User equipment, base station, processor and method for wireless communication.

Description

1 / 83 “USER EQUIPMENT, BASE STATION, PROCESSOR AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION” Technical Field

[001] The embodiments of this disclosure relate generally to wireless communication technology and, more particularly, to secondary cell (SCell) dormancy indication for multiple SCells by means of downlink control information (DCI). Background of the Invention

[002] A wireless communication system may include one or more network communication devices, such as base stations, which may support wireless communication to one or more user communication devices, which may also be known as user equipment (UE) or other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system may support wireless communication with one or more user communication devices by utilizing wireless communication system features (e.g., timing features (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like)) or frequency features (e.g., subcarriers, carriers, or the like).Furthermore, the wireless communication system can support wireless communication in various radio access technologies, including third-generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth-generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth-generation (5G) radio access technology (also known as new radio technology (NR)), and other suitable radio access technologies besides 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G)).

[003] Carrier aggregation (CA) technology can be used in a wireless communication system to, for example, increase data rates. For example, CA technology can refer to the aggregation of spectrum resources (e.g., carriers or cells) from the same band. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 82 / 178 2 / 83 frequency or different frequency bands. In a CA scenario, multiple cells can be configured for a UE and DL or UL channels can be carried in one or more of the multiple cells.

[004] A UE in a wireless communication system can be configured with one or more SCells. However, one or more of the configured SCells may not always be used for data transmission. Therefore, power consumption can be reduced if the UE can interrupt monitoring of the downlink physical control channel (PDCCH) on one or more SCells where no data transmission is expected.

[005] There is a need for SCell dormancy indication in a wireless communication system. Brief Description

[006] An article “a” before an element is unrestricted and understood as referring to “at least one” of those elements or “one or more” of those elements. The terms “a”, “at least one”, “one or more”, and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, “or”, as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items preceded by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” or “one or both of”) indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, as used herein, the expression “based on” should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" could be based on either condition A or condition B, without departing from the scope of this disclosure.In other words, as used here, the expression "based on" should be interpreted in the same way as the expression "based at least in part on". Furthermore, as used. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 83 / 178 3 / 83 here, including in the claims, a "set" may include one or more elements.

[007] Some forms of carrying out this disclosure provide a EU.The UE may include at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to: receive, from a base station (BS), a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI format being scrambled by a radio-cell network temporary identifier (CRNTI) or a C-RNTI modulation and coding scheme (MCS-C-RNTI) of the UE; receive the DCI format from the BS; determine whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, wherein a first bit of the field set corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE; and switch to a dormant bandwidth portion (BWP) of the first secondary cell of the UE in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell.

[008] In some embodiments, at least one processor is configured to cause the UE: in response to a single-trigger hybrid auto-repeat request confirmation (HARQ-ACK) field being missing from DCI format or indicating that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator being missing from DCI format or indicating that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value, determine that the set of fields in DCI format be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE.

[009] In some embodiments, DCI may include a first indicator that shows whether the set of fields in DCI format is Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 84 / 178 4 / 83 repurposed to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, or if a second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE.

[010] In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows the set of fields in DCI format being reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission. In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows the second indicator in DCI format being used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE, the DCI format schedules one or more data transmissions to the UE.

[011] In some embodiments, the field set may include one or more FDRA fields corresponding to one or more cells with the lowest server cell indices among a second set of cells. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that indicates programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[012] In some embodiments, the first set of cells may include a primary UE cell. At least one processor is configured to cause the UE to: in response to a single-shot HARQ-ACK request field being missing from DCI format or indicating that single-shot HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator being missing from DCI format or indicating that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format except one FDRA field for the primary cell indicating an invalid value, determine that the set of fields in DCI format is Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 85 / 178 5 / 83 repurposed to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE.

[013] In some embodiments, the field set does not include a field used for the primary cell.

[014] In some embodiments, at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to determine whether the primary cell is programmed by the DCI format based on whether the FDRA field for the primary cell indicates a valid or invalid value or based on whether a combination of programmed cells indicated by the DCI format includes or does not include the primary cell.

[015] In some embodiments, at least one processor is configured to cause the UE: in response to a single-shot HARQ-ACK request field being missing from DCI format or indicating that single-shot HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator being missing from DCI format or indicating that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and at least one DCI-format FDRA field indicating an invalid value, determine that the set of DCI-format fields be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE.

[016] In some embodiments, the number of at least one FDRA field is determined based on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE.

[017] In some embodiments, the field set is used specifically for a cell with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within a second set of cells with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 86 / 178 6 / 83 including an indicator that shows programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[018] In some embodiments, the set of fields is concatenated into a bitmap-based indicator according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator.

[019] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate the dormancy of each secondary cell of the UE, and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE.

[020] In some embodiments, a first bit value may indicate that the UE should switch to the dormant BWP of the first secondary cell. In some embodiments, a second bit value may indicate that the UE should switch to an active first BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the current active BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is not the dormant BWP.

[021] In some embodiments, the field set may include one or more of the following: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size; a cell-specific field with configurable field size; and a common-cell field.

[022] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a BS. The BS may include at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to at least one memory and configured to cause the BS to: transmit, to a UE, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 87 / 178 7 / 83 of the DCI format is scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE; and transmits the DCI format to the UE, wherein the DCI format may indicate whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and a first bit of the field set corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE.

[023] In some embodiments, if a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format indicate an invalid value, the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE.

[024] In some embodiments, DCI may include a first indicator that indicates whether the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, or whether a second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE.

[025] In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows that the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission. In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows that the second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE, the DCI format schedules one or more data transmissions to the UE.

[026] In some embodiments, the set of fields Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 88 / 178 8 / 83 may include one or more FDRA fields corresponding to one or more cells with the lowest server cell indexes among a second set of cells. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that shows programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[027] In some embodiments, the first set of cells may include a primary UE cell. In some embodiments, if a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format, except one FDRA field for the primary cell, indicate an invalid value, the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary UE cell.

[028] In some embodiments, the field set does not include a field used for the primary cell.

[029] In some embodiments, whether or not the primary cell is programmed by the DCI format depends on whether the FDRA field for the primary cell indicates a valid or invalid value, or whether a combination of programmed cells indicated by the DCI format includes or does not include the primary cell.

[030] In some embodiments, if a one-time HARQ-ACK request field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that one-time HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and at least one FDRA field in the DCI format indicates an invalid value, the set of fields in the DCI format is Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 89 / 178 9 / 83 repurposed to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE.

[031] In some embodiments, at least one processor is additionally configured to cause the BS to determine the number of at least one FDRA field based on a number of secondary cells configured for the UE.

[032] In some embodiments, the field set is used specifically for a cell with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within a second set of cells with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating invalid value. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that indicates programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[033] In some embodiments, the set of fields is concatenated into a bitmap-based indicator according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator.

[034] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate the dormancy of each secondary cell of the UE, and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE.

[035] In some embodiments, a first bit value may indicate that the UE should switch to a dormant BWP of the first secondary cell. In some embodiments, a second bit value may indicate that the UE should switch to an active first BWP of the first secondary cell, if the current active BWP of the first cell Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 90 / 178 10 / 83 secondary is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the current active BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is not the dormant BWP.

[036] In some embodiments, the field set may include one or more of the following: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size; a cell-specific field with configurable field size; and a common-cell field.

[037] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a processor. The processor may include at least one controller coupled to at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receive, from a BS, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC of the DCI format is scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-CRNTI from a UE; receive the DCI format from the BS; determine whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, wherein a first bit of the field set corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE; and switch to a dormant BWP of the first secondary cell of the UE in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell.

[038] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a processor. The processor may include at least one controller coupled to at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: transmit to an UE a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE; and transmit the DCI format to the UE, wherein the DCI format may indicate whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and a first bit of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 91 / 178 11 / 83 set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE.

[039] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communication. The method may include: receiving, from a BS, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of a UE; receiving the DCI format from the BS; determining whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, wherein a first bit of the set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE; and switching to a dormant BWP of the first secondary cell of the UE in response to the first bit indicating dormancy of the first secondary cell.

[040] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communication. The method may include: transmitting to an UE a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE; and transmitting the DCI format to the UE, wherein the DCI format may indicate whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and a first bit of the field set corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE.

[041] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus may include: at least one non-transient computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions stored thereon; at least one receiving circuit; at least one transmitting circuit; and at least one processor coupled to at least one non-transient computer-readable medium, to at least one receiving circuit and to Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 92 / 178 12 / 83 at least one transmitter circuit, wherein at least one non-transient computer-readable medium and computer-executable instructions can be configured to, with at least one processor, cause the apparatus to execute a method in accordance with some embodiment of the present disclosure. Brief Description of the Figures

[042] In order to describe how the advantages and features of disclosure can be obtained, a description of disclosure is presented by reference to its specific embodiments, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. These drawings represent only exemplary embodiments of disclosure and, therefore, should not be considered limiting of its scope.

[043] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[044] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary bitmap-based indicator to indicate the dormancy of a plurality of SCells of a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[045] Figure 3 illustrates a method flowchart for wireless communication according to some ways of carrying out the present disclosure.

[046] Figure 4 illustrates a method flowchart for wireless communication according to some ways of carrying out the present disclosure.

[047] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[048] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a processor according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 93 / 178 13 / 83

[049] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a network equipment (NE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[050] The detailed description of the accompanying drawings is intended to be a description of preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the only embodiment in which the present disclosure may be practiced. It should be understood that equal or equivalent functions may be performed by different embodiments which are intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[051] Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. For ease of understanding, the embodiments are provided under specific network architecture(s) and new service scenarios, such as the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) 5G NR or 6G, 3GPP LTE, and so forth. It is considered that, along with developments in network architectures and new service scenarios, all embodiments in the present disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems; and, furthermore, the terminology cited in the present disclosure may change, which should not affect the principles of the present disclosure.

[052] A UE in a wireless communication system can be configured with one or more SCells. However, at least one of the one or more SCells cannot always be used for data transmission. It is desirable to change a SCell from a non-sleeping BWP to a sleeping BWP to save power.

[053] To solve the above problem, the indication of SCell dormancy for multiple SCells of a UE can be supported in a multi-cell programming DCI format. Examples in this disclosure provide Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 94 / 178 14 / 83 solutions to support SCell dormancy indication in a DCI format.

[054] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the wireless communication system (100) according to some examples in this disclosure.

[055] The wireless communication system (100) may include one or more NEs (102) (e.g., one or more BSs), one or more UEs (104), and a central network (CN) (106). The wireless communication system (100) may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communication system (100) may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communication system (100) may be an NR network, such as a 5G network, a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) network, or a 5G ultra-wideband (5GUWB) network. In other implementations, the wireless communication system (100) may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), and IEEE 802.20 standards. The wireless communication system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, for example, 6G.In addition, the wireless communication system (100) can support technologies such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA), etc.

[056] One or more NEs (102) may be dispersed over a geographical region to form the wireless communication system (100). One or more of the NEs (102) described herein may be, include or be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a network function, a network entity, a radio access network (RAN), a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) or other suitable terminology. An NE (102) and a UE (104) may communicate via a Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 95 / 178 15 / 83 communication link, which can be a wireless or wired connection. For example, an NE (102) and a UE (104) can perform wireless communication (e.g., receive signaling, transmit signaling) via a Uu interface.

