Method and related nodes for IAB downlink timing

Abstract

A method of operating an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (200, C, N3) in a radio access network is disclosed, the IAB node (200, C, N3) being connected to a first parent IAB node (200, N1, P) via a first backhaul link, the method comprising: communicating with one or more child nodes based on downlink timing, the downlink timing being a function based on one or more values ​​of a first timing parameter and / or one or more values ​​of a second timing parameter, the value of the first timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding first timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node, the value of the second timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding second timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node. The disclosure also relates to related methods and apparatus.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication technologies and, in particular, in the context of radio access technologies. Background Art

[0002] For a radio access network, a radio node is connected to a core network to allow communication between terminals in different cells provided by different radio nodes. Radio nodes are typically connected to the core network by wires or cables, in particular by optical fibers. However, it is not always practical or feasible to arrange such a terrestrial connection. For this case, a relay node or a node for integrated access and backhaul (IAB) can be used. On the one hand, an IAB node can provide radio access to a terminal or user equipment (UE), and on the other hand, can communicate with a parent (IAB) node via radio technology to be relayed or routed to the core network, for example, via a donor node. Since time / frequency resources are shared with terminals and other nodes, the use of IAB nodes requires new methods for managing resources and node behavior. Summary of the invention

[0003] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide methods facilitating improved IAB handling, in particular with regard to downlink timing of (sub)IAB nodes.

[0004] The methods are particularly advantageously implemented in a 5th generation (5G) telecommunication network or 5G radio access technology or network (RAT / RAN), in particular according to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project, a standardization organization). A suitable RAN may in particular be a RAN according to NR (e.g. Release 15 or higher) or LTE evolution.

[0005] A method of operating an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node in a wireless communication network is disclosed, the IAB node may be a child IAB node. The IAB node is connected to a first parent IAB node via a first backhaul link. The method includes: communicating with one or more child nodes based on downlink timing, the downlink timing being a function of one or more values ​​of a first timing parameter and / or one or more values ​​of a second timing parameter, the value of the first timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding first timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node, and the value of the second timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding second timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node.

[0006] Also considered is an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node for a wireless communication network, which may be a child IAB node. The IAB node is adapted to be connected or connectable to a first parent IAB node via a first backhaul link, and the IAB node is adapted to communicate with one or more child nodes based on downlink timing. The downlink timing is a function based on one or more values ​​of a first timing parameter and / or one or more values ​​of a second timing parameter, the value of the first timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding first timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node, and the value of the second timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding second timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node. The IAB node may include and / or be adapted to use processing circuits and / or radio circuits (particularly transceivers and / or receivers and / or transmitters) to provide a communication link and / or operate on a first backhaul link and / or a second backhaul link, and / or receive indicators and / or communicate.

[0007] A method of operating a parent integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node is also contemplated. The method includes sending a first timing indicator and / or a second timing indicator to a child IAB node via a first backhaul link, the first timing indicator representing a first timing parameter, the first timing indicator being based on one or more previous values ​​of the first timing parameter, and / or the second timing indicator representing a second timing parameter, the second timing indicator being based on one or more previous values ​​of the second timing parameter.

[0008] In addition, a parent integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node for a wireless communication network is described. The parent IAB node is adapted to send a first timing indicator and / or a second timing indicator to a child IAB node via a first backhaul link, the first timing indicator representing a first timing parameter, the first timing indicator being based on one or more previous values ​​of the first timing parameter, and / or the second timing indicator representing a second timing parameter, the second timing indicator being based on one or more previous values ​​of the second timing parameter. The parent IAB node may include and / or be adapted to use processing circuits and / or radio circuits (particularly transceivers and / or receivers and / or transmitters) to provide a backhaul link and / or operate on the first backhaul link, and / or send indicators and / or communicate with the child IAB node.

[0009] The value of the first (second) timing parameter may also be referred to as the first (second) timing value. One or more values ​​of each timing parameter may represent a time sequence and / or may be weighted based on the reception time, for example so that older (earlier received) values ​​are weighted lower. The timing parameter may be explicitly or implicitly indicated by a corresponding timing indicator, which may, for example, explicitly indicate a value, or index a value in a table, or otherwise implicitly indicate a value (or value range). Downlink timing may also be referred to as communication timing.

[0010] The method described herein allows better control of the child IAB nodes through the downlink timing, and in particular allows smoothing of the downlink timing so that the child nodes of the child IAB node are less affected by timing jumps.

[0011] Communicating based on downlink timing may include synchronizing one or more subnodes according to the downlink timing, and / or transmitting and / or receiving based on the downlink timing. The one or more subnodes may include, for example, one or more UEs on (one or more) access links and / or one or more sub-IAB nodes on (one or more) backhaul links.

[0012] In some cases, the first timing indicator (and / or the first timing parameter) may represent and / or indicate a timing advance, and / or may be indicated using physical layer signaling and / or DCI signaling and / or random access signaling and / or MAC layer signaling.

[0013] The second timing indicator (and / or the second timing parameter) may represent and / or indicate a timing offset, and / or may be indicated by higher layer signaling, such as RRC signaling and / or MAC layer signaling.

[0014] The function may be a smoothing function that may limit the variation of the downlink timing to below a threshold. The smoothing function may be based on an average and / or a weighted average of previous values ​​(e.g., the first timing value and / or the second timing value). The threshold may represent a maximum timing variation over a specific time (e.g., one or more time slots). The threshold and / or the time it relates to may be configured and / or configurable and / or predefined.

[0015] In particular, the downlink timing may be based on a time series of the first timing parameter and / or the second timing parameter.The time series elements may be first and / or second timing values, which may be weighted, for example, according to age and / or reception time.

[0016] Also contemplated is a program product comprising instructions adapted to cause a processing circuit to control and / or perform a method as described herein.A carrier medium arrangement is proposed for carrying and / or storing the program product disclosed herein.

[0017] The communication link may be a backhaul link or an access link.A communication link from the IAB node to one or more child nodes may have downlink timing determined as described herein.

[0018] The first and / or second backhaul link may be in a parent backhaul link set to a plurality of parent nodes greater than two. Any link-specific parameters mentioned may be related to one of the links provided by the parent node in the set. The backhaul link from the parent IAB node (also referred to as the parent node) may be controlled by the parent node for timing and / or synchronization, for example via DCI signaling and / or SS / PBCH block signaling, in particular with signaling indicating timing advance and / or timing advance adjustment, and / or primary and / or secondary synchronization signaling. Alternatively or additionally, the backhaul link may be power controlled by the parent node, for example, via a TPC command in the DCI. Typically, the parent node may control the physical layer aspects of the communication with the child node (IAB node) with appropriate control signaling (e.g., DCI signaling). The backhaul link may typically be a wireless connection between network nodes (IAB nodes), and signaling from a (wireless or radio) access link or another backhaul link may be carried or transmitted or routed, for example, to another IAB node, via the wireless connection. In particular, signaling between terminals without direct radio access and the donor node may be carried on one or more backhaul links. The backhaul links may be in the millimeter wave range. The backhaul links and access links may be considered to be in different frequency ranges and / or carriers. For example, the frequency of the access link may be lower, such as below 6 GHz. The backhaul links may share frequency ranges and / or carriers and / or carrier aggregation.

[0019] Providing a communication link may include providing a cell and / or uplink and / or downlink communication for the link, for example for access and / or backhaul. The IAB node may provide power control and / or timing and / or synchronization for a subnode (e.g., a terminal or an IAB subnode) on the communication link it provides, for example, similar to the above-mentioned method. Providing a communication link may include sending and / or receiving signaling on the link based on communication timing. The timing for sending and receiving on the communication may be linked, for example, based on the distance to the communication partner and / or the timing advance or timing advance adjustment for the communication partner (e.g., the terminal (if it is an access link), the IAB node (if it is a backhaul link)). Typically, communication timing can be used for multiple communication links provided by the IAB node, such as an access link and / or one or more backhaul links. The access link may involve one or more cells provided by the IAB node, which may allow radio access for multiple terminals. The backhaul link may be device-specific, for example, with strong beamforming for a fixed subnode.

[0020] The communication timing, in particular the downlink timing of the IAB node (child node), can be based on a function of the first timing and the second timing and / or a function of the parent timing. The function can be based on a sum or a weighted sum (e.g., weighted for each link and / or parent link). The first timing can be related to the first backhaul link of the first parent IAB node, and / or the second timing can be related to the second backhaul link of the second parent IAB node. The first timing can be based on a function of the first timing value and / or the second timing value related to the first backhaul link (and / or provided by the first parent IAB node), and / or the second timing can be based on a function of the first timing value and / or the second timing value related to the second backhaul link (and / or provided by the second parent IAB node).

[0021] The first timing may be based on control signaling indicating timing and / or synchronization received from the first parent node for the first backhaul link, such as indicating timing advance and / or timing advance adjustment and / or timing offset, and / or the second timing may be based on control signaling indicating timing and / or synchronization received from the second parent node for the second backhaul link, such as indicating timing advance and / or timing advance adjustment and / or timing offset. Other parent timings may be provided similarly. The parent timing may generally indicate one or more aspects of timing associated with communications on the associated backhaul link, such as timing advance and / or timing advance adjustment, and / or receive timing and / or transmit timing of the parent node, and / or receive timing and / or transmit timing of the IAB node (child node) for the backhaul link, and / or synchronization provided by the parent node.

[0022] Communication timing (or downlink timing) can be based on timing synchronized with respect to a donor node. A donor node can typically be an IAB node with a high-level control function, and / or an IAB node with a cable connection to a core network, such as via an optical fiber or wire. The donor node can provide synchronization via synchronization signaling (e.g., SS / PBCH block signaling), synchronize its child nodes, which then provide similar synchronization to their child nodes, and so on. Each synchronization step can be based on parent synchronization so that the entire IAB arrangement, which is usually connected to a donor, can be similarly synchronized. It should be noted that separate transmission and reception timing can be based on synchronization, but can be offset, for example, due to delays and / or signal propagation time effects, which can be adapted, for example, via timing advance and / or timing advance adjustment functions. In addition, synchronization can be considered to be related to the physical layer, such as in terms of the time grid used. It can be determined at a high level (e.g., by a scheduler and / or MAC or a high level) when to send specific signaling on the grid.

