Methods performed by a user device and a network node in a wireless communication network, user device, network node, and computer-readable storage medium.

Description

52 Methods performed by a user device and a network node in a wireless communication network, user device, network node, and computer-readable storage medium. RELATED REQUEST

[001] This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 457,331, filed April 5, 2023, entitled PRACH CONFIGURATION FOR MULTI-TRP, the description of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[002] The present description refers to wireless communication networks and, in particular, to methods of implementing contention-free random access in a wireless communication network. FUNDAMENTALS

[003] In a wireless communication network, different user equipment devices (e.g., user equipment or UEs) in the same cell may typically be located in different positions within the cell and therefore at different distances from the base station (e.g., a gNodeB in a new radio communication system, NR). Transmissions from different UEs may therefore experience different delays before reaching the base station. To ensure that uplink (UL) transmissions from a UE reach the base station within the corresponding receive window for the base station, an uplink timing control procedure is used. This can help prevent intra-cell interference, both between UEs designated to transmit on consecutive subframes and between UEs transmitting on adjacent subcarriers.

[004] The time alignment of uplink transmissions is achieved by applying a time advance to the UE transmitter, in Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 84 / 153 / 52 regarding the received downlink time. The main function of this is to neutralize the different propagation delays between different UEs, as shown in Figure 1 for an eNodeB in a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) communication system. In particular, Figure 1 illustrates the time alignment of uplink transmissions for a case (a) without time advance and for a case (b) with time advance.

[005] To achieve time alignment and thus obtain UL synchronization, the base station (e.g., gNodeB, eNodeB) derives a time advance (TA) value that the UE needs to use for UL transmissions in order to reach the base station within the reception window and indicates this to the UE. When the UE accesses a cell for the first time, it uses the random access procedure in which the received Msg1 (the physical random access channel preamble, PRACH) is used by the base station to determine the UE's initial TA to be used for UL transmissions in the cell. During the connection, the base station continuously monitors whether the UE needs to advance / delay UL transmissions in order to compensate for changes in propagation delay, and indicates to the UE if there is a need to change the time advance value. Initial Time Advance and Time Advance Group (TAG) Configuration

[006] The initial TA value is obtained when the UE performs a random access, for example, when performing a transition from the IDLE (or INACTIVE) state to the CONNECTED state. After a UE synchronizes its receiver with downlink transmissions received from gNodeB (for example, by monitoring the synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) of the cell that the UE wishes to access), the initial time advance is set by the UE transmitting a random access preamble from which gNodeB estimates the uplink time value contained in the Random Access Response (RAR) message. This allows the time advance to be configured by gNodeB. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 85 / 153 / 52 RACH physical procedure

[007] Before the start of the physical random access procedure, the Layer 1 (the physical layer) receives from the upper layers a set of synchronization signal block / physical transmission channel (SS / PBCH) indices and provides the upper layers with a corresponding set of received reference signal power (RSRP) measurements.

[008] A physical random access procedure is triggered by a request for a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission from upper layers or by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order. An upper-layer configuration for a PRACH transmission includes the following: A configuration for PRACH transmission according to [1].

[009] A preamble index, a preamble subcarrier spacing (SCS), target PRACH receive power, a corresponding random access channel radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI), and a PRACH resource.

[0010] A PRACH preamble is transmitted according to the PRACH configuration with a transmission power in the indicated PRACH resource.

[0011] A PRACH configuration can be cell-specific or UE-specific. A cell-specific PRACH configuration is made using a RACH-ConfigCommon information element (IE), while a UE-specific PRACH configuration is made using a RACHConfigDedicated IE, both of which are described in [2].

[0012] For the Type 1 random access procedure, a UE receives a total number, Npreambletotal, of PRACH preambles for contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA) on each PRACH occasion. The default is Npreambletotal=64 if not Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 86 / 153 / 52 configured. The EU also receives an N number of synchronization signal block indices / physical transmission channel (SS / PBCH) associated with a PRACH occasion and an R number of contention-based preambles per SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH occasion by a parameter called ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB contained in the RACH-ConfigCommon IE.

[0013] If N<1, an SS / PBCH block index is mapped to 1 / N consecutive valid PRACH occasions and R contention-based preambles with consecutive indices associated with the SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH occasion starting at preamble index 0. An example is shown in Figure 2, where N=1 / 2, R=32, Npreambletotal=64 and 4 SSBs.

[0014] Figure 2 illustrates an example of mapping from an SSB preamble to PRACH with N=1 / 2 and R=32.

[0015] If N> 1, R containment-based preambles with consecutive indices associated with the SS / PBCH block index n, 0 <n<N-1, por ocasião PRACH válida, comece a partir do índice de preâmbulo n(Npreâmbulc> (total)N. An example is shown in Figure 3, where N=4, R=4, Npreambletotal=64 and 4 SSBs. For each PRACH occasion, PRACH preambles 0 to 3 are allocated to SSB#0 for CBRA and PRACH preambles 4 to 15 are allocated to SSB#0 for CFRA, PRACH preambles 16 to 19 are allocated to SSB#1 for CBRA and PRACH preambles 20 to 31 are allocated to SSB#1 for CFRA, and so on. Figure 3 illustrates an example of mapping SSB preamble to PRACH with N=4 and R=4.

[0016] The association of CFRA preambles with SSBs can also be reconfigured via a higher-level parameter ssb-perRACH-Occasion in the RACH-ConfigDedicated IE, where the UE receives information about a number N of SS / PBCH block indices associated with a PRACH occasion. The UE can also provide information about a mapping between an SSB or a channel state information reference signal index (CSI). Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 87 / 153 / 52 RS) and a preamble index on one occasion PRACH. RACH procedure initiated by order of PDCCH

[0017] A RACH procedure can be initiated by the gNodeB or the UE. It can be contention-based (CB) or contention-free (CF). A RACH procedure can be initiated by a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) order sent from the gNodeB to the UE to synchronize the UL when the UL time alignment may have been lost. The PDCCH order is transmitted in Downlink Control Information (DCI) format 1-0 when the DCI's Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) is scrambled by a UE's Temporary Cellular Radio Network Identifier (C-RNTI) and the DCI's Frequency Domain Resource Assignment field contains all ones. The PDCCH order contains the following information: Random access preamble index: 6 bits according to a top-layer parameter “ra-PreambleIndex” in Clause 5.1.2 of [3].

[0018] SS / PBCH Index: 6 bits. If the Random Access Preamble Index value is not all zero, this field indicates the SS / PBCH that should be used to determine a RACH (Random Access Channel) occasion for PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) transmission; otherwise, this field is reserved.

[0019] PRACH Mask Index. If the Random Access Preamble Index value is not all zero, this field indicates the RACH occasion associated with the SS / PBCH indicated by the SS / PBCH Index for the PRACH transmission, in accordance with Clause 5.1.1 of [3]; otherwise, this field is reserved.

[0020] If the PRACH preamble index is not zero, a contention-free random access (CFRA) procedure will be triggered, in which the PRACH preamble will be allocated only to the UE in a resource. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 88 / 153 / 52 corresponding PRACH.

[0021] If the PRACH preamble index is zero and the CFRA PRACH resources associated with the SSBs have been provided in a specific UE RACH configuration in rach-ConfigDedicated IE, the UE first selects an SSB with received signal reference power (SSRSRP) based on SSB above a configured threshold, and then selects a PRACH preamble according to the selected SSB. If the PRACH preamble index is zero and the CFRA resources associated with the CSI-RSs have been provided in rach-ConfigDedicated IE, the UE first selects a CSI-RS with CSI-RSRP above a configured threshold, rsrpThresholdCSI-RS, then selects a PRACH preamble according to the selected CSI-RS.If the PRACH preamble index is zero and the CFRA PRACH resources associated with the SSB or CSI-RS are not provided, a CBRA procedure will be triggered by the PDCCH order, in which the UE randomly selects a PRACH preamble from a set of PRACH preambles configured for CBRA in the service cell. Note that in this case, the same preamble may be selected by more than one UE on the same PRACH resource and contention may occur. The CBRA triggered by PDCCH order is only allowed for one SpCell, i.e., a primary cell in a master cell group (MCG) or a secondary cell group (SCG), if cell groups are configured. The rachConfigDedicated IE is described in [2], the detailed procedure is described in Clause 5.1.2 of [3].

[0022] If a UE is configured with two UL carriers for a service cell and the UE detects a PDCCH order, the UE will use the value of the UL / SUL indicator field of the detected PDCCH order to determine the UL carrier for the corresponding PRACH transmission.