[057] A NE (102) may provide a geographic coverage area for which the NE (102) may support services for one or more UEs (104) within the geographic coverage area. For example, a NE (102) and a UE (104) may support wireless communication of service-related signals (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc.) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, a NE (102) may be mobile, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas (112) associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas may be associated with a different NE (102).

[058] One or more UEs (104) may be dispersed across a geographical region of the wireless communication system (100). A UE (104) may include or be referred to as a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a subscriber device, a transmitter device, a receiver device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE (104) may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE (104) may be referred to as an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples.

[059] One UE (104) can support wireless communication directly with other UEs (104) via a communication link. By Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 96 / 178 16 / 83 For example, a UE (104) can support wireless communication directly with another UE (104) via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or V2X cellular deployments, the communication link (114) may be referred to as a side link. For example, a UE (104) can support wireless communication directly with another UE (104) via a PC5 interface.

[060] An NE (102) can support communication with CN (106), or with another NE (102), or both. For example, an NE (102) can interact with another NE (102) or with the CN (106) through one or more backhaul links (e.g., S1, N2, N3, or another network interface). In some implementations, NEs (102) can communicate directly. In other implementations, NEs (102) can communicate with each other or indirectly (e.g., through the CN (106)). In some implementations, one or more NEs (102) can include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which can be an example of an access node controller (ANC). An ANC can communicate with one or more UEs (104) through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be called radio heads, smart radio heads or transmit and receive points (TRPs).

[061] The CN (106) can support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The CN (106) can be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which can include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a service gateway (S-GW), Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 97 / 178 17 / 83 a packet data network gateway (PDN) (P-GW) or a user plane function (UPF)). In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-accessible stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and carrier management (e.g., data carriers, signal carriers, etc.) for one or more UEs (104) served by one or more NEs (102) associated with the CN (106).

[062] The CN (106) can communicate with a packet data network via one or more backhaul links (e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or other network interface). The packet data network may include an application server. In some implementations, one or more UEs (104) can communicate with the application server. A UE (104) can establish a session (e.g., a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session or similar) with the CN (106) via a NE (102). The CN (106) can route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and similar) between the UE (104) and the application server using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session). The PDU session can be an example of a logical connection between the UE (104) and the CN (106) (e.g., one or more network functions of the CN (106)).

[063] In the wireless communication system (100), NEs (102) and UEs (104) can use wireless communication system (100) resources (e.g., timing resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or similar) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers)) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communication). In some implementations, NEs (102) and UEs (104) can support different resource structures. For example, NEs (102) and UEs (104) can support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, NEs (102) and UEs (104) can support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and others Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 98 / 178 18 / 83 suitable radio access technologies, the NEs (102) and UEs (104) can support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures). The NEs (102) and UEs (104) can support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

[064] One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communication system (100), and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g., μ=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g., μ=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g., μ=1) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g., μ=2) can be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix.A fourth numerology (e.g., μ=3) can be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g., μ=4) can be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A sixth numerology (e.g., μ=5) can be associated with a sixth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 480 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A seventh numerology (e.g., μ=6) can be associated with a seventh subcarrier spacing (e.g., 960 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

[065] A time interval of a resource (for example, a communication resource) can be organized according to frames (also called radio frames). Each frame can have a duration, for Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 99 / 178 19 / 83 example, of 10 milliseconds (ms). In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration of, for example, 1 ms. In some implementations, each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

[066] Additionally or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g., quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communication system (100). For example, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e., μ = 0, μ = 1, μ = 2, μ = 3, μ = 4) associated with the respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot can include a number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols).In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing), a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that the reference to a first numerology (e.g., μ = 0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 100 / 178 20 / 83

[067] In the wireless communication system (100), an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum can be divided, based on frequency or wavelength, into several classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communication system (100) can support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as the frequency band designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz) and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz). In some implementations, the NEs (102) and UEs (104) can perform wireless communication in one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 can be used by the NEs (102) and UEs (104), among other equipment or devices for cellular communication traffic (e.g., control information, data).In some implementations, FR2 can be used by NEs (102) and UEs (104), among other equipment or devices for short-range, high-data-rate capabilities.

[068] FR1 can be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least three numerologies). For example, FR1 can be associated with a first numerology (e.g., μ=0), which includes a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz; a second numerology (e.g., μ=1), which includes a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz; and a third numerology (e.g., μ=2), which includes a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz. FR2 can be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least two numerologies). For example, FR2 can be associated with a third numerology (e.g., μ=2), which includes a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz; and a fourth numerology (e.g., μ=3), which includes a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz.

[069] A UE (104) may include computing devices such as desktop computers, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 101 / 178 21 / 83 smart televisions (e.g., internet-connected televisions), set-top boxes, game consoles, security systems (including security cameras), vehicle onboard computers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, and modems) or similar. According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a UE (104) may include a portable wireless communication device, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a flip phone, a subscriber identity module device, a personal computer, a selective call receiver, or any other device capable of sending and receiving communication signals on a wireless network. In some embodiments of this disclosure, a UE (104) includes wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, head-mounted optical displays, or similar.Furthermore, a UE (104) may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile device, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a user terminal or a device, or described using other terminology used in the state of the art. A UE (104) may communicate with an NE (102) (e.g., a BS) by means of uplink communication signals (UL). An NE (102) may communicate with a UE (104) by means of downlink communication signals (DL).

[070] In some embodiments of this disclosure, an NE (102) and a UE (104) may communicate via licensed spectrum, while in some other embodiments, an NE (102) and a UE (104) may communicate via unlicensed spectrum. This disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementation of any specific wireless communication system architecture or protocol.

[071] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication system (100) may be designed to support AC. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 102 / 178 22 / 83 To reduce signaling overhead in the case of CA, multicellular data transmission programming (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) with a single DCI programming format is supported and is referred to as multicellular programming in the context of this disclosure. For example, a dedicated DCI UL format (e.g., DCI 0_3 format) can be introduced to program up to 4 PUSCHs in 4 cells with one PUSCH per cell. For example, a dedicated DCI DL format (e.g., DCI 1_3 format) can be introduced to program up to 4 PDSCHs in 4 cells with one PDSCH per cell.

[072] For example, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, a BS may configure a set of cells that can be used for multi-cell programming for an UE. For example, the BS may transmit a DCI format to the UE, and the DCI format may program one or more downlink data transmissions (e.g., PDSCHs) or uplink data transmissions (e.g., PUSCHs) in one or more cells in the configured cell set. The programmed cells are indicated by the DCI format among the configured cell set, i.e., indicated by an indicator in the DCI format if the indicator is included in the DCI format; otherwise, if the DCI format does not include such an indicator, the programmed cells are all the cells in the configured cell set. For clarity, such an indicator will henceforth be referred to as the programmed cell indicator.

[073] A UE in a wireless communication system can be configured with one or more SCells. However, at least one of the one or more SCells may not always be used for data transmission. It is desirable to change a SCell from a non-sleeping BWP to a sleeping BWP to save power. A sleeping BWP can be configured Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 103 / 178 23 / 83 over the network to the SCell via dedicated RRC signaling as one of the SCell's downlink BWPs. On the dormant BWP, the UE can stop monitoring the PDCCH on or to the SCell, but can continue performing channel state information (CSI) measurements, automatic gain control (AGC), and beam management, if configured. Solutions for SCell inactivity indication for multiple SCells of a UE are therefore needed.

[074] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a multi-cell programming DCI format may indicate secondary cell inactivity for multiple secondary cells of a UE. For example, a set of fields in the DCI format may be reused to indicate secondary cell inactivity for each secondary cell of the UE. Further details on embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated in the following text, in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[075] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a BS may configure a set of cells (referred to as cell set #1 for clarity) for multi-cell programming by a DCI format. In some embodiments, the CRC of the DCI format may be scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE. As will be described in detail in the following text, the DCI format may indicate, implicitly or explicitly, whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE.

[076] In some embodiments of this disclosure, when a multi-cell DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy for each configured SCell of a UE, this DCI format does not schedule any data transmission. An invalid value is indicated in each FDRA field in the DCI format. The DCI format is transmitted in a primary cell (PCell) of the UE. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 104 / 178 24 / 83

[077] In some embodiments, for a DCI-format FDRA field, when all bits of the FDRA field are set to '0' for type 0 resource allocation, or set to '1' for type 1 resource allocation, or set to '0' or '1' for dynamic switching resource allocation, or set to '0' for type 2 resource allocation with 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) or '1' for type 2 resource allocation with 15 kHz SCS, this FDRA field indicates an invalid value; otherwise, this FDRA field indicates a valid value.

[078] From the perspective of an UE, in response to the absence of a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field in DCI format or the indication that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, the absence of a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator in DCI format or the indication that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value, the UE may determine that a set of fields (denominated field set #A) in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE; otherwise, the DCI format does not indicate SCell dormancy for any secondary cell of the UE. From the perspective of a BS, depending on whether the DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy for the secondary cell(s) of the UE, it may set the fields in DCI format accordingly.

[079] In some embodiments, the fields in fieldset #A can be concatenated into an indicator (referred to as a bitmap-based indicator) according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator. Details about the fields included in fieldset #A and the predefined rule for ordering these fields will be described later.

[080] In some embodiments, the relationship of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 105 / 178 25 / 83 The mapping between the bits in the bitmap-based indicator and the configured secondary cells of the UE can be predefined. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the most significant bit (MSB) to the least significant bit (LSB) of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an ascending order of SCell indices. For example, the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator can indicate dormancy for the SCell with the lowest SCell index, the bit following the MSB can indicate dormancy for the SCell with the second lowest SCell index, and so on. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the MSB to the LSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an ascending order of SCell indices.In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices.

[081] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE. For example, assuming the bitmap-based indicator includes 16 bits and the UE is configured with 8 SCells, then 8 bits are sufficient for SCell dormancy indication. In some embodiments, the 8 MSBs of the bitmap-based indicator may be used to indicate SCell dormancy for the UE, and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator may be ignored. In some embodiments, the 8 LSBs of the bitmap-based indicator may be used to indicate dormancy of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 106 / 178 26 / 83 SCell for UE and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be ignored.

[082] A specific bit (denoted as bit #A) in the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding secondary cell (denoted as cell #A) of the UE. In some embodiments, one value (e.g., '0' or '1') of bit #A may indicate that the UE should switch to a dormant BWP of cell #A. Another value (e.g., '1' or '0') of bit #A may indicate that the UE should switch to a first active BWP of cell #A if the current active BWP of cell #A is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the current active BWP of cell #A if the current active BWP of cell #A is not the dormant BWP.

[083] The DCI format may indicate a cell set (referred to as cell set #2) between cell set #1 by, for example, a DCI format programmed cell indicator, if it exists; otherwise, cell set #2 is cell set #1. If the DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy, the cells in cell set #2 are not effectively programmed by the DCI format. Cell-specific fields in cell set #2 in DCI format may be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE. Common cell fields, such as a Demodulation Reference Signal Sequence (DMRS) initialization field and a BWP indicator field, may also be reused for secondary cell dormancy indication.

[084] In some embodiments, the #A field set may include one or more fields in DCI format: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size (for example, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field or a new data indicator (NDI) field); a cell-specific field with configurable ... new data indicator (NDI) field); a cell-specific field with configurable field size; a cell-specific field with Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 107 / 178 27 / 83 example, a redundancy version (RV) field, a HARQ process number field, or an antenna port field, if configured as cell-specific type); and a common cell field (e.g., a DMRS sequence initialization field or a BWP indicator field).