[0023] The communication timing (downlink timing) may in particular be based on a weighted sum of the first timing and the second timing. This allows different link characteristics to be taken into account. The communication timing may be based on received power and / or signal quality, such as one or a combination of SIR, SNR, SINR, BER or BLER or energy or power per resource element or similar signal quality parameters. The signal quality may be determined by the IAB node, for example, based on measurements, in particular based on measurements of reference signaling on the backhaul link.

[0024] The IAB node can be connected, or adapted to be connected or connectable to N parent nodes via an associated backhaul link with corresponding timing. Therefore, a complex IAB node arrangement with a high redundancy level and / or a high data throughput can be provided. The communication timing can generally be based on the number of parent nodes of the IAB node and / or the number of hops of the parent node. The number of hops can indicate the number of backhaul links that the signaling must take from the terminal on the access link of the IAB node to the donor. Links with lower hops can be weighted more highly than links with higher hops. For example, the weight can depend on 1 / HC, where HC is the number of hops of the link or is associated with the parent node. It should generally be considered that each parent node can be associated with a backhaul link to the IAB node.

[0025] The communication timing may be based on link delay and / or propagation delay, for example, for each link. Lower delays and / or propagation delays may be weighted more highly than higher delays and / or delays. Delays and / or delays may be measured, for example, by an IAB node during operation, and / or may be provided by another node, particularly a parent node.

[0026] The communication timing may be considered to be based on historical information and / or parameter sets, for example relative to a parameter set used by a donor node and / or a communication link provided by the IAB, for example if it is an access link. The historical information may provide information about operating conditions over time, for example about changes and / or activity in data throughput and / or signal quality or received power on the access link. Such information may be stored in a memory of the IAB node and / or provided by, for example, a higher-level function from the network, in particular a donor node or a management function, such as an MME.

[0027] In general, the parameters on which communication timing may be based may relate to each parent node or a return link provided by a parent node. The weight of a link may be considered to be based on one or more parameters, and / or different functional correspondences may be considered. For example, a parabolic function may be used instead of a weighted sum. A sum with all weights being 1 or equal may be considered a weighted sum. However, in at least some variations, different links may be weighted differently, for example by specifying different weights. Communication timing may be considered to be based on a multi-weighted sum, such as a sum of multiple different time-dependent functions, which may have different weights associated with them, for example in the form of a(k)*f1+b(k)*f2+c(k)*f3, where a, b, and c represent, for example, weight functions for each link based on different parameters, and f1, f2, and f3 represent different functions depending on parent timing. Different functions may depend on different aspects of parent timing, such as receive timing and / or transmit timing and / or timing advance and / or timing advance adjustment. B(k) and / or c(k) may be zero. The dependence of the communication timing on the parent timing may generally be considered to be configured or configurable, for example via high-layer signaling from the donor node. Such signaling may generally be sent to the IAB node via a backhaul link. For example, the value of the weight to be used may be configured.

[0028] A program product comprising instructions adapted to cause a processing circuit to control and / or perform any of the methods described herein may be considered. Furthermore, a carrier medium arrangement carrying and / or storing such a program product is described.

[0029] The method described herein allows the use of downlink timing that takes into account the impact from multiple parent nodes, which is particularly suitable for multi-parent IAB arrangements. In particular, the timing adapts to different operating conditions on different links with different parent nodes and provides a stable environment even if the communication is relayed or routed through different links or paths at different times.

[0030] In the context of the present disclosure, the backhaul link to the parent node may be referred to as a UL backhaul link, and the backhaul link to the child node may be referred to as a DL backhaul link. For each backhaul link, communications may exist in both directions (from parent to child and in the reverse direction). Communications on the backhaul from child to parent may be considered as UL communications, or the UL component of the backhaul link, and communications on the backhaul from parent to child may be considered as DL communications, or the DL component of the backhaul link. Therefore, for an IAB node with a UL backhaul link, for the backhaul link, UL communications are from the IAB node to the parent node, and DL communications are from the parent node to the IAB node. For a DL backhaul link, for the backhaul link, UL communications will be from the child node to the IAB node, and DL communications will be from the IAB node to the child node. Similar terms may be used for access links that provide radio access to terminals. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The accompanying drawings are provided to illustrate the concepts and methods described herein and are not intended to limit their scope. The drawings include:

[0032] Figure 1 An exemplary IAB arrangement is shown;

[0033] Figure 2 Another exemplary IAB arrangement is shown;

[0034] Figure 3 A scenario with multiple IAB parent nodes is shown;

[0035] Figure 4 A scenario with multiple IAB parents with one signaling path is shown;

[0036] Figure 5 A scenario with multiple IAB parents with two signaling paths is shown;

[0037] Figure 6 Exemplary functions a and b are shown;

[0038] Figure 7 An exemplary radio node implemented as a terminal or UE is shown;

[0039] Figure 8 An exemplary radio node implemented as a network node is shown; and

[0040] Fig. 9 An exemplary IAB node is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] In the following, various variations are described in the context of NR, however, the methods may be implemented in different contexts.

[0042] Figure 1 An exemplary set up of a backhaul arrangement is shown. An IAB donor node (also referred to as donor) may be connected to the core network via a wired connection (e.g., cable or optical fiber). It provides radio access to terminals and provides a wireless connection to another network node (IAB Node 1). IAB Node 1 also provides radio access to terminals (via access links) and communicates with the donor via a wireless connection that provides a backhaul link. In addition, it provides a backhaul link to IAB Node 2. Thus, Figure 1A multi-hop arrangement is shown in which communications via an IAB node 2 are passed via two backhaul links until it reaches an IAB donor. In general, an IAB node may be any node that is suitable for providing radio access (via an access link) to one or more terminals / UEs and that may also access and / or provide one or more backhaul links. A backhaul link may typically be provided to route and / or forward communications from or to a terminal to another IAB node, for example using radio signaling. The backhaul link and the access link may typically use the same or different resource structures. In particular, they may operate on the same carrier and / or carrier aggregation. In particular, the carrier used may be a millimeter wave carrier, for example at a frequency above 6 GHz or 20 GHz or 30 GHz. For each IAB node, each backhaul link that is used to reach the donor and terminates at the IAB node may be counted as one hop. For example, the number of hops to an IAB node directly connected to the donor with a backhaul link is 1, Figure 1 The hop count of IAB node 2 in is 2. For a multi-parent scenario, different paths to the donor may have different hop counts or the same hop count, depending on the arrangement.

[0043] Figure 2 Different views of the IAB arrangement are shown. From the perspective of the IAB node, it can be connected to a parent node via a backhaul (BH) link, and the parent node may be closer to the donor node (or the donor node itself) in terms of the backhaul link required to reach the donor. Each backhaul link may include an UL component and a DL component, which may be, for example, in TDD or FDD operation. In UL, communications can be sent in the direction of the donor. In DL, communications can be from the donor, for example, to a terminal connected to the IAB node, or another IAB connected via another backhaul link. The device to which the IAB node provides radio access via an access link or a backhaul link can be regarded as a child node. The IAB node can generally process information received via an access link or a backhaul link, for example, to route its content to a target terminal or other IAB node or donor. It can be considered that the IAB node (for example, as a parent node) provides and determines control signaling on the access and / or backhaul link it provides. The control signaling can be in particular physical layer control signaling, such as DCI signaling, in particular physical layer control signaling for scheduling and / or power control and / or timing. Some IAB nodes, in particular donor nodes, may be adapted to also provide higher layer control, in particular RRC layer control.

[0044] In general, it can be assumed that an IAB node knows its child nodes and parent nodes (IAB child nodes and parent nodes). In particular, it can know all IAB nodes reachable via the backhaul link it provides itself (e.g., child nodes of child nodes, or more distant child nodes). It can know high-level parent nodes such as grandparent nodes, but in some cases it does not know because it may be suitable to follow the control signaling of its direct parent node. The parent node of the parent node can be considered a grandparent node, the child node of the child node is considered a grandchild node, etc. The donor can know all IAB nodes reachable via the backhaul link provided by the donor, such as all child nodes. This may be due to automatic communication between nodes during installation or establishment.

[0045] Figure 3 Another scenario of IAB arrangement is shown. Donor D is connected to two IAB nodes N1 and N2 via a backhaul link. D can be regarded as the parent node of N1 and N2. Another IAB node N3 can be connected to N1 and N2 via a corresponding backhaul link so that it can be considered to have multiple parent nodes. It can be assumed that the signaling propagation delay is different between the backhaul links so that the delays TP0, TP1, and especially TP2a and TP2b can be different. It should be noted that for a terminal connected to N3 via an access link, the communication will suffer delays on at least two backhaul links (e.g., TP0 and TP2a or TP1 and TP2b). The delay on one link can also be caused by the processing time required by the IAB if the IAB processes the signaling for forwarding or routing or relaying.

[0046] Figure 4 An example is shown in which communications from terminal 10 are routed via a path passing through N3 and N1. Communications between terminal 10 and IAB node N3 are routed via an access link, then via a backhaul link between N3 and N1, and from N1 to D.

[0047] Figure 5An example is shown in which communications from a terminal 10 are routed via two paths, one through N3, N1 and D, and one through N3, N2 and D. It should be noted that N3 is a child node of both N1 and N2, and will independently receive physical layer control information from two parent nodes N1 and N2, involving each backhaul link as a child node. It should be noted that for a child node with multiple parent nodes, not all backhaul links must be used to transmit data (e.g., carrying data from or for a terminal), but the backhaul link may be temporarily retained, such as established and / or maintained and / or set to sleep or idle. However, it can be considered that signaling for one terminal or for different terminals is distributed over time between different backhauls. Using multiple parent nodes can provide improved reliability and / or possible fallback. In some cases, based on reliability or quality requirements, and / or delay requirements and / or service agreements, different backhaul links can be used for different channels and / or communications and / or terminals. The connection via the backhaul link may be in RRC idle and / or DRX and / or may be maintained by periodically providing reference signaling and / or control signaling even if no data signaling or signaling to or from the terminal is to be carried on the backhaul link.