[0023] A RACH occasion is a time and frequency resource, that is, a number of RBs in a number of multiplexing symbols per Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 89 / 153 / 52 Orthogonal Frequency Division (OFDM) slots allocated for PRACH transmission. Multiple RACH slots can be configured within a single PRACH configuration period consisting of multiple radio frames. RACH slots can be time- or frequency-multiplexed.

[0024] From the physical layer perspective, the random access procedure triggered by a PDCCH order includes the transmission of a random access preamble (Msg1) in a PRACH by a UE, the transmission of a random access reply message (RAR) with a PDCCH and a corresponding physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (Msg2), and, when applicable, the transmission of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by a RAR UL and PDSCH grant for contention resolution if the RACH procedure is contention-based. Multi-TRP

[0025] In 3GPP Rel-17, the work for multi-TRP done in Rel-16 is being extended to an intercellular scheme. Multi-transmit-receive (mTRP) transmission is essentially non-coherent joint transmission (NC-JT) across multiple transmit-receive points (TRPs). NC-JT refers to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) data transmission via multiple TRPs, where different MIMO layers are transmitted by different TRPs. Two ways of scheduling NC-JT multi-TRP transmission are specified in NR Rel-16: multi-PDCCH-based multi-TRP transmission and single PDCCH-based multi-TRP transmission. Multi-TRP transmission based on multi-PDCCH

[0026] An example is shown in Figure 4, which illustrates an example of multi-TRP transmission based on multi-PDCCH with a single scheduler. In Figure 4, data is sent to a UE via two TRPs, each TRP carrying a Transport Block (TB) mapped to a Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 90 / 153 / 52 code-word. When the UE has 4 receiving antennas and each of the TRPs has only 2 transmitting antennas, the UE can support up to 4 MIMO layers, but each TRP can transmit a maximum of 2 MIMO layers. In this case, when transmitting data on two TRPs to the UE, the peak data rate for the UE can be increased while up to 4 aggregated layers from the two TRPs can be used. This is beneficial when the traffic load, and thus resource utilization, is low on each TRP. In this example, a single scheduler is used to schedule data on both TRPs.

[0027] A PDCCH is transmitted from each of the two TRPs in a slot, each scheduling a PDSCH. This is known as a multi-PDCCH or multi-DCI scheme, in which an UE receives two PDCCHs and the two associated PDSCHs in a two-TRP slot.

[0028] In another scenario shown in Figure 5, which illustrates an example of multi-TRP transmission based on multi-PDCCH with independent schedulers. In this case, only semi-static to semi-dynamic coordination between the two schedulers can be performed due to the non-ideal backhaul connection, i.e., backhaul connection with large delay and / or delay variations that are comparable to the cyclic prefix length or, in some cases, even longer, up to several milliseconds.

[0029] Although Figures 4 and 5 show multi-DCI scheduling for PDSCH, multi-DCI scheduling for PUSCH is also supported in NR Rel-16. In NR Rel-16, multi-DCI scheduling is for multi-TRP, where a UE can receive two DCIs, each scheduling a PDSCH / PUSCH. Each PDCCH and PDSCH are transmitted from the same TRP. An example is shown in Figure 6, which illustrates an example of multi-DCI PDSCH transmission with multiple TRPs. In Figure 6, PDSCH 1 is scheduled by PDCCH 1 from TRP1 and PDSCH 2 is scheduled by PDCCH 2 from TRP2. The two PDSCHs may be completely, partially, or not overlapping in time and frequency. When the two PDSCHs are totally or Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 91 / 153 / 52 partially overlapping, the same Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) resource configuration is assumed with DMRS ports of the two PDSCHs in different Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) groups. Multi-DCI scheduling can also be used to schedule PUSCH to different TRPs. In the case of PUSCH scheduling, PUSCH transmissions to different TRPs are time-division multiplexed in NR Rel-16. In NR Rel-18, multi-TRP based on multi-DCI is being extended to the case where two PDCCHs of TRP1 and TRP2 schedule PUSCH1 and PUSCH2, respectively, where PUSCH1 and PUSCH2 can be transmitted simultaneously in overlapping OFDM symbols in the time domain by the UE.

[0030] For multi-DCI operation, a UE needs to be configured with two control resource set (CORESET) pools, each associated with a TRP. Each CORESET pool is a collection of CORESETs belonging to the same pool. A CORESET pool index can be set on each CORESET with a value of 0 or 1. For the two DCIs in the example above, they are transmitted in two CORESETs belonging to different CORESET pools (i.e., with CORESETPoolIndex 0 and 1 respectively). The two PDSCHs belong to two different hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Multi-TRP “Intercell” transmission

[0031] In version 17, a concept called “intercellular” mTRP is introduced. The term is used here in quotation marks because what is introduced is not “intercellular” in the sense of service cells, but in the sense of SSB sets / physical cell identities (PCIs). That is, a list of SSBs with PCI(s) different from that of the service cell is introduced within a service cell configuration.

[0032] The intercellular aspect of Rel-17 refers to the case where these two TRPs are associated with different SSBs associated with different Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 92 / 153 / 52 PCIs. That is, the TCI state that refers to the transmission of TRP 1 or TRP 2 is quasi-placed on a reference signal that is either one of the SSB beams with the PCI belonging to that TRP, or another reference signal, such as CSI-RS or DMRS, which has a root quasi-placement assumption on one of the SSB beams with PCI belonging to that TRP.

[0033] If one of the TRPs is associated with a PCI different from the service cell's PCI, the different PCI is also called an additional PCI and is provided to the UE by a higher-layer parameter “additionalPCIr17” in an SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 IE shown below according to [2]. The SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 IE shown in Table 1 also provides information about the SSBs associated with the additional PCI. Table 1 - SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 IE information element SSB-MTC — ASN1START — TAG-SSB-MTC-START (unrelated text omitted) SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 ::= additionalPCIIndex-r17 additionalPCI-r17 periodicity-r17 ms40, ms80, ms160, spare2, spare1}, ssb-PositionsInBurst-r17 shortBitmap mediumBitmap longBitmap}, ss-PBCH-BlockPower-r17} SEQUENCE { AdditionalPCIIndex-r17, PhysCellId, ENUMERATED { ms5, ms10, ms20, CHOICE { BIT STRING (SIZE (4)), BIT STRING (SIZE (8)), BIT STRING (SIZE (64)) INTEGER (-60..50) AdditionalPCIIndex-r17 ::= INTEGER(1..maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17) — TAG-SSB-MTC-STOP — ASN1STOP

[0034] Multiple SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 IEs can be configured for a UE in a service cell, each associated with an additional PCI. Each of the multiple SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 IEs receives an index, “AdditionalPCIIndex-r17”, which ranges from 1 to a maximum number of additional PCIs that can be configured. The multiple SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 IEs are configured as “additionalPCIToAddModList-r17” in the ServingCellConfig IE shown in Table 2 of Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 93 / 153 / 52 in accordance with [2]. Table 2 - IE ServingCellConfig information element ServingCellConfig — ASN1START — TAG-SERVINGCELLCONFIG-START (unrelated text omitted) MIMOParam-r17 ::= SEQUENCE { additionalPCI-ToAddModList-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17)) OF SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 OPTIONAL, — Need N additionalPCI-ToReleaseList-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r17)) OF AdditionalPCIIndex-r17 OPTIONAL, — Need N (unrelated text omitted)} — TAG-SERVINGCELLCONFIG-STOP — ASN1STOP Dedicated PRACH

[0035] A PRACH configuration is provided to the UE in CellGroupConfig IE, which is used to configure an MCG or SCG. A cell group consists of a medium access control (MAC) entity, a set of logical channels with associated RLC entities, and a primary cell (SpCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells).

[0036] Within this IE, the PRACH configuration is given with IE ReconfigurationWithSync. IE RACH-ConfigDedicated is used to specify the dedicated random access parameters. SUMMARY

[0037] Some modes provide efficient configuration options for a UE with RACH configuration when the UE is configured with mTRP operation and with additional PCI and two time advance timers / time advance groups (TAGs) per service cell.

[0038] In particular, some embodiments provide a method executed by a UE on a wireless communication network. The UE is configured with two TAGs and is configured with a first CORESET associated with a first CORESET pool index and a second CORESET Petition 870250090608, dated 10 / 03 / 2025, p. 94 / 153 / 52 associated with a second CORESET pool index. The method includes receiving a first RACH configuration associated with a first PCI for CFRA, wherein the first PCI is associated with the first CORESET, receiving one or more second RACH configurations associated with one or more respective second PCIs for CFRA, wherein the one or more second PCIs are associated with the second CORESET, receiving an indication of a second activated PCI from one or more second PCIs and a CFRA request associated with the second activated PCI, and executing a CFRA according to one or more of the second RACH configurations associated with the second activated PCI.