[085] The #A field set may not include an FDRA field, as each FDRA field in DCI format indicates an invalid value. The number of FDRA fields (denoted as N) in DCI format may be equal to the number of cells in cell set #2. If a list of programmed cell combinations is configured for the UE (e.g., via RRC signaling), the programmed cell indicator in DCI format may indicate a cell combination from the list of programmed cell combinations. The indicated cell combination is cell set #2, and N is the number of cells in the indicated cell combination. As a special case, the list of programmed cell combinations may include only one cell combination, so N is the number of cells in the single cell combination.If the list of programmed cell combinations is not configured for the UE, the DCI format does not include the programmed cell indicator, so cell set #2 is cell set #1 and N is the number of cells in cell set #1. The N FDRA fields in the DCI format can be placed according to the predefined order (e.g., ascending or descending order) of the corresponding server cell index of the cells in cell set #2. For example, when an ascending order of server cell indices is employed, the first FDRA field might correspond to the frequency domain resource allocation for the cell with the lowest server cell index in cell set #2.

[086] In some examples, the set of fields #A may include a field(s) used specifically for a cell (for example, a cell) with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 108 / 178 28 / 83 of cell set #2, with the corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value. In some examples, field set #A may include field(s) used specifically for one or more cells with the lowest server cell indexes among cell set #2, with the corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating a valid value.

[087] The fields in field set #A can be sorted according to a predefined rule. For example, cell-specific fields in field set #A can be sorted in order of cell index first and field type second. For example, cell-specific fields in field set #A can be sorted in order of field type first and cell index second. The order of cell indices here can refer to an ascending or descending order of the cell indices of the cells in cell set #2. Any other sorting method that may be devised by those skilled in the art may be applied.

[088] The following are some examples of the #A field set and should not be interpreted as limiting the ways in which this disclosure can be implemented. For simplicity, in the following examples, an ascending order of cell indices is used and the cells in the #2 cell set are denoted as cell #1 to cell #N, ordered according to the ascending order of cell indices.

[089] In some examples, the field set #A may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, which may be sorted according to an order of cell index first and field type second. For example, the field set #A may include an MCS field and an NDI field. For example, the field set #A may be sorted as: {MCS of TB1 from cell #1, NDI of TB1 from cell #1, MCS of TB1 from cell #2, NDI of TB1 from cell #2, Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 109 / 178 29 / 83 .., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N} (hereinafter, denoted as example #A1).

[090] In some examples, the field set #A may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, which may be sorted according to the order of field type first and cell index second. For example, the field set #A may include an MCS field and an NDI field. For example, the field set #A may be sorted as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, .., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, ..., NDI of TB1 of cell #N} (hereinafter, denoted as example #A2).

[091] In some examples, the #A field set may include cell-specific fields with non-configurable and / or configurable field size, which may be ordered according to an order of cell index first and field type second. For example, the #A field set may include an MCS field, an NDI field, an RV field, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as the cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #A can be ordered as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, RV of TB1 of cell #1, HARQ process number of cell #1, antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type), MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, RV of TB1 of cell #2, HARQ process number of cell #2, antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #A3).

[092] In some examples, the set of fields #A may include Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 110 / 178 30 / 83 cell-specific fields with non-configurable and / or configurable field size, which can be ordered according to the order of field type first and cell index second. For example, field set #A might include an MCS field, an NDI field, an RV field, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #A can be ordered as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, ..., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, ..., NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #1, RV of TB1 of cell #2, ..., RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #1, HARQ process number of cell #2, ., HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type), antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #A4).

[093] In the examples above, field set #A includes only cell-specific fields for TB1. It should be noted that field set #A may also include cell-specific fields for TB2 (if configured) in some other examples. For example, field set #A may include TB2's MCS, TB2's NDI, TB2's RV, or any combination thereof.

[094] The UE can be configured with a maximum number of SCells. For clarity, the maximum number is assumed to be 15. It should be noted that the maximum number can be any other positive integer.

[095] In some examples, if the combination of fields in field set #A can provide more than 15 bits for SCell dormancy indication, some fields in field set #A may be Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 111 / 178 31 / 83 excluded or reserved.

[096] For example, in example #A3, the total bits of {MCS of TB1 of cell #1 (e.g., 5 bits), NDI of TB1 of cell #1 (e.g., 1 bit), RV of TB1 of cell #1 (e.g., 2 bits), HARQ process number of cell #1 (e.g., 4 bits), antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type) (e.g., 4 bits)} can be equal to 16 bits. Therefore, field set #A may not need to include {MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, RV of TB1 of cell #2, HARQ process number of cell #2, antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)}.That is, the set of fields #A may include {MCS of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, RV of TB1 of cell #1, HARQ process number of cell #1, antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #A3').

[097] In some examples, if the combination of fields in field set #A could provide more bits than the number of SCells configured for the UE, some fields in field set #A may be excluded or reserved.

[098] For example, assuming N = 2 and the number of SCells configured = 8, the total bits of field set #A in example #A1 can be equal to 12 bits. Therefore, field set #A may not need to include {NDI of TB1 of cell #2 (e.g., 1 bit)}. Field set #A can include {MCS of TB1 of cell #1 (e.g., 5 bits), NDI of TB1 of cell #1 (e.g., 1 bit), MCS of TB1 of cell #2 (e.g., 5 bits)} (hereinafter denoted as example #A1'), and thus provide 11 bits, a number greater than the number of SCells configured (i.e., 8). Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 112 / 178 32 / 83

[099] Since the number of SCells configured for a UE is variable, if the combination of fields in field set #A provides more bits than the number of SCells configured, some bits of the field combination are reserved, provided that the remaining bits can provide sufficient bits for the SCell dormancy indication. For example, as mentioned above, one or more bits in the bitmap-based indicator formed by field set #A may be reserved, depending on the number of SCells configured for the UE. For example, assuming N = 2 and the number of configured SCells = 8, according to example #A1', 3 (i.e., 11-8) bits in the bitmap-based indicator may be reserved.

[0100] Generally, the number of bits in the field combination of field set #A is expected to be no less than 15 or the number of SCells configured for the UE. However, if the number of bits in the field combination of field set #A (e.g., the size of the bitmap-based indicator) is less than the number of SCells configured for the UE, the bitmap-based indicator may not be able to indicate dormancy by SCell for one or more UE SCells (e.g., SCells with the highest SCell indices) or, alternatively, a bit in the field combination of field set #A may be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding group of secondary UE cells.

[0101] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary bitmap-based indicator (200), according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Assuming N = 2, according to example #A1, the set of fields #A may include {MCS of TB1 of cell #1 (denoted as (211) in Figure 2), NDI of TB1 of cell #1 (denoted as (213) in Figure 2), MCS of TB1 of cell #2 (denoted as (215) in Figure 2), NDI of TB1 of cell #2 (denoted as (217) in Figure 2)}. Assuming the number of SCells configured is 8, the 8 MSBs of the bitmap-based indicator (200) may Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 113 / 178 33 / 83 can be used to indicate dormancy for each of the 8 configured SCells, and the remaining bits of the bitmap-based indicator (200) can be reserved (e.g., ignored by UE). The 8 MSBs of the bitmap-based indicator (200) can correspond to the SCells from lowest to highest SCell index.

[0102] In some embodiments of this disclosure, when a multi-cell DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy for each configured SCell of a UE, this DCI format may include an indicator (referred to as indicator #B) that indicates whether a set of fields (referred to as field set #B) in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, or whether another indicator in the DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE. The DCI format is transmitted in a PCell of the UE. In some embodiments, up to 5 groups of SCell may be configured by RRC signaling, such that up to 5 bits are required for the other indicator, with each bit corresponding to a group of SCell. A different maximum number of SCell groups may be supported in some other embodiments.

[0103] In some embodiments, if indicator #B indicates the set of #B fields in DCI format being reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission and one or more FDRA fields in DCI format may be reused for SCell dormancy indication. If indicator #B indicates another indicator in DCI format being used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE, the DCI format may schedule one or more data transmissions. In some examples, indicator #B may include at least one bit. For example, bit '1' may indicate field reuse for secondary cell dormancy indication and bit '0' may indicate another Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 114 / 178 The 34 / 83 indicator in DCI format is being used to indicate dormancy by secondary cell group; or vice versa. In some embodiments, each bit in the other indicator may correspond to a secondary cell group.

[0104] From a UE perspective, the UE can determine whether a set of fields (e.g., field set #B) in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE based on indicator #B in DCI format. If indicator #B indicates field reuse for secondary cell dormancy indication, the UE can determine that no data transmission is scheduled and one or more FDRA fields in DCI format can be reused for SCell cell dormancy indication. That is, field set #B can include one or more FDRA fields. Details of field set #B will be described later. If indicator #B indicates that another indicator in DCI format is used for secondary cell group dormancy indication, the UE can consult the other indicator to determine the dormancy of each secondary cell group.From a BS perspective, it can define the fields in DCI format appropriately.

[0105] In some embodiments, the fields in fieldset #B can be concatenated into an indicator (e.g., bitmap-based indicator) according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator. Details about the fields included in fieldset #B and the predefined rule for ordering these fields will be described later.

[0106] In some embodiments, the mapping relationship between the bits in the bitmap-based indicator and the configured secondary cells of the UE can be predefined. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the MSB to the LSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an order. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 115 / 178 35 / 83 increasing SCell indices. For example, the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator may indicate dormancy for the SCell with the lowest SCell index, the bit following the MSB may indicate dormancy for the SCell with the second lowest SCell index, and so on. In some embodiments, the configured SCells may be mapped, respectively, from the MSB to the LSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices. In some embodiments, the configured SCells may be mapped, respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an ascending order of SCell indices. In some embodiments, the configured SCells may be mapped, respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices.

[0107] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE. For example, assuming the bitmap-based indicator includes 16 bits and the UE is configured with 8 SCells, then 8 bits are sufficient for indicating SCell dormancy. In some embodiments, the 8 MSBs of the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate SCell dormancy for the UE, and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be ignored. In some embodiments, the 8 LSBs of the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate SCell dormancy for the UE, and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be ignored.

[0108] A specific bit (denominated bit #B) in the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding secondary cell (denominated cell #B) of the UE. In some forms of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 116 / 178 36 / 83 implementation, a value (for example, '0' or '1') of bit #B may indicate that the UE should switch to a dormant BWP of cell #B. Another value (for example, '1' or '0') of bit #B may indicate that the UE should switch to a first active BWP of cell #B, if the current active BWP of cell #B is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the current active BWP of cell #B, if the current active BWP of cell #B is not the dormant BWP.

[0109] The DCI format can indicate a cell set (e.g., cell set #2) between cell set #1, for example, by a programmed cell indicator in DCI format, if it exists; otherwise, cell set #2 is cell set #1. If indicator #B indicates field reset for secondary cell dormancy indication, the cells in cell set #2 are not effectively programmed by the DCI format. Cell-specific fields (e.g., FDRA field) in cell set #2 in DCI format can be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE. Fields common to cells can also be reused for secondary cell dormancy indication.

[0110] In some embodiments, the #B field set may include one or more fields in DCI format: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size; a cell-specific field with configurable field size; and a common-cell field.

