods of time . Likewise , wireless terminals inside a building usually do only move with modest velocity . This allows for averaging of the ACI over a time span of several seconds or more , facilitating accurate average ACI estimates .

[0059] FIG . 5 shows a method performed by a node operating an interfered network according to an embodiment . The interfered network is a network from at least two coexisting networks . The at least two coexisting networks may be any adj acent networks comprising at least one interfered network, such as an NPN, and at least one interfering network, such as a PN . Even if the description is often directed to PNs and NPNs, the coexisting networks are not limited to a PN and an NPN. The interfered network may experience interference from the interfering network. The interfered network may also be called victim network and the interfering network may be called aggressor network.

[0060] The node operating the interfered network may be the node 320 of FIG. 3, the node 420 of FIG. 4, or any other node or scheduler for the interfered network. The node may operate the interfered network using a first mode, whereas the interfering network, which interferes the interfered network, may use a second mode different from the first mode. The first mode and the second mode may each provide a slot configuration for signal transmission. For example, the slot configuration indicates, for each slot, whether the slot is an Uplink (UL) slot used for UL transmission or a Downlink (DL) slot used for DL transmission. It is further noted that the signal transmission may comprise prioritized signal transmission, such as reliable, time-critical, or low-latency signal transmission, and non-prioritized signal transmission, such as non time-critical signal transmission.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 5, the method may comprise the step of obtaining (S510) a first ACI value for a first slot set, wherein the first slot set comprises a first set of slots of the interfered network. Furthermore, a second ACI value for a second slot set may be obtained (S520) , wherein the second slot set comprises a second set of slots of the interfered network .

[0062] Moreover, the method comprises the step of scheduling (S530) the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value. For example, the slots of the interfered network have been classified or partitioned into the first slot set and the second slot set by a unit different from the node of the interfered network, wherein the node of the interfered network receives the classification from the unit. The unit is, for example, a wireless terminal served by the node of the interfered network. According to another example, the node may classify or partition the slots of the interfered network into the first slot set and the second slot set.

[0063] By separately measuring and obtaining a first ACI value and a second ACI value for each slot set, it is possible to adequately schedule signal transmission with respect to the actual ACI in each slot set. Thus, signal transmission scheduling for the interfered network is improved by efficiently utilizing the radio resources of the interfered network .

[0064] According to an embodiment, scheduling of prioritized signal transmission may be directed to slots associated to the slot set experiencing lower levels of ACI. This is shown in FIG. 6 which shows a method performed by the node operating the interfered network according to another embodiment.

[0065] The steps 510 and 520 shown in FIG. 6 are equal to the steps 510 and 520 shown in FIG. 5. For conciseness reasons, a detailed explanation of steps 510 and 520 is omitted at this point and it is referred to the explanation given above.

[0066] In order to adequately schedule the signal transmission and efficiently utilize the radio resources, the first ACI value, here illustrated as Pi, is compared with the second ACI value, here illustrated as Pi. For example, if the first ACI value Pi is smaller than the second ACI value Pi, prioritized signal transmission is scheduled to the slots of the first slot set, which exhibits lower ACI (see step S531) ; and if the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, the prioritized signal transmission is scheduled to the slots of the second slot set, which now exhibits lower ACI (see step S532) . As already indicated above, the prioritized signal transmission may comprise reliable, time-critical, i.e. timesensitive, or low-latency signal transmission. Examples for prioritized signal transmission include packets related to time-critical services and / or packets scheduled for retransmission .

[0067] Scheduling of non-prioritized signal transmission, such as non time-critical signal transmission, may be directed to slots associated to the slot set experiencing higher levels of ACI . For example, if the first ACI value is smaller than the second ACI value, non-prioritized signal transmission is scheduled to the slots of the second slot set, which exhibits higher ACI; and if the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, the non-prioritized signal transmission is scheduled to the slots of the first slot set, which now exhibits higher ACI. Examples for non-prioritized signal transmission include Mobile Broad Band (MBB) packets or services with less stringent delay and / or reliability demands .