[0048] In some variants, the downlink timing for a child node, the timing for its own backhaul link and / or access link may not be directly controlled by the parent node, for example because it does not affect or affects to a lesser extent signaling reception at the parent node.

[0049] Therefore, the DL timing of the IAB may therefore be the IAB arrangement. It should be noted that the path may include all the backhaul links to be reached from the IAB node to the donor. In a multi-parent scenario, there may be multiple paths for any given IAB node. The DL timing may typically be the timing applied by the IAB node to the backhaul and / or access link, the DL backhaul link, that it provides. The timing may involve the DL component and / or UL component of the backhaul link or access link. The UL component may be affected by the timing advance and / or timing advance adjustment of the link, for example, signaled by the IAB node providing the DL backhaul link.

[0050] Typically, an IAB node may set its downlink transmission timing based on:

[0051] - The difference between the uplink transmission timing and the downlink reception timing of the IAB node (TA). TA can be adjusted based on the timing alignment command from the parent node (e.g., using DCI signaling); and / or

[0052] - Information about the parameter T_delta (standing for timing offset, which may also be referred to as uplink timing offset or timing delay) provided by the parent node. It may be assumed that T_delta depends on the difference between uplink reception timing and downlink transmission timing at the parent node, e.g. based on the time used to process signaling.

[0053] The signaling between the parent node and the IAB node may be considered, which indicates the time difference T between the downlink transmission timing and the uplink reception timing at the parent node. Δ , for example to correct potential misalignment of downlink transmit timing at the child nodes.

[0054] If T A is the difference between the timing of DL reception at the IAB node and the timing of UL transmission at the IAB node (usually called timing advance), then the propagation delay T between the parent node and the IAB node P Can be exported as T P =0.5*(T A +T Δ ).

[0055] Knowing the propagation delay between the parent or donor node and the IAB node allows the IAB node to advance its own DL reception timing by T P To determine the DL transmission timing of its parent node. In this way, the IAB node can align its DL transmission timing with the DL transmission timing of its parent node. It can be considered that the IAB node can set its DL transmission timing to be TA / 2+T_delta ahead of its DL reception timing (T_delta is not equal to T Δ ). T_delta may be signaled from the parent node, where the value is intended to take into account factors such as the offset between the parent DL transmission and UL reception (if any), for example due to factors such as transmit to receive switching time, hardware impairments, etc. (usually processing time). TA may be considered as the timing gap between the UL transmission timing and the DL reception timing, which may be derived based on existing Rel-15 mechanisms (such as RAR, MAC CE).

[0056] In this context, T_delta = 0.5*T Δ It can be established.

[0057] TA may be initially signaled to the UE (or an IAB node from a parent IAB node) during the random access phase and subsequently updated in time steps via MAC CE signaling. The same observation time step in the signaled value may be assumed to be T_delta (or T Δ , as an alternative time offset).

[0058] During normal operation, the UE is able to track the variation of its DL receive timing and continuously compensate accordingly. Assuming the base station has a static DL transmit timing, the variation of the UE's DL receive timing is usually caused by its mobility, resulting in a relatively continuous and smooth variation of the propagation delay between the base station and the UE.

[0059] With the OTA (over-the-air) synchronization mechanism between IAB nodes, the IAB node DL transmit timing cannot be guaranteed to be static or smoothly changing, because the IAB node DL transmit timing depends on the signaled value of the parent node of the IAB node. In addition, TA and T_delta are updated in time steps, resulting in step-like changes in the IAB node DL transmit timing. As an overall result, the UE's DL receive timing may change in steps that the UE may not be able to compensate.

[0060] It is generally suggested that the change in the DL transmission timing of the IAB node due to the change in TA or T_delta signaled by the parent node may depend on the number (N1 and N2) of latest updates of TA and / or T_delta (first timing value and / or second timing value), respectively, and optionally, on the time when these changes were signaled (i.e. the time difference between the time when the signaling occurred and now). Thus, one or more values ​​of TA or T_delta may be considered for downlink timing.

[0061] The solution allows reducing the magnitude of changes in DL receive timing observed by a UE attached to an IAB node (or an IAB node) due to sudden changes in the DL transmit timing of the IAB node when the IAB node attempts to synchronize to its parent node. The solution also allows the IAB node to predict changes in its DL transmit timing before change signaling from the parent node occurs, and implement the change in a series of smaller steps rather than a single larger step.

[0062] In the following, TA(k) and T_delta(k) may be set to the values ​​of TA and T_delta after the kth latest update, respectively. It is assumed that the updates occur at time t1(k) of TA and t2(k) of T_delta, respectively. Δ1(t,k) and Δ2(t,k) may be set to the amplitude of the time difference between the kth latest change of TA and T_delta and time t, respectively. That is, if the TA change is determined to be TA(k) at time t1(k), then Δ1(t,k) = t-t1(k); if the T_delta change is determined to be T_delta(k) at time t2(k), then Δ2(t,k) = t-t2(k). The timing advance T of a device (e.g., a UE or an MT of an IAB node) Ais the difference between the DL reception and UL transmission timing of the device. TA(1) and T_delta(1) are considered to be the latest valid values ​​of TA and T_delta, respectively.

[0063] The DL reception timing of the IAB node at time t is indicated by DLRx(t). Then, the IAB node sets its DL transmission timing DLTx(t) at time t according to DLTx(t)=DLRx(t)-0.5*sum_(k1=1…N1)a(k1,Δ1(t,k1))*TA(k1)-sum_(k2=1…N2)b(k2,Δ2(t,k2))*T_delta(k2).

[0064] It can be considered that a(1,infinity)=b(1,infinity)=1.

[0065] a(k,x) and b(k,x) may correspond to different determined changes or updated weights for timing advance TA and / or T_delta, information signaled from the parent node to the IAB node so that the IAB node synchronizes its DL transmission with the parent node. The determination of changes in TA and T_delta may be derived directly through signaling from the parent node or indirectly from signaling information of the parent node, as described herein.

[0066] a(k,x) and b(k,x) can be the following functions:

[0067] - signal quality, such as SNR(t1(k)) and / or SNR(t2(k)) (SNR between the parent node and the IAB node at time t(k) when signaling from the parent node about changes in TA and / or T_delta is sent); and / or

[0068] - reception / reception time DLRx(t1(k)) and / or DLRx(t2(k)), and / or the associated timing advance or timing advance adjustment per link; and / or

[0069] - the magnitude of changes in TA and T_delta and any combination thereof; and / or

[0070] - the number of considered variations of TA and / or T_delta, N1 and N2 respectively; and / or

[0071] - Number of hops from the parent node (e.g., #hops from the parent node (or child node) to the donor node); and / or

[0072] - delays on the link and / or the path(s) using the link; and / or

[0073] - the estimated propagation delay Tprop on the link to the parent node; and / or

[0074] - based on history (e.g. throughput records and / or history of TA and T_delta); and / or

[0075] - received power on DL from the parent node; and / or

[0076] - Parameter sets in UL and / or DL ​​to / from parent node.

[0077] Typically, the weights and / or a(k,x) and / or b(k,x) (if used) may be configured by one or more parent nodes or network functions (eg, by a donor node). Figure 6 Examples are shown for a and b.

[0078] Figure 7 A radio node, in particular a terminal or wireless device 10, is schematically shown, which may be implemented as a UE (user equipment). The radio node 10 comprises a processing circuit (also referred to as a control circuit) 20, which may include a controller connected to a memory. Any module of the radio node 10 (e.g. a communication module or a determination module) may be implemented in the processing circuit 20 and / or may be executed by the processing circuit 20, in particular as a module in the controller. The radio node 10 also comprises a radio circuit 22 (e.g., one or more transmitters and / or receivers and / or transceivers) providing receiving and transmitting or transceiving functions, the radio circuit 22 being connected or connectable to the processing circuit. The antenna circuit 24 of the radio node 10 is connected or connectable to the radio circuit 22 to collect or transmit and / or amplify signals. The radio circuit 22 and the processing circuit 20 controlling it are configured for cellular communication with a network (e.g., a RAN as described herein) and / or for sidelink communication. The radio node 10 may generally be adapted to perform any of the methods disclosed herein for operating a radio node such as a terminal or UE; in particular, it may include corresponding circuits, such as processing circuits and / or modules.

[0079] Figure 8A radio node 100 is schematically shown, which may be implemented in particular as a network node 100, such as an eNB or gNB or a similar node for NR. The radio node 100 comprises a processing circuit (which may also be referred to as a control circuit) 120, which may include a controller connected to a memory. Any module of the node 100 (e.g., a transmission module and / or a reception module and / or a configuration module) may be implemented in and / or executed by the processing circuit 120. The processing circuit 120 is connected to a control radio circuit 122 of the node 100, which provides receiver and transmitter and / or transceiver functions (e.g., including one or more transmitters and / or receivers and / or transceivers). Antenna circuits 124 may be connected or connectable to the radio circuits 122 for signal reception or transmission and / or amplification. The node 100 may be adapted to perform any method for operating a radio node or a network node as disclosed herein; in particular, it may include corresponding circuits, such as processing circuits and / or modules. The antenna circuit 124 may be connected to and / or include an antenna array. The node 100, respectively its circuitry, may be adapted to perform any method of operating a network node or a radio node as described herein; in particular, it may include corresponding circuitry, such as processing circuitry and / or modules. The radio node 100 may typically include communication circuitry, such as for communicating with another network node (such as a radio node) and / or with a core network and / or the Internet or a local network, in particular with an information system that may provide information and / or data to be sent to a user equipment.

[0080] Fig. 9An exemplary IAB node 200 is shown, which can be considered as a form of a radio node. An IAB node can generally be adapted to provide radio access to one or more terminals or UEs, and communicate with another IAB node via a backhaul link, for example, by providing a backhaul link, or by using it as a child node. A donor node can be considered as a form of an IAB node. From the perspective of an IAB node, UL communication can be communication via a backhaul link provided by a parent node 250, which can include UL components from and to the IAB node 200 and DL components themselves. DL communication can be communication to, for example, a terminal 270, 275 or an IAB (child) node 280 via a backhaul link provided by the IAB node itself, or an access link provided by the IAB node. The DL communication can also have UL and DL components to and from the IAB node 200. An IAB node can be a radio node, which can include a radio circuit and / or a processing circuit and / or an antenna circuit and / or an antenna arrangement and / or other circuits, as generally described for a radio node. In particular, it may include circuits 210 corresponding to terminal functions (also referred to as MT) and circuits 220 corresponding to IAB control functions (also referred to as DU). In some variants, the IAB node as a donor node may include circuits corresponding to high-level functions (which may also be referred to as CU functions). The IAB node may be adapted to perform and / or control any of the methods described herein.