[0111] As described above, the number of FDRA fields (e.g., N) in DCI format can be equal to the number of cells in cell set #2. If a list of programmed cell combinations is configured for the UE (e.g., via RRC signaling), the programmed cell indicator in DCI format can indicate a cell combination from the list of programmed cell combinations. The indicated cell combination is cell set #2, and N is the number of cells in the cell combination. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 117 / 178 37 / 83 indicated. As a special case, the list of programmed cell combinations can only include one cell combination, so N is the number of cells in the single cell combination. If the list of programmed cell combinations is not configured for UE, the DCI format does not include the programmed cell indicator, so cell set #2 is cell set #1 and N is the number of cells in cell set #1. The FDRA N fields in DCI format can be placed according to the predefined order (e.g., ascending or descending order) of the corresponding server cell index of the cells in cell set #2. For example, when an ascending order of server cell indices is employed, the first FDRA field might correspond to the frequency domain resource allocation for the cell with the lowest server cell index in cell set #2.

[0112] With indicator #B, FDRA fields in DCI format need not be set to an invalid value. In some embodiments, field set #B may include one or more FDRA fields corresponding to one or more cells with the lowest server cell indexes among cell set #2.

[0113] In some examples, field set #B may include field(s) used specifically for a cell (e.g., a cell) with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within cell set #2, with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value. In some examples, field set #B may include field(s) used specifically for one or more cells with the lowest server cell indexes among cell set #2, with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating a valid value.

[0114] The fields in field set #B can be sorted according to a predefined rule. For example, cell-specific fields Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 118 / 178 38 / 83 in field set #B can be sorted in order of cell index first and field type second. For example, cell-specific fields in field set #B can be sorted in order of field type first and cell index second. The cell index order here can refer to an ascending or descending order of cell indices of the cells in cell set #2. Any other sorting method that may be devised by those skilled in the art may be applied.

[0115] The following are some examples of the set of fields #B, which should not be interpreted as limiting the ways in which this disclosure can be carried out. For simplicity, in the following examples, an ascending order of cell indices is used, and the cells of the set of cells #2 are indicated as cell #1 to cell #N, ordered according to the ascending order of cell indices.

[0116] In some examples, the set of fields #B may include only FDRA fields, which can be sorted according to cell indices. For example, the set of fields #B can be sorted as: {FDRA of cell #1, FDRA of cell #2, ..., FDRA of cell #N} (hereinafter, referred to as example #B1).

[0117] In some examples, the field set #B may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, which may be sorted according to the order of the cell index first and the field type second. For example, the field set #B may include an FDRA field, an MCS field, and an NDI field. For example, the field set #B may be sorted as: {FDRA of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, FDRA of cell #2, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, ..., FDRA of cell #N, MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N} (hereinafter, denoted as an example) Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 119 / 178 39 / 83 #B2).

[0118] In some examples, the field set #B may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, which may be sorted according to the order of field type first and cell index second. For example, the field set #B may include an FDRA field, an MCS field, and an NDI field. For example, the field set #B may be sorted as: {FDRA of cell #1, FDRA of cell #2, ..., FDRA of cell #N, MCS of TB1 of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, .., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, .., NDI of TB1 of cell #N} (hereinafter, denoted as example #B3).

[0119] In some examples, the #B field set may include cell-specific fields with non-configurable and / or configurable field sizes, which may be ordered according to an order of cell index first and field type second. For example, the #B field set may include an FDRA field, an MCS field, an NDI field, an RV field, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #B can be ordered as: {FDRA of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, RV of TB1 of cell #1, HARQ process number of cell #1, antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type), FDRA of cell #2, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, RV of TB1 of cell #2, HARQ process number of cell #2, antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., FDRA of cell #N, MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #B4). Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 120 / 178 40 / 83

[0120] In some examples, field set #B may include cell-specific fields with non-configurable and / or configurable field sizes, which may be ordered according to the order of field type first and cell index second. For example, field set #B may include an FDRA field, an MCS field, an NDI field, an RV field, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #B can be sorted as: {FDRA of cell #1, FDRA of cell #2, ..., FDRA of cell #N, MCS of TB1 of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, ..., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, ..., NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #1, RV of TB1 of cell #2, ..., RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #1, HARQ process number of cell #2, ..., HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type), antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #B5).

[0121] In the examples above, field set #B includes only cell-specific fields for TB1. Note that field set #B may also include cell-specific fields for TB2 (if configured) in some other examples. For example, field set #B may include TB2's MCS, TB2's NDI, TB2's RV, or any combination thereof.

[0122] The UE can be configured with a maximum number of SCells. For clarity, the maximum number is assumed to be 15. Note that the maximum number can be any other positive integer.

[0123] In some examples, if the combination of fields of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 121 / 178 41 / 83 field set #B may provide more than 15 bits for SCell dormancy indication; some fields may be excluded or reserved in field set #B.

[0124] For example, assume that cell #1 has a bandwidth that requires 10 bits for the FDRA indication. In example #B2, the total bits of {FDRA of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #1 (e.g., 5 bits)} is equal to 15 bits. Therefore, the field set #B may not need to include {NDI of TB1 of cell #1, FDRA of cell #2, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, ..., FDRA of cell #N, MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N}. That is, the field set #B may include {FDRA of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #1} (hereinafter denoted as example #B2').

[0125] In some examples, if the combination of fields in field set #B provides more bits than the number of SCells configured for the UE, some fields in field set #B may be excluded or reserved.

[0126] For example, assuming N = 2, the number of configured SCells = 8, and cell #1 has a bandwidth that requires 10 bits for FDRA indication, the FDRA of cell #1 can provide 10 bits, which is greater than the number of configured SCells. Example #B1 can be modified as {FDRA of cell #1} (hereinafter, denoted as example #B1'). That is, the field set #B can only include {FDRA of cell #1}.

[0127] Since the number of SCells configured for a UE is variable, if the combination of fields in field set #B provides more bits than the number of SCells configured, some bits of the field combination are reserved, provided that the remaining bits can provide sufficient bits for the SCell dormancy indication. For example, as mentioned above, one or more bits in the bitmap-based indicator formed Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 122 / 178 42 / 83 by the set of fields #B can be reserved, depending on the number of SCells configured for the UE. For example, assuming N = 2, the number of SCells configured = 8 and cell #1 has a bandwidth that requires 10 bits for FDRA indication, according to example #B1', 2 (i.e., 10-8) bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be reserved.

[0128] Generally, the number of bits in the field combination of field set #B is expected to be no less than 15 or the number of SCells configured for the UE. However, if the number of bits in the field combination of field set #B (e.g., the size of the bitmap-based indicator) is less than the number of SCells configured for the UE, the bitmap-based indicator may not be able to indicate dormancy for one or more UE SCells (e.g., SCells with the highest SCell indices) or, alternatively, a bit in the field combination of field set #B may be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding secondary cell group of the UE.

[0129] In some embodiments of this disclosure, cell set #1 may include the PCell of a UE. When a multi-cell DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy for each configured SCell of a UE, this DCI format may schedule a data transmission on the PCell with a valid value indicated in a corresponding FDRA field for the PCell. All FDRAs, except the FDRA field for the PCell, indicate an invalid value. The DCI format is transmitted on a UE PCell.

[0130] From the perspective of a UE, in response to the absence of a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field in DCI format or the indication that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, the absence of a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator in DCI format or the indication that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format except the FDRA field for the PCell, which indicates Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 123 / 178 43 / 83 invalid value, the UE can determine that a set of fields (called field set #C) in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE; otherwise, the DCI format does not indicate dormancy by SCell for any secondary cell of the UE. From a BS perspective, depending on whether the DCI format is used to indicate dormancy for the secondary cell(s) of the UE, it can set the fields in DCI format appropriately.

[0131] In some embodiments, the fields in fieldset #C can be concatenated into an indicator (for example, a bitmap-based indicator) according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator. Details about the fields included in fieldset #C and the predefined rule for ordering these fields will be described later.

[0132] In some embodiments, the mapping relationship between the bits in the bitmap-based indicator and the configured secondary cells of the UE can be predefined. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the MSB to the LSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an ascending order of SCell indices. For example, the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator can indicate dormancy for the SCell with the lowest SCell index, the bit following the MSB can indicate dormancy for the SCell with the second lowest SCell index, and so on. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the MSB to the LSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an ascending order of SCell indices.In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 124 / 178 44 / 83 respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices.

[0133] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE. For example, assuming the bitmap-based indicator includes 16 bits and the UE is configured with 8 SCells, then 8 bits are sufficient for indicating SCell dormancy. In some embodiments, the 8 MSBs of the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate SCell dormancy for the UE, and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be ignored. In some embodiments, the 8 LSBs of the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate SCell dormancy for the UE, and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be ignored.

[0134] A specific bit (denoted as bit #C) in the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding secondary cell (denoted as cell #C) of the UE. In some embodiments, one value (e.g., '0' or '1') of bit #C may indicate that the UE should switch to a dormant BWP of cell #C. Another value (e.g., '1' or '0') of bit #C may indicate that the UE should switch to a first active BWP of cell #C if the current active BWP of cell #C is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the current active BWP of cell #C if the current active BWP of cell #C is not the dormant BWP.

[0135] The DCI format can indicate a cell set (e.g., cell set #2) within cell set #1, for example, a programmed cell indicator in DCI format, if it exists; otherwise, cell set #2 is cell set #1. Cell set #2 can Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 125 / 178 45 / 83 or not include PCell. Whether or not PCell is programmed by the DCI format, or whether or not cell set #2 includes PCell, can be determined based on whether or not PCell is included in a programmed cell combination indicated by the DCI format (e.g., by the programmed cell indicator), or based on whether or not a valid or invalid value is indicated in the FDRA field for PCell.

[0136] If the DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy, the cell(s) in cell set #2, except for the PCell (if included in cell set #2), are not effectively programmed by the DCI format. Specific fields for such cell(s) can be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE. Because the DCI format can program the PCell, field set #C does not include any fields used for or specific to the PCell. When, for example, the DCI format does not program a data transmission in the PCell, fields common to the cell can be reused for secondary cell dormancy indication.

[0137] In some embodiments, the #C field set may include one or more fields in DCI format: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size (except a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size for PCell, if any); a cell-specific field with configurable field size (except a cell-specific field with configurable field size for PCell, if any); and a common-cell field.

[0138] The #C field set cannot include an FDRA field. The number of FDRA fields (denoted as N) in DCI format can be equal to the number of cells in the #2 cell set. If a list of programmed cell combinations is configured for the UE (e.g., via RRC signaling), the programmed cell indicator in DCI format can indicate Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 126 / 178 46 / 83 a combination of cells from the list of programmed cell combinations. The indicated cell combination is cell set #2 and N is the number of cells in the indicated cell combination. As a special case, the list of programmed cell combinations can only include one cell combination, so N is the number of cells in the single cell combination. If the list of programmed cell combinations is not configured for UE, the DCI format does not include the programmed cell indicator, so cell set #2 is cell set #1 and N is the number of cells in cell set #1. The N FDRA fields in DCI format can be placed according to the predefined order (e.g., ascending or descending order) of the corresponding server cell index of the cells in cell set #2.For example, when an ascending order of server cell indices is employed, the first FDRA field might correspond to the frequency domain resource allocation for the cell with the lowest server cell index in cell set #2.

[0139] In some examples, field set #C may include field(s) used specifically for a cell (e.g., a cell) with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within cell set #2, with the corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value. In some examples, field set #C may include field(s) used specifically for one or more cells with the lowest server cell indexes among cell set #2, with the corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating a valid value.

[0140] The fields in field set #C can be sorted according to a predefined rule. For example, cell-specific fields in field set #C can be sorted by cell index first and field type second. For example, cell-specific fields in field set #C can be Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 127 / 178 47 / 83 sorted by field type first and cell index second. The order of cell indices here may refer to an ascending or descending order of the cell indices of the cells in cell set #2. Any other sorting method that may be devised by those skilled in the art may be applied.