[0068] According to an embodiment, the first slot set may comprise same-link slots, wherein the same-link slots exhibit samelink interference. For example, the ACI originates from the PN wireless terminal if the NPN is in UL, or the ACI originates from the PN node if the NPN is in DL . The second slot set may comprise cross-link slots, wherein the crosslink slots exhibit cross-link interference. For example, the ACI originates from the PN network node if the NPN is in UL, or the ACI originates from the PN wireless terminals if the NPN is in DL .

[0069] Thus, same-link interference means that the nodes of the interfered network and the interfering network operate in the same signal transmission direction. For example, both nodes operate in UL or in DL at the same time (see the UL-UL interference scenarios and DL-DL interference scenarios exemplary described above) . Cross-link interference means that the nodes of the interfered network and the interfering network operate in different signal transmission directions (see the DL-UL interference scenarios and UL-DL interference scenarios exemplary described above) .

[0070] By partitioning or classifying the slots of the interfered network into the first slot set and the second slot set with respect to the type of interference, the fact is exploited that the ACI of same-link and cross-link slots may be different. By obtaining the ACI for the same-link slots and the cross-link slots separately, i.e. independently, and schedule prioritized signal transmission at the slot set experiencing lower ACI power, the requirements regarding low- latency and high reliability can be met. Thus, the radio resources of the interfered network can be efficiently used.

[0071] As indicated above, the ACI values for the first slot set and the second slot set may be independently measured. Thus, the slots of the first slot set are used to measure and obtain the first ACI value. The slots of the second slot set are used to measure and obtain the second ACI value. The ACI powers can be measured by using prior art as disclosed, for example, in US 7, 848,221 B2, US 7,822,385 B2, or US 10,355,885 B2. There are different approaches to mitigate the ACI impact. One component is ACI detection. For example, US 7,848,221 B2 proposes to use fast Fourier transform to calculate the power of different part of the frequency band to detect the ACI. Discrete Fourier transform is used in US 9,775,049 B2, together with a covariance calculation. US 10,355,885 B2 proposes to detect the signal power at the side band. Additional signalling that carries the presence of possible ACI is proposed in US 10,355,728 B2 or US 2020 / 0221464 Al. For example , the node of the interfered network or another unit may subsequently extract relevant statistics on the measured ACI powers . The first ACI value and the second ACI value may then be a mean ACI power, a maximum ACI power, or a predetermined percentile ACI power for the first slot set and the second slot set . The node may either perform the ACI measurement for the interfered network or may obtain the first and second ACI values from another unit performing the ACI measurements .

[0072] It is also possible to set a time window w, wherein the first ACI value and the second ACI value may be a mean ACI power, a maximum ACI power, or a predetermined percentile ACI power within the time window w for the first slot set and the second slot set . Again, the node of the interfered network or another unit for ACI measurement may subsequently extract relevant statistics on the measured ACI powers . This may be done by storing measurements that fall within the time window w, where the window length may be appropriately chosen, and extracting statistics within the time window w .

[0073] As mentioned above , the node operating the interfered network uses a first mode , whereas the node operating the interfering network uses a second mode di f ferent from the first mode . For example , the first mode is a first TDD mode and the second mode is a second TDD mode , wherein the TDD pattern of the first TDD mode is di f ferent from the TDD pattern of the second TDD mode ( see also FIG . 2 for an example ) . The first and second TDD patterns may be time aligned, i . e . the start and end of each slot occurs at the same time instant . However, this is not limiting and the first and second TDD patterns may also be time unaligned . Thus , the first mode and the second mode provide the slot configurations for the signal transmission in the interfered network and the interfering network . However, the first mode is not limited to the TDD mode and may be any other mode , such as a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode or a Sub-Band Full

[0074] Duplex (SBFD) mode.

[0075] FIGs. 7A to 7C show examples for the first mode and the second mode. The black slots represent UL slots and the white slots represent DL slots. In FIGs. 7A to 7C, the term "first set" refers to "same-link", i.e. same-link interference, whereas the term "second slot" refers to "cross-link, i.e. cross-link interference.