[0081] References to specific resource structures such as transmission timing structures and / or symbols and / or time slots and / or mini-time slots and / or subcarriers and / or carriers may relate to specific parameter sets, which may be predefined and / or configured or configurable. A transmission timing structure may represent a time interval, which may cover one or more symbols. Some examples of transmission timing structures are transmission time intervals (TTIs), subframes, time slots and mini-time slots. A time slot may include a predetermined (e.g., predefined and / or configured or configurable) number of symbols, such as 6, 7, 12 or 14. A mini-time slot may include a number of symbols (which may in particular be configurable or configured) that is less than the number of symbols in a time slot, in particular 1, 2, 3 or 4 symbols. A transmission timing structure may cover a time interval of a specific length, which may depend on the symbol time length and / or cyclic prefix used. A transmission timing structure may relate to and / or cover a specific time interval in a time stream, for example, that is synchronized for communication. The timing structure (e.g., time slots and / or mini-slots) used and / or scheduled for transmission can be scheduled relative to and / or synchronized with the timing structure provided and / or defined by other transmission timing structures. Such a transmission timing structure can define a timing grid, such as a symbol time interval within a separate structure representing the smallest timing unit. Such a timing grid can be defined, for example, by a time slot or a subframe (wherein in some cases, a subframe can be considered a specific variant of a time slot). The transmission timing structure can have a duration (length of time) determined based on the duration of its symbol (possibly with the cyclic prefix used). The symbols of the transmission timing structure can have the same duration, or in some variants can have different durations. The number of symbols in the transmission timing structure can be predefined and / or configured or configurable, and / or depends on a parameter set. The timing of the mini-slot can generally be configured or configurable, in particular by a network and / or a network node. The timing can be configured to start and / or end at any symbol (in particular, one or more time slots) of the transmission timing structure.

[0082] The program product is generally considered to include instructions adapted to cause the processing and / or control circuitry to perform and / or control any of the methods described herein when executed in particular on the processing and / or control circuitry. Furthermore, a carrier medium arrangement is considered to carry and / or store the program product as described herein.

[0083] The carrier medium arrangement may include one or more carrier media. Typically, the carrier medium is accessible and / or readable and / or receivable by the processing or control circuit. The storage data and / or program product and / or code may be regarded as a part of carrying the data and / or program product and / or code. The carrier medium may typically include a guide / transmission medium and / or a storage medium. The guide / transmission medium may be suitable for carrying and / or carrying and / or storing signals, in particular electromagnetic signals and / or electrical signals and / or magnetic signals and / or optical signals. The carrier medium (in particular the guide / transmission medium) may be suitable for guiding such signals to carry them. The carrier medium (in particular the guide / transmission medium) may include an electromagnetic field (e.g. radio waves or microwaves) and / or a light-transmitting material (e.g. glass fiber) and / or a cable. The storage medium may include at least one of the following: a memory (which may be volatile or non-volatile), a buffer, a cache, an optical disk, a magnetic memory, a flash memory, etc.

[0084] A system is described, the system comprising one or more radio nodes as described herein, in particular a network node and a user equipment. The system may be a wireless communication system, and / or provide and / or represent a radio access network.

[0085] In addition, a method for operating an information system can generally be considered, which includes providing information. Alternatively or additionally, an information system suitable for providing information can be considered. Providing information can include providing information for and / or to a target system, and the target system can include and / or be implemented as a radio access network and / or a radio node, particularly a network node or a user equipment or a terminal. Providing information can include transmitting and / or streaming and / or sending and / or transferring information, and / or providing information for such and / or downloading, and / or triggering such provision, such as by triggering different systems or nodes to stream and / or transmit and / or send and / or transfer information. The information system can include a target, and / or be connected to or connectable to a target, such as via one or more intermediate systems (such as a core network and / or the Internet and / or a dedicated or local network). Information can be provided using and / or via such an intermediate system. As described herein, providing information can be used for radio transmission and / or for transmission via an air interface and / or utilizing a RAN or a radio node. Connecting the information system to a target and / or providing information can be based on a target indication and / or adapted to a target indication. The target indication may indicate a target, and / or relate to a target and / or one or more transmission parameters of a path or connection on which information is provided to the target. Such (one or more) parameters may particularly relate to an air interface and / or a radio access network and / or a radio node and / or a network node. Example parameters may indicate, for example, the type and / or nature of a target, and / or a transmission capacity (e.g., data rate) and / or a delay and / or reliability and / or a cost, and one or more estimates thereof accordingly. The target indication may be provided by the target, or determined by an information system, for example, based on information and / or historical information received from the target, and / or provided by a user (e.g., a user operating a target or operating, for example, a device communicating with the target via RAN and / or an air interface). For example, a user may indicate on a user device communicating with an information system, for example, by selecting from a selection provided by the information system, for example, in a user application or a user interface (which may be a web interface), that information will be provided via RAN. An information system may include one or more information nodes. An information node may typically include a processing circuit and / or a communication circuit. In particular, the information system and / or the information node may be implemented as a computer and / or computer arrangement, such as a mainframe computer or mainframe computer arrangement and / or a server or server arrangement. In some variants, an interactive server (e.g., a web server) of the information system may provide a user interface and based on user input may trigger the sending and / or streaming of information provision to a user (and / or target) from another server (which may be connected or connectable to the interactive server and / or may be part of the information system or may be connected or connectable to the information system).Information can be any kind of data, in particular data intended for use by a user at a terminal, for example, video data and / or audio data and / or position data and / or interactive data and / or game-related data and / or environmental data and / or technical data and / or business data and / or vehicle data and / or environmental data and / or operational data. The information provided by the information system can be mapped to and / or can be mapped to and / or is expected to be mapped to communication or data signaling and / or one or more data channels (which can be signaling or channels of an air interface and / or used in a RAN and / or for radio transmission), as described herein. It can be considered that information is formatted based on target indications and / or targets, for example, with respect to data volume and / or data rate and / or data structure and / or timing, which can particularly relate to mapping of communication or data signaling and / or data channels. Mapping information to data signaling and / or data channels can be considered to refer to using (one or more) signaling / channels to carry data, for example, at a high level of communication, where (one or more) signaling / channels are below transmission. The target indication may typically include different components, which may have different sources and / or may indicate different characteristics of the target and / or the communication path(s) to the target. The information format may be specifically selected, for example, from a set of different formats for information to be sent on the air interface and / or by the RAN, as described herein. This may be particularly relevant because the air interface may be limited in capacity and / or predictability, and / or potentially cost-sensitive. The format may be selected to accommodate a transmission indication, which may specifically indicate the path of the information between the target and the information system (which may be the indicated and / or planned and / or expected path) of the RAN or radio node as described herein. The (communication) path of the information may represent the interface (e.g., air and / or cable interface) and / or intermediate system (if any) between the information system and / or the node providing or transmitting the information and the target on which the information is transferred or will be transferred. When the target indication is provided, and / or when the information is provided / transmitted by the information system, for example, if the Internet is involved, this may include multiple dynamically selected paths, and the path may be (at least partially) undetermined. The information and / or the format for the information may be packet-based and / or mapped and / or mappable and / or intended to be mapped to packets.

[0086] Alternatively or additionally, a method for operating a target device may be considered, the method comprising providing a target indication to an information system. Alternatively or additionally, a target device may be considered, the target device being suitable for providing a target indication to an information system. In another method, a target indication tool may be considered, the target indication tool being suitable for providing a target indication to an information system and / or comprising an indication module for providing a target indication to an information system. The target device may generally be a target as described above. The target indication tool may include and / or be implemented as software and / or an application or app and / or a web interface or a user interface, and / or may include one or more modules for implementing actions performed and / or controlled by the tool. The tool and / or the target device may be suitable for and / or the method may include: receiving user input, based on which the target indication may be determined and / or provided. Alternatively or additionally, the tool and / or the target device may be suitable for and / or the method may include: receiving information and / or communication signaling carrying information, and / or operating on information, and / or presenting information (e.g., on a screen and / or as audio or as other forms of indication). The information may be based on the received information and / or the communication signaling carrying the information. Presenting the information may include processing the received information, such as decoding and / or conversion (particularly between different formats), and / or hardware for presentation. The information may be operated independently of presentation or without presentation, and / or performed or continued to be presented, and / or may be without user interaction or even user reception, such as for an automatic process or a target device (such as an MTC device for automotive or transportation or industrial use) without (e.g., conventional) user interaction. Information or communication signaling may be expected and / or received based on a target indication. Presenting information and / or operating the information may generally include one or more processing steps, in particular decoding and / or executing and / or interpreting and / or transforming the information. Operating the information may generally include, for example, relaying and / or sending the information over an air interface, which may include mapping the information onto the signaling (such mapping may generally involve one or more layers, such as one or more layers of an air interface, such as an RLC (radio link control) layer and / or a MAC layer and / or (one or more) physical layers). Information may be imprinted (or mapped) on the communication signalling based on the target indication, which may make it particularly suitable for use in the RAN (e.g. for a target device, such as a network node or in particular a UE or terminal). The tool may generally be suitable for use on a target device, such as a UE or terminal. Typically, the tool may provide multiple functions, such as for providing and / or selecting a target indication, and / or presenting, for example, video and / or audio, and / or operating on received information, and / or storing received information. Providing the target indication may include, for example, if the target device is a UE or a tool for a UE, sending or transmitting the indication as signalling in the RAN and / or carrying it on the signalling.It should be noted that the information provided in this way can be transmitted to the information system via one or more additional communication interfaces and / or paths and / or connections. The target indication can be a high-level indication, and / or the information provided by the information system can be high-level information, such as an application layer or a user layer, in particular above the radio layer (e.g., a transport layer and a physical layer). The target indication can be mapped on a physical layer radio signaling, for example, associated with or on a user plane, and / or the information can be mapped on a physical layer radio communication signaling, for example, associated with or on a user plane (in particular in the reverse communication direction). The described method allows the target indication to be provided, facilitating the information to be provided in a specific format that is particularly suitable and / or adapted to the efficient use of the air interface. The user input can, for example, represent a selection from a plurality of possible transmission modes or formats and / or paths, for example in terms of the data rate and / or packaging and / or size of the information to be provided by the information system.