[0141] The following are some examples of the #C field set and should not be interpreted as limiting the ways in which this disclosure can be implemented. For simplicity, in the following examples, an ascending order of cell indices is used; it is assumed that cell set #2 does not include PCell, and the cells in cell set #2 are denoted as cell #1 to cell #N, ordered according to the ascending order of cell indices. If cell set #2 includes PCell, since PCell usually has the lowest server cell index (e.g., 0), cell #1 is PCell and the cell-specific fields for cell #1, as described below, will be excluded from field set #C.

[0142] In some examples, the field set #C may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, which may be sorted according to cell index order first and field type second. For example, the field set #C may include an MCS field and an NDI field. For example, the field set #C may be sorted as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, ... MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N} (hereinafter, denoted as example #C1). If cell #1 is PCell, the set of fields #C can be represented as: {MCS of TB1 from cell #2, NDI of TB1 from cell #2, ... MCS of TB1 from cell #N, NDI of TB1 from cell #N}.

[0143] In some examples, the #C field set may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 128 / 178 48 / 83 which can be ordered according to the order of the field type first and the cell index second. For example, the field set #C can include an MCS field and an NDI field. For example, the field set #C can be ordered as: {MCS of TB1 from cell #1, MCS of TB1 from cell #2, „., MCS of TB1 from cell #N, NDI of TB1 from cell #1, NDI of TB1 from cell #2, ..., NDI of TB1 from cell #N} (hereinafter, denoted as example #C2). In the case of cell #1 being the PCell, the field set #C can be represented as: {MCS of TB1 from cell #2, ..., MCS of TB1 from cell #N, NDI of TB1 from cell #2, ..., NDI of TB1 from cell #N}.

[0144] In some examples, the #C field set may include cell-specific fields with configurable and / or non-configurable field size, which may be ordered according to cell index order first and field type second. For example, the #C field set may include an MCS field, an NDI field, an RV field, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #C can be ordered as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #1, NDI of TB1 of cell #1, RV of TB1 of cell #1, HARQ process number of cell #1, antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type), MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, RV of TB1 of cell #2, HARQ process number of cell #2, antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter denoted as example #C3). In the case of cell #1 being the PCell, the set of fields #C can be represented as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #2, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, RV of TB1 of cell #2, HARQ process number of cell #2, antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell type). Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 129 / 178 49 / 83 specific), ..., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)}.

[0145] In some examples, the #C field set may include cell-specific fields with non-configurable and / or configurable field sizes, which may be ordered according to the order of field type first and cell index second. For example, the #C field set may include an MCS field, an NDI field, an RV field, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #C can be sorted as: {MCS of TB1 from cell #1, MCS of TB1 from cell #2, ..., MCS of TB1 from cell #N, NDI of TB1 from cell #1, NDI of TB1 from cell #2, ..., NDI of TB1 from cell #N, RV of TB1 from cell #1, RV of TB1 from cell #2, ..., RV of TB1 from cell #N, HARQ process number from cell #1, HARQ process number from cell #2, ..., HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #1 (if configured as cell-specific type), antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #C4). If cell #1 is PCell, the set of fields #C can be represented as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #2, ., MCS of TB1 of cell #N, NDI of TB1 of cell #2, ., NDI of TB1 of cell #N, RV of TB1 of cell #2, ., RV of TB1 of cell #N, HARQ process number of cell #2, ., HARQ process number of cell #N, antenna port of cell #2 (if configured as cell-specific type), ., antenna port of cell #N (if configured as cell-specific type)}.

[0146] In the examples above, the field set #C includes only cell-specific fields for TB1. Note that the set Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 130 / 178 50 / 83 of fields #C can also include cell-specific fields for TB2 (if configured) in some other examples. For example, the field set #C can include TB2 MCS, TB2 NDI, TB2 RV, or any combination thereof.

[0147] The UE can be configured with a maximum number of SCells. For clarity, the maximum number is assumed to be 15. It should be noted that the maximum number can be any other positive integer.

[0148] In some examples, if the combination of fields in field set #C provides more than 15 bits for SCell dormancy indication, some fields in field set #C may be excluded or reserved.

[0149] In some examples, if the combination of fields in field set #C provides more bits than the number of SCells configured for the UE, some fields in field set #C may be excluded or reserved.

[0150] Since the number of SCells configured for a UE is variable, if the combination of fields in field set #C provides more bits than the number of SCells configured, some bits of the field combination are reserved, provided that the remaining bits can provide sufficient bits for the SCell dormancy indication. For example, as mentioned above, one or more bits in the bitmap-based indicator formed by field set #C may be reserved, depending on the number of SCells configured for the UE.

[0151] Generally, the number of bits in the field combination of field set #C is expected to be no less than 15 or the number of SCells configured for the UE. However, if the number of bits in the field combination of field set #C (e.g., the size of the Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 131 / 178 If the bitmap-based indicator (51 / 83) is less than the number of SCells configured for the UE, the bitmap-based indicator may not be able to indicate dormancy for one or more SCells of the UE (for example, SCells with the highest SCell indices) or, alternatively, a bit in the field combination of the #C field set may be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding group of secondary cells of the UE.

[0152] In some embodiments of this disclosure, when a multi-cell DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy for each configured SCell of a UE, this DCI format is transmitted in the PCell and may program one or more data transmissions with valid value(s) indicated in the FDRA field(s) corresponding to the programmed cell(s) between a set of cells (e.g., set #2) and invalid value(s) indicated in the FDRA field(s) corresponding to the unscheduled cell(s) between set #2. The DCI format may indicate cell set #2 between cell set #1 by, for example, a programmed cell indicator in DCI format, if it exists; otherwise, cell set #2 is cell set #1.

[0153] For clarity, one or more cells in cell set #2 that are not effectively programmed by the DCI format (for example, the corresponding FDRA field of each of the one or more cells indicates an invalid value) are referred to as cell set #3. Cell set #3 may or may not include the PCell. In the case where the DCI format is used to indicate SCell dormancy, the cells in cell set #3 are not effectively programmed by the DCI format, and cell-specific fields in cell set #3 in the DCI format can be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary UE cell.

[0154] From the perspective of a UE, in response to the absence of a single-shot HARQ-ACK request field in DCI format or to Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 132 / 178 52 / 83 indication that the single-shot HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, the absence of a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator in DCI format, or the indication that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and at least one FDRA field in DCI format indicating an invalid value, the UE may determine that a set of fields (referred to as field set #D) in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE; Otherwise, in response to the single-shot HARQ-ACK request field indicating that the single-shot HARQ-ACK feedback was triggered, or a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator indicating HARQ-ACK retransmission, or all FDRA fields in DCI format indicating a valid value, the UE may determine that the DCI format does not indicate SCell dormancy for any secondary cell of the UE.From a BS perspective, depending on whether the DCI format is used to indicate dormancy for the UE's secondary cell(s), it can set the fields in DCI format appropriately.

[0155] In some embodiments, the fields in fieldset #D can be concatenated into an indicator (e.g., bitmap-based indicator) according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator. Details about the fields included in fieldset #D and the predefined rule for ordering these fields will be described later.

[0156] In some embodiments, the mapping relationship between the bits in the bitmap-based indicator and the configured secondary cells of the UE can be predefined. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the MSB to the LSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an ascending order of SCell indices. For example, the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator can indicate dormancy for the SCell with the lowest SCell index, the bit Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 133 / 178 53 / 83 following the MSB may indicate dormancy for the SCell with the second lowest SCell index, and so on. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the MSB to the LSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to an ascending order of SCell indices. In some embodiments, the configured SCells can be mapped, respectively, from the LSB to the MSB of the bitmap-based indicator, according to a descending order of SCell indices.

[0157] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE. For example, assuming the bitmap-based indicator includes 16 bits and the UE is configured with 8 SCells, then 8 bits are sufficient for SCell dormancy indication. In some embodiments, the 8 MSBs of the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate SCell dormancy for the UE, and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be ignored. In some embodiments, the 8 LSBs of the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate SCell dormancy for the UE, and the remaining bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be ignored.

[0158] A specific bit (denoted as bit #D) in the bitmap-based indicator can be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding secondary cell (denoted as cell #D) of the UE. In some embodiments, a value (e.g., '0' or '1') of bit #D can indicate that the UE should switch to a dormant BWP of cell #D. Another value (e.g., Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 134 / 178 54 / 83 example, '1' or '0') of bit #D may indicate that the UE should switch to the first active BWP of cell #D, if the current active BWP of cell #D is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the current active BWP of cell #D, if the current active BWP of cell #D is not the dormant BWP.

[0159] Specific fields for cells in cell set #3 in DCI format can be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE. When, for example, the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission, common cell fields can be reused for secondary cell dormancy indication.

[0160] In some embodiments, the #D field set may include one or more fields in DCI format: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size for a non-programmed cell (for example, a cell in cell set #3); a cell-specific field with configurable field size for a non-programmed cell (for example, a cell in cell set #3); and a common-cell field.

[0161] Field set #D may not include an FDRA field. The number of FDRA fields (e.g., N) in DCI format may be equal to the number of cells in cell set #2. If a list of programmed cell combinations is configured for UE (e.g., via RRC signaling), the programmed cell indicator in DCI format may indicate a cell combination from the list of programmed cell combinations. The indicated cell combination is cell set #2, and N is the number of cells in the indicated cell combination. As a special case, the list of programmed cell combinations may include only one cell combination, so N is the number of cells in the single cell combination. If the list of programmed cell combinations is not configured for UE, the DCI format does not include the programmed cell indicator, so cell set #2 is cell set #1, and N is the number of cells in the set of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 135 / 178 55 / 83 cells #1. The FDRA N fields in DCI format can be placed according to the predefined order (e.g., ascending or descending order) of the corresponding server cell index of the cells in cell set #2. For example, when an ascending order of server cell indices is employed, the first FDRA field might correspond to the frequency domain resource allocation for the cell with the lowest server cell index in cell set #2. The number of cells in cell set #3 (denoted as N') depends on (e.g., is equal to) the number of FDRA fields in DCI format that indicate invalid values.

[0162] In some examples, field set #D may include field(s) used specifically for a cell (e.g., a cell) with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within cell set #3, with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value. In some examples, field set #D may include field(s) used specifically for one or more cells with the lowest server cell indexes among cell set #3, with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating a valid value.

[0163] The fields in field set #D can be sorted according to a predefined rule. For example, cell-specific fields in field set #D can be sorted in an order of cell index first and field type second. For example, cell-specific fields in field set #D can be sorted in an order of field type first and cell index second. The order of cell indices here can refer to an ascending or descending order of cell indices of the cells in cell set #3. Any other sorting method that may be devised by those skilled in the art may be applied.

[0164] Below are some examples from the set of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 136 / 178 56 / 83 fields #D, which should not be interpreted as limiting the ways in which this disclosure can be made. For simplicity, in the following examples, an ascending order of cell indices is used, and the cells in cell set #3 are designated as cell #1' to cell #N', ordered according to the ascending order of cell indices.

[0165] In some examples, the field set #D may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, which may be sorted according to cell index order first and field type second. For example, the field set #D may include an MCS field and an NDI field. For example, the field set #D may be sorted as: {MCS of TB1 cell #1', NDI of TB1 cell #1', MCS of TB1 cell #2', NDI of TB1 cell #2', ..., MCS of TB1 cell #N', NDI of TB1 cell #N'} (hereinafter referred to as example #D1).