[0039] Some other embodiments provide a method performed by a UE on a wireless communication network that includes receiving a first RACH configuration for CFRA for a first PCI associated with a first CORESET associated with a first CORESET pool index and performing a CFRA for a second PCI for multi-TRP operation using the first RACH configuration.

[0040] Some embodiments provide a method executed by the network node in a wireless communication network. The method includes configuring an UE with a first RACH configuration for CFRA for a first PCI associated with a first CORESET associated with a first CORESET pool index, and configuring the UE with a plurality of second RACH configurations for a respective second plurality of PCIs associated with a second CORESET that is associated with a second CORESET pool index for multi-TRP operation.

[0041] Some other embodiments provide a method executed by a network node in a wireless communication network that includes configuring a UE with a RACH configuration for CFRA for a first PCI associated with a first CORESET associated with a first CORESET pool index and configuring the UE with a configuration Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, p. 95 / 153 / 52 for a second PCI associated with a second CORESET for multi-TRP operation. The UE applies the RACH configuration when running a CFRA on the second PCI for multi-TRP operation.

[0042] Some models also provide a wireless / UE device and a network node to perform the above methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Figure 1 (a) illustrates the time alignment of uplink transmissions for a case without time advance.

[0044] Figure 1 (b) illustrates the time alignment of uplink transmissions for a time-advanced case.

[0045] Figure 2 illustrates an example of mapping from an SSB preamble to PRACH with N=1 / 2 and R=32.

[0046] Figure 3 illustrates an example of mapping from SSB preamble to PRACH with N=4 and R=4.

[0047] Figure 4 illustrates an example of multi-TRP transmission based on multi-PDCCH with a single scheduler.

[0048] Figure 5 illustrates an example of multi-TRP transmission based on multi-PDCCH with independent schedulers.

[0049] Figure 6 illustrates an example of PDSCH transmission with multi-DCI with multiple TRPs.

[0050] Figure 7 illustrates a detail of a containment-free preamble (CFPR) mapping for an SSB.

[0051] Figure 8A is a signal flow diagram that illustrates message flow and associated operations according to a modality.

[0052] Figure 8B is a signal flow diagram that illustrates message flow and associated operations according to a modality.

[0053] Figure 9A illustrates a method executed by a UE in a wireless communication network.

[0054] Figure 9B illustrates a method executed by a UE in a Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 96 / 153 / 52 wireless communication network.

[0055] Figure 10A illustrates a method executed by a network node in a wireless communication network.

[0056] Figure 10B illustrates a method executed by a network node in a wireless communication network.

[0057] Figure 11 shows an example of a communication system according to some modalities.

[0058] Figure 12 shows a UE according to some modalities.

[0059] Figure 13 shows a network node according to some modalities.

[0060] Figure 14 is a block diagram of a host according to some modes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MODALITIES

[0061] For multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operation between cells with two TA enhancements, an additional PRACH configuration is supported for each additional configured PCI. The additional PRACH configuration is used in a RACH procedure triggered by a PDCCH order for the corresponding configured additional PCI.

[0062] However, how the configuration can be extended to multi-TRP, where a service cell is configured with two time advance values / time advance groups, is an open question. The RAN1 3GPP group agreed to have an additional PRACH configuration for each additional PCI configured. However, from the perspective of the RAN2 3GPP group, the PRACH procedure for any of the additional PCI / SSBs is geared towards the same MAC entity as the original PCI / SSB. Therefore, simply adding complete PRACH configurations for each additional PCI configured may not be feasible.

[0063] Certain aspects of the description and its modalities can provide Petition 870250090608, dated 10 / 03 / 2025, page 97 / 153 / 52 solutions to these or other challenges. Some embodiments described herein provide efficient methods for configuring a UE with a RACH configuration when the UE is configured with mTRP operation and with additional PCI and two time advance timers / TAG groups per service cell.

[0064] For example, in some embodiments, the original RACH configuration for contention-free random access provided to UEs can be applied to the TRP using the SSBs of an additional PCI. Note that up to 7 additional PCI / SSBs can be configured for the UE. One of the additional PCI / SSBs can be active at the time and associated with the second TRP, while the first TRP is associated with the original PCI / SSB of the service cell.

[0065] Certain modalities may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Instead of simply repeating a RACH-ConfigDedicated configuration, other configuration options are provided. Signaling may be more efficient as some fields and parameters may be shared between, for example, additional PCI / SSBs configured for the UE. Another advantage is that when existing RACH configurations are not reused, the existing specification text (e.g., Clause 5.3.5.8.3 of [2]) in the procedural section does not need to be modified and therefore difficulties related to backward compatibility may be reduced.

[0066] Some of the embodiments contemplated in this document will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject to those skilled in the art.

[0067] In a first embodiment, the original RACH configuration for contention-free random access provided to UEs is applied to the TRP using the SSBs of an additional PCI. Note that up to 7 additional PCI / SSBs can be configured for the UE while one of them is active. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 98 / 153 / 52 currently associated with the second TRP, while the first TRP is associated with the original PCI / SSB of the service cell.

[0068] In a variant of the first modality, only the root sequence, configured for example with prach-RootSequenceIndex, is provided by additional PCI / SSB (for each of seven of them separately).

[0069] In a second embodiment, the IE RACH-ConfigDedicated and / or RACH-ConfigCommon are used as is to provide the UE with the additional CFRA configurations required for the second TRP. This can be done in such a way that there is an additional CFRA configuration for the second TRP, which is used independently of the associated additional PCI / SSB. In one variant, only the configured root sequence, for example, with prach-RootSequenceIndex, is provided per additional PCI / SSB (for each of seven separately). In another variant, each additional PCI / SSB receives its own complete CFRA configuration.

[0070] In a variant of the second mode, the required configuration is provided by one of the sub IEs, such as a CFRA IE.

[0071] In one embodiment, RACH-ConfigDedicated IE is extended to include additional RACH configurations for the second TRP associated with an additional PCI or for each additional PCI / SSB separately. An example is shown in Table 3. As shown in Table 3, CFRAAdditional configured for an additional PCI contains at least one of the following: a rach-ConfigGeneric field that provides configuration of contention-free random access occasions for CFRA specific to additional PCI; an ssb-perRACH-Occasion that configures the number of SSBs per RACH occasion; a prach-RootSequenceIndex that provides the PRACH root sequence index corresponding to the additional PCI; optionally, an additionalPCIIndex, which is an index of Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 99 / 153 / 52 Additional PCI is configured when more than one additional PCI is set for the UE (for example, when X additional PCIs are set, the additionalPCIIndex provides the integer index between 1 and X to which the configured cfra-Additional parameter corresponds); Optionally, an additionalPCI that provides the PhysCellld physical cell ID corresponding to the additional PCI.

[0072] Note that in an alternative embodiment, additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI cannot be explicitly configured as part of CFRA-Additional. Instead, each CFRA-Additional can be implicitly associated with additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI parameters that are configured elsewhere (for example, additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI can be configured as part of the SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 field as described in [2]).

[0073] Table 3 describes an embodiment in which additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI are configured as part of SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17, showing additional RACH configurations for the second TRP associated with an additional PCI. Table 3 - IE RACH-ConfigDedicated RACH-ConfigDedicated ::= SEQUENCE { cfra CFRA OPTIONAL, — Need S ra-Prioritization RA-Prioritization OPTIONAL, — Need N ···, [[ ra-PrioritizationTwoStep-r16 RA-Prioritization OPTIONAL, — Need N cfra-TwoStep-r16 CFRA-TwoStep-r16 OPTIONAL — Need S ]] prach-RootSequenceIndex-r18 CHOICE { 1839 INTEGER (0..837), Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 100 / 153 / 52 1139 INTEGER (0..137)} OPTIONAL — Need R rach-ConfigGeneric-r18 RACH-ConfigGeneric, OPTIONAL — Need R ssb-perRACH-Occasion-r18 ENUMERATED {oneEighth, oneFourth, oneHalf, one, two, four, eight, sixteen} OPTIONAL — Need R}} AdditionalPCIIndex-r18 ::= INTEGER(1..maxNrofAdditiona1PCI-r18)