[0087] In general, a parameter set and / or a subcarrier spacing may indicate the bandwidth of a subcarrier of a carrier (in the frequency domain) and / or the number of subcarriers in a carrier and / or the numbering of subcarriers in a carrier. In particular, different parameter sets may differ in the bandwidth of the subcarriers. In some variants, all subcarriers in a carrier have the same bandwidth associated with them. Parameter sets and / or subcarrier spacing may differ between carriers, in particular in terms of subcarrier bandwidth. Symbol time lengths and / or time lengths involving a timing structure of a carrier may depend on the carrier frequency and / or the subcarrier spacing and / or the parameter set. In particular, different parameter sets may have different symbol time lengths.

[0088] Signaling may generally include one or more symbols and / or signals and / or messages. A signal may include or represent one or more bits. An indication may represent signaling and / or may be implemented as one or more signals. One or more signals may be included in a message and / or represented by a message. Signaling (particularly control signaling) may include multiple signals and / or messages, which may be sent on different carriers and / or associated with different signaling processes, such as representing and / or involving one or more such processes and / or corresponding information. An indication may include signaling and / or multiple signals and / or messages, and / or may be included therein, which may be sent on different carriers and / or associated with different confirmation signaling processes, such as representing and / or involving one or more such processes. Signaling associated with a channel may be sent so that the signaling and / or information representing the channel and / or the signaling is interpreted by a transmitter and / or a receiver to belong to the channel. Such signaling may generally conform to transmission parameters and / or formats for a channel.

[0089] Reference signaling may be signaling comprising one or more reference symbols and / or structures. Reference signaling may be suitable for measuring and / or estimating and / or representing transmission conditions, such as channel conditions and / or transmission path conditions and / or channel (or signal or transmission) quality. It may be considered that the transmission characteristics of the reference signaling (e.g., signal strength and / or form and / or modulation and / or timing) may be used for both the transmitter and receiver of the signaling (e.g., due to being predefined and / or configured or configurable and / or communicated). Different types of reference signaling may be considered, such as those involving uplink, downlink or sublink, cell-specific (especially cell-wide, such as CRS) or device or user-specific (addressed to a specific target or user equipment, such as CSI-RS), demodulation-related (e.g., DMRS) and / or signal strength-related (e.g., power-related or energy-related or amplitude-related (e.g., SRS or pilot signaling) and / or phase-related, etc.).

[0090] The antenna arrangement may include one or more antenna elements (radiating elements), which may be combined into an antenna array. An antenna array or subarray may include one antenna element or multiple antenna elements, which may be arranged, for example, in two dimensions (e.g., a panel) or three dimensions. It may be considered that each antenna array or subarray or element is individually controllable, and accordingly, different antenna arrays are individually controllable from each other. A single antenna element / radiator may be considered as the smallest example of a subarray. Examples of antenna arrays include one or more multi-antenna panels or one or more independently controllable antenna elements. The antenna arrangement may include multiple antenna arrays. The antenna arrangement may be considered to be associated with a (specific and / or single) radio node (e.g., a configuration or notification or scheduling radio node to be controlled or controllable by a radio node). The antenna arrangement associated with a UE or terminal may be smaller than the antenna arrangement associated with a network node (e.g., in terms of the size and / or number of antenna elements or arrays). The antenna elements of the antenna arrangement may be configured for different arrays, for example, to change beamforming characteristics. In particular, an antenna array may be formed by combining one or more independent or individually controllable antenna elements or subarrays. The beam may be provided by analog beamforming or, in some variants, by digital beamforming. The notification radio node may be configured with a beam transmission mode, for example, by sending a corresponding indicator or indication, for example as a beam identification indication. However, it is possible to consider a case where (one or more) notification radio nodes are not configured with such information and / or operate transparently without knowing the beamforming mode used. The antenna arrangement may be considered to be individually controllable in terms of the phase and / or amplitude / power and / or gain of the signal fed to it for transmission, and / or the individually controllable antenna arrangement may include independent or separate transmitting and / or receiving units and / or ADCs (analog-to-digital converters, alternatively ADC chains) to convert digital control information into analog antenna feeds for the entire antenna arrangement (the ADC may be considered to be part of the antenna circuit, and / or connected or connectable to the antenna circuit). The scenario in which each antenna element is individually controllable may be referred to as digital beamforming, while the scenario in which a larger array / subarray is individually controllable may be considered an example of analog beamforming. Hybrid forms may be considered.

[0091] The uplink or sidelink signaling may be OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) or SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) signaling. The downlink signaling may in particular be OFDMA signaling. However, the signaling is not limited thereto (filter bank based signaling may be considered as an alternative).

[0092] A radio node may generally be considered to be a device or node adapted for wireless and / or radio (and / or microwave) frequency communications and / or communicating using an air interface, eg according to a communication standard.

[0093] A radio node may be a network node, or a user equipment or terminal. A network node may be any radio node of a wireless communication network, such as a base station and / or a gNodeB (gNB) and / or an eNodeB (eNB) and / or a relay node and / or a micro / nano / pico / femto node and / or a transmission point (TP) and / or an access point (AP) and / or other nodes, in particular for the RAN described herein.

[0094] In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "wireless device", "user equipment (UE)" and "terminal" may be considered interchangeable. A wireless device, user equipment or terminal may refer to a terminal device for communicating using a wireless communication network, and / or implemented as a user equipment according to a standard. Examples of user equipment may include a phone (such as a smart phone), a personal communication device, a mobile phone or terminal, a computer (particularly a laptop), a sensor or machine with radio capabilities (and / or adapted for an air interface) (particularly for MTC (machine type communication), sometimes also referred to as M2M (machine to machine)), or a vehicle adapted for wireless communication. A user device or terminal may be mobile or fixed.

[0095] A radio node may typically include processing circuitry and / or radio circuitry. In some cases, a radio node, particularly a network node, may include cable circuitry and / or communication circuitry, through which the radio node may be connected or connectable to another radio node and / or a core network.

[0096] The circuit may include an integrated circuit. The processing circuit may include one or more processors and / or controllers (e.g., microcontrollers) and / or ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) and / or FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), etc. It may be considered that the processing circuit includes and / or is (operably) connected or connectable to one or more memories or memory arrangements. The memory arrangement may include one or more memories. The memory may be suitable for storing digital information. Examples of memories include volatile and non-volatile memories, and / or random access memories (RAMs), and / or read-only memories (ROMs), and / or magnetic and / or optical memories, and / or flash memory, and / or hard disk storage, and / or EPROM or EEPROM (erasable programmable ROM or electrically erasable programmable ROM).

[0097] The radio circuit may include one or more transmitters and / or receivers and / or transceivers (a transceiver may operate or be operable as both a transmitter and a receiver, and / or may include, for example, combined or separate circuits for receiving and transmitting in one package or housing), and / or may include one or more amplifiers and / or oscillators and / or filters, and / or may include and / or be connected or connectable to antenna circuits and / or one or more antennas and / or antenna arrays. An antenna array may include one or more antennas, which may be arranged in a dimensional array (e.g., a 2D or 3D array) and / or an antenna panel. A remote radio head (RRH) may be considered an example of an antenna array. However, in some variants, an RRH may also be implemented as a network node, depending on the type of circuits and / or functions implemented therein.

[0098] The communication circuit may include a radio circuit and / or a cable circuit. The communication circuit may typically include one or more interfaces, which may be (one or more) air interfaces and / or (one or more) cable interfaces and / or (one or more) (e.g., laser-based) optical interfaces. The interface may be packet-based in particular. The cable circuit and / or cable interface may include and / or be connected or connectable to one or more cables (e.g., optical fiber-based and / or wire-based), which may be directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more intermediate systems and / or interfaces) connected or connectable to a target (e.g., controlled by the communication circuit and / or processing circuit).

[0099] Any or all modules disclosed herein may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Different modules may be associated with different components of a radio node, such as different circuits or different parts of a circuit. It may be considered that the modules are distributed over different components and / or circuits. The program product described herein may include modules associated with a device (e.g., a user equipment or a network node) on which the program product is intended to be executed (the execution may be executed on an associated circuit and / or controlled by it).

[0100] The radio access network may be a wireless communication network and / or a radio access network (RAN), in particular according to a communication standard. The communication standard may in particular be a standard according to 3GPP and / or 5G, for example according to NR or LTE (in particular LTE Evolution).

[0101] A wireless communication network may be and / or include a radio access network (RAN), which may be and / or include any type of cellular and / or wireless radio network that may be connected or may be connected to a core network. The method described herein is particularly suitable for 5G networks, such as LTE evolution and / or NR (new radio), and accordingly its successor. RAN may include one or more network nodes and / or one or more terminals and / or one or more radio nodes. A network node may be a radio node that is particularly suitable for radio and / or wireless and / or cellular communication with one or more terminals. A terminal may be any device that is suitable for radio and / or wireless and / or cellular communication with or within a RAN, such as a user equipment (UE) or a mobile phone or a smart phone or a computing device or a vehicle communication device or a device for machine type communication (MTC), etc. The terminal may be mobile or in some cases fixed. RAN or a wireless communication network may include at least one network node and UE, or at least two radio nodes. A wireless communication network or system, such as a RAN or a RAN system, may generally be considered, which includes at least one radio node and / or at least one network node and at least one terminal.

[0102] Transmission in the downlink may involve transmission from a network or a network node to a terminal. Transmission in the uplink may involve transmission from a terminal to a network or a network node. Transmission in the sidelink may involve (direct) transmission from one terminal to another terminal. Uplink, downlink and sidelink (e.g., sidelink transmission and reception) may be considered as communication directions. In some variants, uplink and downlink may also be used to describe wireless communications between network nodes, such as for wireless backhaul and / or relay communication and / or (wireless) network communication between, for example, base stations or similar network nodes, in particular communications terminated therein. It may be considered that backhaul and / or relay communication and / or network communication are implemented in the form of sidelink or uplink communication or in a similar form.