[0166] In some examples, the #D field set may include only cell-specific fields with non-configurable field size, which may be sorted according to the order of field type first and cell index second. For example, the #D field set may include an MCS field and an NDI field. For example, the #D field set may be sorted as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #1', MCS of TB1 of cell #2', ., MCS of TB1 of cell #N', NDI of TB1 of cell #1', NDI of TB1 of cell #2', ., NDI of TB1 of cell #N'} (hereinafter, denoted as example #D2).

[0167] In some examples, the #D field set may include cell-specific fields with non-configurable and / or configurable field sizes, which may be ordered according to an order of cell index first and field type second. For example, the #D field set may include an MCS field, an NDI field, a field Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 137 / 178 57 / 83 RV, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #D can be ordered as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #1', NDI of TB1 of cell #1', RV of TB1 of cell #1', HARQ process number of cell #1', antenna port of cell #1' (if configured as cell-specific type), MCS of TB1 of cell #2', NDI of TB1 of cell #2', RV of TB1 of cell #2', HARQ process number of cell #2', antenna port of cell #2' (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., MCS of TB1 of cell #N', NDI of TB1 of cell #N', RV of TB1 of cell #N', HARQ process number of cell #N', antenna port of cell #N' (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #D3).

[0168] In some examples, the #D field set may include cell-specific fields with non-configurable and / or configurable field sizes, which may be ordered according to the order of field type first and cell index second. For example, the #D field set may include an MCS field, an NDI field, an RV field, a HARQ process number field, and an antenna port field (if configured as cell-specific type). For example, the set of fields #D can be sorted as: {MCS of TB1 from cell #1', MCS of TB1 from cell #2', ., MCS of TB1 from cell #N', NDI of TB1 from cell #1', NDI of TB1 from cell #2', ., NDI of TB1 from cell #N', RV of TB1 from cell #1', RV of TB1 from cell #2', ., RV of TB1 from cell #N', HARQ process number from cell #1', HARQ process number from cell #2', ., HARQ process number of cell #N', antenna port of cell #1' (if configured as cell-specific type), antenna port of cell #2' (if configured as cell-specific type), ., antenna port of cell #N' (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #D4).

[0169] In the examples above, the set of fields #D includes Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 138 / 178 58 / 83 only cell-specific fields for TB1. Note that field set #D may also include cell-specific fields for TB2 (if configured) in some other examples. For example, field set #D may include TB2 MCS, TB2 NDI, TB2 RV, or any combination thereof.

[0170] In some embodiments, the number of FDRA fields indicating invalid values ​​or the number of cells in cell set #3 (i.e., the value of N') can be determined based on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE. For example, the BS can determine the number of bits needed for secondary cell dormancy indication based on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE. If the cell-specific field(s) for a single cell is / are sufficient to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, the BS can set the DCI format so that cell set #3 includes only a single cell with the corresponding FDRA field indicating an invalid value and the FDRA fields of other cells in cell set #2 are indicated with valid values.In some examples, there may be more than one cell in cell set #3, meaning more than one cell is indicated with invalid FDRA values; therefore, in field set #D, the cell-specific field with the lowest or highest cell index among cell set #3 is reused to indicate SCell dormancy for each UE SCell. If the cell-specific field(s) for a cell are insufficient, BS may determine the number of cells in cell set #3 or the number of FDRA fields indicating invalid values ​​according to the number of secondary cells configured for the UE. For example, if the cell-specific fields for two cells are sufficient, cell set #3 may include two cells with corresponding FDRA fields indicating invalid values, and the FDRA fields of other cells in cell set #2 are. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 139 / 178 59 / 83 indicated with valid values. In some examples, there may be more than two cells in cell set #3, i.e., more than two cells are indicated with invalid FDRA values, and then, in field set #D, the specific field for two cells with the lowest or highest cell indices among cell set #3 is reused to indicate SCell dormancy for each UE SCell.

[0171] The UE can be configured with a maximum number of SCells. For clarity, it is assumed that the maximum number is 15. Note that the maximum number can be any other positive integer.

[0172] In some examples, if the combination of fields in field set #D could provide more than 15 bits for SCell dormancy indication, some fields in field set #D may be excluded or reserved.

[0173] For example, in example #D3, the total bits of {MCS of TB1 of cell #1' (e.g., 5 bits), NDI of TB1 of cell #1' (e.g., 1 bit), RV of TB1 of cell #1' (e.g., 2 bits), HARQ process number of cell #1' (e.g., 4 bits), antenna port of cell #1' (if configured as cell-specific type) (e.g., 4 bits)} can be equal to 16 bits. In the case of N'> 1, the field set #D can only include cell-specific fields for cell #1' (i.e., the cell with the lowest server cell index in cell set #3) and need not include those for cells with higher server cell indices in cell set #3 (e.g., cell #2' for cell #N'). In other words, the set of fields #D may not need to include {MCS of TB1 of cell #2', NDI of TB1 of cell #2', RV of TB1 of cell #2', HARQ process number of cell #2', antenna port of cell #2' (if configured as cell-specific type).....MCS of TB1 of cell #N', NDI of TB1 of cell #N', RV of TB1 of cell #N', number of. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 140 / 178 60 / 83 HARQ process of cell #N', antenna port of cell #N' (if configured as cell-specific type)}. That is, the set of fields #D may include {MCS of TB1 of cell #1', NDI of TB1 of cell #1', RV of TB1 of cell #1', HARQ process number of cell #1', antenna port of cell #1' (if configured as cell-specific type)} (hereinafter, denoted as example #D3').

[0174] If the cells in cell set #3 are ordered according to the descending order of cell indices for secondary cell dormancy indication, the field set #D in example #D3 can be modified as: {MCS of TB1 of cell #N', NDI of TB1 of cell #N', RV of TB1 of cell #N', HARQ process number of cell #N', antenna port of cell #N' (if configured as cell-specific type), ..., MCS of TB1 of cell #2', NDI of TB1 of cell #2', RV of TB1 of cell #2', HARQ process number of cell #2', antenna port of cell #2' (if configured as cell-specific type), MCS of TB1 of cell #1', NDI of TB1 of cell #1', RV of TB1 of cell #1', HARQ process number of cell #1', antenna port of cell #1' (if configured as the specific cell type)}.Since cell-specific fields for cell #N' (i.e., the cell with the highest server cell index in cell set #3) are sufficient to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, i.e., the number of bits is 16, which is greater than 15, field set #D can only include cell-specific fields for cell #N' (i.e., the cell with the highest server cell index in cell set #3) and need not include those for cells with lower server cell indices in cell set #3. That is, field set #D can include {MCS of TB1 of cell #N', NDI of TB1 of cell #N', RV of TB1 of cell #N', HARQ process number of cell #N', antenna port of cell #N' (if configured as cell-specific type)}. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 141 / 178 61 / 83

[0175] However, if the cell-specific field(s) for cell #1' (or cell N') is / are not sufficient to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, field set #D may still include cell-specific field(s) for a cell(s) with a higher (or lower) server cell index(es) in cell set #3. For example, field set #D may include cell-specific fields for cells with the lowest and second-lowest server cell index in cell set #3. For example, field set #D may include cell-specific fields for cells with the highest and second-highest server cell index in cell set #3.

[0176] The above principle can be easily applied to other examples or embodiments in the present disclosure by those skilled in the art.

[0177] In some examples, if the combination of fields in field set #D could provide more bits than the number of SCells configured for the UE, some fields in field set #D may be excluded or reserved.

[0178] For example, assuming N' = 2 and the number of configured SCells = 8, the total bits of field set #D in example #D1 can be equal to 12 bits. Therefore, field set #D may not need to include {NDI of TB1 of cell #2' (e.g., 1 bit)}. Field set #D can include {MCS of TB1 of cell #1' (e.g., 5 bits), NDI of TB1 of cell #1' (e.g., 1 bit), MCS of TB1 of cell #2' (e.g., 5 bits)} (hereinafter denoted as example #D1'), and thus provide 11 bits, a number greater than the number of configured SCells (i.e., 8).

[0179] Because the number of SCells configured for a UE is variable, if the combination of fields in field set #D provides more bits than the number of SCells configured, some bits of the combination of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 142 / 178 62 / 83 fields are reserved, provided that the remaining bits can supply enough bits for the SCell dormancy indication. For example, as mentioned above, one or more bits in the bitmap-based indicator formed by the #D field set can be reserved, depending on the number of SCells configured for the UE. For example, assuming N' = 2 and the number of configured SCells = 8, according to example #D1', 3 (i.e., 11-8) bits in the bitmap-based indicator can be reserved.

[0180] Generally, the number of bits in the field combination of field set #D is expected to be no less than 15 or the number of SCells configured for the UE. However, if the number of bits in the field combination of field set #D (e.g., the size of the bitmap-based indicator) is less than the number of SCells configured for the UE, the bitmap-based indicator may not be able to indicate dormancy for one or more UE SCells (e.g., SCells with the highest SCell indices) or, alternatively, a bit in the field combination of field set #D may be used to indicate dormancy for a corresponding group of secondary UE cells.

[0181] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart of method (300) for wireless communication according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The details described in all previous embodiments of this disclosure are applicable to the embodiments shown in Figure 3. In some examples, method (300) may be executed by a UE, for example, UE (104), as described with reference to Figure 1. In some embodiments, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions or operations described. In some examples, a processor of a UE may cause the UE to execute method (300).

[0182] In (311), an UE may receive, from a BS, a Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 143 / 178 63 / 83 signaling configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format, and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE. In (313), the UE can receive the DCI format from the BS. In (315), the UE can determine whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, wherein a first bit of the set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE. In (317), the UE can switch to a dormant BWP of the first secondary cell of the UE in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell.

[0183] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that the set of fields in DCI format be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE in response to the absence of a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field in DCI format or to the indication that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, to the absence of a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator in DCI format or to the indication that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and to all FDRA fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value.

[0184] In some embodiments, DCI may include a first indicator that shows whether the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, or whether a second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE.

[0185] In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows the set of fields in DCI format being reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission. In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows the second indicator in DCI format Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 144 / 178 64 / 83 being used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells in the UE, the DCI format schedules one or more data transmissions to the UE.

[0186] In some embodiments, the field set may include one or more FDRA fields corresponding to one or more cells with the lowest server cell indices among a second set of cells. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that indicates programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[0187] In some embodiments, the first set of cells may include a primary UE cell. The UE may determine that the set of fields in DCI format be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary UE cell in response to the absence of a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field in DCI format or indication that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, the absence of a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator in DCI format or indication that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format, except one FDRA field for the primary cell, indicating an invalid value.

[0188] In some embodiments, the field set does not include a field used for the primary cell.

[0189] In some embodiments, the UE can determine whether the primary cell is programmed by the DCI format based on whether the FDRA field for the primary cell indicates a valid or invalid value or based on whether a combination of programmed cells indicated by the DCI format includes the primary cell or not.

[0190] In some embodiments, the EU may determine Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 145 / 178 65 / 83 that the set of fields in DCI format be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each UE secondary cell in response to the absence of a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field in DCI format or indication that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, the absence of a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator in DCI format or indication that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and at least one FDRA field in DCI format indicating an invalid value.

[0191] In some embodiments, the number of at least one FDRA field is determined based on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE.