[0074] In an alternative embodiment, the RACH-ConfigDedicated IE is extended to include additional RACH configurations associated with additional PCIs, as shown below in Table 4. In Table 4, a list of CFRA-Additional fields are configured where each CFRAAdditional field corresponds to one of a list of configured additional PCIs. Note that the list of additional PCIs is configured as part of MIMOParam-r17 in [2] where an SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 is configured per additional PCI. Therefore, it can be alternatively stated that each CFRA-Additional field corresponds to one of the configured SSB-MTCAdditionalPCI-r17s. The contents of CFRA-Additional may be similar to the example in Table 3. Note that additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI cannot be explicitly configured as part of CFRA-Additional.Instead, each CFRA-Additional can be implicitly associated with additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI parameters that are configured as part of each of an SSB-MTCAdditionalPCI-r17 list. Table 4 - A second example showing additional RACH configurations for additional TRP(s) associated with additional PCI(s) RACH-ConfigDedicated ::= SEQUENCE { cfra OPTIONAL, — Need S CFRA ra-Prioritization RA-Prioritization OPTIONAL, — Need N ···, [[ ra-PrioritizationTwoStep-r16 OPTIONAL, — Need N RA-Prioritization cfra-TwoStep-r16 OPTIONAL — Need S CFRA-TwoStep-r16 Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 101 / 153 / 52 ]], [[ additionalCFRA-ToAddModList-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r18)) OF CFRA-Additional-r18 OPTIONAL — Need S additionalCFRA-ToReleaseList-r18 SEQUENCE (SIZE(1.. maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r18)) OF cfra-AdditionalId-r18 OPTIONAL -- Need S ]]} CFRA-Additional-18 ::= SEQUENCE { cfra-AdditionalId-r18 CFRA-AdditionalId-r18 occasionsAdditional-r18 SEQUENCE { additionalPCIIndex-r18 AdditionalPCIIndex- r18, OPTIONAL — Need R additionalPCI PhysCellId, OPTIONAL — Need R prach-RootSequenceIndex-r18 CHOICE { l839 INTEGER (0..837), l139 INTEGER (0..137)} OPTIONAL — Need R rach-ConfigGeneric-r18 OPTIONAL — Need R ssb-perRACH-Occasion-r18 RACH-ConfigGeneric, ENUMERATED {oneEighth, oneFourth, oneHalf, one, two, four, eight, sixteen} OPTIONAL — Need R}} AdditionalPCIIndex-r18 ::= INTEGER(1..maxNrofAdditionalPCI-r18)

[0075] Em outra modalidade, um IE separado associado a cada PCI adicional pode ser usado para configurar o PRACH baseado em CFRA.

[0076] In one embodiment, for PRACH initiated with PDCCH order, the IE CFRA is extended so that the rach-ConfigGeneric field is common to the original configuration and to one or more TRPs associated with the additional PCI(s). In this embodiment, the number of SSBs per RACH occasion (given by the ssb-perRACH-Occasion2-r18 parameter) corresponding to an additional PCI can be configured as part of the extended CFRA, as shown in Table 5. When more than one additional PCI is configured, alternatively, a list of ssb-perRACH-Occasion2-r18 parameters can be configured as part of the CFRA IE, where each ssb-perRACH-Occasion2-r18 in the list provides the number of SSBs per RACH occasion corresponding to each of the additional PCI(s) in a list of additional PCI(s) configured for the UE. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, pp. 102 / 153 / 52 Table 5 - A first example showing the extent of the configuration. CFRA para o segundo TRP associado a uma PCI adicional CFRA ::= SEQUENCE { occasions rach-ConfigGeneric ssb-perRACH-Occasion oneFourth, oneHalf, one, two, four, SEQUENCE { RACH-ConfigGeneric, ENUMERATED {oneEighth, eight, sixteen} OPTIONAL — Cond Mandatory} OPTIONAL, — Need S resources CHOICE { ssb SEQUENCE { ssb-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxRA-SSBResources)) OF CFRA-SSB-Resource, ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex INTEGER (0..15)}, csirs csirs-ResourceList SEQUENCE { SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxRACSIRS-Resources)) OF CFRA-CSIRS-Resource, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS} }, RSRP-Range ..., [[ totalNumberOfRA-Preambles OPTIONAL -- Cond Occasions ]], [[ ssb-perRACH-Occasion2-r18 oneFourth, oneHalf, one, OPTIONAL — Need R ]]} INTEGER (1..63) ENUMERATED {oneEighth, two, four, eight, sixteen}

[0077] In one embodiment, for PRACH initiated with PDCCH order, the IE CFRA is extended so that both rach-ConfigGeneric and ssb-perRACH-Occasion are different between the first TRP and the TRP associated with the additional PCIs. An example of this extension is shown in Table 6. In this embodiment, rach-ConfigGeneric and ssb-perRACH-Occasion corresponding to an additional PCI can be configured as part of the extended CFRA, as shown in Table 6. When there is more than one additional PCI configured, alternatively, a list of ssb-perRACH-Occasion-r18 parameters can be configured as part of the CFRA IE, where each ssb-perRACH-Occasion-r18 in the list provides the number of SSBs per RACH occasion corresponding to each of the additional PCI(s) in the list of additional PCI(s) configured for the UE. When there is more than Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 103 / 153 / 52 an additional PCI configured, alternatively, a list of rach-ConfigGeneric-r18 parameters can be configured as part of CFRA IE, where each rach-ConfigGeneric-r18 in the list provides the CFRA configuration corresponding to each of the additional PCI(s) in the list of additional PCI(s) configured for the UE.

[0078] In addition, as shown in Table 6, a PRACH root sequence index prach-RootSequenceIndex-r18 corresponding to an additional PCI can be configured as part of the extended CFRA. When more than one additional PCI is configured, alternatively, a list of prach-RootSequenceIndex-r18 parameters can be configured as part of the CFRA IE, where each prach-RootSequenceIndex-r18 in the list provides the PRACH root sequence index corresponding to each of the additional PCI(s) in the list of additional PCI(s) configured for the UE.

[0079] In some alternative embodiments, additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI can be explicitly configured as part of the extended CFRA configuration. Alternatively, additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI cannot be explicitly configured as part of the extended CFRA configuration. Instead, each extended element (e.g., any one or more of rach-ConfigGeneric-r18, ssb-perRACHOccasion-r18, and prach-RootSequenceIndex-r18) can be implicitly associated with additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI parameters that are configured elsewhere (e.g., additionalPCIIndex and additionalPCI can be configured as part of the SSB-MTCAdditionalPCI-r17 field as described in [2]). Tabela 6 - Um segundo exemplo de extensão do CFRA IE para PCI(s) adicionais CFRA ::= SEQUENCE { occasions SEQUENCE { rach-ConfigGeneric RACH-ConfigGeneric, ssb-perRACH-Occasion ENUMERATED {oneEighth, oneFourth, oneHalf, one, two, four, eight, sixteen} OPTIONAL — Cond Mandatory Petição 870250090608, de 03 / 10 / 2025, pág. 104 / 153 / 52} OPTIONAL, — Need S resources CHOICE { ssb SEQUENCE { ssb-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxRASSB-Resources)) OF CFRA-SSB-Resource, ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex INTEGER (0..15)}, csirs SEQUENCE { csirs-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxRACSIRS-Resources)) OF CFRA-CSIRS-Resource, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS RSRP-Range}}, ..., [[ totalNumberOfRA-Preambles INTEGER (1..63) OPTIONAL -- Cond Occasions ]], [[ Occasions2-r18 SEQUENCE { rach-ConfigGeneric-r18 RACH-ConfigGeneric, ssb-perRACH-Occasion-r18 ENUMERATED {oneEighth, oneFourth, oneHalf, one, two, four, eight, sixteen} additionalPCIIndex-r18 AdditionalPCIIndex-r18, additionalPCI PhysCellId, prach-RootSequenceIndex-r18 CHOICE { l839 INTEGER (0..837), l139 INTEGER (0..137)} OPTIONAL — Need R OPTIONAL — Cond Mandatory} ]]}

[0080] In one embodiment, for UE-initiated PRACH, if the UE is configured with additional PCI / SSB, the IE CFRA-SSB-Resource used in IE PRACH-ConfigDedicated is extended with the additional PCI index, as shown in Table 7. table 7 - CFRA-SSB-Resource IE CFRA-SSB-Resource ::= SEQUENCE { ssb SSB-Index, ra-PreambleIndex INTEGER (0. ..., [[ msgA-PUSCH-Resource-Index-r16 INTEGER (0. Cond 2StepCFRA ]], [[ additionalPCI-r18 OPTIONAL — Need R ]] .63), .3071) OPTIONAL — AdditionalPCIIndex-r18} Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 105 / 153 / 52

[0081] In Table 7, additionalPCI indicates the physical cell (PCI) IDs of the SSBs. It refers to a PCI value configured in an additionalPCI-ToAddModList list configured in the service cell in which the UE runs RACH.