[0103] Control information or control information message or corresponding signaling (control signaling) can be sent on a control channel (e.g., a physical control channel), which can be a downlink channel or (or in some cases a sidelink channel, such as one UE scheduling another UE). For example, the control information / allocation information can be signaled by a network node on a PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) and / or a PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel) and / or a HARQ specific channel. Confirmation signaling (e.g., as a form of control information or signaling, such as uplink control information / signaling) can be sent by the terminal on a PUCCH (physical uplink control channel) and / or a PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) and / or a HARQ specific channel. Multiple channels can be applicable to multi-component / multi-carrier indication or signaling.

[0104] Signaling can generally be considered to represent an electromagnetic wave structure (e.g., in time intervals and frequency intervals) that is intended to convey information to at least one specific or general (e.g., anyone who can obtain the signaling) target. The signaling process may include sending signaling. Sending signaling (particularly, control signaling or communication signaling, such as including or representing confirmation signaling and / or resource request information) may include coding and / or modulation. Coding and / or modulation may include error detection coding and / or forward error correction coding and / or scrambling. Receiving control signaling may include corresponding decoding and / or demodulation. Error detection coding may include and / or be based on parity checks or checksum methods, such as CRC (cyclic redundancy check). Forward error correction coding may include and / or be based on, for example, turbo coding and / or Reed-Muller coding and / or polar coding and / or LDPC coding (low-density parity check). The type of coding used may be based on a channel (e.g., a physical channel) associated with the encoded signal. Considering that coding adds coded bits for error detection coding and forward error correction, the code rate may represent the ratio of the number of information bits before coding to the number of coded bits after coding. Coded bits may refer to information bits (also called systematic bits) plus coding bits.

[0105] Communication signaling may include and / or represent and / or be implemented as data signaling and / or user plane signaling. Communication signaling may be associated with a data channel, such as a physical downlink channel or a physical uplink channel or a physical sidelink channel, in particular a PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel) or a PSSCH (physical sidelink shared channel). Typically, a data channel may be a shared channel or a dedicated channel. Data signaling may be signaling associated with a data channel and / or on a data channel.

[0106] An indication may generally indicate explicitly and / or implicitly the information it represents and / or indicates. An implicit indication may, for example, be based on a location and / or resource used for transmission. An explicit indication may, for example, be based on a parameterization with one or more parameters, and / or one or more indexes, and / or one or more bit patterns representing information. In particular, control signaling based on a sequence of resources used as described herein may be considered to implicitly indicate a control signaling type.

[0107] A resource element may generally describe the smallest individually available and / or encodable and / or decodable and / or modulatable and / or demodulatable time-frequency resource, and / or may describe a time-frequency resource covering a symbol time length in time and a subcarrier in frequency. A signal may be allocable and / or allocated to a resource element. A subcarrier may be a subband of a carrier, for example as defined by a standard. A carrier may define a frequency and / or frequency band for transmission and / or reception. In some variants, a (jointly coded / modulated) signal may cover more than one resource element. Resource elements may generally be as defined by a corresponding standard (e.g., NR or LTE). Since the symbol time length and / or subcarrier spacing (and / or parameter sets) may be different between different symbols and / or subcarriers, different resource elements may have different extensions (length / width) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, in particular resource elements involving different carriers.

[0108] A resource may generally denote a time-frequency and / or code resource, for example, on which signaling according to a specific format may be transmitted, for example sent and / or received and / or intended for sending and / or receiving.

[0109] Boundary symbols can generally represent the start symbol or end symbol for sending and / or receiving. The start symbol can be particularly the start symbol of uplink or sidelink signaling (e.g., control signaling or data signaling). Such signaling can be on a data channel or a control channel (e.g., a physical channel), in particular a physical uplink shared channel (e.g., PUSCH) or sidelink data or shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) or sidelink control channel. If the start symbol is associated with a control signaling (e.g., on a control channel), the control signaling can be a signaling received in response to, for example, a confirmation signaling associated therewith (in a sidelink or downlink), which can be a HARQ or ARQ signaling. The end symbol can represent the end symbol (in time) of a downlink or sidelink transmission or signaling, which can be expected or scheduled for a radio node or user equipment. Such downlink signaling can be particularly data signaling, for example, on a physical downlink channel (e.g., PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel)) such as a shared channel. The starting symbol may be determined based on and / or relative to such an ending symbol.

[0110] Configuring a radio node (particularly a terminal or user equipment) may refer to adapting or causing or setting and / or instructing the radio node to operate according to the configuration. The configuration may be performed by another device (e.g. a network node (e.g. a radio node of a network, such as a base station or eNodeB)) or a network, in which case it may include sending configuration data to the radio node to be configured. Such configuration data may represent the configuration to be configured and / or include one or more instructions related to the configuration (e.g., a configuration for sending and / or receiving on allocated resources (particularly frequency resources)). The radio node may configure itself, for example, based on configuration data received from the network or network node. The network node may utilize and / or be adapted to utilize its (one or more) circuits for configuration. Allocation information may be considered as a form of configuration data. The configuration data may include configuration information and / or one or more corresponding indications and / or (one or more) messages and / or be represented by them.

[0111] Typically, configuring may include determining configuration data representing the configuration and providing the configuration data (in parallel and / or sequentially) to one or more other nodes, which may further send the configuration data to the radio node (or another node, which may be repeated until it reaches the wireless device). Alternatively or additionally, configuring the radio node, for example by a network node or other device, may include: for example, receiving configuration data and / or data related to the configuration data from another node (such as a network node) (which may be a high-level node of the network), and / or sending the received configuration data to the radio node. Therefore, determining the configuration and sending the configuration data to the radio node may be performed by different network nodes or entities, which may be able to communicate via an appropriate interface (for example, an X2 interface in the case of LTE, or a corresponding interface for NR). Configuring the terminal may include: scheduling downlink and / or uplink transmissions for the terminal, such as downlink data and / or downlink control signaling and / or DCI and / or uplink control or data or communication signaling (in particular confirmation signaling); and / or configuring resources and / or resource pools for it.

[0112] A resource structure may be considered to be adjacent to another resource structure in the frequency domain if the two resource structures share a common boundary frequency, for example, one as an upper frequency boundary and the other as a lower frequency boundary. Such a boundary may be represented, for example, by an upper limit of the bandwidth allocated to subcarrier n, which also represents a lower limit of the bandwidth allocated to subcarrier n+1. A resource structure may be considered to be adjacent to another resource structure in the time domain if the two resource structures share a common boundary time, for example, one as an upper (or right in the figure) boundary and the other as a lower (or left in the figure) boundary. Such a boundary may be represented, for example, by the end of the symbol time interval allocated to symbol n, which also represents the beginning of the symbol time interval allocated to symbol n+1.

[0113] In general, a resource structure being adjacent to another resource structure in a domain may also be referred to as being adjacent to and / or adjacent to the other resource structure in the domain.

[0114] A resource structure may generally represent a structure in the time domain and / or frequency domain, in particular representing a time interval and a frequency interval. A resource structure may include resource elements and / or consist of resource elements, and / or a time interval of a resource structure may include (one or more) symbol time intervals and / or consist of (one or more) symbol time intervals, and / or a frequency interval of a resource structure may include (one or more) subcarriers and / or consist of (one or more) subcarriers. Resource elements may be considered as examples of resource structures, and time slots or microslots or physical resource blocks (PRBs) or parts thereof may be considered as others. A resource structure may be associated with a specific channel (e.g., PUSCH or PUCCH), in particular a resource structure that is smaller than a time slot or PRB.

[0115] Examples of resource structures in the frequency domain include bandwidth or frequency band or bandwidth portion. A bandwidth portion may be a portion of the bandwidth that is available to a radio node for communication, for example due to circuits and / or configurations and / or regulations and / or standards. A bandwidth portion may be configured or configurable to a radio node. In some variants, a bandwidth portion may be a portion of the bandwidth that is used to communicate (e.g., send and / or receive) by a radio node. A bandwidth portion may be smaller than the bandwidth (which may be a device bandwidth and / or system bandwidth defined by the circuits / configuration of the device, for example, available to a RAN). A bandwidth portion may be considered to include one or more resource blocks or resource block groups, in particular one or more PRBs or PRB groups. A bandwidth portion may relate to and / or include one or more carriers.

[0116] A carrier may generally represent a frequency range or frequency band and / or may refer to a center frequency and an associated frequency interval. A carrier may be considered to include a plurality of subcarriers. A carrier may be assigned a center frequency or a center frequency interval, for example, represented by one or more subcarriers (for each subcarrier, a frequency bandwidth or interval may generally be assigned). Different carriers may be non-overlapping and / or may be adjacent in the frequency domain.

[0117] It should be noted that the term "radio" in this disclosure may be generally considered to relate to wireless communications, and may also include wireless communications utilizing microwave and / or millimeter and / or other frequencies (particularly between 100 MHz or 1 GHz and 100 GHz or 20 or 10 GHz). Such communications may utilize one or more carrier waves.

[0118] A radio node (in particular a network node or a terminal) may generally be any device adapted to send and / or receive radio and / or wireless signals and / or data (in particular communication data), in particular on at least one carrier. The at least one carrier may include a carrier accessed based on an LBT procedure (which may be referred to as an LBT carrier), such as an unlicensed carrier. The carrier may be considered to be part of a carrier aggregation.

[0119] Receiving or transmitting on a cell or carrier may refer to receiving or transmitting using a frequency (frequency band) or spectrum associated with the cell or carrier. A cell may generally include and / or be defined by or for one or more carriers, in particular at least one carrier for UL communication / transmission (referred to as UL carrier) and at least one carrier for DL ​​communication / transmission (referred to as DL carrier). A cell may be considered to include different numbers of UL carriers and DL carriers. Alternatively or additionally, for example in a TDD-based approach, a cell may include at least one carrier for UL communication / transmission and DL communication / transmission.