[0192] In some embodiments, the field set is used specifically for a cell with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within a second set of cells with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating invalid value. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that indicates programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[0193] In some embodiments, the set of fields is concatenated into a bitmap-based indicator according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator.

[0194] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE.

[0195] In some embodiments, a first value of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 146 / 178 66 / 83 The first bit may indicate that the UE should switch to the dormant BWP of the first secondary cell. In some embodiments, a second value of the first bit may indicate that the UE should switch to an active first BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the current active BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is not the dormant BWP.

[0196] In some embodiments, the field set may include one or more of the following: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size; a cell-specific field with configurable field size; and a common-cell field.

[0197] Those skilled in the art should understand that the sequence of operations in the exemplary method (300) may be altered and some of the operations in the exemplary method (300) may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

[0198] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart of method (400) for wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The details described in all previous embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable to the embodiments shown in Figure 4. In some examples, method (400) may be executed by a BS or an NE (for example, NE (102), as described with reference to Figure 1). In some embodiments, the BS or NE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the BS or NE to perform the functions or operations described. In some examples, a processor of an NE may cause the NE to execute method (400).

[0199] In (411), a BS can transmit, to a UE, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format, and the CRC of the DCI format is scrambled by Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 147 / 178 67 / 83 a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE. In (413), the BS can transmit the DCI format to the UE, wherein the DCI format indicates whether a set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and a first bit of the set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE.

[0200] In some embodiments, if a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format indicate an invalid value, the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each UE secondary cell.

[0201] In some embodiments, DCI may include a first indicator that shows whether the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, or whether a second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE.

[0202] In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows that the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission. In some embodiments, if the first indicator shows that the second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the UE, the DCI format schedules one or more data transmissions to the UE.

[0203] In some embodiments, the set of fields Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 148 / 178 68 / 83 may include one or more FDRA fields corresponding to one or more cells with the lowest server cell indexes among a second set of cells. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that shows programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[0204] In some embodiments, the first set of cells may include a primary UE cell. In some embodiments, if a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all FDRA fields in DCI format, except one FDRA field for the primary cell, indicate an invalid value, the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary UE cell.

[0205] In some embodiments, the field set does not include a field used for the primary cell.

[0206] In some embodiments, programming the primary cell by the DCI format depends on whether the primary cell's FDRA field indicates a valid or invalid value, or whether a combination of programmed cells indicated by the DCI format includes or does not include the primary cell.

[0207] In some embodiments, if a single-trigger HARQ-ACK request field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and at least one FDRA field in DCI format indicates an invalid value, the field set Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 149 / 178 69 / 83 in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE.

[0208] In some embodiments, BS can determine the number of at least one FDRA field based on the number of secondary cells configured for UE.

[0209] In some embodiments, the field set is used specifically for a cell with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within a second set of cells with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating invalid value. In some embodiments, the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator showing programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

[0210] In some embodiments, the set of fields is concatenated into a bitmap-based indicator according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the UE corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator.

[0211] In some embodiments, a plurality of bits in the bitmap-based indicator is used to indicate dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE and the remaining bit(s) in the bitmap-based indicator is / are reserved, depending on the number of secondary cells configured for the UE.

[0212] In some embodiments, a first bit value may indicate that the UE should switch to a dormant BWP of the first secondary cell. In some embodiments, a second bit value may indicate that the UE should switch to an active first BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is the dormant BWP, or it may indicate that the UE should maintain the BWP. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 150 / 178 70 / 83 current active BWP of the first secondary cell, if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is not the dormant BWP.

[0213] In some embodiments, the field set may include one or more of the following: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size; a cell-specific field with configurable field size; and a common-cell field.

[0214] Those skilled in the art should understand that the sequence of operations in the exemplary method (400) may be altered and some of the operations in the exemplary method (400) may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

[0215] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a UE (500) according to aspects of this disclosure. The UE (500) may include a processor (502), a memory (504), a controller (506) and a transceiver (508). The processor (502), the memory (504), the controller (506) or the transceiver (508), or various combinations thereof or various components thereof, may be examples of means for carrying out various aspects of this disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) by means of one or more interfaces.

[0216] The processor (502), memory (504), controller (506) or transceiver (508), or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuits). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in this disclosure.

[0217] The processor (502) may include an intelligent hardware device (for example, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 151 / 178 71 / 83 ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor (502) may be configured to operate the memory (504). In some other implementations, the memory (504) may be integrated into the processor (502). The processor (502) may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory (504) to enable the UE (500) to perform various functions of this disclosure.

[0218] Memory (504) may include volatile or non-volatile memory. Memory (504) may store computer-readable and executable code, including instructions that, when executed by the processor (502), cause the UE (500) to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transient computer-readable medium, such as memory (504) or another type of memory. Computer-readable media include both non-transient storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transient storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0219] In some implementations, the processor (502) and memory (504), coupled to the processor (502), can be configured to make the UE (500) perform one or more of the functions described herein (for example, executing, by the processor (502), instructions stored in memory (504)). For example, the processor (502) can support wireless communication in the UE (500), according to the examples disclosed herein. For example, the UE (500) can be configured to support means to perform the operations described in relation to Figure 3.

[0220] For example, the UE (500) can be configured to support: a means of receiving, from a BS, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 152 / 178 72 / 83 and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE (500); a means of receiving the DCI format from the BS; a means of determining whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE (500), wherein a first bit of the set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE (500); and a means of switching to a dormant BWP of the first secondary cell of the UE (500) in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell.

[0221] The controller (506) can manage input and output signals for the UE (500). The controller (506) can also manage peripherals not integrated into the UE (500). In some implementations, the controller (506) can utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, WINDOWS®, or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller (506) can be implemented as part of the processor (502).

[0222] In some implementations, the UE (500) may include at least one transceiver (508). In some other implementations, the UE (500) may have more than one transceiver (508). The transceiver (508) may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver (508) may include one or more receiver chains (510), one or more transmitter chains (512), or a combination thereof.

[0223] A receiver chain (510) may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, or packets) via a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain (510) may include one or more antennas to receive the signal over the air or wirelessly. The receiver chain (510) may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA)) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain (510) may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the received signal and obtain the transmitted data by inverting the Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 153 / 178 73 / 83 modulation technique applied during signal transmission. The receiving chain (510) may include at least one decoder to decode and process the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

[0224] A transmitter chain (512) may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, or packets). The transmitter chain (512) may include at least one modulator to modulate data into a carrier signal, preparing the signal for wireless transmission. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques, such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or digital modulation schemes such as phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The transmitter chain (512) may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to a power level appropriate for wireless transmission. The transmitter chain (512) may also include one or more antennas to transmit the amplified signal into the air or to the wireless medium.

[0225] Subject practitioners should understand that the components of the exemplary EU (500) may be altered, for example, some of the components of the exemplary EU (500) may be omitted or modified, or a new component(s) may be added to the exemplary EU (500), without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the EU (500) may not include the controller (506).

[0226] Figure A Figure 6 illustrates an example of a processor (600) according to aspects of the present disclosure. The processor (600) may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations according to the examples described herein. The processor (600) may include a controller (602) configured to perform various operations of Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 154 / 178 74 / 83 in accordance with the examples described herein. The processor (600) may optionally include at least one memory (604), which may be, for example, an L1 / L2 / L3 cache. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor (600) may optionally include one or more arithmetic logic units (ALUs) (606). One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) by means of one or more interfaces (e.g., buses).

[0227] The processor (600) may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g., a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g., receive, get, retrieve, transmit, send, forward, store, determine, identify, access, write, read) as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g., local memory or included in the processor chipset (e.g., the processor (600)) or other memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), flash memory, phase-change memory (PCM), and others).

[0228] The controller (602) can be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g., signaling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor (600) to enable the processor (600) to support various operations as described in the examples herein. For example, the controller (602) can operate as a control unit for the processor (600), generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor (600). These Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 155 / 178 75 / 83 control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating the timing of operations.

[0229] The controller (602) can be configured to fetch (e.g., get, retrieve, receive) instructions from memory (604) and determine the execution of subsequent instruction(s) to enable the processor (600) to support multiple operations, as described in the examples herein. The controller (602) can be configured to track the memory address of instructions associated with memory (604). The controller (602) can be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller (602) can be configured to interpret the instruction and determine the control signals to be sent to other components of the processor (600), to enable the processor (600) to support multiple operations, as described in the examples herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller (602) can be configured to manage the data flow within the processor (600).The controller (602) can be configured to control data transfer between registers, ALUs and other functional units of the processor (600).

[0230] The memory (604) may include one or more caches (e.g., local memory or memory included in the processor (600) or other memory such as RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM, MRAM, flash memory, etc.). In some implementations, the memory (604) may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., local to the processor (600)). In some other implementations, the memory (604) may reside externally to the processor chipset (e.g., remotely to the processor (600)).

[0231] Memory (604) can store computer-readable and executable code, including instructions that, when executed by the processor (600), cause the processor (600) to perform various functions. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 156 / 178 76 / 83 described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transient, computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other types of memory. The controller (602) and / or the processor (600) may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory (604) to cause the processor (600) to perform various functions. For example, the processor (600) and / or the controller (602) may be coupled to memory (604), and the processor (600), the controller (602), and the memory (604) may be configured to perform various functions described in this document. In some examples, the processor (600) may include multiple processors and the memory (604) may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled to one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions described in this document.

[0232] The ALU(s) (606) can be configured to support various operations as described in this document. In some implementations, the ALU(s) (606) may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., the processor (600)). In some other implementations, one or more ALU(s) (606) may reside externally to the processor chipset (e.g., the processor (600)). One or more ALU(s) (606) can perform one or more calculations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, on data. For example, one or more ALU(s) (606) may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be performed. One or more ALU(s) (606) can be configured with a variety of logic and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logic gates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation.Additionally, or alternatively, one or more ALUs (606) can support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR), not-OR (NOR) and not-AND (NAND), allowing one or more. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 157 / 178 77 / 83 ALUs (606) handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

[0233] The processor (600) can support wireless communication according to the examples disclosed here.

[0234] For example, the processor (600) can be configured to support means to perform the operations as described in relation to Figure 3. For example, the processor (600) can be configured or operable to support: a means to receive, from a BS, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI from a UE; a means to receive the DCI format from the BS; a means to determine whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, wherein a first bit of the set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE; and a means to switch to a dormant BWP of the first secondary cell of the UE in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell.

[0235] For example, the processor (600) can be configured to support means to perform the operations as described in relation to Figure 4. For example, the processor (600) can be configured to support: a means to transmit, to a UE, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE; and a means to transmit the DCI format to the UE, wherein the DCI format can indicate whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and a first bit of the field set corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 158 / 178 78 / 83

[0236] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the components in the exemplary processor (600) may be altered, for example, some of the components in the exemplary processor (600) may be omitted or modified, or a new component(s) may be added to the exemplary processor (600), without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the processor (600) may not include the ALUs (606).

[0237] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a NE (700) according to aspects of the present disclosure. The NE (700) may include a processor (702), a memory (704), a controller (706) and a transceiver (708). The processor (702), the memory (704), the controller (706) or the transceiver (708), or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for carrying out various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) by means of one or more interfaces.

[0238] The processor (702), memory (704), controller (706) or transceiver (708), or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented in hardware (e.g., circuits). The hardware may include a processor, a DSP, an ASIC or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof, configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in this disclosure.