[0082] To extend the CSI-RS feature to PRACH, there are two options. In the first option, the non-null power (NZP) CSI-RS ID is used, which allows any NZP CSI-RS configured to be associated with a service cell, meaning that this NZP CSI-RS can also be associated with additional PCI in a TCI state configuration, as shown in Table 8. Table 8 - CFRA-CSIRS-Resource IE_______________________________ CFRA-CSIRS-Resource ::= SEQUENCE { csi-RS CSI-RS-Index, ra-OccasionList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxRAOccasionsPerCSIRS)) OF INTEGER (0..maxRA-Occasions-1), ra-PreambleIndex INTEGER (0..63), ..., [[ csi-rs-additional-r18 NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId OPTIONAL — Need R ]]} Descriptions of the CFRA-CSIRS-Resource csi-RS fields The ID of a CSI-RS resource defined in the measurement object associated with the service cell. csi-rs-additional The ID of a CSI-RS resource defined in CSI-measConfig associated with an additional one in the IE TCI state. ra-OccasionList RA occasions that the UE should use when performing CF-RA when selecting a candidate identified by this CSI-RS. The network ensures that the RA occasion indexes provided here are also configured by pr.ConfigurationIndex and msg1-FDM. Each RACH occasion is numbered sequentially, first, in ascending order of frequency resource indices for frequency-multiplexed PRACH occasions; second, in ascending order of time resource indices for time-multiplexed P occasions within a PRACH slot; and third, in ascending order of indices for PRACH slots. ra-PreambleIndex The index of the RA preamble to be used on RA-related occasions; this CSI-RS.

[0083] In a second option, the CSI-RS defined in the measurement object is extended as shown in Table 9. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 106 / 153 / 52 table 9 - CSI-RS-ResourceConfigMobility IE CSI-RS-ResourceConfigMobility ::= subcarrierSpacing csi-RS-CellList-Mobility RS-CellsRRM)) OF CSI-RS-CellMobility ..., [[ refServCellIndex OPTIONAL — Need S ]] SEQUENCE { SubcarrierSpacing, SEQUENCE (SIZ , E (1..maxNrofCSI- ServCellIndex} CSI-RS-CellMobility ::= cellId csi-rs-MeasurementBW nrofPRBs size48, size96, size192, size264}, startPRB}, density OPTIONAL, — Need R csi-rs-ResourceList-Mobility RS-ResourcesRRM)) OF CSI-RS-Resource} SEQUENCE { PhysCellId, SEQUENCE { ENUMERATED { size24, INTEGER(0..2169) ENUMERATED {d1,d3} SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofCSI- -Mobility CSI-RS-Resource-Mobility ::= csi-RS-Index slotConfig ms4 ms5 ms10 ms2 0 ms4 0}, associatedSSB ssb-Index isQuasiColocated} OPTIONAL, — Need R frequencyDomainAllocation row1 row2}, firstOFDMSymbolInTimeDomain sequenceGenerationConfig ..., [[ slotConfig-r17 ms4 ms5 ms10 ms2 0 ms4 0} OPTIONAL — Need R ]] , [[ additionalPCI-r18 OPTIONAL — Need R SEQUENCE { CSI-RS-Index, CHOICE { INTEGER (0..31), INTEGER (0..39), INTEGER (0..79), INTEGER (0..159), INTEGER (0..319) SEQUENCE { SSB-Index, BOOLEAN CHOICE { BIT STRING (SIZE (4)), BIT STRING (SIZE (12)) INTEGER (0..13), INTEGER (0..1023), CHOICE { INTEGER (0..255), INTEGER (0..319), INTEGER (0..639), INTEGER (0..1279), INTEGER (0..2559) AdditionalPCIIndex-r18. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 107 / 153 / 52 ]]} CSI-RS-Index ::= INTEGER (0..maxNrofCSI-RSResourcesRRM-1) — TAG-CSI-RS-RESOURCECONFIGMOBILITY-STOP — ASN1STOP

[0084] In Table 9, additionalPCI indicates the PCI of the SSBs for the associatedSSB. It refers to a PCI value configured in an additionalPCI-ToAddModList list configured in the UE service cell in which RACH runs.

[0085] In another embodiment, the PRACH configuration is not extended to additional PCIs, but it is specified that when a UE receives a PDCCH order relating to a TRP that is associated with an additional PCI, the UE applies the original PRACH configuration in relation to that PCI / SSB / TRP. The PRACH configuration can be dedicated or common. The original PRACH configuration, dedicated or common, can be the PRACH configuration provided for the cell group to which the TRP associated with the PDCCH order belongs.

[0086] In a third mode, the first TRP associated with the PCI / SSB server cell uses the original CFRA configuration and the second TRP receives a RACH configuration using IE BeamFailureRecoveryConfig. Similar to modes 1 and 2, each additional 7 PCI / SSB can receive its own RACH configuration or just the root sequence. In a variant, the first TRP also receives an additional CFRA configuration using IE BeamFailureRecoveryConfig.

[0087] In another embodiment, a TRP can be associated with a PRACH configuration using the beamfailurerecovery configuration. This configuration can be implicit, so that the UE assumes the same configuration configured for beam failure recovery. Or it can be a new field using the IE BeamFailureRecoveryConfig. The PCI linked to the SSB pointed to in this configuration is considered the PCI that is currently Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 108 / 153 / 52 active for the second TRP. For the first TRP, the PCI is that of the original service cell.

[0088] In a fourth embodiment, the first TRP associated with the PCI / SSB service cell uses the original CFRA configuration and the second TRP receives a RACH configuration using a new IE. Similar to the first and second embodiments, each additional 7 PCI / SSB can receive its own RACH configuration or just the root sequence. In one variant, the first TRP also receives an additional CFRA configuration using a new IE. Details of the new IE are provided below.

[0089] In one embodiment, a new IE configuration is defined with which the UE is configured with RACH and SSBs capabilities to recover UL time synchronization via TRP if the associated time alignment timer expires. The configuration is not specific to PCI / SSB, but applies to any additional active PCI / SSB. In a variant, the same configuration applies to the TRP associated with the original PCI of the service cell.

[0090] This new IE contains one or more upper-layer parameters or IEs that can be configured for CFRA-based PRACH transmission associated with additional PCI. These upper-layer parameters may include a PRACH root sequence index or a CFRA IE. The CFRA IE may include a RACH-ConfigGeneric IE, an ssb-perRACHOccasion, a CFRA-SSB-Resource IE, and / or a CFRA-CSIRS-Resource IE.

[0091] Another example of this new IE is shown in Table 10. Table 10 - RACH-ConfigAdditional IE RACH-ConfigAdditional ::= SEQUENCE { rach-ConfigGeneric RACH-ConfigGeneric, OPTIONAL -- Need R ssb-perRACH-Occasion ENUMERATED {oneEighth, oneFourth, oneHalf, one, two, four, eight, sixteen} OPTIONAL — Need R}

[0092] With this IE, the UE can be configured with RACH resources for both TRPs or for the second TRP, for example, in Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 109 / 153 / 52 servingcellConfig IE. Optionally, if the configuration is specific to the cell group, it can be provided in the cell group configuration in IE CellGroupConfig. Optionally, the configuration can be common to TRPs following the same TAG ID of the service cells configured for the UE.

[0093] In a fifth mode, in relation to the third and fourth modes, when a specific TRP time advance timer expires, the UE uses the RACH setting provided in IE BeamFailureRecoveryConfig or the new IE. When both timers expire, the UE uses the original CFRA setting.

[0094] In a sixth mode, in relation to the third and fourth modes, a UE may receive a PDCCH order to use the RACH configuration provided in IE BeamFailureRecoveryConfig or in the new IE. The UE may also receive a PDCCH order to use the original CFRA configuration.

[0095] In one embodiment, targeting the intracellular case, the SSBs of the original donor cell are associated / shared with TRP1 and TRP2.