[0076] FIG. 7A shows an example where both the first network, i.e. the interfered network, and the second network, i.e. the interfering network, use TDD modes. The first network may be an NPN and the second network may be a PN. When both the first network and the second network are in UL, same-link interference occurs, i.e. the NPN node is interfered by ACI from PN wireless terminals on the UL . When the first network is in UL and the second network is in DL, cross-link interference occurs, i.e. the PN node's DL slots cause ACI of the receiving NPN node's uplink slots.

[0077] FIG. 7B shows an example where the first mode used by the first network is a SBFD mode. The second mode used by the second network is still a TDD mode. In the SBFD mode, the first network, such as the NPN, is TDD and uses SBFD feature. For example, in a DL slot where part of the physical resource blocks is used for UL transmission and the remaining physical resource blocks are used for DL transmissions, the sub band corresponding to the resource blocks used for UL transmissions can be considered as an UL slot in this sub band. For example, for measuring same-link interference, the measurements at the UL slots of the second network are performed when there exists an UL sub band in the first network. For example, for measuring cross-link interference, the measurements at the DL slots of the second network are performed when there exists an UL sub band in the first network . SBFD is included as a study item in 3GPP New Radio (NR) release 18 and a candidate for sixth generation ( 6G) .

[0078] FIG . 7C shows an example where the first mode used by the first network is a FDD mode . The second mode used by the second network is still a TDD mode . As shown in FIG . 7C for the first network, all slots in the UL frequency range are considered as UL slots . Thus , all UL slots of the second network are regarded for same-link interference , while all DL slots of the second network are regarded for cross-link interference .

[0079] It is noted that , in FIGs . 7A to 7C, the ACI on the UL slots of the first network is regarded, because the UL slots of the first network may be classi fied into the first slot set and the second slot set . However, this is not limiting, and it is also possible to classi fy the DL slots of the first network into the first slot set and the second slot set . In this case , the ACI on the DL slots of the first network will be considered .

[0080] FIG . 8 shows a method performed by the node operating the interfered network according to another embodiment .

[0081] Steps 510 and 520 shown in FIG . 8 are identical to the steps 510 and 520 shown in FIG . 5 . For conciseness reasons , a detailed explanation of steps 510 and 520 is omitted at this point and it is referred to the explanation given above .

[0082] As shown in FIG . 8 , after having obtained the first ACI value Pi and the second ACI value Pi , the first ACI value Pi and the second ACI value Pi may be compared to a predetermined threshold Th . The threshold Th may be used to determine whether the ACI actually exists or is negligible . The ACI may have negligible impact i f the path loss and the wall loss between the interfering network and the interfered network is large enough to protect the interfered network premises and there is no wireless terminals of the aggressor network inside the interfered network premises (see Y. Yang, K. Hiltunen and F. Chernogorov, "On the Performance of Coexistence between Public eMBB and Non-public URLLC Networks, " in IEEE 93rd Vehicular Technology Conference, 2021) . For example, the predetermined threshold Th is a thermal noise value or a value less than a co-channel interference (CCI) value experienced in the interfered network.

[0083] If the first ACI value Pi and the second ACI value Pi are smaller than the predetermined threshold Th, meaning that the ACI from the interfering network does not exist or the ACI has negligible impact, the signal transmission may be scheduled to the first slot set or the second slot set disregarding the first ACI value Pi and the second ACI value Pi (see step 533 of FIG. 8) . In this case, the node of the interfered network may schedule the prioritized and nonprioritized signal transmission as normal, i.e., the two types of signal transmission may be scheduled in any slot of the interfered network irrespective of whether the slots belong to the first slot set or the second slot set. In this case, it is not determined which slots experience higher or lower ACI .