[0120] A channel may generally be a logical, transport or physical channel. A channel may include one or more carriers and / or be arranged on one or more carriers, in particular multiple subcarriers. A channel that carries and / or is used to carry control signaling / control information may be considered a control channel, in particular if it is a physical layer channel and / or if it carries control plane information. Similarly, a channel that carries and / or is used to carry data signaling / user information may be considered a data channel, in particular if it is a physical layer channel and / or if it carries user plane information. A channel may be defined for a specific communication direction or for two complementary communication directions (e.g., UL and DL, or a side link in both directions), in which case it may be considered to have two component channels, one in each direction. Examples of channels include channels for low-delay and / or high-reliability transmission, in particular channels for ultra-reliable low-delay communication (URLLC), which may be used for control and / or data.

[0121] Typically, a symbol may represent and / or be associated with a symbol time length, which may depend on a carrier and / or a subcarrier spacing and / or a parameter set of an associated carrier. Thus, a symbol may be considered to indicate a time interval with a symbol time length relative to the frequency domain. The symbol time length may depend on a carrier frequency and / or a bandwidth and / or a parameter set and / or a subcarrier spacing of the symbol or associated with the symbol. Thus, different symbols may have different symbol time lengths. In particular, parameter sets with different subcarrier spacings may have different symbol time lengths. Typically, the symbol time length may be based on and / or include a guard time interval or a cyclic extension, such as a prefix or a suffix.

[0122] Communicating or communicating may generally include sending and / or receiving signaling. Communication on a side link (or side link signaling) may include communicating using the side link (correspondingly for signaling). Side link transmission and / or transmission on a side link may be considered to include transmission using a side link (e.g., associated resources and / or transmission format and / or circuit and / or air interface). Side link reception and / or reception on a side link may be considered to include reception using a side link (e.g., associated resources and / or transmission format and / or circuit and / or air interface). Side link control information (e.g., SCI) may generally be considered to include control information transmitted using a side link.

[0123] In general, carrier aggregation (CA) may refer to the concept of a radio connection and / or communication link between a wireless and / or cellular communication network and / or a network node and a terminal or on a secondary link including multiple carriers for at least one transmission direction (e.g., DL and / or UL), and the aggregation of carriers. The corresponding communication link may be referred to as a carrier aggregation communication link or a CA communication link; the carrier in the carrier aggregation may be referred to as a component carrier (CC). In such a link, data may be sent on more than one carrier and / or all carriers in the carrier aggregation (aggregation of carriers). Carrier aggregation may include one (or more) dedicated control carriers and / or a primary carrier (which may, for example, be referred to as a primary component carrier or PCC) on which control information may be sent, wherein the control information may refer to the primary carrier and other carriers which may be referred to as secondary carriers (or secondary component carriers SCC). However, in some methods, control information may be sent on more than one carrier of the aggregate (e.g., one or more PCCs and one PCC and one or more SCCs).

[0124] A transmission may typically involve a specific channel and / or specific resources, in particular having a start symbol and an end symbol in time, covering the interval between them. A scheduled transmission may be a transmission that is scheduled and / or expected and / or for which resources are scheduled or provided or reserved. However, not every scheduled transmission must be implemented. For example, a scheduled downlink transmission may not be received, or a scheduled uplink transmission may not be sent, due to power limitations or other effects (e.g., a channel on an unlicensed carrier is occupied). A transmission may be scheduled for a transmission timing substructure (e.g., a mini-slot, and / or covering only a portion of a transmission timing structure) within a transmission timing structure such as a time slot. A boundary symbol may indicate a symbol in a transmission timing structure at which a transmission starts or ends.

[0125] "Predefined" in the context of the present disclosure may refer to relevant information being defined, e.g., in a standard and / or available without specific configuration from the network or network node, e.g., stored in a memory, e.g., independent of being configured. Being configured or configurable may be considered to involve corresponding information being set / configured, e.g., by a network or a network node.

[0126] A configuration or schedule (such as a mini-slot configuration and / or a structure configuration) can schedule a transmission, for example, for the time / transmission it is valid, and / or a transmission can be scheduled by separate signaling or a separate configuration (e.g., separate RRC signaling and / or downlink control information signaling). The scheduled (one or more) transmissions can represent signaling to be sent by the device for which it is scheduled or signaling to be received by the device for which it is scheduled, depending on which side of the communication the device is on. It should be noted that downlink control information or specifically DCI signaling can be considered physical layer signaling compared to higher layer signaling such as MAC (media access control) signaling or RRC layer signaling. The higher the signaling layer, the less frequent / more time resources can be considered to be consumed, at least in part because the information contained in such signaling must pass through several layers, and each layer requires processing and operation.

[0127] The scheduled transmissions and / or transmission timing structures (such as mini-slots or time slots) may relate to specific channels, in particular physical uplink shared channels, physical uplink control channels, or physical downlink shared channels, such as PUSCH, PUCCH or PDSCH, and / or may relate to specific cells and / or carrier aggregation. The corresponding configuration (e.g., scheduling configuration or symbol configuration) may relate to such channels, cells and / or carrier aggregation. The scheduled transmissions may be considered to represent transmissions on physical channels (in particular shared physical channels, such as physical uplink shared channels or physical downlink shared channels). For such channels, semi-persistent configurations may be particularly suitable.

[0128] Typically, the configuration may be a configuration indicating timing, and / or may be represented or configured with corresponding configuration data. The configuration may be embedded and / or included in a message or configuration or corresponding data, which may in particular indicate and / or schedule resources semi-persistently and / or semi-statically.

[0129] The control region of the transmission timing structure may be an interval in time that is expected or scheduled or reserved for control signaling (particularly downlink control signaling) and / or for a specific control channel (e.g. a physical downlink control channel, such as a PDCCH). The interval may include and / or consist of a plurality of symbols in time, which may be configured or configurable, for example, by (UE-specific) dedicated signaling (which may be unicast, for example addressed to or intended for a specific UE), for example on the PDCCH, or by RRC signaling, or on a multicast or broadcast channel. Typically, the transmission timing structure may include a control region covering a configurable number of symbols. It may be considered that typically the boundary symbol is configured to follow the control region in time.

[0130] The duration of a symbol (symbol time length or interval) of the transmission timing structure may generally depend on a parameter set and / or a carrier, where the parameter set and / or the carrier may be configurable.The parameter set may be a parameter set to be used for the scheduled transmission.

[0131] Scheduling a device or scheduling for a device and / or scheduling related transmissions or signaling may be considered to include the following steps or as a form thereof: configuring resources for the device, and / or indicating to the device, for example, resources to be used for communication. Scheduling may particularly relate to a transmission timing structure or a substructure thereof (e.g., a time slot or a micro-time slot, which may be considered a substructure of a time slot). It may be considered that boundary symbols may be identified and / or determined relative to the transmission timing structure, even for a substructure being scheduled, for example, if an underlying timing grid is defined based on the transmission timing structure. Signaling indicating scheduling may include corresponding scheduling information and / or may be considered to represent or contain configuration data indicating the scheduled transmission and / or including scheduling information. Such configuration data or signaling may be considered to be resource configuration or scheduling configuration. It should be noted that in some cases, such configuration (especially as a single message) may be incomplete without other configuration data (e.g., configured with other signaling, such as high-level signaling). In particular, in addition to scheduling / resource configuration, symbol configuration may also be provided to accurately identify which symbols are allocated to the scheduled transmission. The scheduling (or resource) configuration may indicate the transmission timing structure(s) and / or the amount of resources (eg, expressed in number of symbols or length in time) to be used for the scheduled transmissions.

[0132] The scheduled transmission may be, for example, a transmission scheduled by a network or a network node. In this context, the transmission may be an uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) or sidelink (SL) transmission. The scheduled transmission may be scheduled for the device (e.g., user equipment) for which it is scheduled to receive (e.g., in DL or SL) or send (e.g., in UL or SL) the scheduled transmission. In particular, scheduling the transmission may be considered to include: configuring the scheduled device with (one or more) resources for the transmission, and / or notifying the device that the transmission is expected and / or scheduled for certain resources. The transmission may be scheduled to cover a time interval, in particular, a continuous plurality of symbols that may form a continuous time interval between (and including) a start symbol and an end symbol. The start symbol and the end symbol of the (e.g., scheduled) transmission may be within the same transmission timing structure (e.g., the same time slot). However, in some cases, the end symbol may be in a later transmission timing structure, in particular a structure that is later in time, than the start symbol. For the scheduled transmission, the duration may be associated and / or indicated, for example, in a plurality of symbols or associated time intervals. In some variants, different transmissions may be scheduled in the same transmission timing structure.The scheduled transmissions may be considered to be associated with a specific channel (eg, a shared channel such as PUSCH or PDSCH).

[0133] A transmission timing structure may include multiple symbols and / or define an interval including multiple symbols (respectively, their associated time intervals). In the context of the present disclosure, it should be noted that, for ease of reference, references to symbols may be interpreted as referring to a time domain projection or time interval or time component or duration or time length of a symbol, unless it is clear from the context that a frequency domain component must also be considered. Examples of transmission timing structures include time slots, subframes, microslots (which may also be considered as substructures of time slots), time slot aggregations (which may include multiple time slots and may be considered as superstructures of time slots), and their time domain components accordingly. A transmission timing structure may typically include multiple symbols that define a time domain extension (e.g., an interval or length or duration) of a transmission timing structure and are arranged adjacent to each other in a numbered order. A timing structure (which may also be considered or implemented as a synchronization structure) may be defined by a series of such transmission timing structures, which may, for example, define a timing grid with symbols representing a minimum grid structure. A transmission timing structure and / or a boundary symbol or a scheduled transmission may be determined or scheduled with respect to such a timing grid. A received transmission timing structure may be a transmission timing structure in which scheduling control signaling is received, for example, related to a timing grid. The transmission timing structure may be, inter alia, a time slot or a sub-frame or in some cases a mini-slot.