[0096] In one embodiment, the ssb-perRACHOccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB parameter in rach-ConfigCommon IE includes a new IE, for example, ssbAdditionalPerRachOccasionAndCF-Preambles-r18, for which additional SSBs can be flagged so that, for shared RACH occasions, the SSBs (e.g., available for CFRA) are expanded. With this, additional SSBs can be configured (for the additional TRP / PCI) and the total number of preambles per corresponding CFRA SSB(s) can be partitioned and configured. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 110 / 153 / 52 Table 11 - BWP-UplinkCommon IE BWP-UplinkCommon ::= genericParameters rach-ConfigCommon ConfigCommon} Need M SEQUENCE { BWP, SetupRelease { RACHOPTIONAL, — -- omitted RACH-ConfigCommon ::= SEQUENCE { rach-ConfigGeneric RACH-ConfigGeneric, totalNumberOfRA-Preambles INTEGER (1..63) OPTIONAL, -- Need S ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB CHOICE { -- omitted -} ssbAdditionalPerRachOccasionAnsCF-Preambles-r18 [ { startPreambleForThisPartition-r17 = n, -(#partitionsD list / seq?) nrofPreamblesForThisPartition-r17 = m, ssb-SharedRO-MaskIndex-r17 = tbd -(could also be used to only use some preambles)

[0097] Figure 7 illustrates a detail of a containment-free preamble (CFPR) mapping for an SSB for PRACH index = 1 and a 4-step RACH procedure.

[0098] Figure 8A is a signal flow diagram illustrating message flows according to some modalities, and Figure 9A illustrates a method executed by a UE 1200 in a wireless communication network. Referring to Figures 8 and 9A, the UE 1200 is configured with two TAGs and is configured with a first CORESET associated with a first CORESET pool index and a second CORESET associated with a second CORESET pool index. The method involves receiving (block 902) a first RACH 802 configuration associated with a first PCI for CFRA, where the first PCI is associated with the first CORESET.

[0099] In block 904, the UE receives one or more second RACH 804 configurations associated with one or more respective second PCIs for CFRA, wherein one or more second PCIs are associated with the second CORESET. The first and second RACH configurations were described previously.

[00100] In block 906, the EU receives an 806 indication from a Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 111 / 153 / 52 second activated PCI of one or more second PCIs and a CFRA request associated with the second activated PCI. In response to receiving the indication, the UE executes, in block 908, a CFRA according to one of the one or more second RACH configurations associated with the second activated PCI.

[00101] Figure 8B is a signal flow diagram illustrating message flows according to other modes, and Figure 9B illustrates operations of a method executed by a UE 1200 in a wireless communication network according to other modes. Referring to Figures 8B and 9B, the UE receives (block 912) a first RACH configuration 812 for CFRA, for a first physical cell identity, PCI, associated with a first CORESET, associated with a first CORESET pool index. The UE executes (block 914) a CFRA towards a second PCI for multi-TRP operation using the first RACH configuration.

[00102] Figure 10A illustrates a method executed by network node (1300) in a wireless communication network according to some modalities. Referring to Figures 8A and 10A, network node 1300 configures (block 1002) a UE 1200 with a first RACH 802 configuration for CFRA for a first PCI associated with a first CORESET associated with a first CORESET pool index. Network node 1300 configures (block 1004) the UE with a plurality of second RACH 804 configurations for a respective second plurality of PCIs associated with a second CORESET that is associated with a second CORESET pool index for multi-TRP operation. Network node 1300 then transmits (block 1006) an 806 indication of a second activated PCI from one or more second PCIs and a CFRA request associated with the second activated PCI.

[00103] Figure 10B illustrates operations of a method executed by a network node 1300 in a wireless communication network according to other modes. Referring to Figures 8B and 10B, network node 1300 configures Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 112 / 153 / 52 (block 1012) a UE 1200 with a RACH 812 configuration for CFRA for a first PCI associated with a first CORESET associated with a first CORESET pool index, and configures (block 1014) the UE with a configuration for a second PCI associated with a second CORESET for multi-TRP operation. The UE applies the RACH configuration when running a CFRA on the second PCI for multi-TRP operation. The RACH configuration and the second PCI configuration were described previously.

[00104] Figure 11 shows an example of an 1100 communication system according to some modalities.

[00105] In the example, the communication system 1100 includes a telecommunications network 1102 which includes an access network 1104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1106, which includes one or more core network nodes 1108. The access network 1104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1110a and 1110b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as network nodes 1110), or any other similar 3GPP access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Furthermore, as will be appreciated by those knowledgeable in the field, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are provided and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or parts thereof. For example, in some configurations, the 1102 telecommunications network includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes.An ORAN network node is a node in the 1102 telecommunications network that supports an ORAN specification (for example, a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance or any similar organization) and may operate alone or in conjunction with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the 1102 telecommunications network, including one or more 1110 network nodes and / or 1108 core network nodes. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 113 / 153 / 52

[00106] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near real-time or non-real-time) hosting software or software plugins, such as a near real-time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real-time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designates support for an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification, for example, by supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Furthermore, an ORAN access node can be a logical node on a physical node.Furthermore, an ORAN network node can be deployed in a virtualization environment (described later) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment might include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a service management and orchestration framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. 1110 network nodes facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as connecting 1112a, 1112b, 1112c, and 1112d UEs (one or more of which may generally be referred to as 1112 UEs) to the 1106 core network via one or more wireless connections.

[00107] Examples of wireless communications via a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without the use of wires, cables, or other conductive materials. Furthermore, in different modalities, the 1100 communication system may include any number of networks with or Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 114 / 153 / 52 wireless, network nodes, UEs and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether through wired or wireless connections. The 1100 communication system may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, radio network and / or other similar type of system.

[00108] UEs 1112 can be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes 1110 and other communication devices. Similarly, network nodes 1110 are arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEs 1112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment on the telecommunications network 1102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access and / or to perform other functions, such as administration on the telecommunications network 1102.

[00109] In the example shown, the core network 1106 connects the network nodes 1110 to one or more hosts, such as host 1116. These connections can be direct or indirect through one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network nodes may be directly coupled to the hosts. The core network 1106 includes one more core network node (e.g., core network node 1108) which is structured with hardware and software components. The capabilities of these components may be substantially similar to those described in relation to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, so that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1108.Examples of core network nodes include functions of one or more Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs), Mobility Management Entities (MMEs), Home Subscriber Servers (HSSs), Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs), and Management Functions. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 115 / 153 / 52 Session (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Signature Identifier Unmasking Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF) and / or User Plane Function (UPF).

[00110] Host 1116 may be owned or controlled by a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1104 and / or the telecommunications network 1102 and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Host 1116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieval and compilation of data on various environmental conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytical functionality, social media, functions to control or otherwise interact with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other similar function performed by a server.

[00111] As a whole, the 1100 communication system in Figure 11 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal System for Mobile Telecommunications (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the 802.11 (WiFi) standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 116 / 153 / 52 Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, WiFi, and / or any low-power wide area network (LPWAN) such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[00112] In some instances, the 1102 telecommunications network is a cellular network that implements standardized 3GPP features. Consequently, the 1102 telecommunications network can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the 1102 telecommunications network. For example, the 1102 telecommunications network can provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive IoT services to even more UEs.

[00113] In some examples, UEs 1112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1104. Additionally, a UE may be configured to operate in single or multiple RAT mode or multi-pattern mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR, and LTE, i.e., be configured for dual multi-radio connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[00114] In the example, hub 1114 communicates with access network 1104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1110b). In some examples, hub 1114 may be a controller, router, content and analytics source, or any other communication device. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, p. 117 / 153 / 52 described herein in relation to UEs. For example, hub 1114 may be a broadband router that allows access to the central network 1106 for UEs. As another example, hub 1114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators on the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions on hub 1114. As another example, hub 1114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, hub 1114 may be a content source.For example, for a UE that is a virtual reality (VR) headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the 1114 hub can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or sensory-related data via a network node, which the 1114 hub then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the 1114 hub acts as a proxy or orchestrator server for UEs, particularly if one or more of the UEs are low-power IoT devices.

[00115] Hub 1114 can have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to network node 1110b. Hub 1114 can also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between hub 1114 and UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d) and between hub 1114 and main network 1106. In other examples, hub 1114 is connected to main network 1106 and / or to one or more UEs via a wired connection. Furthermore, hub 1114 can be configured to connect to an M2M service provider via access network 1104 and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs can establish a wireless connection with network nodes 1110 while still connected through hub 1114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, p. 118 / 153 / 52 In some embodiments, hub 1114 may be a dedicated hub – that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from UEs to / from network node 1110b. In other embodiments, hub 1114 may be a non-dedicated hub, that is, a device that is capable of operating to route communications between UEs and network node 1110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication initiation and / or endpoint for certain data channels.