[0084] If any of the first ACI value Pi or the second ACI value Pi is larger than the predetermined threshold Th, the node of the interfered network may infer that the ACI from the interfering network may not be neglected. In this case, the node of the interfered network may determine whether the first slot set or the second slot set experiences more ACI. Similar to FIG. 6, prioritized signal transmission may be scheduled to the slots of the first slot set if the first ACI value Pi is smaller than the second ACI value Pi (see step S531) and prioritized signal transmission may be scheduled to the slots of the second slot set if the second ACI value Pi is smaller than the first ACI value Pi (see step S532) . As shown above , the invention addresses the coexistence of at least two networks using di f ferent modes . The slots of the interfered network may be classi fied into a first slot set and a second slot set , wherein, for example , one of the first and second slot sets comprising slots exhibiting same-link ACI and the other slot set comprising slots exhibiting crosslink ACI . The scheduling of prioriti zed signal transmission may then be directed to slots associated to the set that experiences lower levels of ACI .

[0085] There may be two ways of obtaining the first slot set and the second slot set : classi fying the UL slots of the interfered network or classi fying the DL slots of the interfered network . Both cases are described in more detail below .

[0086] For the first case , the first slot set and the second slot set may be obtained by classi fying the UL slots of the interfered network into the first slot set and the second slot set .

[0087] To obtain the first ACI value and the second ACI value , the node of the interfered network may perform ACI measurements for the first slot set and ACI measurements for the second slot set . Details regarding the ACI measurements have been provided above and are not repeated here for conciseness reasons .

[0088] I f the first ACI value associated with the first slot set is smaller than the second ACI value associated with the second slot set , UL transmission of a first set of wireless terminals , which are served by the interfered network and may perform prioriti zed signal transmission, may be scheduled to the UL slots of the first s lot set . Furthermore , UL transmission of a second set of wireless terminals , which are served by the interfered network and may perform nonprioriti zed signal transmission, may be scheduled in the UL slots of the second slot set . If the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, UL transmission of the first set of wireless terminals may be scheduled to the UL slots of the second slot set. Furthermore, the UL transmission of the second set of wireless terminals may be scheduled to the UL slots of the first slot set.

[0089] For example, the first set of wireless terminals comprises wireless terminals having, i.e. sending or receiving, prioritized traffic or service. Examples of prioritized traffic are Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) traffic, time-critical communication (TCC) traffic, or any traffic with higher requirement in latency or higher importance than other traffic, such as non-prioritized traffic .

[0090] According to another example, the second set of wireless terminals comprises wireless terminals having, i.e. sending or receiving, non-prioritized traffic or service. An example of non-prioritized traffic or service in a NPN, such as a private factory network, is enhanced MBB (eMBB) or any traffic with lower requirement in latency or lower importance than other traffic, such as prioritized traffic. For example, there are services that have lesser priority than URLLC, e.g., surveillance, data transmission from torque tools, etc.

[0091] By scheduling the UL transmission of the first set of wireless terminals to the UL slots of the set experiencing lower ACI, it is ensured that the ultra-reliable and low latency requirements are met.

[0092] If the first slot set comprises same-link slots and the second slot set comprises cross-link slots and if the first ACI value is smaller than the second ACI value, it means that the stronger ACI comes from cross-link slots, where the node of the aggressor network, such as a PN, transmits in DL . This means that the radio link of the victim network, such as an NPN, on same-link slots, where the wireless terminals served by the aggressor network transmits in UL, is better than for cross-link slots. This might happen when the path loss between the node of the victim network and the node of the aggressor network is relatively small, e.g. small distance and / or low wall penetration loss, while no wireless terminals served by the aggressor network are in the premises of the victim network. This may lead to a small first ACI value. Therefore, the node of the victim network may schedule URLLC UL traffic to same-link slots in UL with higher priority than scheduling the eMBB UL traffic to these slots. Regarding the eMBB traffic, if there are still radio resources in the preferred same-link slots available, the eMBB traffic may also be scheduled in the remaining UL same-link slots; otherwise, the node of the victim network may schedule the eMBB traffic in cross-link slots.