[0134] Signaling may generally include one or more symbols and / or signals and / or messages. A signal may include and / or represent one or more bits, which may be modulated into a common modulation signal. An indication may represent signaling and / or be implemented as one or more signals. One or more signals may be included in a message and / or represented by a message. Signaling (particularly control signaling) may include multiple signals and / or messages that may be sent on different carriers and / or associated with different confirmation signaling processes (e.g., representing and / or involving one or more such processes). An indication may include signaling and / or multiple signals and / or messages that may be sent on different carriers and / or associated with different confirmation signaling processes (e.g., representing and / or involving one or more such processes) and / or may be included therein.

[0135] Signaling using a resource or resource structure and / or on a resource or resource structure and / or associated with a resource or resource structure may be signaling covering the resource or structure, on an associated (one or more) frequency and / or in an associated (one or more) time interval. It may be considered that a signaling resource structure includes and / or contains one or more substructures, which may be associated with one or more different channels and / or signaling types and / or include one or more holes (resource elements that are not scheduled for sending or receiving transmission). A resource substructure (e.g., a feedback resource structure) may generally be continuous in time and / or frequency within an associated interval. It may be considered that a substructure (particularly a feedback resource structure) represents a rectangle filled with one or more resource elements in a time / frequency space. However, in some cases, a resource structure or substructure (particularly a frequency resource range) may represent a non-continuous resource pattern in one or more domains (e.g., time and / or frequency). The resource elements of a substructure may be scheduled for associated signaling.

[0136] It should generally be noted that the number of bits or bit rate associated with a particular signaling that may be carried on a resource element may be based on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Thus, the bits or bit rate may be viewed as a form of resource representing a resource structure or a frequency and / or time range that depends, for example, on the MCS. The MCS may be configured or configurable, for example, by control signaling, such as DCI or MAC (Media Access Control) or RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling.

[0137] The resource structure in the frequency domain (which may be referred to as a frequency interval and / or range) may be represented by a subcarrier grouping. A subcarrier grouping may include one or more subcarriers, each of which may represent a specific frequency interval and / or bandwidth. The bandwidth of the subcarrier, the length of the interval in the frequency domain, may be determined by the subcarrier spacing and / or parameter set. The subcarriers may be arranged so that each subcarrier is adjacent to at least one other subcarrier in the grouping in frequency space (for a group size greater than 1). The subcarriers in a grouping may be associated with the same carrier, for example, configurable or configured or predefined. A physical resource block may be considered to represent a grouping (in the frequency domain). A subcarrier grouping may be considered to be associated with a specific channel and / or signaling type, for which the transmission of such a channel or signaling is scheduled and / or transmitted and / or expected and / or configured for at least one or more or all subcarriers in the grouping. Such an association may be time-dependent, for example, configured or configurable or predefined, and / or dynamic or semi-static. The association may be different for different devices, e.g. configured or configurable or predefined, and / or dynamic or semi-static. A subcarrier grouping pattern may be considered which may include one or more subcarrier groups (which may be associated with the same or different signaling / channels) and / or one or more groups without associated signaling (e.g. from the perspective of a particular device). An example of a pattern is a comb shape, where one or more groups associated with one or more different channels and / or signaling types and / or one or more groups without associated channels / signaling) are arranged between paired groups associated with the same signaling / channel.

[0138] Example signaling types include signaling for specific communication directions, in particular uplink signaling, downlink signaling, sidelink signaling, and reference signaling (e.g., SRS or CRS or CSI-RS), communication signaling, control signaling, and / or signaling associated with specific channels (e.g., PUSCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PDCCH, PSCCH, PSSCH, etc.).

[0139] In the present disclosure, for the purpose of explanation rather than limitation, specific details (such as specific network functions, processes and signaling steps) are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the technology presented herein. For those skilled in the art, it is apparent that the present concepts and aspects can be practiced with other variations and variations that depart from these specific details.

[0140] For example, concepts and variants are partially described in the context of Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) or new radio mobile or wireless communication technologies; however, this does not exclude the use of the present concepts and aspects in combination with additional or alternative mobile communication technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Although the described variants may relate to certain technical specifications (TS) of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), it should be understood that the present concepts and aspects may also be implemented in combination with different performance management (PM) specifications.

[0141] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the services, functions, and steps described herein may be implemented using software acting in conjunction with a programmed microprocessor or using an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a general purpose computer. It should also be understood that, although the variations described herein are set forth in the context of methods and apparatus, the concepts and aspects presented herein may also be embodied in program products and systems including control circuitry (e.g., a computer processor and a memory coupled to the processor), wherein the memory is encoded with one or more programs or program products that perform the services, functions, and steps disclosed herein.

[0142] It is believed that the advantages of the aspects and variations presented herein will be fully understood from the foregoing description, and it is apparent that various changes may be made to the form, construction and arrangement of the exemplary aspects thereof without departing from the scope of the concepts and aspects described herein or without sacrificing all of their beneficial effects. The aspects proposed herein may be varied in many ways.

[0143] Some useful abbreviations include:

[0144] Abbreviation

[0145] ACK / NACK Acknowledgement / Negative Acknowledgement

[0146] ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

[0147] BER Bit Error Rate

[0148] BLER Block Error Rate

[0149] CAZAC Constant Amplitude Zero Autocorrelation

[0150] CBG Code Block Group

[0151] CDM Code Division Multiplexing

[0152] CM cubic measurement

[0153] CQI Channel Quality Information

[0154] CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check

[0155] CRS Common Reference Signal

[0156] CSI Channel State Information

[0157] CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal

[0158] DAI Downlink Allocation Indicator

[0159] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0160] DFT Discrete Fourier Transform

[0161] DM(-)RS Demodulation Reference Signal

[0162] FDM Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0163] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0164] IFFT Inverse Fast Fourier Transform

[0165] MBB Mobile Broadband

[0166] MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0167] MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output

[0168] MRC Maximum Ratio Combining

[0169] MRT Maximum Ratio Transmission

[0170] MU-MIMO Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output

[0171] OFDM / A Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing / Multiple Access

[0172] PAPR Peak to Average Power Ratio

[0173] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0174] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0175] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0176] PRB Physical Resource Block

[0177] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0178] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0179] (P)SCCH (Physical) Secondary Link Control Channel

[0180] (P)SSCH (Physical) Secondary Link Shared Channel

[0181] RB Resource Block

[0182] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0183] SC-FDM / A Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing / Multiple Access

[0184] SCI Sublink Control Information

[0185] SINR Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio

[0186] SIR Signal-to-Interference Ratio

[0187] SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

[0188] SR Scheduling Request

[0189] SRS Sounding Reference Signal

[0190] SVD Singular Value Decomposition

[0191] TDM Time Division Multiplexing

[0192] UCI Uplink Control Information

[0193] UE User Equipment

[0194] URLLC Ultra-Low Latency High Reliability Communications

[0195] VL-MIMO Very Large Multiple Input Multiple Output

[0196] ZF Force Zero

[0197] Where applicable, abbreviations are considered to follow 3GPP usage.

Claims

1. A method of operating an integrated access and backhaul IAB node (200, C, N3) in a wireless communication network, the IAB node (200, C, N3) being connected to a first parent IAB node (200, N1, P) via a first backhaul link, the method comprising: Communicate with one or more child nodes based on downlink timing, wherein the downlink timing is based on multiple latest updates of a first timing value of a first timing parameter and multiple latest updates of a second timing value of a second timing parameter, wherein the first timing value of the first timing parameter is indicated by a corresponding first timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node, and the second timing value of the second timing parameter is indicated by a corresponding second timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first timing indicator indicates a timing advance, and / or the first timing indicator is indicated by physical layer signaling and / or DCI signaling and / or random access signaling and / or MAC layer signaling.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second timing indicator indicates a timing offset, and / or the second timing indicator is indicated by high-layer signaling, and the high-layer signaling is RRC signaling and / or MAC layer signaling.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The downlink timing is based on a smoothed function of multiple most recent updates of the first timing value and multiple most recent updates of the second timing value, and wherein the smoothed function limits variations in the downlink timing to below a threshold.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The downlink timing is based on a time sequence of a first timing value of a first timing parameter and a second timing value of a second timing parameter.

6. An integrated access and backhaul IAB node (200, C, N3) for a wireless communication network, the IAB node (200) being adapted to be connected or connectable to a first parent IAB node (200, N1, P) via a first backhaul link, the IAB node being adapted to communicate with one or more child nodes based on downlink timing, the downlink timing being based on multiple latest updates of a first timing value of a first timing parameter and multiple latest updates of a second timing value of a second timing parameter, the first timing value of the first timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding first timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node, the second timing value of the second timing parameter being indicated by a corresponding second timing indicator received from the first parent IAB node.

7. The IAB node according to claim 6, wherein: The first timing indicator indicates a timing advance, and / or the first timing indicator is indicated by physical layer signaling and / or DCI signaling and / or random access signaling and / or MAC layer signaling.

8. The IAB node according to claim 6, wherein: The second timing indicator indicates a timing offset, and / or the second timing indicator is indicated by high-layer signaling, and the high-layer signaling is RRC signaling and / or MAC layer signaling.

9. The IAB node according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: The downlink timing is based on a smoothed function of multiple most recent updates of the first timing value and multiple most recent updates of the second timing value, and wherein the smoothed function limits variations in the downlink timing to below a threshold.

10. The IAB node according to claim 6, wherein: The downlink timing is based on a time sequence of a first timing value of a first timing parameter and a second timing value of a second timing parameter.

11. A method of operating a parent integrated access and backhaul IAB node, the method comprising: A first timing indicator and a second timing indicator are sent to the child IAB node via a first backhaul link, the first timing indicator indicating a first timing parameter, the first timing indicator being based on a plurality of previous first timing values ​​of the first timing parameter, the second timing indicator indicating a second timing parameter, the second timing indicator being based on a plurality of previous second timing values ​​of the second timing parameter.

12. A parent integrated access and backhaul IAB node for a wireless communication network, the parent IAB node being adapted to send a first timing indicator and a second timing indicator to a child IAB node via a first backhaul link, the first timing indicator representing a first timing parameter, the first timing indicator being based on a plurality of previous first timing values ​​of the first timing parameter, the second timing indicator representing a second timing parameter, the second timing indicator being based on a plurality of previous second timing values ​​of the second timing parameter.

13. A computer program product comprising instructions adapted to cause a processing circuit to control and / or perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 11.

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