[00116] Figure 12 shows a UE 1200 according to some embodiments. In particular, a UE 1200 can be configured to perform the operations described above in connection with Figures 8A, 8B, 9A and 9B. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, mobile phone, cell phone, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by 3GPP, including a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine-type communication (MTC) UE and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[00117] A UE can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing a 3GPP standard for side-link communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user, but which may not, or may not initially, be associated with a Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 119 / 153 / 52 specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user, but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart energy meter).

[00118] The UE 1200 includes a set of processing circuits 1202 that is operationally coupled via a bus 1204 to an input / output interface 1206, a power supply 1208, a memory 1210, a communication interface 1212 and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may use all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 12. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another. Additionally, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[00119] The 1202 processing circuitry is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any operational sequential state machine to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in memory 1210. The 1202 processing circuitry may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate embedded software; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the 1202 processing circuitry may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, p. 120 / 153 / 52

[00120] In the example, the 1206 input / output interface can be configured to provide an interface or interfaces for an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information on the UE 1200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera, a smart card, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to detect user input. A sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof.An output device can use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port can be used to provide both an input and an output device.

[00121] In some embodiments, the 1208 power supply is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), photovoltaic device, or energy cell, may be used. The 1208 power supply may also include a power circuit assembly to supply power from the 1208 power supply itself and / or an external power supply to the various parts of the UE 1200 via an input circuit assembly or an interface, such as a power cable. Distributing power may be, for example, for charging the 1208 power supply. The power circuit assembly may perform any shaping, conversion, or other modification of the power from the 1208 power supply to make the power suitable for the respective UE components. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, pp. 121 / 153 / 52 1200 to which energy is supplied.

[00122] Memory 1210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, pen drives, and so forth. In one example, memory 1210 includes one or more application programs 1214, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application, and the corresponding data 1216. Memory 1210 may store, for use by UE 1200, any one of a variety of different operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[00123] The 1210 memory can be configured to include numerous physical units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a USB drive, a pen drive, a portable storage device, a high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray optical disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory, such as a tamper-resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof.The UICC can, for example, be an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly known as a 'SIM card'. Memory 1210 can allow UE 1200 to access instructions, application programs, or similar items stored on media. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 122 / 153 / 52 of transient or non-transient memory, to download data, or to load data. A manufactured article, such as one that uses a communication system, may be tangibly incorporated as or in memory 1210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[00124] The processing circuitry 1202 can be configured to communicate with an access network or another network using the communication interface 1212. The communication interface 1212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1222. The communication interface 1212 may include one or more transceivers used for communication, such as communication with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1218 and / or a receiver 1220 suitable for providing network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth).Furthermore, the 1218 transmitter and the 1220 receiver can be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1222) and can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, be implemented separately.

[00125] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the 1212 communication interface may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in accordance with one or more protocols and / or standards of Petition 870250090608, dated 10 / 03 / 2025, page 123 / 153 / 52 communication, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and so on.

[00126] Regardless of the sensor type, an UE can provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its 1212 communication interface, via a wireless connection to a network node. The data captured by the sensors of one UE can be communicated via a wireless connection to a network node through another UE. The output can be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if reporting the detected temperature), random (e.g., to balance the reporting load of multiple sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when humidity is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[00127] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch connected to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the states of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input, or a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[00128] A UE, when in the form of an IoT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, urban wearable technology, Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 124 / 153 / 52 extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an IoT device are a device that is or is incorporated into: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, and any type of medical device, such as a heart rate monitor or a remotely controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises a set of circuits and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device, in addition to other components as described in relation to UE 1200 shown in Figure 12.

[00129] As another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE can, in this case, be an M2M device, which, in a 3GPP context, can be called an MTC device. As a particular example, the UE can implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE can represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[00130] In practice, any number of UEs can be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated into a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE which is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes on the remote controller, the first UE can adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might understand the sensor and the actuator and handle communication from Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 125 / 153 / 52 data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[00131] Figure 13 shows a 1300 network node according to some embodiments. In particular, a 1300 network node can be configured to perform the operations described above in connection with Figures 8A, 8B, 10A and 10B. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, B nodes, evolved B nodes (eNBs) and NR B nodes (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[00132] Base stations can be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmission power levels) and thus, depending on the amount of coverage provided, can be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes called remote radio heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. The parts of a distributed radio base station can also be referred to as the nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[00133] Other examples of network nodes include 5G multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) access nodes, radio equipment Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 126 / 153 / 52 multi-standard (MSR), such as MSR BSs, network controllers, such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multi-cast coordination entities (MCEs), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operations support system (OSS) nodes, self-organized network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Service Mobile Location Center (E-SMLCs)) and / or Drive Test Minimization (MDTs).

[00134] The 1300 network node includes a set of processing circuits 1302, a memory 1304, a communication interface 1306, and a power supply 1308. The 1300 network node may be composed of several physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own respective components. In certain scenarios where the 1300 network node comprises several separate components (e.g., the BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may, in some cases, be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the 1300 network node may be configured to support various radio access technologies (RATs).In such configurations, some components can be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1304 for different RATs) and some components can be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1310 can be shared by different RATs). The network node 1300 can also include multiple sets of the various components illustrated for different wireless technologies integrated into the network node 1300, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification wireless technologies. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 127 / 153 / 52 (RFID) or Bluetooth. These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different set or set of chips and other components in the 1300 network node.

[00135] The processing circuitry set 1302 may comprise a combination of one or more microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, central processing units, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or any other suitable computing device, feature, or combination of operable hardware, software, and / or coded logic to provide, alone or in conjunction with other network node components 1300, such as memory 1304, the functionality of network node 1300.

[00136] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes one or more of the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and the baseband processing circuitry 1314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and the baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on chips (or chip assemblies), boards, or separate units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part of or the entirety of the RF transceiver circuitry 1312 and the baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on the same chip or chip assemblies, boards, or units.

[00137] Memory 1304 may comprise any form of computer-readable volatile or non-volatile memory, including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), media of Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page. 128 / 153 / 52 Removable storage (e.g., a flash drive, a compact disc (CD), or a digital video disc (DVD)) and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transient, device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 1302. Memory 1304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more logical instructions, rules, codes, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuit 1302 and used by the network node 1300. Memory 1304 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 1302 and / or any data received through the communication interface 1306.In some versions, the 1302 processing circuitry and the 1304 memory are integrated.

[00138] The 1306 communication interface is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network and / or UE. As illustrated, the 1306 communication interface comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1316 for sending and receiving data, for example, to and from a network via a wired connection. The 1306 communication interface also includes a set of circuits for the initial radio interface 1318 which can be coupled to the antenna 1310 or, in certain embodiments, a part thereof. The initial radio interface circuit assembly 1318 comprises filters 1320 and amplifiers 1322. The initial radio interface circuit assembly 1318 can be connected to an antenna 1310 and processing circuit assembly 1302. The initial radio interface circuit assembly can be configured to condition the signals communicated between the antenna 1310 and the processing circuit assembly 1302.The initial radio interface circuitry 1318 can receive digital data that must be sent to other nodes. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 129 / 153 / 52 network or UEs via a wireless connection. The initial radio interface circuitry 1318 can convert digital data into a radio signal that has the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1320 and / or amplifiers 1322. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 1310. Similarly, during data reception, antenna 1310 can collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the initial radio interface circuitry 1318. The digital data can be passed to the processing circuitry 1302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[00139] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1300 does not include separate radio initial interface circuitry 1318; instead, processing circuitry 1302 includes radio initial interface circuitry and is connected to antenna 1310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1312 is part of communication interface 1306. In still other embodiments, communication interface 1306 includes one or more ports or terminals 1316, radio initial interface circuitry 1318, and RF transceiver circuitry 1312 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 1306 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 1314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[00140] The 1310 antenna may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The 1310 antenna may be coupled to the initial radio interface circuitry 1318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving wireless data and / or signals. In certain embodiments, the 1310 antenna is separate from the network node 1300 and connectable to the network node 1300 via an interface or Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, p. 130 / 153 / 52 door.