[0093] On the other hand, if the first slot set comprises same-link slots and the second slot set comprises cross-link slots and if the first ACI value is greater than the second ACI value, the stronger ACI is caused by the wireless terminals of the aggressor network in same-link slots, when the aggressor network is in UL . This may happen when the aggressor network has poor coverage in the premises of the victim network, e.g. large distance and / or high wall penetration losses, and the wireless terminal served by the aggressor network is inside the premises of the victim network, giving rise to the near- far problem. Here, the node of the victim network may prioritize URLLC UL traffic to cross-link slots over eMBB UL traffic, as the ACI power in cross-link UL slots is weaker than in same-link slots. If there are still radio resources available in cross-link slots after the URLLC traffic has been scheduled, the eMBB traffic may be scheduled there, as well; otherwise, the node of the victim network may schedule the eMBB traffic in same-link UL slots. However, sometimes it is possible that there may be more prioriti zed traf fic to transmit than available UL slots o f the preferred set , i . e . of the first slot set or the second slot set experiencing less ACI . Here , the node may sort the first set of wireless terminals in an ascending order in terms of priority to obtain a priority list and may schedule the UL transmission of the first set of wireless terminals in the UL slots of the first slot set or the second slot set according to the priority list . Sorting the first set of wireless terminals in an ascending order in terms of priority may mean that a wireless terminal with the highest priority is at the top, i . e . first , in the priority list and may be scheduled first and a wireless terminal with the lowest priority is at the bottom, i . e . last , in the priority list and may be scheduled last . For example , the first set of wireless terminals is sorted according to path gain, latency budget , and / or number of retransmission attempts . The weaker the path gain, the higher priority a wireless terminal of the first set of wireless terminals gets . One reason is that the wireless terminal with better path gain may require less power to meet a certain signal-to-noise ratio ( SNR) , whereas the wireless terminal with a poor path gain may reach the maximum wireless terminal transmission power . Likewise , the tighter the delay and / or reliabil ity requirements the higher the priority may be . Furthermore , retransmitted prioriti zed data, such as URLLC data, may also get higher priority, as failure to success fully receive may result in loss of data .

[0094] I f the UL transmission of all wireless terminals from the first set wireless terminals cannot be scheduled in the UL slots of the first or second slot set having a lower ACI value , the UL transmission of the wireless terminals from the first set of wireless terminals not being scheduled yet may be scheduled in the UL slots of the first or second slot set having a higher ACI value and a transmission power may be increased in the first or second slot set having the higher ACI value . For example , the node further prioriti zes retransmissions of URLLC traf fic on the preferred set , i . e . the first slot set or the second slot set having the smaller ACI value , and schedules remaining URLLC traf fic on the other set having the higher ACI value . Other non-delay sensitive traf fic, such as eMBB traf fic, may be scheduled on the remaining UL slots of the victim network . The result is that URLLC traf fic which has a higher requirement in latency and reliability is scheduled in UL slots with better radio link quality, i . e . , less ACI from the aggressor network .

[0095] For example , when the victim network has detected a stronger ACI in cross-link slots , the node of the victim network may prioriti ze the URLLC traf fic on same-link slots . Among di f ferent types of wireless terminals , the node of the victim network may first prioriti ze the URLLC wireless terminals over the eMBB UEs . Then, among the URLLC UEs , the node of the victim network may sort and prioriti ze wireless terminals according to the path gain, latency budget and / or number of retransmission attempt as described above . After the sorting, the node of the victim network may schedule the URLLC wireless terminals according to the priority list to samelink slots when the aggressor network is in UL . Then, the node of the victim network may check i f all the URLLC wireless terminals have been scheduled in the available samelink slots . In case some URLLC data remains to be transmitted, the node of the victim network may schedule the remaining URLLC wireless terminals together with the eMBB wireless terminals to cross-link slots where the aggressor network is in DL, and may let these URLLC wireless terminals be transmitted with a higher power in these slots to mitigate the stronger ACI . I f all URLLC wireless terminals are scheduled, the node of the victim network may schedule the eMBB wireless terminals on the remaining UL slots .

[0096] According to another example , when the victim network has detected a stronger ACI in same-link slots , when the aggressor network is in UL, the node of the victim network may prioriti ze the URLLC traf fic on cross-link slots , where the aggressor network is in DL . Sorting and prioriti zing the URLLC wireless terminals over the eMBB terminals may happen in analogy to the example above with respect to the stronger ACI in the cross-link slots .