[0239] The processor (702) may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof). In some implementations, the processor (702) may be configured to operate the memory (704). In some other implementations, the memory (704) may be integrated into Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 159 / 178 79 / 83 processor (702). The processor (702) can be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory (704) to enable the NE (700) to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

[0240] Memory (704) may include volatile or non-volatile memory. Memory (704) may store computer-readable and computer-executable code, including instructions that, when executed by the processor (702), cause the NE (700) to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transient computer-readable medium, such as memory (704) or another type of memory. Computer-readable media include both non-transient storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A non-transient storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0241] In some implementations, the processor (702) and the memory (704) coupled to the processor (702) can be configured to make the NE (700) perform one or more of the functions described here (for example, executing, by the processor (702), instructions stored in memory (704)). For example, the processor (702) can support wireless communication in the NE (700), according to the examples disclosed here. For example, the NE (700) can be configured to support means to perform the operations described in relation to Figure 4.

[0242] For example, the NE (700) can be configured to support: a means of transmitting, to a UE, a signal configuring a first set of cells for multi-cell programming by a DCI format and the CRC of the DCI format being scrambled by a C-RNTI or an MCS-C-RNTI of the UE; and a means of transmitting the DCI format to the UE, wherein the DCI format can indicate whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 160 / 178 80 / 83 secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the UE, and a first bit of the field set corresponds to a first secondary cell of the UE.

[0243] The controller (706) can manage input and output signals for the NE (700). The controller (706) can also manage peripherals not integrated into the NE (700). In some implementations, the controller (706) can use an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, WINDOWS® or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller (706) can be implemented as part of the processor (702).

[0244] In some implementations, NE (700) may include at least one transceiver (708). In some other implementations, NE (700) may have more than one transceiver (708). The transceiver (708) may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver (708) may include one or more receiver chains (710), one or more transmitter chains (712), or a combination thereof.

[0245] A receiver chain (710) may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, or packets) via a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain (710) may include one or more antennas to receive the signal over the air or wirelessly. The receiver chain (710) may include at least one amplifier (e.g., an LNA) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain (710) may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the received signal and obtain the transmitted data by inverting the modulation technique applied during signal transmission. The receiver chain (710) may include at least one decoder to decode and process the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

[0246] A transmission chain (712) can be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data or Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 161 / 178 81 / 83 packets). The transmission chain (712) may include at least one modulator for modulating data into a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques, such as AM, FM, or digital modulation schemes such as PSK or QAM. The transmission chain (712) may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to a power level appropriate for transmission over a wireless medium. The transmission chain (712) may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or over a wireless medium.

[0247] Skilled individuals should understand that the components of the exemplary NE (700) may be altered, for example, some of the components of the exemplary NE (700) may be omitted or modified, or a new component(s) may be added to the exemplary NE (700), without departing from the spirit and scope of the description. For example, in some embodiments, the NE (700) may not include the controller (706).

[0248] Those skilled in the art should understand that the operations or steps of the methods described in connection with the aspects described herein may be incorporated directly into hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. A software module may reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage media known in the state of the art. Furthermore, in some aspects, the operations or steps of the methods may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and / or instructions in a non-transient, computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0249] Although this disclosure has been described with its Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 162 / 178 82 / 83 specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. The disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be kept within the broader scope, consistent with the innovative principles and features disclosed herein. For example, various components of the embodiments may be interchangeable, added to, or substituted in other embodiments. Furthermore, not all elements of each figure are necessary for the operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, a person skilled in the art of the disclosed embodiments would be able to elaborate and utilize the teachings of the disclosure simply by employing the elements of the independent claims. Consequently, the embodiments of the disclosure, as set forth herein, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting.Several changes can be made without straying from the spirit and scope of the publication.

[0250] In this document, the terms “includes,” “including,” or any other variation thereof are intended to encompass a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements does not include only those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element preceded by “a,” “an,” or similar does not, without further restriction, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element. Furthermore, the term “other” is defined as at least one or more others. The term “having” or similar, as used herein, is defined as “including.” Expressions such as “A and / or B” or “at least one of A and B” may include any and all combinations of words enumerated along with the expression. For example, the expression “A and / or B” or “at least one of A and B” may include A, B, or both A and B.The term "the first," "the second," or similar is used only for... Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 163 / 178 83 / 83 clearly illustrate the ways in which this disclosure is being made, but it is not used to limit the subject matter of this disclosure. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 164 / 178

Claims

1 / 9 Claims 1. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), characterized by comprising: at least one memory (504); and at least one processor (502) coupled to at least one memory (504) and configured to cause the user equipment (104, 500) to: receive, from a base station (BS), a signal configuring a first set of cells for multicellular programming by a downlink control information format (DCI) and the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI format to be scrambled by a temporary radio-cell network identifier (C-RNTI) or a C-RNTI modulation and coding scheme (MCS-C-RNTI) of the user equipment (104, 500); receive the DCI format from the BS;Determine whether a set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), wherein the first bit of the field set corresponds to the first secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500); and switch to a dormant bandwidth portion (BWP) of the first secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500) in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell.

2. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one processor (502, 600, 702) is configured to cause the user equipment (104, 500): in response to a single-shot hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation field (HARQ-ACK) Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 165 / 178 2 / 9 being absent from DCI format or indicating that single-shot HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator being absent from DCI format or indicating that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all Frequency Domain Resource Assignment (FDRA) fields in DCI format indicating an invalid value, determine that the set of fields in DCI format be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500).

3. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that the DCI comprises a first indicator that indicates whether the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), or a second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the user equipment (104, 500).

4. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to claim 3, characterized in that, if the first indicator shows the set of fields in DCI format being reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission; or if the first indicator shows the second indicator in DCI format being used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the user equipment (104, 500), the DCI format schedules one or more data transmissions to the user equipment (104, 500).

5. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to any one of claims 3 to 4, characterized in that the set of fields comprises one or more frequency domain resource assignment fields (FDRA) corresponding to one or more cells with the lowest server cell indices among a second set of cells, and wherein the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that indicates programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

6. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that the first set of cells comprises a primary user equipment cell (104, 500) and at least one processor (502, 600, 702) is configured to cause the user equipment (104, 500): in response to a single-trigger hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation (HARQ-ACK) field being absent from DCI format or indicating that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator being absent from DCI format or indicating that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) fields in DCI format, except one FDRA field for the primary cell indicating an invalid value,determine that the set of fields in DCI format be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500).

7. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one processor (502, 600, 702) is configured to cause the user equipment (104, 500): in response to a single-trigger hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation field (HARQ-ACK) being missing from DCI format or indicating that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 167 / 178 4 / 9 being absent from DCI format or indicating that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and at least one Frequency Domain Resource Assignment (FDRA) field in DCI format indicating an invalid value, determine that the set of fields in DCI format be reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500).

8. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that the field set is used specifically for a cell with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within a second set of cells with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating invalid value; and wherein the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that indicates programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

9. USER DEVICE (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that the set of fields is concatenated into a bitmap-based indicator (200) according to a predefined rule, and each secondary cell of the user device (104, 500) corresponds to a respective bit in the bitmap-based indicator (200).

10. USER DEVICE (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that a first bit value indicates that the user device (104, 500) should switch to the dormant BWP of the first secondary cell; and in that a second bit value indicates that the user device (104, 500) should switch to an active first BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is the dormant BWP or indicates that the UE (104, 500) should maintain the current active BWP of the first secondary cell if the current active BWP of the first secondary cell is not the dormant BWP.

11. USER EQUIPMENT (104, 500), according to claim 1, characterized in that the set of fields comprises one or more of the following: a cell-specific field with non-configurable field size; a cell-specific field with configurable field size; and a common-cell field.

12. BASE STATION (BS), characterized by comprising: at least one memory (504, 604, 704); and at least one processor (502, 600, 702) coupled to at least one memory (504, 604, 704) and configured to cause the BS to: transmit (411), to a user equipment (104, 500), a signal configuring a first set of cells for multicellular programming by a downlink control information (DCI) format and the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI format is scrambled by a temporary radio-cell network identifier (C-RNTI) or a C-RNTI modulation and coding scheme (MCS-C-RNTI) of the user equipment (104, 500);and transmit (413) the DCI format to the user equipment (104, 500), wherein the DCI format indicates whether a set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), and a first bit of the set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500).; 13. BASE STATION, according to claim 12, Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 169 / 178 6 / 9 characterized in that, in the event that a single-trigger hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation (HARQ-ACK) field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) fields in DCI format indicate an invalid value, the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500).

14. BASE STATION, according to claim 12, characterized in that the DCI comprises a first indicator that indicates whether the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), or a second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the user equipment (104, 500).

15. BASE STATION, according to claim 14, characterized in that, if the first indicator shows that the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), the DCI format does not schedule any data transmission; or if the first indicator shows that the second indicator in DCI format is used to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each group of secondary cells of the user equipment (104, 500), the DCI format schedules one or more data transmissions to the user equipment (104, 500).

16. BASE STATION, according to claim 12, characterized by the first set of cells comprising a primary user equipment cell (104, 500); and wherein, in the event that a single-trigger hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation (HARQ-ACK) field is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from the DCI format or indicates that the HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and all frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) fields in DCI format, except one FDRA field for the primary cell, indicate an invalid value, the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500).

17. BASE STATION, according to claim 12, characterized in that, in the event that a single-trigger hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation (HARQ-ACK) field is missing from DCI format or indicates that single-trigger HARQ-ACK feedback was not triggered, a HARQ-ACK retransmission indicator is missing from DCI format or indicates that HARQ-ACK retransmission was not triggered, and at least one frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field in DCI format indicates an invalid value, the set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500).

18. BASE STATION, according to claim 12, characterized in that the field set is used specifically for a cell with the lowest server cell index among one or more cells within a second set of cells with corresponding FDRA fields in DCI format indicating invalid value; and wherein the second set of cells is indicated by the DCI format among the first set of cells in response to the DCI format, including an indicator that indicates programmed cells; otherwise, the second set of cells is the first set of cells.

19. PROCESSOR (502, 600, 702), characterized by comprising: at least one controller (602, 506, 706) coupled to at least one memory (504, 604, 704) and configured to cause the processor (502, 600, 702) to: receive, from a base station (BS), a signal configuring a first set of cells for multicellular programming by a downlink control information format (DCI) and the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI format to be scrambled by a temporary radio-cell network identifier (C-RNTI) or a C-RNTI modulation and coding scheme (MCS-C-RNTI) from a user equipment (104, 500); receive the DCI format from the BS; determine whether a set of fields in DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), where the first bit of the field set corresponds to the first secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500);and switch to a dormant bandwidth portion (BWP) of the first secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500) in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell.

20. METHOD (300, 400) FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION, characterized by comprising: receiving (311), from a base station (BS), a signal configuring a first set of cells for multicellular programming by a downlink control information (DCI) format and Petition 870250088465, of 09 / 30 / 2025, p.172 / 178 9 / 9 cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI format being scrambled by a temporary radio-cell network identifier (C-RNTI) or a C-RNTI modulation and coding scheme (MCS-C-RNTI) of a user equipment (104, 500); receive (313) the DCI format from the BS; determine (315) whether a set of fields in the DCI format is reused to indicate secondary cell dormancy for each secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500), wherein a first bit of the set of fields corresponds to a first secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500); and switch (317) to a dormant bandwidth portion (BWP) of the first secondary cell of the user equipment (104, 500) in response to the first bit indicating dormancy for the first secondary cell. Petition 870250088465, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 173 / 178.

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