[00141] Antenna 1310, communication interface 1306 and / or processing circuit 1302 can be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain acquisition operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals can be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 1310, communication interface 1306 and / or processing circuit 1302 can be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals can be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[00142] The 1308 power supply provides power to the various components of the 1300 network node in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level required for each respective component). The 1308 power supply may additionally comprise, or be coupled to, a set of power management circuits to provide the components of the 1300 network node with power to perform the functionality described herein. For example, the 1300 network node may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the mains power, an electrical outlet) via a set of input circuits or an interface, such as a power cable, through which the external power supply provides power to the power supply circuits of the 1308 power supply.As a further example, the 1308 power supply may comprise a power supply in the form of a battery or battery pack that is connected to, or integrated into, the power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[00143] Network node 1300 modalities may include Petition 870250090608, dated 10 / 03 / 2025, page 131 / 153 / 52 additional components beyond those shown in Figure 13 to provide certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionalities described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1300 may include user interface equipment to allow information to be entered into network node 1300 and to allow information to be output from network node 1300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 1300.

[00144] Figure 14 is a block diagram of a 1400 host, which may be an embodiment of the 1116 host of Figure 11, according to various aspects described herein. As used herein, the 1400 host may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-deployed server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or processing resources in a server farm. The 1400 host may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[00145] The host 1400 includes a processing circuitry set 1402 which is operationally coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 1406, a network interface 1408, a power supply 1410 and a memory 1412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The characteristics of these components may be substantially similar to those described in relation to the devices in the preceding figures, such as Figures 12 and 13, so that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1400.

[00146] Memory 1412 may include one or more computer programs, including one or more host application programs 1414 and data 1416, which may include user data, for example, generated data Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 132 / 153 / 52 by an UE for host 1400 or data generated by host 1400 for an UE. Host 1400 modalities may use only a subset or all of the components shown. Host application programs 1414 can be implemented in a container-based architecture and can provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handheld devices, desktop computers, wearable display systems, front-of-house information projection systems).Host application programs 1414 can also provide user authentication and licensing checks and can periodically report the integrity, routes, and availability of content to a central node, such as a device within or at the edge of a central network. Therefore, the host 1400 can select and / or specify a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. Host application programs 1414 can support various protocols, such as Live Streaming over HTTP (HLS), Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[00147] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software necessary to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods herein. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, pp. 133 / 153 / 52 described. Furthermore, although the components are represented as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that constitute a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[00148] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionalities described herein may be provided by the processing circuitry that executes instructions stored in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a product of a computer program in the form of a non-transient computer-readable storage medium. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionalities may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored in a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as wired storage. In either of these particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored in a non-transient computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry may be said to be configured to perform the described functionality.The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and by the... Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, pages 134 / 153 / 52 wireless network, in general. REFERENCES

[00149] [1] 3GPP TS 38.211 v 17.4.0 [2] 3GPP TS 38.331 v 17.4.0 [3] 3GPP TS 38.321 v 17.4.0 Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, pages 135 / 153

Claims

1 / 6 CLAIMS 1. Method implemented by a user equipment, UE, (1200) on a wireless communication network, characterized in that the UE is configured with two time advance groups, TAGs, and is configured with a first Control Resource Set, CORESET, associated with a first CORESET pool index and a second CORESET associated with a second CORESET pool index, the method comprising: receiving (902) a first random access channel configuration, RACH, (802) associated with a first physical cell identity, PCI, for contention-free random access, CFRA, wherein the first PCI is associated with the first CORESET; receiving (904) one or more secondary RACH configurations (804) associated with one or more respective secondary PCIs for CFRA, wherein one or more secondary PCIs are associated with the second CORESET;receive (906) an indication (806) of a second activated PCI from one or more second PCIs and a CFRA request associated with the second activated PCI; and perform (908) a CFRA in accordance with one or more second RACH configurations associated with the second activated PCI.; 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second CORESETs are associated with the first and second transmission and reception points, TRPs, respectively; and / or the indication and request are carried in a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the first CORESET pool index and the second CORESET pool index are different; and / or each of the one or more second RACH configurations comprises a root sequence to generate a random access preamble to perform random access, the method further comprising using the root sequence of the corresponding second RACH configurations when executing CFRA according to the enabled PCI; and / or each of the one or more second RACH configurations further comprises information of the respective second PCI value and information of RACH occasions.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each of the one or more second RACH configurations additionally comprises generic RACH parameter information; and / or one or more second RACH configurations are provided as part of a dedicated RACH configuration; and / or one or more second RACH configurations are provided as part of a common RACH configuration associated with a cell group associated with the second CORESET pool index.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one or more second RACH configurations are received as part of a beam fault recovery configuration; and / or the UE is configured with a TA timer, and wherein the UE applies the second RACH configuration after the TA timer expires; and / or one or more second RACH configurations comprise respective Physical Random Access Channel Group (PRACH) sequences.

6. Method implemented by a user equipment, EU, Petition 870250090608, 03 / 10 / 2025, p. 137 / 153 3 / 6 (1200) on a wireless communication network, characterized in that it comprises: receiving (912) a first random access channel, RACH configuration (812) for contention-free random access, CFRA, to a first physical cell identity, PCI, associated with a first Control Resource Set, CORESET, associated with a first CORESET pool index; and performing (914) a CFRA towards a second PCI for multitransmission receiving point operation, TRP, using the first RACH configuration.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that it further comprises receiving a root sequence to generate a random access preamble to perform random access to the second activated PCI, wherein the application of the RACH configuration comprises applying the RACH configuration using the root sequence when performing CFRA to the second activated PCI; and / or preferably the root sequence is configured by a prach-RootSequenceIndex information element.

8. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that it further comprises receiving a respective root sequence for each of a plurality of additional PCBs and applying the RACH configuration using the respective root sequence when performing a CFRA on one of the additional PCBs.

9. A method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the first CORESET is associated with a first TRP; and / or the second PCI is associated with a second CORESET which is associated with a second CORESET pool index.

10. Method implemented by a network node (1300) in a wireless communication network, characterized in that it comprises: configuring (1002) a user equipment, UE, (1200) with a first random access channel configuration, RACH (802) for contention-free random access, CFRA, to a first physical cell identity, PCI, associated with a first Control Resource Set, CORESET, associated with a first CORESET pool index; and configuring (1004) the UE with a plurality of second RACH configurations (804) for a respective second plurality of PCIs associated with a second CORESET that is associated with a second CORESET pool index for multitransmission receive point operation, TRP.

11. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that the first and second CORESETs are associated with a first and a second TRP, respectively; and / or the method further comprises: configuring the UE with a plurality of respective second RACH configurations associated with respective PCIs associated with the second CORESET, wherein the UE applies a respective second RACH configuration when performing a CFRA to a respective PCI associated with the second CORESET.

12. Method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the second RACH configuration comprises a root sequence to generate a random access preamble to perform random access to the PCI associated with the second CORESET, wherein the UE applies the RACH configuration using the root sequence when performing CFRA on the PCI associated with the second CORESET; and / or the second RACH configuration is provided as part of a dedicated RACH configuration; and / or the second RACH configuration is provided as part of a common RACH configuration associated with a group of cells associated with the second CORESET; and / or the second RACH configuration is provided as part of a beam fault recovery configuration.

13. Method performed by a network node (1300) in a wireless communication network, characterized in that it comprises: configuring (1012) a user equipment, UE, (1200) with a random access channel configuration, RACH (812) for contention-free random access, CFRA, to a first physical cell identity, PCI, associated with a first Control Resource Set, CORESET, associated with a first CORESET pool index; and configuring (1014) the UE with a configuration for a second PCI associated with a second CORESET for multi-transmission receive point operation, TRP; wherein the UE applies the RACH configuration when performing a CFRA on the second PCI for multi-TRP operation.

14. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that it further comprises configuring the UE with a root sequence to generate a random access preamble to perform random access to the second PCI, wherein the application of the RACH configuration comprises applying the RACH configuration using the root sequence when performing CFRA on the second PCI; and / or the method further comprises: configuring the UE with configurations for a plurality of additional PCIs, wherein the UE applies the RACH configuration when performing CFRA on any of the plurality of additional PCIs; and / or further comprises configuring the UE with a respective root sequence for each of the plurality of additional PCIs, wherein the UE applies the RACH configuration using the respective root sequence when performing CFRA for each of the respective additional PCIs.

15. User equipment, UE, (1200), characterized in that it comprises a processing circuit assembly (1202) and a network interface (1212), the processing circuit assembly (1202) configured to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 9.

16. Network node (1300), characterized in that it comprises a processing circuit assembly (1302) and a network interface (1306), the processing circuit assembly (1302) configured to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 10 to 14.

17. Computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it comprises a computer-readable memory that stores a set of computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, accomplish any of the methods as defined in any of claims 1 to 14.

18. Product, process, system, means, kit or use, characterized by the fact that it comprises one or more elements as described in the descriptive report and / or illustrated in the figures. Petition 870250090608, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, pp. 141 / 153

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