[0097] Now, the second case is described, wherein the first slot set and the second slot set may be obtained by classi fying the DL slots of the interfered network into the first slot set and the second slot set .

[0098] For the second case , the node of the interfered network may receive , from at least one wireless terminal served by the interfered network, i . e . served by the node operating the interfered network, ACI measurement results for the first slot set and ACI measurement results for the second slot set . The received ACI measurement results may be used, by the node of the interfered network, to obtain the first ACI value and the second ACI value . Thus , based on the reports of the wireless terminals , the node of the interfered network is able to schedule the prioriti zed and non-prioriti zed traf fic accordingly .

[0099] I f the first ACI value associated with the first slot set is smaller than the second ACI value associated with the second slot set , DL transmission of a plurality of prioriti zed data packets transmitted by the node operating the interfered network may be scheduled in the DL slots of the first slot set . Furthermore , DL transmission of a plurality of nonprioriti zed data packets transmitted by the node operating the interfered network may be scheduled in the DL slots of the second slot set .

[0100] I f the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value , DL transmission of the plurality of prioriti zed data packets may be scheduled in the DL slots of the second slot set . Furthermore , DL transmission o f the plurality of non prioritized data packets transmitted by the node operating the interfered network may be scheduled in the DL slots of the first slot set.

[0101] For example, the prioritized data packets belong to prioritized traffic. As already indicated above, examples of prioritized traffic are Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) traffic, time-critical communication (TCC) traffic, or any traffic with higher requirement in latency or higher importance than other traffic, such as nonprioritized traffic.

[0102] According to another example, the non-prioritized data packets belong to non-prioritized traffic. As already indicated above, an example for non-prioritized traffic is eMBB traffic or any traffic with lower requirement in latency or lower importance than other traffic, such as prioritized traffic. For example, there can be traffic that has lesser priority than URLLC traffic, e.g., surveillance, data transmission from torque tools, etc.

[0103] According to an embodiment, the node of the interfered network may sort the plurality of prioritized data packets in an ascending order in terms of priority to obtain a priority list and may schedule the plurality of prioritized data packets in the DL slots of the first slot set or the second slot set according to the priority list. If, for example, all of the plurality of prioritized data packets cannot be scheduled in the DL slots of the first or second slot set having a lower ACI value, the DL transmission of the prioritized data packets not being scheduled yet is scheduled in the DL slots of the first or second slot set having a higher ACI value. Similar to the first case, the result is that URLLC traffic which has a higher requirement in latency and reliability is scheduled in DL slots with better radio link quality, i.e., less ACI from the aggressor network. Above , various examples have been given to reduce the ACI impact on scheduled signal transmission, in particular on prioriti zed signal transmission . It is noted that also further ACI protection mechanisms can be applied, such as using a filter or adaptively changing the symbol rates .

[0104] Furthermore , it is noted that the victim network may comprise more than one node . This may be the case i f the victim network has multiple cells , wherein each cell is served by one node . The above-described method may then be implemented in each cell independently, i . e . may be performed in each node independently .

[0105] FIG . 9 shows exemplary hardware of a node 900 operating the interfered network . The node 900 may perform one of the methods described above for adequately scheduling the signal transmission . The hardware may use software to implement the functions and methods described herein .

[0106] The node 900 may comprise a processor 910 and a memory 920 . The memory 920 may comprise instructions executable by the processor 910 .

[0107] There is also generally considered a computer program product comprising instructions adapted for causing processing and / or control circuitry to carry out and / or control any method described herein with regard to the node , in particular when executed on the processing and / or control circuitry . Also , there is considered a carrier medium arrangement carrying and / or storing a computer program product as described herein .

[0108] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modi fications and variations can be made in the entities and methods of this invention as well as in the construction of this invention without departing from the scope or spirit o f the invention . The invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments and examples which are intended in all aspects to be illustrative rather than restrictive . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many di f ferent combinations of hardware , software and / or firmware will be suitable for practicing the present invention .

[0109] Moreover, other implementations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the speci fication and practice of the invention disclosed herein . It is intended that the speci fication and the examples be considered as exemplary only . To this end, it is to be understood that inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed implementation or configuration . Thus , the true scope and spirit of the invention is indicated by the following claims .

Claims

Claims1. A method performed by a node (900) operating an interfered network using a first mode, the interfered network being interfered by an interfering network using a second mode different from the first mode, the first mode and the second mode each providing a slot configuration for signal transmission, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining (S510) a first adjacent channel interference, ACI, value for a first slot set, the first slot set comprising a first set of slots of the interfered network; obtaining (S520) a second ACI value for a second slot set, the second slot set comprising a second set of slots of the interfered network; and scheduling (S530) the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the first ACI value is smaller than the second ACI value, prioritized signal transmission is scheduled (S531) to the slots of the first slot set; and if the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, the prioritized signal transmission is scheduled (S532) to the slots of the second slot set.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, whereinif the first ACT value is smaller than the second ACT value, non-prioritized signal transmission is scheduled to the slots of the second slot set; and if the second ACT value is smaller than the first ACT value, the non-prioritized signal transmission is scheduled to the slots of the first slot set.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first slot set comprises same-link slots, the samelink slots exhibiting same-link interference, and the second slot set comprises cross-link slots, the cross-link slots exhibiting cross-link interference.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first mode is a first Time Division Duplex, TDD, mode, a Frequency Division Duplex, FDD, mode, or a SubBand Full Duplex, SBFD, mode, and wherein the second mode is a second TDD mode, a TDD pattern of the first TDD mode is different from a TDD pattern of the second TDD mode.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first and second TDD patterns are time aligned.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first ACT value and the second ACT value are a mean ACT power, a maximum ACT power, or a predetermined percentile ACT power for the first slot set and the second slot set.8 . The method according to claim 7 , further setting a time window, wherein the first ACI value and the second ACI value are a mean ACI power, a maximum ACI power, or a predetermined percentile ACI power within the time window for the first slot set and the second slot set .9 . The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , further comprising : comparing the first ACI value and the second ACI value to a predetermined threshold, wherein i f the first ACI value and the second ACI value are smaller than the predetermined threshold, the signal transmission is scheduled ( S533 ) to the first slot set or the second slot set disregarding the first ACI value and the second ACI value .10 . The method according to claim 9 , wherein the predetermined threshold is a thermal noise value or a value less than a co-channel interference , CCI , value experienced in the interfered network .11 . The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein the first slot set and the second slot set are obtained by classi fying Uplink, UL, slots of the interfered network into the first slot set and the second slot set .12 . The method according to claim 11 , further comprising : performing ACI measurements for the first slot set and ACI measurements for the second slot set to obtain the first ACI value and the second ACI value .13 . The method according to claim 11 or 12 , whereinif the first ACI value is smaller than the second ACI value, UL transmission of a first set of wireless terminals, which are served by the interfered network and perform prioritized signal transmission, is scheduled to the UL slots of the first slot set, and if the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, UL transmission of the first set of wireless terminals is scheduled to the UL slots of the second slot set.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first set of wireless terminals comprises wireless terminals having prioritized traffic.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein if the first ACI value is smaller than the second ACI value, UL transmission of a second set of wireless terminals, which are served by the interfered network and perform non-prioritized signal transmission, is scheduled in the UL slots of the second slot set, and if the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, UL transmission of the second set of wireless terminals is scheduled to the UL slots of the first slot set .

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the second set of wireless terminals comprises wireless terminals having non-prioritized traffic.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 or 16, further comprising:sorting the first set of wireless terminals in an ascending order in terms of priority to obtain a priority list , and scheduling the UL transmission of the first set of wireless terminals in the UL slots of the first slot set or the second slot set according to the priority list .18 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein the first set of wireless terminals is sorted according to path gain, latency budget , and / or number of retransmission attempts .19 . The method according to claim 17 or 18 , wherein i f the UL transmission of all wireless terminals from the first set wireless terminals cannot be scheduled in the UL slots of the first or second slot set having a lower ACI value , the UL transmi ssion of the wireless terminals from the first set of wireless terminals not being scheduled yet is scheduled in the UL slots of the first or second slot set having a higher ACI value , and a transmission power is increased in the first or second slot set having the higher ACI value .20 . The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein the first slot set and the second slot set are obtained by classi fying Downlink, DL, slots of the interfered network into the first slot set and the second slot set .21 . The method according to claim 20 , further comprising : receiving, from at least one wireless terminal served by the interfered network, ACI measurement results for the first slot set and ACI measurement results for thesecond slot set and using the received ACI measurement results to obtain the first ACI value and the second ACI value .

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein if the first ACI value is smaller than the second ACI value, DL transmission of a plurality of prioritized data packets transmitted by the node (900) operating the interfered network is scheduled in the DL slots of the first slot set, and if the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, DL transmission of the plurality of prioritized data packets is scheduled in the DL slots of the second slot set.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the prioritized data packets belong to prioritized traffic.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein if the first ACI value is smaller than the second ACI value, DL transmission of a plurality of non-prioritized data packets transmitted by the node (900) operating the interfered network is scheduled in the DL slots of the second slot set, and if the second ACI value is smaller than the first ACI value, DL transmission of the plurality of nonprioritized data packets transmitted by the node (900) operating the interfered network is scheduled in the DL slots of the first slot set.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the nonprioritized data packets belong to non-prioritized traffic .

26. The method according to claim 22 or 25, further comprising : sorting the plurality of prioritized data packets in an ascending order in terms of priority to obtain a priority list, and scheduling the plurality of prioritized data packets in the DL slots of the first slot set or the second slot set according to the priority list.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein if all of the plurality of prioritized data packets cannot be scheduled in the DL slots of the first or second slot set having a lower ACT value, the DL transmission of the prioritized data packets not being scheduled yet is scheduled in the DL slots of the first or second slot set having a higher ACT value.

28. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, wherein the interfered network is a non-public network, NPN, and the interfering network is a public network, PN.

29. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, further comprising classifying slots of the interfered network into the first slot set and the second slot set.

30. A node (900) for operating an interfered network using a first mode, the interfered network being interfered by an interfering network using a second mode different from the first mode, the first mode and the second mode each providing a slot configuration for signal transmission, the node configured to:obtain a first adjacent channel interference, ACI, value for a first slot set; obtain a second ACI value for a second slot set; and schedule the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value.

31. The node (900) according to claim 29, further configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 29.

32. A node (900) for operating an interfered network using a first mode, the interfered network being interfered by an interfering network using a second mode different from the first mode, the first mode and the second mode each providing a slot configuration for signal transmission, the node (900) comprising a processor (910) and a memory (920) , said memory (920) containing instructions executable by said processor (910) , whereby said node (900) is operative to: obtain a first adjacent channel interference, ACI, value for a first slot set; obtain a second ACI value for a second slot set; and schedule the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value.

33. The node (900) according to claim 31, further operative to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 29.

34. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by a processor (910) to operate a node (900) for operating an interfered network using a first mode, the interfered network being interfered by an interfering network using a second mode different from the first mode, the first mode and the second mode each providing a slot configuration for signal transmission, whereby execution of the program code causes the node (900) to perform operations comprising: obtaining a first adjacent channel interference, ACI, value for a first slot set; obtaining a second ACI value for a second slot set; and scheduling the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value.

35. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium including program code to be executed by a processor (910) to operate a node (900) for operating an interfered network using a first mode, the interfered network being interfered by an interfering network using a second mode different from the first mode, the first mode and the second mode each providing a slot configuration for signal transmission, whereby execution of the program code causes the node (900) to perform operations comprising: obtaining a first adjacent channel interference, ACI, value for a first slot set; obtaining a second ACI value for a second slot set; andscheduling the signal transmission to the first slot set or to the second slot set according to the first ACI value and the second ACI value .

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